Son of Man. The Mystical Path to Christ. Andrew Harvey

Son of Man. The Mystical Path to Christ. Andrew Harvey

 I'm enjoying "Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ" by Andrew Harvey.

"Galvanizing, beautifully written . . . a powerful expression of faith in the transforming power of Christ's love."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)Son of Man is Andrew Harvey's most basic statement on Christ, and it has already become a treasured work to readers interested in Christian mysticism. For the first time in any of his books, Harvey provides spiritual exercises--centuries-old rites previously available only to a few--that allow the reader direct experience with the mystical Christ. Son of Man also includes an easily accessible section of classic readings and meditations on the nature of Christ, making it the comprehensive experience in the Christ of the new millennium.

https://amzn.to/4hye7rX

 

The Holy Eucharist with the Madonna, Archangel Michael and Saint Padre Pio. by Travis Simpkins

The Holy Eucharist with the Madonna, Archangel Michael and Saint Padre Pio. by Travis Simpkins

The Holy Eucharist 

with the Madonna, Archangel Michael 

and Saint Padre Pio

by Travis Simpkins

Roman Catholic Diocese of Campo Limpo

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Invoking Mary Magdalene. Accessing the Wisdom of the Divine Feminine. Siobhan Houston

Invoking Mary Magdalene. Accessing the Wisdom of the Divine Feminine. Siobhan Houston

 I'm enjoying "Invoking Mary Magdalene: Accessing the Wisdom of the Divine Feminine" by Siobhan Houston.

Recent discoveries of sacred texts such as the Gospel of Mary of Magdala and the Gospel of Thomas tell us that Mary Magdalene was independent, insightful, and courageous—a woman so inspirational that her voice can still be heard across the ages.

In Invoking Mary Magdalene, religious scholar Siobhán Houston invites you to develop your own personal relationship with one of Jesus' closest disciples, as she instructs you in a daily devotional practice of prayers, meditations, and visualizations from around the world.

With the exercises in this book and on the accompanying CD, Houston offers step-by-step guidance for accessing the wisdom of the Divine Feminine that Mary Magdalene represents, as you explore:Novenas, rosaries, and seasonal rituals from the Gnostic, Kabbalistic, and Grail traditions
How to connect to Mary Magdalene in her Dark Goddess aspect to unleash your own fierce power—the energy that turns fear and illusion into healing and renewal
Reveling in bliss: realizing a euphoric adoration of the Divine that eclipses all earthly concerns, and much more


Whether you're discovering Mary Magdalene for the first time or have long felt an unquenchable desire to experience the presence of the beloved luminary, with Invoking Mary Magdalene, you will come to share Mary Magdalene's gnosis—her indwelling knowledge of the sacred—and witness the blessings of the one who has been called "the woman who knew the All".

https://amzn.to/3MvZE21 

 

Karen L. King. Professor of Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Divinity School. by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King. Professor of Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Divinity School. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Karen L. King, Ph.D.

Author & Scholar

Professor of Ecclesiastical History

Harvard Divinity School

Cambridge, Massachusetts

by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King - "Jesus said to them, my wife."

For more info, please visit:

harvard.edu/karen-l-king

Karen L. King. Harvard Divinity School. Revelation of the Unknowable God. by Travis Simpkins

Elaine Pagels. Professor of Religion. Princeton University. The Gnostic Gospels. by Travis Simpkins

Elaine Pagels. Professor of Religion. Princeton University. The Gnostic Gospels. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Elaine Pagels, Ph.D.

Author of "The Gnostic Gospels"

Harrington Spear Paine Foundation

Professor of Religion

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

by Travis Simpkins

Elaine Pagels - Price Lecture. Trinity Church, Boston

For more info, please visit:

religion.princeton.edu/elaine-pagels

Elaine Pagels. Princeton University. Adam, Eve and the Serpent. by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King. Professor of Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Divinity School. by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King. Professor of Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Divinity School. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Karen L. King, Ph.D.

Author & Scholar

Professor of Ecclesiastical History

Harvard Divinity School

Cambridge, Massachusetts

by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King - "Jesus said to them, my wife."

