Download or read book Esoteric Christianity written by Annie Besant and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2020-07-30 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reproduction of the original: Esoteric Christianity by Annie Besant

Download or read book The Star of Higher Knowledge written by Ron MacFarlane and published by . This book was released on 2015-02-06 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Christ-Jesus walked the earth, over two thousand years ago, he established a two-fold division in his teaching that has continued to this day. To the general public, he simplified his teaching and presented it in pictorial, allegorical and figurative imagery in the form of stories, parables and lessons that could be imaginatively and intuitively understood. To his inner circle of disciples (who were sufficiently prepared), however, he taught more plainly and directly in the form of intellectual concepts, clear ideas and logical reasoning that could be understood on a much deeper and wider level of comprehension. As biblically explained: Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them [the general public] in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given ... This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." (Matt 13:10, 13) Moreover, in union with the divine, Our Saviour was able to reveal sacred knowledge that had never been previously presented in the entire history of mankind: "I will explain mysteries hidden since the creation of the world" (Matt 13:35). This sacred and revealed knowledge has been termed "Christ-mysteries" or "mysteries of the Son." After his glorious resurrection and ascension, Christ-Jesus institutionalized his two-fold mystery-teachings through St. Peter and St. John (the Evangelist, not the apostle). Through St. Peter, Our Saviour instituted a universal, Christian religion and theology to preserve, promote and convey the more basic and simplified mystery-teachings that are intended for the general public. Through St. John, Christ-Jesus instituted a universal, Christian philosophy and theosophy to preserve, promote and convey the more comprehensive and complex mystery-teachings that are intended for the more advanced disciples (Christian initiates). In esoteric terminology, the institutionalized teachings through St. Peter are known as the "lesser mysteries of exoteric Christianity." The institutionalized teachings through St. John are known as the "greater mysteries of esoteric Christianity." While both mystery-teaching approaches are equally sacred, profound and intended to complement each other, corrupt and intolerant authorities within the universal institution (Church) of St. Peter, for many centuries, persecuted and attacked any public expressions of esoteric Christianity. Consequently, genuine historical forms of esoteric Christianity, such as the Knights of the Holy Grail and the Fraternity of the Rose-Cross, were forced to be secretive and publicly-hidden during the past two thousand years. Thankfully today, the social, political and intellectual climate has progressed to the point where the greater mystery-teachings of esoteric Christianity can begin to be publicly revealed for the first time. This modern-day outpouring really began with the twentieth-century establishment of anthroposophy by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). The information and approach presented in The Star of Knowledge: The Five Guiding Mysteries of Esoteric Christianity, is intended to augment and continue the mystery-teachings of Christ-Jesus as safeguarded by the Rosicrucian Fraternity and publicized through anthroposophy. Consequently, this particular discourse delves much more deeply and comprehensively into the cosmos-changing, salvational achievement of Christ-Jesus: the historical and cosmic preparations; as well as his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension. While much of this mystery information may be unfamiliar, unknown and unexpected to mainstream (exoteric) Christianity, it in no way is meant to criticize, denigrate or displace the profound teachings of the universal Church; but rather, to complement, to enhance and to enlarge - for the betterment of true Christianity and, thereby, the betterment of all mankind.

Download or read book Secrets of Esoteric Christianity written by Gilbert Childs and published by Temple Lodge Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For years, theologians have agonized over the contradictory accounts of Jesus' birth as written in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. Can they be reconciled, given the fact that they contain completely different narratives? Demonstrating a remarkably erudite approach and authoritative knowledge of biblical sources and other primary texts, Dr. Childs sheds new light on arcane disputes by revealing secrets of esoteric Christianity--in particular the mystery of two mothers named Mary and the different families of Jesus. Such mysteries--including the meaning of the "virgin conception"--have remained hidden and protected in mystery centers by initiates throughdout the past two millennia. Today, however, these matters can be discussed openly. The book begins with a thorough examination of "Adoptionism" as a doctrine--the notion that Jesus was "adopted" as the Son of God after his birth. Did Christ incarnate in Jesus at the Jordan River Baptism, as many Biblical authorities assert? Gilbert Childs provides an overview of the Gospels and introduces the seminal research of Rudolf Steiner as a key to resolving some of their enigmas. The book also looks into the relevance of the ancient mystery centers in relation to Christianity and discusses how Christianity itself can be seen as a "mystery."

