Böcker av Joseph Lumpkin

Gnosticism is a diverse and complex religious and philosophical movement that emerged in the early centuries of the Common Era, primarily in the Mediterranean world. The term "Gnosticism" is derived from the Greek word "gnosis," which means knowledge or insight. Gnosticism is characterized by its emphasis on esoteric knowledge or mystical wisdom as the path to salvation and understanding the divine. In this volume, we will take you from the story of creation, through to doors of Gnosis and salvation, and into a vision of the apocalypse, according to various Gnostic schools.The roots of Gnosticism may pre-date Christianity. Similarities exist between Gnosticism and the wisdom and mystery cults found in Egypt and Greece. Gnosticism contains the basic terms and motifs of Plato's cosmology as well as the mystical qualities of Buddhism. Plato was steeped in Greek mythology, and the Gnostic creation myth has elements owing to this. Both cosmology and mysticism within Gnosticism present an interpretation of Christ's existence and teachings, thus, Gnostics are considered to be a Christian sect. Gnostic followers are urged to look within themselves for the truth and the Christ spirit hidden, asleep in their souls. The battle cry can be summed up in the words of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, verse 3: Jesus said: If those who lead you say to you: Look, the Kingdom is in the sky, then the birds of the sky would enter before you. If they say to you: It is in the sea, then the fish of the sea would enter ahead of you. But the Kingdom of God exists within you and it exists outside of you. Those who come to know (recognize) themselves will find it, and when you come to know yourselves you will become known and you will realize that you are the children of the Living Father. Yet if you do not come to know yourselves then you will dwell in poverty, and it will be you who are that poverty.

OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS- 1. Genesis - 2. Exodus - 3. Leviticus - 4. Numbers - 5. Deuteronomy - 6. Joshua - 7. Judges - 8. Ruth - 9. 1 Samuel - 10. 2 Samuel - 11. 1 Kings - 12. 2 Kings - 13. 1 Chronicles - 14. 2 Chronicles - 15. Ezra - 16. Nehemiah - 17. Esther - 18. Job - 19. Psalms and 151, 151.1 - 20. Proverbs - 21. Ecclesiastes - 22. Song of Songs- 23. Isaiah - 24. Jeremiah - 25. Lamentations - 26. Ezekiel - 27. Daniel - 28. Hosea - 29. Joel - 30. Amos - 31. Obadiah - 32. Jonah - 33. Micah - 34. Nahum - 35. Habakkuk - 36. Zephaniah - 37. Haggai - 38. Zechariah - 40. Malachi - NEW TESTAMENT- 1. Matthew - 2. Mark - 3. Luke - 4. John - 5. Acts - Including Chapter 29 - 6. Romans - 7. I Corinthians - 8. II Corinthians - 9. Galatians - 10. Ephesians - 11. Philippians - 12. Colossians - 13. I Thessalonians - 14. II Thessalonians - 15. I Timothy - 16. II Timothy - 17. Titus - 18. Philemon - 19. Hebrews - 20. James - 21. I Peter - 22. II Peter - 23. I John - 24. II John - 25. III John - 26. Jude - 27. Revelation - Additional Books of the NEW TESTAMENT- Epistle to the Laodiceans - Acts of Paul and Thecla - III Corinthians - APOCRYPHA - 1. 1 Esdras - 2. 2 Esdras - 3. 1 Maccabees - 4. 2 Maccabees - 5. 3 Maccabees - 6. 4 Maccabees - 7. Letter (Epistle) of Jeremiah - 8. The Prayer of Azariah - Song of the Three Children - 9. Baruch - 10. Prayer of Manasseh (Manassas) - 11. Bel and the Dragon - 12. Wisdom of Sirach - 13. Wisdom of Solomon - 14. Additions to Esther - 15. Tobit - 16. Judith - 17. Susanna - 18. Enoch - 19. Jubilees - 20. 1 Clement - 21. The Ascension of Isaiah - 22. Shepherd of Hermas - 23. The Didache - 24. Apocalypse of Baruch - 25. Josephus' Jewish War VI - 26. 4 Baruch -