For more info, please visit:

harvard.edu/karen-l-king

Karen L. King. Harvard Divinity School. The Gospel of Mary of Magdala. by Travis Simpkins

Elaine Pagels. Professor of Religion. Princeton University. The Gnostic Gospels. by Travis Simpkins

Elaine Pagels. Professor of Religion. Princeton University. The Gnostic Gospels. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Elaine Pagels, Ph.D.

Author of "The Gnostic Gospels"

Harrington Spear Paine Foundation

Professor of Religion

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

by Travis Simpkins

Elaine Pagels - Price Lecture. Trinity Church, Boston

For more info, please visit:

religion.princeton.edu/elaine-pagels

Elaine Pagels. Professor of Religion. Princeton University. Revelations. by Travis Simpkins

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Gnosticism. Divine Feminine. Jean-Yves Leloup

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Gnosticism. Divine Feminine. Jean-Yves Leloup

I've read the text of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene many times, but not this particular translation. I'm interested in reading the commentary.


Restores to the forefront of the Christian tradition the importance of the divine feminine

•The first complete English-language translation of the original Coptic Gospel of Mary, with line-by-line commentary

• Reveals the eminence of the divine feminine in Christian thought

• Offers a new perspective on the life of one of the most controversial figures in the Western spiritual tradition

Perhaps no figure in biblical scholarship has been the subject of more controversy and debate than Mary Magdalene. Also known as Miriam of Magdala, Mary Magdalene was considered by the apostle John to be the founder of Christianity because she was the first witness to the Resurrection. In most theological studies she has been depicted as a reformed prostitute, the redeemed sinner who exemplifies Christ's mercy. Today's reader can ponder her role in the gospels of Philip, Thomas, Peter, and Bartholomew--the collection of what have come to be known as the Gnostic gospels rejected by the early Christian church. Mary's own gospel is among these, but until now it has remained unknown to the public at large.

Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup's translation of the Gospel of Mary from the Coptic and his thorough and profound commentary on this text are presented here for the first time in English. The gospel text and the spiritual exegesis of Leloup together reveal unique teachings that emphasize the eminence of the divine feminine and an abiding love of nature over the dualistic and ascetic interpretations of Christianity presented elsewhere. What emerges from this important source text and commentary is a renewal of the sacred feminine in the Western spiritual tradition and a new vision for Christian thought and faith throughout the world.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered. Robert Eisenman. Michael Wise

The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered. Robert Eisenman. Michael Wise

"The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered" by Robert Eisenman and Michael Wise is concise and insightful.


Two scholars compile and interpret fifty documents that are key and previously inaccessible portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls.


"For the first time the public will be able to see the most interesting and exciting texts from the unpublished corpus and judge for itself. Providing precise English translations and complete transcriptions into modern Hebrew characters, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered makes generally available in a clear and accessible style fifty of the best texts. Accompanied by incisive and readable commentaries aimed at both lay person and scholar alike, these texts provide exciting and ground-breaking insights into Messianism, an alternative presentation of the flood story, ecstatic visions, prophecies, Mysteries, astrology, divination, and much more." "This is nothing less than the literature of the Messianic Movement in Palestine. Responsible for the uprising that led to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, its later stages are virtually indistinguishable from the rise of Christianity in Palestine. Professors Eisenman's and Wise's research will go a long way towards solving the problem of the Scrolls in the context of Jewish history of the period and shed new light on the formation of early Christianity."

Elaine Pagels. Professor of Religion. Princeton University. The Gnostic Gospels. by Travis Simpkins

Elaine Pagels. Professor of Religion. Princeton University. The Gnostic Gospels. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Elaine Pagels, Ph.D.

Author of "The Gnostic Gospels"

Harrington Spear Paine Foundation

Professor of Religion

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

by Travis Simpkins

Elaine Pagels - Price Lecture. Trinity Church, Boston

For more info, please visit:

religion.princeton.edu/elaine-pagels

Elaine Pagels. Princeton University. The Origin of Satan. by Travis Simpkins

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. Elaine Pagels. Sex and Sin. The Holy Bible. Early Christianity

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. Elaine Pagels. Sex and Sin. The Holy Bible. Early Christianity

Elaine Pagels is one of my favorite religion scholars. "Adam, Eve, and the Serpent" is her examination of how the beliefs regarding sex and sin evolved during the early centuries of Christianity.

