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eieio
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Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations?
#25164648 - 04/25/18 02:25 PM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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Have read a little St Augustine, a lot of Stoic and Epicureanist stuff, John Bunyan, Dante, etc. Aside from getting copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hammadi and wandering around page-by-page, completely lost, possibly for years, never really understanding what I'm reading...what are the best intros and overall discussions you can recommend from personal reading? 
Something clever, relevant, unique and yet trusted! I tried reading the Bible for a decade+ and never really succeeded in getting anything relevant or interesting from it until I bought a used ESV Study Bible about a half foot thick that explains the endless analogies, call-backs and symbolism used throughout the wisdom books, and etc or the Bible. Made me really see Christianity, or the Bible at least, in a very post-modern, or complicated, deconstructed, manner. Which makes more sense for me. People were told what they'd understand at the time, and some parts are 'historical' (or, as best as largely preliterate peasants could manage), some geneological, some 'wisdom' or poetic.
Anyways, any good books about early Christianity?
Thanks, was just listening to a Psychedelic Salon podcast with McKenna and he briefly mentioned this and it piqued my interest in rekindling the West's mystery religion or mystical roots of 'our' religion, Christianity. Anyhoo, thanks a million, ol chap! Can't wait to hear the recommendations from the learned and knowledgeable older members here! Thanks again!
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ReynardTheFox
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: eieio]
#25164672 - 04/25/18 02:42 PM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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So true about Nag Hammadi and Dead Sea Scrolls xD. Bump.
-------------------- "Every actual State is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well" - Ralph Waldo Emerson "If I am the devil's child, I will live then, by the devil" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Earthsweeties
Curioso
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: ReynardTheFox] 1
#25164683 - 04/25/18 02:46 PM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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The Cloud of Unknowing for a beatiful book mysticism. I've been meaning to read more of such things. I'll keep an eye on the thread
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MarkostheGnostic
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: eieio] 2
#25166864 - 04/26/18 01:42 PM (5 years, 10 months ago) |
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Post #1 Awwww. Congrats! 
http://distelrath.tripod.com/fabbro.htm
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels (as an introduction, then any and all of her books)! IF you find the Gnostic material interesting... www.gnosis.org
Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection by D.M. Murdock (Hokey name, great book! She documents how virtually every story in the New testament was appropriated from the earlier Egyptian Coffin and Pyramid Texts. fascinating read)!
Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes by Rev. John Shelby Spong (he shows how, when and why the writings were assembled in the way they were. I've met Rev. Spong on 3 occasions. He was very cool and had dialogues with Ken Wilber he told me. I left his wife some literature on mushrooms the last time we met).
These should get you started with early pre-Nicaea Christianity.
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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BrendanFlock
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: MarkostheGnostic]
#25170599 - 04/27/18 11:18 PM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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Ive read a bunch of scrolls without allot of memory of what I've read, but I did keep the inherant meta of the information passed to me!
Ultimately I found a new way to read complicated texts.. just scan them and find the meaning between the lines. It is a form of speed reading, which takes a gestalt sample of the total information recorded.
Ive found miracles in this fashion, and very beautiful poetry!
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mendocino_beano
Registered: 11/05/17
Posts: 1,074
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: BrendanFlock]
#25171423 - 04/28/18 10:32 AM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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Maybe check out the Rosicrucians? I guess it’s not the simplified view you’re looking for, but they combine Christianity with astrology and mystical occult stuff, kinda sounds like your bag
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feevers



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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: mendocino_beano]
#25171535 - 04/28/18 11:38 AM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross: A study of the nature and origins of Christianity within the fertility cults of the ancient Near East John M. Allegro
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hypnoticem
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: feevers]
#25180157 - 05/02/18 03:08 PM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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I'll second The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels. I was just about to post something about it before I seen the previous response mentioning it.
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eieio
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: hypnoticem]
#25180455 - 05/02/18 05:55 PM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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Sounds interesting! Thanks! I go back and forth from being really interested in how Christianity took other stories/philosophies (stoicism?), or doing a perennial philosophy /comparative religion thing, and then also looking for practical mysticism of the sort that Hinduism and Buddhism seem to have from way back. I guess the censors in the West were a little more ...ahem, thorough.
'The Gnostic Gospel' looks good ...but is the theme running through it: women's place in the church?
I remember 'The Mushroom and the Cross', not sure I believe that.
As precocious, perhaps, as it may sound, I'm kinda into 'chaos majickxz' when it comes to looking for and trying to implement new ways to approach God or what I used to call the Divine or Spirit or Essence, etc, whatever. Anyways thanks for the book suggestions.
