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Pastor Anthony did a Bible Study on the “gospel of Judas” on April 23. For those who were unable to attend ,we share the following written by Pastor Carl Noble, Zion, Arcadia, for their May Newsletter.
On Easter Sunday a member of our church asked me about the recent story about the “gospel of Judas.” His questions about this “gospel of Judas” are on the minds of many people in our society, no matter if they are church members or un-churched people. Is there some truth to this newly-found “gospel”? Is the account we find in the Bible wrong, and have we been taught a lie for 2000 years? There are people who have begun to doubt the truth of the Gospels found in Scripture because of these false “gospels.” The “gospel of Judas” is such a false gospel. So, what is the truth?
I remember the words of St. Paul in Ephesians 4 when he mentions the function of a pastor is “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” Yes, this is my function as a pastor, that is, to help all of the members God has called me to lead to grow up in the faith. One of my main jobs is to support the members of Zion in the strengthening of their faith. This is done through worship and in sermons. This also must be done in Bible Study and confirmation classes. A pastor is to prepare God’s people for works of service. Yet, often our faith is shaken by the intrusion of falsehood by a godless society meant to destroy faith, not strengthen it.
St. Paul wrote to Timothy as part of the young man’s training to serve as a pastor. In 1 Timothy 6:20 & 21, Paul writes, “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of which is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.” What is this “knowledge” Paul speaks about? He is speaking about the false Gnostic “gospels” that taught Jesus was not divine, that Jesus did not die and rise again, and that Jesus was not the Savior of mankind. This is the same situation we face today as we view “breaking news” about ancient manuscripts proposing a new “truth” or “knowledge” about the true biblical Gospels.
Gnosticism (from the Greek gnosis, or “knowledge”) was a false religious movement with its roots in the Greek civilization even before Christianity came to be. The Christian church began to be influenced by Gnosticism almost as soon as Jesus ascended to his Father. Gnosticism flowered in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. but continued to be active until the 7th century. Gnosticism is once again growing in strength in our modern world. Things really don’t change!
Gnosticism involved occult lore, magic watchwords, and secret names. It claimed to have a divinely-given secret message that held the key for a higher life, both temporal and eternal life. Through study and learning the “hidden secrets and knowledge” you would attain a “higher” level of spirituality, eventually becoming a “god” in your own right. Gnosticism gets very complicated when it comes to the idea of salvation! The basic theme of Gnosticism was “redemption” from the material world (matter was considered evil) and escape into a world of freedom, thus achieving a “spiritual liberty.” Once your soul “escapes” matter it can be “reunited” with the pleroma, or fullness of god. You could gain this “redemption” through initiations, rites, mysteries, magic or secret knowledge, but philosophy was paramount. The goal of Gnostics was to leave the “darkness” of this world and seek the “light” of a higher, cosmic power (“god”, the “force” as in Star Wars). Now, let me confuse you even more! Gnosticism that crept its way into the early Christian Church goes something like this: God is pure abstraction, a fathomless abyss. From him emanates divine potencies (powers) which in their totality constitute the pleroma, or fullness, an ideal world of light as opposed to kenoma, or emptiness of matter. Sophia, or “wisdom” disturbed the harmony of the pleroma and fell into the formless chaos beyond. Through matter Sophia (wisdom) gave birth to a demiurge, which of course is the Old Testament idea of God, i.e. YHWH. Redemption takes place through the restoration of the harmony of the pleroma and rescue of the “seeds of divine light” scattered in the darkness. This is done by the most perfect “aeon”, who entered Jesus at his baptism and left Jesus before his death on the cross. “Christ” accomplishes his work by teaching knowledge (gnosis) which is received only by a select few! The next class of men, called psychics, must be content with faith, and the lowest class of men is preoccupied with worldly cares. The ethical system of Gnosticism tried to overcome the flesh and develop into both strict asceticism (give up any material thing in life) and extreme libertinism (you can do whatever you want). Wow – let’s go get a cup of coffee and a nap!
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