How did the early Christians come to believe that sex was inherently sinful? When did the Fall of Adam become synonymous with the fall of humanity? What turned Christianity from a dissident sect that championed the integrity of the individual and the idea of free will into the bulwark of a new imperial order—with the central belief that human beings cannot not choose to sin? In this provocative masterpiece of historical scholarship Elaine Pagels re-creates the controversies that racked the early church as it confronted the riddles of sexuality, freedom, and sin as embodied in the story of Genesis. And she shows how what was once heresy came to shape our own attitudes toward the body and the soul.

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Earlier today, my wife and I enjoyed a visit to the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts. Fascinating subject and place...

For more info, please visit:

museumofrussianicons.org

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

Museum of Russian Icons. Clinton, Massachusetts. Russian Orthodox Church

 

Karen L. King. Professor of Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Divinity School. by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King. Professor of Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Divinity School. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Karen L. King, Ph.D.

Author & Scholar

Professor of Ecclesiastical History

Harvard Divinity School

Cambridge, Massachusetts

by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King - "Jesus said to them, my wife."

For more info, please visit:

harvard.edu/karen-l-king

Karen L. King. Harvard Divinity School. Reading Judas. by Travis Simpkins

The Book of Enoch. Apocrypha. The Bible. The Watchers

The Book of Enoch. Apocrypha. The Bible. The Watchers

It has been a while since I last read through "The Book of Enoch." It's a good one to revisit, a fairly short read.


The Bible, as we hold it today, is esteemed by many religious institutions and especially Conservative Christians to be the inspired, inerrant Word of God. This doctrinal position affirms that the Bible is unlike all other books or collections of works in that it is free of error due to having been given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). While no other text can claim this same unique authority, the Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, which played a crucial role in forming the worldview of the authors of the New Testament, who were not only familiar with it but quoted it in the New Testament, Epistle of Jude, Jude 1:14 15, and is attributed there to "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" (1 En 60:8). The text was also utilized by the community that originally collected and studied the Dead Sea Scrolls. While some churches today include Enoch as part of the biblical canon (for example the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church), other Christian denominations and scholars accept it only as having historical or theological non-canonical interest and frequently use or assigned it as supplemental materials within academic settings to help students and scholars discover or better understand cultural and historical context of the early Christian Church. The Book of Enoch provides commentators valuable insight into what many ancient Jews and early Christians believed when, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets (Heb. 1:1). As Dr. Michael S. Heiser in the Introduction to his important book Reversing Hermon so powerfully notes: For those to whom 1 Enoch sounds unfamiliar, this is the ancient apocalyptic literary work known popularly (but imprecisely) as the Book of Enoch. Most scholars believe that 1 Enoch was originally written in Aramaic perhaps as early as the 3rd century B.C. The oldest fragments of the book were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls and dated to roughly the second century B.C. This places the book squarely in the middle of what scholars call the Second Temple Period (ca. 500 B.C. 70 A.D.), an era more commonly referred to as the Intertestamental Period. This book will use the more academic designation ( Second Temple Period ) [...] The Watcher story of 1 Enoch, as many readers will recall, is an expansion of the episode described in Genesis 6:1-4, where the sons of God (Hebrew: beney ha- elohim) came in to the daughters of man (Gen 6:4; ESV). Consequently, Watchers is the Enochian term of choice (among others) for the divine sons of God. While the story of this supernatural rebellion occupies scant space in Genesis, it received considerable attention during the Second Temple Period [...] The Enochian version of the events of Gen 6:1-4 preserves and transmits the original Mesopotamian context for the first four verses of the flood account. Every element of Gen 6:1-4 has a Mesopotamian counterpoint a theological target that provides the rationale for why these four verses wound up in the inspired text in the first place. Connections to that backstory can be found in the Old Testament, but they are scattered and unsystematically presented. This is not the case with Second Temple Jewish literature like 1 Enoch. Books like 1 Enoch preserve all of the Mesopotamian touchpoints with Gen 6:1-4 when presenting their expanded retelling of the events of that biblical passage. The Book of Enoch is therefore intended to be an important supplemental resource for assisting serious researchers and students in the study of the Bible.

