posted on Oct, 4 2010 @ 01:05 PM
To many, religion has been a source of support. Religion has provided millions with a structure for their life, stretching out a path ahead of them to
look to and follow. Gathering under the roof of a church, in a positive environment has been supremely beneficial to many as well. Many people, at
some point in their life have truly needed the mental and spiritual support that some churches can offer. The Catholic church, and other Christian
religions seem to be benign. But what if you look deeper? To it's core, it's foundations, back to the beginning? Is there an ongoing effort to
supress information and diving knowledge?
Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys to knowledge and have hidden them."
The Gospel of Thomas: Saying 39
The above statement could be interpreted as, 'your leaders, as well as those in charge, and those who write your laws and beliefs are hiding
from you the truth. Personally, I think this definitely applies to the Catholic Church. Why are the Vatican's private libraries private? Why begin to
publish reprints or pdf versions of thier codices?
Above, I quoted the Gospel of Thomas, obviously it is not a canonnized book in the bible. And, there are those who claim there is good precedence
for it. However, is it really a question of legitamacy? Or, is it because of the potential dangerous material that apocryphal books contain? I say
dangerous, because a common theme in many apocryphal books is Gnosticism. The definition of gnosticism is: a religious movement characterized by a
belief in gnosis, through which the spiritual element in man could be released from its bondage in matter: regarded as a heresy by the Christian
Church (from the greek word 'gnosis' which means knowledge.
In the 13th century the Catholic church violently attempted to stomp out gnostic followers known as the Cathars, or Cathari. There is debate
whether or not the church attempted a peaceful eradication of this group which was beginning to have a widespread following. I'm not sure there is a
such thing as a peaceful eradication. The gospel of Thomas can be found in the Nag Hammadi library. The Nag Hammadi library, dated to the second
century, is essentially 52 or so gnostic treaties. The were found buried, hidden away, probably because of the punishment for possessing "heretical"
writings. Side note: There were many other groups other than the Cathars, such as Valentinians and Waldensians.
I digress...back to my point. The Catholic Church has and always will need an abundance of parishoners. Without followers there is no church.
The more followers, the more power and control. This is the case for any corporation, government, or empire. Texts such as; the Book of Thomas, the
Gospel of Thomas, The Secret Book of James, the Book of Enoch, etc. have some common traits. None of which, promotes the need for a church, or
religion for that matter. by controlling the flow of knowledge, those in control remain in control.
Jesus said, "Rather, the kingdom is inside you and outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and will understand that you are
children of the living Father...."
The Gospel of Thomas: Saying 3.
Jesus said, "Let one who seeks not stop seeking until one finds. When one finds, one will be disturbed. When one is disturbed, one will be amazed,
and will reign over all."
The Gospel of Thomas: Saying 2.
Jesus said, "Do not lie or do what you dislike, since all things are clear before Heaven...."
The Gospel of Thomas: Saying 6.
"This is how you can aquire the kingdom of Heaven. If you do not acquire it through knowledge, you will not be able to find it."
The Secret Book of James: 4:19
These sayings among countless others encourage us to seek out knowledge. To search for ourselves, to try and understand our true selves, and
that there is divinity within us all. It also speaks of individualism. This is why many scientist of the time had a gnostic approach to their
spirituality. The ability to reconcile their beliefs with the pursuit of knowledge. The inquistions was just another attempt to stomp out any
opposition the the church's iron fist mentality of control of the populations. The inquisitions which sporatically entailed large periods of time
from the twelth century to the nineteenth century (Medieval, Spanish, Portugeese, and Roman inquisitions) persecuted anyone who sought out their own
way spiritually. i.e. witchcraft, gnosticism, Judaism, science, and just about anything else viewed as being a threat.
"This is how you can aquire the kingdom of Heaven. If you do not acquire it through knowledge, you will not be able to find it."
The Secret Book of James: 4:19
The Catholic Church has always sought to control and manipulate information. In doing so, it has become a powerful religious and political
organization with millions of members all over the world. It's early vise-like grip has forced the creation of many secret societies, among those
within the Vatican themselves who secretly consider themselves to be followers of Thomas' teachings. Has it's rise to global power over the last two
millenia had a positive impact on mankind? Or have they attempted to rob the masses of their ability to think for themselves, and find our own meaning
of life? Have they distorted the teachings of Jesus and manipulated the bible for their own gain? Have they controlled the masses and hidden
knowledge, deceiving us of our true quest in life?
The Dead Sea Scrolls give us another example of the Catholic Churches attempt to control knowledge and information. Authors, Baigent and Leigh
contend that the Scrolls were kept under wraps for decades by a team dominated by Catholic scholars. They also contend that early Christians were
intent on breaking Roman control of the Holy Land and returning it to it's rightful Judaic dynasty of which Jesus was a member.
The Dead Seas Scrolls help to give validity to books in the Bible such as: Genesis, Exodus, Ezekial, Psalms, Numbers, Deuteronomy and others.
However, also contained in the scrolls are the Book of Noah, the Book of Jubilees, and the Book of Enoch all of which are deemed apocryphal. Of which
the church finds various reasons to discount them. The Book of Enoch for instance, fills in the blanks left out by Genesis, answering many questions.
It makes you wonder????
There is a lot more information I would like to add to this concerning our hidden past but I will wait and organize it in another post. I would
also like to add, that I don't hate Christianity or Catholics, and am not attempting to insult anyone's religious beliefs or church. I think there
is a place for church as a support system and that it is beneficial to many .
Source:
The Secret Book of James, The Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Thomas: as translated by Marvin W. Meyer.
The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception: by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh
Wikipedia (for information on the inquisitions)