Friday 19 February 2010

Spirituality : Gnostic beliefs and mysticism

Gnosticism is defined by “The Watchman’s expositor” (Vol. 12, No. 1, 1995) as occult - a religious movement widespread at the time of Christ, which has its roots in the actual temptation of Eve and Adam in the garden and in many pagan religions of antiquity. The Watchman’s expositor explains that Paul encountered the Stoic pantheists at the Areopagus (Acts 17:16-31) and that several portions of the New Testament were written to distinguish Christianity from gnosticism and to refute it. Gnosticism’s belief is summarised by them as teachings that advocate that true spirituality is found only in the spiritual realm and not the temporal or physical. Through the acquisition and use of secret or hidden knowledge or mystical/magical arts can one experience transformation and become at one with the One. This is the underlying belief in the New Age Movement, Witchcraft, eastern mysticism (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, etc.). See watchman.org
Note: There are variations of gnosticism. "New Gnosticism" are also associated with postmodernism. " Ihab Hassan, an important literary theorist of postmodernism, believes that it is— that thought today is, under the influence of instantaneous electronic communication and other factors, moving toward a kind of gnosticism; but a "new gnosticism" appropriate to the postmodern age." (See http://www.enotes.com/twentieth-century-criticism/postmodernism/4-new-gnosticism-ihab-hassan)". Another category of gnosticism is "Gnostic Atheism"
Gobal Oneness Experience Festival, who promotes occultism, express their difficulty with defining Mysticism. They give examples of major traditions and philosophies with strong elements of mysticism as: Christian Gnosticism Christian mysticism Eastern Orthodox Hesychasm Javanese mystical movements Judaic Cabbala Mormonism, being founded on visions, revelations, and angelic ordination Mystery religions and cults Native American Ghost Dances of the late Nineteenth Century were mystical in origin The New Age movement Near Death Experiences Quaker ...
Some definitions of Mysticism explains that Mysticism is about a direct experience with God. True Christianity however is about a direct experience with God and intimacy with the Father, but it has nothing to do with the occult practices as included in the definition of “Global Oneness” to form part of mysticism. Their spiritual experiences is with the occult, it is not with the Holy God of Israel, it is not with the biblical Jesus and it is not within the Kingdom of light, but within darkness, celebrating the Illuminism of Lucifer (which he had) and being one with darkness, in terrible deception, not being one with God. God is Holy. In Him there is no darkness! Even if we flap our mortal wings how hard and how desperately, we cannot meet with God without being cleansed by the blood of Jesus, our sins will disqualify us.
A major deception that the enemy wants to bring, is to tell believers that from Judaism developed Christianity and from Christianity developed New Age, just like from Hinduism developed Buddhism, and from Buddhism, developed New Age, and now finally everything is coming together as one, as the world is becoming more Illuminated. That is a lie from the pit of hell!!!!!! God is Holy, and He will never be one with Eastern Religions. He is who He says He is, He is forever the same, He is Holy and spotless and demonic foul forces and occultism will never, never have anything to do with the Holy God of Israel. From this deception developed also the “New Emerging Church” which had fallen for this deception and the onslaughts on the true remnant of God is great in this day. Jesus said, you err, for you know not the Scriptures nor the Power of God. Today many churches and many Christians fall into huge error, into the broad way, a way directed to hell and it’s forces! Now is a time like never before to test everything against the Scriptures, and to hang on to Truth, to love Truth, and to trust God to keep us safe from wolves in sheep clothes.
Valentinus, a father in the Gnostic movement, taught that both body and soul are part of the corrupt creation and that redemption is only for the spirit or inner man. It is said that his view of personal redemption has more in common with Hinduism and Buddhism than with orthodox Christianity. "To the Gnostics, Jesus is significant only because of the knowledge he possessed and the example that he set, not for being God in the flesh or for being a sacrifice for sin”

