sheep

exactly. so "minor" conflicts today should be included.
its just there's so many passages about the persecution of jews and i think the holocaust deserves being mentioned. but lets not go there. its not my place to decide what goes in the bible and what goes out. its the Council of Nicea's.


oh, and h2g2 isnt really BBC. its just one of the forum/communities that BBC happens to manage.

cydonia

This is kind of a memory lane for me. I used to read nothing but this sort of thing, I'm afraid I'm a bit rusty on it now. But if this interests you, you may like this book, or can probably get passages from it online, The Gnostic Gospels.

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels

from the amazon "blurb":
Gnosticism's Christian form grew to prominence in the 2nd century A.D. Ultimately denounced as heretical by the early church, Gnosticism proposed a revealed knowledge of God ("gnosis" meaning "knowledge" in Greek), held as a secret tradition of the apostles. In The Gnostic Gospels, author Elaine Pagels suggests that Christianity could have developed quite differently if Gnostic texts had become part of the Christian canon. Without a doubt: Gnosticism celebrates God as both Mother and Father, shows a very human Jesus's relationship to Mary Magdalene, suggests the Resurrection is better understood symbolically, and speaks to self-knowledge as the route to union with God. Pagels argues that Christian orthodoxy grew out of the political considerations of the day, serving to legitimize and consolidate early church leadership. Her contrast of that developing orthodoxy with Gnostic teachings presents an intriguing trajectory on a world faith as it "might have become." The Gnostic Gospels provides engaging reading for those seeking a broader perspective on the early development of Christianity. --F. H

cydonia

I still do this and am pretty much deconverted at this point. I see every bad thing that happens on a global scale, and my immediate reaction is, " Jesus is coming back."

sheep

thanks. this is definately going in my list of must reads. it does bother me that everyone - all the disciples, and jesus, are "perfect" in that they arent humans drawn by human temptations. well, they are but not as much. This whole chapter of human pleasure is missing and methinks all good literature should ahve something about tthat.

cydonia

I remember reading this book, and couldn't believe what I was reading. That Christianity could have started in this enlightened, basically secular way. It's so against everything I was raised to believe about Christianity. There is a reason the Gnostic texts are not taken seriously by Christians, becasue it threatens what they believe.

Anyway if you keep studying this stuff you are probably going to hear about the Gospel of Thomas, so here it is...

http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html

Damn, I'm starting to get the bug again. This stuff is really fascinating to me.

Iasion

Greetings all,

A brief note to cydonia and sheep -

The Council of Nicea had nothing to do with the books of the Bible.

It's an urban myth.

If you read the Canons, the Synodal Letter, and the Creed; as well as the reports of those who attended or described the council - nothing can be found that mentions the books of the bible.


Iasion

nygreenguy

The bible is a lesson book, and the lesson has been explained. How many different versions of algebra can their be! But since God is now dormant, and his message is OUT, there is no need for updates.

Someone mentioned the Qu'Ran and the Book of Mormon, well, yes, those are updated, but not accepted by any of the previous religions. (Judaism, Christianity) even though THEY accept the Bible. (more or less)

cydonia

Do you know where this myth originated?
And a follow up, if it wasn't the Council, then why were these gnostic texts left out?

FarmMama

This is more suited to BC&H

Julian

Actually, the formation of the canon is rather complicated. Start here: http://www.infidels.org/library/mode...r/NTcanon.html

As for book in and out of the bible, start clicking around here: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/

Julian