New Era Christian Sermons 2018

Gospel of Truth - 1 The last two weeks have been spent taking an overview of Valentinus as seen through the eyes of a number of experts in the field of ancient texts. But there is no substitute for the real thing, and so today I will attempt to delve, in earnest, into Valentinus’ magnum opus, The Gospel of Truth. This sermon will cover the first few sections. First we will read a short summary out of Wikipedia, then we will go directly into the book. The work begins with a salutation and praise: “ The Gospel of Truth is joy!” This is followed by a discussion of language, then comes obeisance to Jesus Christ, “He it is who is called "the Savior”; then we turn to the a basic gnostic tenet: that ignorance of the Father brought about terror and fear, along with this remarkable thought, “Forgetfulness did not exist with the Father, although it existed because of him.” Remember “gnosis” means “knowledge”, and in a higher sense, “knowledge of God”. Of Jesus, Valentinus states: ...

Valentinus 2 -- Last week we left off the introduction to Valentinus with a detailed discussion of the concept of the Male/Female God. We return to that subject as it leads to the SON, and the Gnostic sacraments which lead to our ultimate union with the SON. But first, a little aside on the subject of TRUTH.  One of the turn-offs to New Age literature (which always references ancient wisdom) is the break-down of cosmic structure into numbered sequences of things like steps to enlightenment, or the cosmic Aeons, or even days of the week—there are seven of this, nine of that, twelve of that, and so on, with each level assigned a specific quality in an infinitely nuanced continuum. We saw it last week in the passage from Ezekial (describing the movement of wheels within wheels), and you certainly see it in Revelation (with the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, etc.). It wouldn’t be so bad if there were some consistency from one religious text to another, but every sacred text...