The Gnostic belief centers on a world of pain, sorrow and death filled with human beings that long to be freed from a material existence. "Deep within each person is a divine spark that connects humanity with the ultimate spiritual being who remains hidden from creation. The only hope for humanity is to acquire the information it needs to perfect itself and evolve out of its current physical state. The Gnostic Jesus descended from the spiritual realm to show the way for the rest of humanity, not to die as an atonement for sin, but to make available information necessary for self-perfection." Just like the Gnostic Jesus, Lorber's Jesus also came to Earth to bring people to the right path, through friendly and loving teachings ("Great gospel of John VII 188:11)

Even though Gnosticism holds up a front of "good" in it's preaching of love and self-development and it's quest for "higher knowledge" it is intricately evil. Gnostic Bishop and also Freemason, Theodor Reuss, together with "Christian mystic" and Freemason Leopold Engel were the very two people who revived the Illuminati in Germany in the 1900's. Engel completed Lorber's "Great Gospel of John", the 11th book.

Gnosticism and True Christianity are totally irreconcilable with one another. The term “Christian Mysticism” is therefore in itself a paradox. “Gnostics did not believe that salvation came as a gift from God the Creator”. Most Gnostics denied that Jesus died. To the Gnostic “gnosis” (knowledge) saves. And this knowledge is considered “knowledge of the self”. Even Paul’s gospel gets distorted and twisted by Gnostics, to confirm to them what they so desperately want to believe. Gnostics will often argue that Paul explains how we are all gods, how Christ is in everybody, and how the knowledge of the true self is all that is required. A knowledge of Christ is not possible however by sidestepping the cross. Paul made it clear in 1 Cor 2:2-5 “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught”
And in 1 Cor 1: 23 “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness: But unto them which are called, but Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men: and the weakness of God is stronger than men”.

1 Cor 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (KJV) “The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise that they are vain” (1 Cor 3:19,20). Romans 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord?” None, till He choose to unfold it! We are as we see in Romans 11:25 ignorant of God’s secrets: and we have no means, except He please to tell us, of discovering His mind. As per William R. Newell “God declares that in His sight the nations are “accounted as the small dust of the balance”, and that “the rulers of this age are coming to nothing” (Isa 40:15, 1 Cor 2:6)

Mysticism is described as follows by “Omnipelagos.com” :
“The purpose of mysticism and mystical disciplines such as meditation and the psycanic discretion processes is to a reach of state of return or reintegration to the One, to the Intelligent Life Love Energy Being that is both Creator and Created, and the only thing that exists. A primary datum of the mystic is that fundamentally he and all that exists are One. The purpose of mystical practices is to achieve, to make real, that oneness in experience, to transcend limited identity and re-identify with the all that is. (This state was remarked by Christ when he said. "The Father and I are One." It is symbolized in Catholicism by the Eucharist.) The state oneness has many names depending on the mystical system: The Kingdom of Heaven (obviously the place of residence of the deity), the Birth of the Spirit, The Third Awakening, Illumination, Union (Christian mystics), The Totality of Oneself (Carlos Casteneda), Self-Realization, the Reintegration, Nirvana, (Buddhism), Samadhi (Hinduism), the Gnosis (Know ThySelf of the Greeks), to name a few.
The term "mysticism" is often used to refer to beliefs which go beyond the purely esoteric practices of mainstream religions, while still being related to or based in a mainstream religious doctrine. For example, Cabbala is a significant mystical movement within Judaism, Sufism is a significant mystical movement within Islam, however Gnosticism can refer to either a mystical movement within Christianity or as various mystical sects which arose out of Christianity.” Many catholic priests were also considered mystics by Omnipelagos.com.
This teaching of mysticism is in direct contrast with the biblical message of Christianity, sidestepping the cross of Jesus Christ and it’s centrality in God’s plan of redemption of mankind.
William R Newell states: “To know a Bible truth, you have only to read it: to be “persuaded of it in the Lord Jesus” (Romans 8:38) involves the fact, first, that the truth in question touches your own personal safety before God: and second, that your heart has so been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and your will so won over – “persuaded” – that confidence, heart-satisfied persuasion results”

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