Through thousands of years of interpreting the Bible through the lens of changing languages and societies, and varying regard to females and feminine qualities, the concept of God has become more and more male to the exclusion of God''s female side of wisdom, mercy, grace, and nurture. Let us attempt to rediscover the truth and expand our understanding of the complete and perfect God. If God is our creator and we were made in the image of God, then God is both our father and our mother, with a prefect and complete balance of attributes.The search for the Sacred Feminine is the search taking place within each of us. It is a search for the recognition, integration, and balance of our masculine and feminine attributes. The individual need to find and integrate these energies is reflected in our evolving society and theologies. After thousands of years of distortion, it is now time to look at both sides of God.

Evil walked the earth when angels fell. Evil stalks us now in disembodied spirits; immortal wraiths once clothed in flesh when angel and women bred; spirits released from their fleshly prisons when their bodies were destroyed for drinking the blood of men. Evil also lives inside of the common man; set free when pride kills reason and eats integrity whole. There is evil that entraps us and evil that tugs from within. But neither have control until we choose to relent. Evil is a choice of action, of thoughts entertained too long, of arrogance pushing aside the last vestiges of compassion. Evil resides within the problem of choice.What is evil? Could it be as simple as pernicious selfishness? Could it be the drive for immediate gratification without regard for others? Man's life is limited; one hundred years or less. But, the souls of angel and watcher are eternal. Consider how much evil can be wrought through the millennia of immediate gratification on an eternal scale. By contrasting and comparing ancient texts such as Enoch, Jasher, Jubilees, the Bible, and various others containing stories of the creation of angels, demons, and man, a full and panoramic history of evil is produced. In this history the startling revelation of the descent of man and angels, and the evolution of evil on earth is clearly revealed.

Sophia spoke: "I entered into the midst of the cage which is the prison of the body. And I spoke saying: 'He who hears, let him awake from his deep sleep.' Then Adam wept and shed tears. After he wiped away his bitter tears he asked: 'Who called my name, and from where has this hope arose in me even while I am in the chains of this prison?' And I (Sophia) answered: 'I am the one who carries the pure light; I am the thought of the undefiled spirit. Arise, remember, and follow your origin, which is I, and beware of the deep sleep.'" Sophia would come to be considered a force or conduit of the Holy Spirit, in part due to the fact that the Holy Spirit was also considered a feminine and creative force from the Supreme God. The Gospel of Philip echoes this theology in verse six as follows: In the days when we were Hebrews we were made orphans, having only our Mother. Yet when we believed in the Messiah (and became the ones of Christ), the Mother and Father both came to us. Gospel of Philip. As the emerging orthodox church became more and more oppressive to women, later even labeling them "occasions of sin," the Gnostics countered by raising women to equal status with men, saying Sophia was, in a sense, the handmaiden or wife of the Supreme God, making the soul of Adam her spiritual offspring. Jesus said: If those who lead you say to you: Look, the Kingdom is in the sky, then the birds of the sky would enter before you. If they say to you: It is in the sea, then the fish of the sea would enter ahead you. But the Kingdom of God exists within you and it exists outside of you. Those who come to know (recognize) themselves will find it, and when you come to know yourselves you will become known and you will realize that you are the children of the Living Father. Yet if you do not come to know yourselves then you will dwell in poverty and it will be you who are that poverty.

It is because of the Eastern tone of Thomas, the Gnostic theology embedded in Thomas, and the possible Pre-Christian influence of the text that makes it so compatible with the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching, so as to make one a fascinating supplement to the other. Both advance inner and intuitive knowledge above all. Both allude to the way to acquire this knowledge through an unwavering search within oneself. Since the deeper meanings of both Thomas and the Tao Te Ching are both direct and indirect, it is hoped that each time they are read some new insight and treasure can be taken from them.