What about the other Gospel's?

I believe that the other gospels may actually hold more teachings of Jesus. If you look into the history of the Bible you will find that there was a lot of political maneuvering going on. There are references to reincarnation in some of the other gospels but the church did not want people to believe they had another chance. I firmly believe that there was a Jesus, that he was a wonderful man, and that if we lived by his teachings we would be a lot better off. Unfortunately, his words and intentions have been misinterpreted by some in order to control people. I love Jesus, it is his fan club I have issues with at time. Fortunately, there are people out there who live according to his teachings or else we would be a whole lot worse off.

Linda I agree with you. I recently acquired a copy of the Gospel of Mary. I am about to start reading it, What many forget is that the Bible as we know it is a political creation. The books that were included were voted on by the Council of Nicea. Many books were omitted that didn't reflect what the powers that be wanted the masses to believe. The Gnostic Gospels (or Egyptian Gospels) in conjunction with the Bible offer a more complete history of the life of Jesus and fills in a lot of gaps.

This is from The Gospel of Thomas. I find it to be a beautiful verse.

Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."

Here is a good link on this Gospel.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/primary/gthomas.html

Thanks for posting that Chris.

It is beautiful, your right Chris.
It also has the parable style Jesus used.

I don't think the church would approve of that verse...lol
because they would be worried people may not give so freely to the church if Jesus was "everywhere "

Personally, I do believe he is.

Glad you enjoyed them Olga.

You too Tamara.
:-)
With J.H's permission.

More from The Gospel of Thomas:

This "secret sayings" gospel does not tell the story of Jesus' life, but rather is a list of over 100 of his sayings, some of which are familiar to readers of the New Testament, others enigmatic and strange.



These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded.


1 And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death."


2 Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will rule over all."


3 Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) imperial rule is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) imperial rule is inside you and outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."


4 Jesus said, "The person old in days won't hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and that person will live. For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one."


5 Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that won't be revealed."


Jesus said, "Don't lie, and don't do what you hate, because all things are disclosed before heaven. After all, there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and there is nothing covered up that will remain undisclosed."

These pseudo-Gospels aren't worth the paper they're written on. All you need to do is read them to know that they are strictly bootleg. The Gospels handed down to us by the Church Patriachs are the real deal. The verse that Chris cited clearly shows why this particular Gospel was unworthy and rightfully kept out of the Canon...it is pantheistic. God is everywhere and in everything...there is no personal God. Created things and the Creator become one. This is against the most fundamental of the Judeo/Christian belief system and world view. GOD is separate from his creation. GOD is eternal with no beginning and no end. The world had a beginning and it will have an end. This is central to the Judeo/Christian creeds...simply put, GOD is GOD always has been always will be...everything else was created...came into being at a moment in time. In the Torah it speaks of Moses meeting with GOD...during this encounter GOD commissioned Moses to free the Jews from the oppression of the Pharaoh...he was to be the deliverer of God's people (Israel) from servitude in Egypt. Moses argued that he was unworthy of such a task...by who's authority would he accomplish such a task..."Who should I say sent me?" Moses asked. To which GOD replied, "Tell them that 'I Am that I Am' sent you. This name...I Am that I Am...perfectly describes the person of GOD...He IS...GOD is the Absolute Being...GOD IS. The creation on the other hand is, as Heraclitus would say, in 'perpetual flux'...the created world is always in a process of 'becoming'...we are always 'becoming' but never are...as GOD IS. We begin as the seed inpregnated into the female womb we immediately start our process of becominghood...seed becoming fetus becoming infant becoming child becoming young person becoming adult becoming old becoming dust...seed to shoot to small plant to tree, etc. This clearly distinguishes the eternal, unchanging GOD from all of creation whose very nature is that of always changing. GOD and nature are to separate things. In pantheism GOD is worshipped in nature...so you end up worshipping the creation rather than the Creator. This is Wicca or the nature religion of witches. Here's a few verses from the Word of GOD:

21-Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22-Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23-And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

25-Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Romans 1:21-23, 25

Felix, God also changes throughout the Bible. He changes his mind about things, his practices change (there is some very different ways of dealing with people in the old and new testaments), gosh, even within genesis, the story of creation is different. That said, I'm not sure I see pantheism in the verse quoted.

"Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."

John, this is pantheism.

GOD does not change. Situations in the Bible change...people and times change, but, GOD is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. GOD change his mind?

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. (Numbers 23:19a, NIV).

Psalm 102:25-27 says "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end."

Also, Malachi 3:6 says " For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." And finally, James 1:17 tells us "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

These verses assert that God is unchanging, and unchangeable. However, it can seem that there is a contradiction between what is taught by these verses, and other verses such as Genesis 6:6 "And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart." Also, Jonah 3:10 which says "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and he did it not." Both of these verses speak of the Lord repenting of something, and can seem contrary to verses that teach that God is unchanging. However, close examination of these passages reveals that these are not truly indications that God is capable of changing. The key to these verses is the word "repent." In the original language, the word that is translated as "repent" is the same in both verses. The word is the Hebrew expression of "to be sorry for." Being sorry for something does not mean that a change has occurred, it simply means that there is regret for something having taken place.

there is actually somewhere a gospel talking about Jesus slapping somebody. The church only wanted to show Jesus as a holy man and left stories like this out. I would love to read those gospels that were never included. It would not deter my faith but I would love to read them anyway.

GOD does not change. Situations in the Bible change...people and times change, but, GOD is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.>>>>>>>>>

Thanks for that Felix..:-)

Good point Carol !!

You're right, Jack, there were many criteria for acceptance into the Canon...all of these wannabe Bible books did not pass muster and as I stated above...sometimes all it takes is a reading of these books to quickly realize that they clearly don't belong in the Canon. If you have read Shakespeare and someone comes up with another play that claims to be written by The Bard...a mere perusal of it will let you know whether it is and whether it isn't. There is an amazing unity in the Bible despite the different people that were used by the Holy Spirit...a cohesion, a thread that runs through it...all the pieces fit perfectly. I've read all these other imposter books...the doctrine is wrong and the grandeur is gone. The Bible is a majestic, nonpareil book...trying to put these other books in it is like trying to fit a square into a circle. As you so well put it...the Finger of GOD is evident in the Bible...yet, clearly absent from these human-all-too-human books.

These gospels do make for an interesting read.
Not instead of the Bible, but in addition too.

Felix, I don't see how the God is everywhere statement is pan-thiesim. Isn't that statement "Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there." simply that God can be found everywhere? I think that many people believe that. It's not saying there is a god of rocks and a god of split wood. But that there is one god who is as present under a rock as up in the sky on some throne.

The Song of Songs, if wasn't in the Bible currently would probably also be accused of not having enough of the finger of God on it as well. We can't fully understand the reasons that men had for including/not including certain books, although theology played a part, certainly politics were a part as well.

The "Gnostic" Gospels are a welcome addition to canonized scripture. They enhance and deepen the meanings of mainstream scripture.

The benefits I personally have received through the discovery of Gnostic scripture are immeasurable and I cannot thank God enough for leading me to them.