We are getting unusual extreme heat here in Canada, which is significantly harder on the young and old. You have my empathy!
Regarding subjects I'd like you to write about are the Gnostic gospels or writings that have only now caught my attention. I am less impressed than many people appear to be. However, I wonder if other thoughtful and experienced Christians with some theological and/or philosophical background have similar questions and reservations. I have dipped into The Secret Book of John, The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Phillip, and The Gospel of Mary. On the other hand, you are on a roll with the cannon of orthodoxy, so don't be lured off your present trajectory. You likely already have come to terms with that library and not consider it worth your time to give notes.
Thank you Laurna, sorry to hear you are also getting extreme heat. It can be so difficult! Regarding the Gnostic gospels, I am aware of them but as they are later documents I do not tend to focus on them. I tend to think of them as Christian ‘fan fiction’ that are interesting in that they tells us what kind of things they were thinking about. It’s a good idea to cover them one day so thank you for the idea 🙂
I have the feeling that reactions to them also represent "fan" of some faction or other with a previous agenda, an axe to grind. The Apocryphon of John strikes me like some kinds of writing in psychology and psychiatry from people who try to imagine an "outer shell" for human behavior to explain it, instead of working with the material we already have. Freud can be faulted for the same kind of imaginative but unscientific thinking. In Listening for the Light, I wrote a long note on "memory" to refute one such psychological theory of an aspect of brain function. If you read Jeff Barlatier on Medium, you will see his explanations of early Jewish thought about the Heavenly Realm or Realms, angels and principalities and powers. Interesting to know how they thought, but I'm not sure how relevant some of that is now.
Thanks, Laurna. I agree that they can be fascinating as a glimpse into how different groups were trying to make sense of Jesus and the spiritual world. Even where I don’t find them persuasive theologically, they do help us appreciate the diversity of ideas circulating in the early centuries. And thank you for the recommendation, I always enjoy discovering thoughtful writers to read.
We are getting unusual extreme heat here in Canada, which is significantly harder on the young and old. You have my empathy!
Regarding subjects I'd like you to write about are the Gnostic gospels or writings that have only now caught my attention. I am less impressed than many people appear to be. However, I wonder if other thoughtful and experienced Christians with some theological and/or philosophical background have similar questions and reservations. I have dipped into The Secret Book of John, The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Phillip, and The Gospel of Mary. On the other hand, you are on a roll with the cannon of orthodoxy, so don't be lured off your present trajectory. You likely already have come to terms with that library and not consider it worth your time to give notes.
Thank you Laurna, sorry to hear you are also getting extreme heat. It can be so difficult! Regarding the Gnostic gospels, I am aware of them but as they are later documents I do not tend to focus on them. I tend to think of them as Christian ‘fan fiction’ that are interesting in that they tells us what kind of things they were thinking about. It’s a good idea to cover them one day so thank you for the idea 🙂
I have the feeling that reactions to them also represent "fan" of some faction or other with a previous agenda, an axe to grind. The Apocryphon of John strikes me like some kinds of writing in psychology and psychiatry from people who try to imagine an "outer shell" for human behavior to explain it, instead of working with the material we already have. Freud can be faulted for the same kind of imaginative but unscientific thinking. In Listening for the Light, I wrote a long note on "memory" to refute one such psychological theory of an aspect of brain function. If you read Jeff Barlatier on Medium, you will see his explanations of early Jewish thought about the Heavenly Realm or Realms, angels and principalities and powers. Interesting to know how they thought, but I'm not sure how relevant some of that is now.
Thanks, Laurna. I agree that they can be fascinating as a glimpse into how different groups were trying to make sense of Jesus and the spiritual world. Even where I don’t find them persuasive theologically, they do help us appreciate the diversity of ideas circulating in the early centuries. And thank you for the recommendation, I always enjoy discovering thoughtful writers to read.