Reza Aslan, Author of "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." by Travis Simpkins

Reza Aslan. Author. Scholar of Religions. University of California. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Reza Aslan, PhD

Author and Scholar of Religions

Professor of Creative Writing

University of California, Riverside

Member of the

American Academy of Religion

by Travis Simpkins

Reza Aslan - Does Islam Promote Violence?

For more info, please visit:

rezaaslan.com

Reza Aslan. by Travis Simpkins. Zealot: Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Karen L. King. Professor of Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Divinity School. by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King. Professor of Ecclesiastical History. Harvard Divinity School. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Karen L. King, Ph.D.

Author & Scholar

Professor of Ecclesiastical History

Harvard Divinity School

Cambridge, Massachusetts

by Travis Simpkins

Karen L. King - "Jesus said to them, my wife."

For more info, please visit:

harvard.edu/karen-l-king

Karen L. King. Harvard Divinity School. What Is Gnosticism? by Travis Simpkins

The Holy Eucharist with the Madonna, Archangel Michael and Saint Padre Pio. by Travis Simpkins

The Holy Eucharist with the Madonna, Archangel Michael and Saint Padre Pio. by Travis Simpkins

The Holy Eucharist 

with the Madonna, Archangel Michael 

and Saint Padre Pio

by Travis Simpkins

Roman Catholic Diocese of Campo Limpo

Sao Paulo, Brazil

The Secret Teachings of Jesus. Four Gnostic Gospels. Translated by Marvin Meyer

The Secret Teachings of Jesus. Four Gnostic Gospels. Translated by Marvin Meyer

It feels like a Gnostic kind of evening...
This little book, translated by Marvin Meyer, contains the Secret Book of James, the Gospel of Thomas, the Book of Thomas and the Secret Book of John.


In December 1945, two Egyptian fellahin, digging for natural fertilizer in the Nile River valley unearthed a sealed storage jar. The jar proved to hold treasure of an unexpected sort: a collection of some fifty-two ancient manuscripts, most of which reflect the teachings of a mystical religious movement we call Gnosticism (from the Greek word gnosis, "knowledge"). The texts are also, with few exceptions, Christian documents, and thus they provide us with valuable new information about the character of the early church, and about the Gnostic Christians within the church.

In this volume, Marvin W. Meyer has produced a new English translation for general readers of four of the most important and revealing of these early Christian texts -- the Secret Book of James, the Gospel of Thomas, the Book of Thomas, and the Secret Book of John.

The Gospels of Mary. The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene the Companion of Jesus. Marvin Meyer

The Gospels of Mary. The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene the Companion of Jesus. Marvin Meyer

I'm enjoying this little book by Marvin Meyer (who passed away about 10 or so years ago). He is one of my favorites among Religion scholars. Note that Gospels is plural in the title. This book is a convenient compilation of all the snippets in ancient texts, both Gospels and Apocrypha, which relate directly to Mary Magdalene. All in all the earliest references to her total about 40 to 50 pages of material. That's it.

There is an actual Gospel of Mary Magdalene dating to the 1st or 2nd Century. It is very fragmentary, with pages missing from the beginning and the end as well as a lost chunk in the middle. It well worth a read, very esoteric, speaking of the inner self and the ascension of the soul. Parts of it are included here, but the complete text has been translated and published elsewhere several times.


Mary Magdalene, Jesus's Closest Disciple
Marvin Meyer, one of the foremost scholars of the Gnostic Gospels:

-translates and introduces the Gnostic and New Testament texts that together reveal the story and importance of Mary Magdalene

-includes new translations of the Gospels of Mary, Thomas, Philip, and related texts about Mary Magdalene

-discloses, with Esther A. De Boer, the long-suppressed story of Mary's vital role in the life of Jesus and in the formative period after his crucifixion
presents as authentically as possible the real Mary Magdalene

Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou. Scholar of the Bible and Ancient Religion. by Travis Simpkins

Francesca Stavrakopoulou. Scholar of Ancient Religions. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou

Professor of Hebrew Bible

and Ancient Religion

Department of Theology

University of Exeter

United Kingdom

by Travis Simpkins

Francesca Stavrakopoulou - History and The Bible

For more info, please visit:

exeter.uk/theology/stavrakopoulou

Francesca Stavrakopoulou. Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel. by Travis Simpkins