Any one got any information about Simon Magus(New Testament)?

Question

I want info about other "holy men" who existed at the time of Jesus Christ,or just after His time.Can you help me?Was Simon Magus the only guy like this?What were the names of the others?Where is the evidence on these guys?...Anyone else seen the National Geo documentary about Magus?

Answer 1

There were many other guys as well as Simon Magus.
For the names of the others see below.
Unfortunately a lot of evidence was destroyed by the Roman Catholic Church in one of historys biggest cover ups.

And yes, I have seen the documentary Rivals of Jesus on the National Geographic Channel about Simon Magus among others. Absolutely riveting. Also of interest are The Secret Bible, and the Gospel of Judas.

The History Channel had a documentary called Banned From The Bible on DVD.

Also look at the Wikipedia entries on Simon Magus, Apollonius of Tyana, Mandaeans followers of John The Baptist who claimed he was the Messiah, Manicheanism followers of Maniche another strong competitor to Christianity.

Here is some Historical Background:

During the period 30 CE to 313 CE, Christians lived in a predominately Pagan world. There was a mosaic of Pagan religions in the Roman Empire:

- The long established, Official religion of the Roman Empire was Pagan. It involved worship of a pantheon of Roman deities, both Gods and Goddesses, including Sun worshippers;
- A strong competitor to Christianity in those days was a third religion: Mithraism. This faith involved the worship of a Persian God Mithra, and was popular among the Roman civil service and military;
- Manicheanism another strong competitor to Christianity;
- John The Baptist - Mandaeans followers of John The Baptist claimed he was the Messiah;
- Simon Magus see Rivals of Jesus;
- Apollonius of Tyana see Rivals of Jesus;
- There were many other religions, including the Pagan religions of Greece and Egypt, and the mystery religions.

Many of these rivals were seen off. For example Christianity was clever enough to incorporate John The Baptist and absorbed most of his followers.

After Christianity was legalised and became the official religion of the Roman Empire, Christianity became a state institution and a tool of authority for the first time in its history.

The Roman Catholic Church suppressed and destroyed - in one of historys biggest ever cover ups - many of the original and true doctrines and beliefs of early Christianity because they did not agree with the state policies of the Roman Empire. They were considered too libertarian, subversive and feminist. These included the:

- GNOSTIC Gospels and Scriptures - "belief by knowledge" as opposed to "belief by faith";
- the Gospel of Mary Magadalene;
- Gospel of Judas;
- Gospel of Thomas;
- the Essenes - see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

What happened?:

- Some of them were destroyed, and burned;
- Some of them are (probably) hidden in the Vatican archives;
- Some of them were hidden by their followers. And only now are we discovering those books that survived since being hidden over 1,600 to 2,000 years ago, such as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and The Dead Sea Scrolls.

Interestingly the fate of the Gospel of Mary Magadalene (and the status of Women) was decided by a Council of Bishops composed entirely of MEN, mainly Roman and Greek, under the direction of the Roman Emperor. This decision denied that a woman could be a Disciple, so relegating and suppressing women in society for 1,600 years.

Only today is the rightful place of women in Christianity being restored by the Protestant movement.

Good Luck in your search for truth and wisdom.

Learning without Thinking is Labour Lost;
Thinking without Learning is Perilous.
-- Kung Fu Tze (Confucius)

An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere. -- Dr Samuel Johnson

Integrity without Knowledge is Weak and Useless,
and Knowledge Without Integrity is Dangerous and Dreadful.
-- Dr Samuel Johnson, English author, poet, critic & lexicographer (1709-1784)

In order that all men may be taught to speak Truth,
it is necessary that all men should learn to hear it.
-- Dr Samuel Johnson

Answer 2

Simon Magus, also known as Simon the Sorcerer and Simon of Gitta, is the name used by the ancient Christian Orthodoxy to refer to a person identified as a Samaritan proto-Gnostic. The name was also used genericly by ancient Christian Orthodoxy, to refer to a person who founded his own religious sect.

Christian legends

The figure appeared prominently in several highly legendary apocryphal accounts by early Christian authors, who regarded him as the first heretic. He appears in the Book of Acts 8:9-24, where he tries to offer money to the Apostles in exchange for miraculous abilities, specifically the power of Laying on of hands. The sin of simony, or paying for position and influence in the church, is named for Simon. The Apostolic Constitutions, verse 6.19, accuse him of antinomianism.

According to reports by ancient Christian Orthodoxy, the Gnostic sect of Simonianism believed that Simon Magus was God in human form. Almost all of the surviving sources for the life and thought of Simon Magus are contained in works from the ancient Christian Orthodoxy: in the Acts of the Apostles], in patristic works (Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus) and in the apocryphal Acts of Peter, and the early Clementine literature.

There are small fragments of a work written by him (or by one of his later followers using his name), the Apophasis Megale, or Great Pronouncement. He is also supposed to have written several treatises, two of which allegedly bear the titles The Four Quarters of the World and The Sermons of the Refuter, but are lost to us. Simon is specifically said to have possessed the ability to levitate and fly at will. There were accusations that he was a demon in human form, with the story of Simon the wizard as the cultural equivalent of Merlin during the Middle Ages.

The apocryphal Acts of Peter gives a legendary tale of Simon Magus' death. Simon is performing magic in the forum, and in order to prove himself to be a god, he flies up into the air. The apostle Peter pray to God to stop his flying, and he stops mid-air and falls, breaking his legs, whereupon the crowd, previously non-hostile, stone him to death. The church of Santa Francesca Romana claims to have been built on the spot in question (thus claiming that Simon Magus could indeed fly), claims that Saint Paul was also present, and that a dented slab of marble that it contains bears the imprints of the knees of Peter and Paul during their prayer.

More Reference

Simon Magus - The Invisible Basilica
Simon Magus - Wikipedia
Simon Magus - Jewish encyclopedia

Answer 3

NO.

By the way Jesus was and is God.
Not only Holy.

Answer 4

Go ask your Vicar. See if he knows.

Answer 5

Try this site, it might be helpful

http://www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/gnosis/simon.html

Answer 6

never heard of. www.wilipedia.org