Have you ever read any of the gnostic gospels?Do you think they are real?Do you live by them?

Answer 1

Yes, I've read them. The most important thing about the Gnostic Scrolls is they managed to keep some books banned by the early Christian church, like the true gospel of Mary Magdaline and Thomas. Those reveal some fascinating things about Christ that were covered up by the Council of Nicosea, when they altered the Christian Myth to suit their own needs.

Answer 2

I have read many of them for my Religious Studies degree. Many scholars believe that The Gospel of Thomas may have been written as early as 40 or 50 CE, which would be contemporary with a few of the gospels in the New Testament, like Mark and Luke. What is interesting about Thomas is that if it is that early then these Jesus sayings could be the real deal.

The Gnostic texts can be hard to understand and give a wide variety of Christian understandings of theology. I find them fascinating. It is a good reminder that the Christianity we know today was very diverse in the ancient period and there were many different Christian sects who maybe followed one or two gospels and not the whole of the New Testament like we do today.

They circulated just like the various books in the New Testament did. Some groups followed The Gospel of Matthew, some The Gospel of Truth, etc. The New Testament as we know it was not formed over night. It took hundreds of years to take the form we have it in now. I think the first time the books of the NT were talked of together was in like 125 CE or something. So they are as real as any book in the NT, just for various reasons church fathers didn't include them in the final make up.

I think there are alot of ideas in the Gnostic texts people can apply to their lives today. But when reading them, it is important to know something of the Greco-Roman culture in which they were written.

Answer 3

None of the Gnostic so called Gospels can be dated as early as the true Gospels,so no I treat them as false,funny this, I have seen Atheists on here arguing that the Gnostic writings are preferable to the Apostolic Gospels,what hypocrisy indeed.

Answer 4

I have read several of them. Some of them seem logical and agree with things I had thought about long ago. Some of them are really weird and remind me of the Bhagavadgita. As far as living by them, there is not a whole lot of instruction in the ones I have read as far as "Thou shalt not", etc. The main point seems to be that the religious setup that is predominant in the world right now does not have anything to do with the real supreme being of the universe. Jesus says he is supreme and has no need to be worshipped. The other point is that all of us are part of the supreme being and anything you do to someone else you are doing to yourself. I do try to operate on this principle - would I want what I am doing to be done to me? And "Be still and know that I am God" does not mean that only Jesus is God, but that we all are.

Answer 5

I actually have a replica of the Nag Hammadi at residing house, and a separate version of the Gospel of Thomas. there's a reliable reason those issues weren't lined and one can't say without some verification that they are the astonishing ones and the Bible is incorrect. they provide an exciting perception into the offshoot sects of early Christianity, nonetheless.

Answer 6

Yes I have read the whole Bible. I think it is the Word of God and the Gospels are real. I do try to live by them but the standard is very high (and not possible) - good thing God accepts us for who we are.

Answer 7

I've read all of the extant Gospels.

One of the fastest ways to learn what the various factions of early Christianity were really up to.

And fabricating Holy Books, including the canonized Gospels, was a major industry.

Christianity seems to be entirely faked, from the Gospels to the Shroud of Turin, etc. It's just on long series of lies and poor quality fakes.

Answer 8

Yes, I'm Gnostic. The Atheists are right about us because they have brains and they know how to use them. The Gnostic Gospels are truly legitimate despite what these fear-mongors may say against it. As for the Bible, there are writings from only 4 of the disciples who actually knew Jesus. The rest of the books were written by Apostles who were not even born around the time Jesus lived.

Take the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are the four who actually lived among Jesus and fished with Him, ate with Him, etc. The Gnostic Gospels are legitmate and are written by these four and others who knew Jesus when He lived.

This same Mark whose book is in the Bible also wrote:
The Secret Gospel of Mark
http://www.gnosis.org/library/secm.htm

And what about this same John whose books are also in the Bible including the Book of Revelation. This same John also wrote: The Apocryphon of John
(The Secret Book of John - The Secret Revelation of John)
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/apocjn.html
The Acts of John
http://www.gnosis.org/library/actjohn.htm
The Hymn of Jesus and The Mystery of the Cross
from The Acts of John
http://www.gnosis.org/library/hymnjesu.html

And what about Peter as in "Keys to the Kingdom" Peter. Peter also knew Jesus and wrote two books in the Bible called 1 Peter and 2 Peter. This same Peter also wrote these Gnostic Gospels: The Apocalypse of Peter
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/apopet.html
The Letter of Peter to Philip
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/letpet.html
The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/actp.html

What about Philip? His book wasn't in the Bible yet, he knew Jesus and is the author of this Gospel:
The Gospel of Philip
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gop.html

What about Thomas? He was the same "Doubting Thomas" who placed his hand in Jesus' wound on His side after Jesus rose on the third day. This same Thomas wrote:
The Gospel of Thomas
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html
The Acts of Thomas
http://www.gnosis.org/library/actthom.htm
The Hymn of the Pearl - The Acts of Thomas
http://www.gnosis.org/library/hymnpearl.htm
The Book of Thomas the Contender
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/bookt.html
APOCALYPSE OF THOMAS
http://www.gnosis.org/library/apcthom.htm
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas - Greek Text A
http://www.gnosis.org/library/inftoma.htm
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas - Greek Text B
http://www.gnosis.org/library/inftomb.htm
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas - Latin Text
http://www.gnosis.org/library/inftoml.htm
The first Gospel of the INFANCY of JESUS CHRIST
http://www.gnosis.org/library/infgos1.htm

What about the Apostle Paul? He wrote books in the Bible called: Romans; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; 1 Thessalonians;
2 Thessalonians; 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy; Titus; and so on and so forth. This is the same Apostle Paul who wrote these Gnostic Gospels: The Prayer of the Apostle Paul
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/prayp.html
The Apocalypse of Paul
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/ascp.html

James was also a disciple of Jesus. He is referred to as St. James the Just and his book is in the Bible and it is called: James. He also wrote these Gospels:
The Apocryphon of James
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/jam.html
The (First) Apocalypse of James
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/1ja.html
The (Second) Apocalypse of James
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/2ja.html

And finally, a Gospel written by Mary Magdalene called:
The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene
http://www.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm

After all of this, anyone who still does not believe is a stubborn, bull-headed, mindless drone who lives in denial of the truth. Even Orthodox Christians and some Protestant religions acknowledge that at least some of it is true.

Answer 9

the early church were able to seperate fact from fiction..
eg. in (i think) the gospel of thomas, it says that jesus - when he was a small boy, turned clay into a butterfly, but jesus didnt perform his first miracle 'till he was 30 and starting his ministry
also judas so called gospel was actually written in the second century bc by the cainnites( decendants of cain) in the hope of rubbishing scripture.

Answer 10

I've read all the Nag-Hammadi texts, Dead Sea Scrolls, and many others. They are just as fanciful and as silly as the so called canonical documents.