Pretty Gnostic MachineWhen you understand that it was Paul - not Jesus - who primarily founded Christianity, you understand modern Christian Nationalism:
a theology of control built on letters, not a life, where belief is weaponized and ethics is optional.
lankohr@PrettyGnosticMaschine When you understand that people who cruzified Jesus founded christianity, you understand everything. Especially if you believe the gnostic version: Judas delivered Jesus on Jesus' will, to liberate him from his earthly garments.
@lankohr That's a powerful angle. My post was more grounded in Bart Ehrman's take: Jesus as an apocalyptic Jewish preacher expecting an imminent kingdom, not someone intending crucifixion or founding a religion around sacrificial atonement i.e., Pauline theology. The later theology feels like a reinterpretation layered on after the fact.
I recommend his book "Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium" if you haven't read it.
Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New... book by Bart D. Ehrman
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@PrettyGnosticMaschine What I really want to read/know is what Jesus said to Thomas. In "The Gospel of Thomas" (i think it was that) is a part where Jesus takes Thomas aside and "said three things/(or just 3 words, there is debate about the translation) but if Thomas would only say one of it he would be stoned to death."
@lankohr When i read it, my first thought was a mystical interpretation : "Thou Art that" or, "You are That".
(no distance between seeker and source)
(no distance between seeker and source)
@PrettyGnosticMaschine I like that. It sounds positive. My thoughts were more like "nothing is real" (illuminati/sufi/daoism. There are a lot of sayings reminding me of Nasreddin and/or daoism) or "this is hell" (divine comedy: earth is also just a form of hell and people are their demons) or even "I'm the devil" (in the Gospel there is also his "you thought i came to bring peace? I am here to bring the sword...")
@lankohr 😄 I love “this is hell - that's really deep! Like not as despair, but as diagnosis. Once you see it, you can stop mistaking the system for salvation and start rewriting the conditions.