According to Rumi, one's words should pass through three gates: 1. Is it true? 2. Is it necessary? 3. Is it kind?
This is a series on the relationship between Greek philosophy and gnostic literature. To start with the first post, please go here. Here are my concluding thoughts on the extent to which Platonism influenced gnosticism and, secondarily, whether Judaism is actually the more likely origin. Famed Jewish historian Gershom Scholem argued for a link between early... Continue Reading →
This is a series on the relationship between Greek philosophy and gnostic literature. To start with the first post, please go here. This post looks at Plato, Middle Platonism and the influence of other Greek philosophies on Middle Platonism regarding negative theology and the concept of an ineffable deity, drawing largely from Deirdre Carabine's book on... Continue Reading →
In the previous post, I provided an overview of this series, in which I will look at Platonic thought, Philo of Alexandria and the gnostic text Apocryphon of John in order to argue that gnostic thought, although it may have utilized philosophical terms to explain its concepts, was not a philosophical system based on Greek philosophy. In this... Continue Reading →
Let me tell you then why the creator made this world of generation. He was good, and the good can never have any jealousy of anything. And being free from jealousy, he desired that all things should be as like himself as they could be. This is in the truest sense the origin of creation... Continue Reading →
Could it be that any Creator worth existing must be beyond human understanding, so that religion is actually a human construct? Perhaps speculating on human behavior in regards to religious habits should be no different than studying any other type of human behavior, because if God is behind it at all, God is behind it... Continue Reading →
The following suffers from parameters of subject, style and brevity (plus the general fumbling around in the dark that is the learning experience). It connects the "sons of God" from Genesis 6 who had some mysterious relationship with the "daughters of men" to interesting apocryphal literature, including the books about Enoch. This paper explores relationships... Continue Reading →
Yael, the murderer of Sisera, military leader of the Canaanite chariots, is a controversial character in the history of Biblical commentary, and for good reason. Within the traditionally male-dominated canon, most examination of Yael's character has not been kind. She is typically portrayed as either a victim who preemptively committed murder to save herself, or... Continue Reading →
Pass Three Gates 