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MarkostheGnostic
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: eieio]
#25180653 - 05/02/18 08:05 PM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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If you are interested in the place of women in Gnostic religion, including that attitude which suggests 'making the woman like the man' (even in the Gospel of Thomas there is this attitude), then I suggest the book: https://www.amazon.com/Female-Fulfilment-Gnosticism-Studies-Religion/dp/0807816965/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525312843&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=female+fault+and+fulfillment+in+gnosticism
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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Bridgeburner
Not spiritual at all.




Registered: 09/16/06
Posts: 20,010
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: MarkostheGnostic] 1
#25186214 - 05/05/18 03:58 PM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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"The Lost Art of Resurrection: Initiation, Secret Chambers, and the Quest for the Otherworld" by Freddy Silva
Exploring the practice of living resurrection in ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Greek, Persian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Celtic, and Native American traditions, Freddy Silva explains how resurrection was never meant for the dead, but for the living--a fact supported by the suppressed Gnostic Gospel of Philip: “Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error. If they do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when they die they will receive nothing.” He reveals how these practices were not only common in the ancient world but also shared similar facets in each tradition: initiates were led through a series of challenging ordeals, retreated for a three-day period into a cave or restricted room, often called a “bridal chamber,” and while out-of-body, became fully conscious of travels in the Otherworld. Upon returning to the body, they were led by priests or priestesses to witness the rising of Sirius or the Equinox sunrise. Silva describes some of the secret chambers around the world where the ritual was performed, including the so-called tomb of Thutmosis III in Egypt, which featured an empty sarcophagus and detailed instructions for the living on how to enter the Otherworld and return alive. He reveals why esoteric and Gnostic sects claimed that the literal resurrection of Jesus promoted by the Church was a fraud and how the Church branded all living resurrection practices as a heresy, relentlessly persecuting the Gnostics to suppress knowledge of this self-empowering experience.
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eieio
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: MarkostheGnostic] 1
#25189912 - 05/07/18 03:40 PM (5 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
MarkostheGnostic said: If you are interested in the place of women in Gnostic religion, including that attitude which suggests 'making the woman like the man' (even in the Gospel of Thomas there is this attitude), then I suggest the book: https://www.amazon.com/Female-Fulfilment-Gnosticism-Studies-Religion/dp/0807816965/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525312843&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=female+fault+and+fulfillment+in+gnosticism
Yeah, sorry for the confusion but I am *not* so much interested in that aspect and more interested in the others. Was wondering if that (the feminine angle) was the only or main one running through that book you mentioned? Thanks.
Edit:
Quote:
Bridgeburner said: "The Lost Art of Resurrection: Initiation, Secret Chambers, and the Quest for the Otherworld" by Freddy Silva
Exploring the practice of living resurrection in ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Greek, Persian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Celtic, and Native American traditions, Freddy Silva explains how resurrection was never meant for the dead, but for the living--a fact supported by the suppressed Gnostic Gospel of Philip: “Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error. If they do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when they die they will receive nothing.” He reveals how these practices were not only common in the ancient world but also shared similar facets in each tradition: initiates were led through a series of challenging ordeals, retreated for a three-day period into a cave or restricted room, often called a “bridal chamber,” and while out-of-body, became fully conscious of travels in the Otherworld. Upon returning to the body, they were led by priests or priestesses to witness the rising of Sirius or the Equinox sunrise. Silva describes some of the secret chambers around the world where the ritual was performed, including the so-called tomb of Thutmosis III in Egypt, which featured an empty sarcophagus and detailed instructions for the living on how to enter the Otherworld and return alive. He reveals why esoteric and Gnostic sects claimed that the literal resurrection of Jesus promoted by the Church was a fraud and how the Church branded all living resurrection practices as a heresy, relentlessly persecuting the Gnostics to suppress knowledge of this self-empowering experience.
Sounds really interesting. I'm getting a hold of that!
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coAsTal
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: eieio] 1
#25272343 - 06/16/18 02:04 PM (5 years, 8 months ago) |
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Why pick one, when you can read them all---
http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm
-------------------- I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination-- John Keats Spore Trading List
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MarkostheGnostic
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Registered: 12/09/99
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Re: Psychedelic Christianity / Christian Mystery Cults / Mysticism... any good book recommendations? [Re: eieio]
#25273153 - 06/16/18 08:38 PM (5 years, 8 months ago) |
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-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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