Download or read book The Divine Seed written by Pekka Ervast and published by Quest Books. This book was released on 2010-08-31 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Divine Seed interprets the lessons of the Schoolmaster Jesus Christ through the way of the truth-seeker, illuminating his parables, teachings to his disciples, and practical advice on how we should honestly live. In this way, Pekka Ervast helps readers examine Jesus' life as it contains the deepest, most secret meaning in the Gospels. In decoding the Gospels, he shows us how to free ourselves from intellectual bondage and allow the divine seed contained within the soul to germinate freely and grow.

Download or read book Inner Christianity written by Richard Smoley and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2002-10-08 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An eye-opening introduction to the complex world of esoteric Christianity—perfect for the general reader This guide to mystical and esoteric Christianity speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights from the whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous and obscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings that would yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditional Christianity draws a timeline from Adam's Fall to the Day of Judgment, the esoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to the here and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esoteric borrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—in their search for metaphors of inner truth. Rather than basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar Richard Smoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searching Christian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does "the Fall" really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Can we find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through the various levels of existence? What was Christ's true message to humankind? From the Gospel of Thomas to A Course in Miracles, from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung, Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issues and more.

Download or read book Hidden Wisdom written by Gedaliahu A. Guy Stroumsa and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2005 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the problem of esoteric traditions in early Christianity, their origin and their transformation in Patristic hermeneutics, in the West as well as in the East. It argues that these traditions eventually formed the basis of nascent Christian mysticism in Late Antiquity. These esoteric traditions do not reflect the influence of Greek Mystery religions, as has often been claimed, but rather seem to stem from the Jewish background of Christianity. They were adopted by various Gnostic teachings, a fact which helps explaining their eventual disappearance from Patristic literature. The eleven chapters study each a different aspect of the problem, including the questions of Gnostic and Manichaean esotericism. This book will be of interest to all students of religious history in Late Antiquity. Revised and extended paperback edition. Originally published in 1996. Please click here for details.

Download or read book A Different Christianity written by Robin Amis and published by Praxis Research Institute. This book was released on 2003-06-13 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the esoteric original core of Christianity, with its concern for illuminating and healing the inner life of the individual. It is a bridge to the often difficult doctrines of the early church fathers, explains their spiritual psychology, and provides new insights for studying and following the spiritual path outside a monastery.

Download or read book Hidden Wisdom written by Richard Smoley and published by Quest Books. This book was released on 2012-12-13 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary seekers on the hunt for an overview of the Western mystery traditions often face a small selection of dense, out-of-date tomes. Alternatively, Hidden Wisdom is a fresh, coherent, and accessible work that expounds many of the teachings of Western esotericism, examining its key figures and movements.

Download or read book Secret Body written by Jeffrey J. Kripal and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This latest work by the renowned historian of religions Jeffrey Kripal crystallizes his twenty-five years of work on two aspects of the contemporary study of religion: the erotic expression of mystical experience and the rise of the paranormal in American culture. Combining elements of memoir, manifesto, and anthology (a Kripal Reader, as it were), Secret Body reveals Kripal's oeuvre not as a series of disconnected books but as a dynamic corpus with the potential to renew and reshape the study of religion. Kripal explains how this oeuvre came about with his trademark humor and honesty, answers his censors and critics, and lays the foundation for a future theory of religion grounded in the cosmic nature of consciousness as such. No one interested in the history of religion and the erotic dimension of mysticism can afford to overlook Kripal's latest, his definitive intellectual self-portrait.

Download or read book The Christian Mystery written by Rudolf Steiner and published by SteinerBooks. This book was released on 1998 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this major collection, Rudolf Steiner affirms the reality of esoteric Christianity and unveils many of its secret teachings. His lectures are on the significance of the Mystery of Golgotha and of the Blood that flowed on the Cross; the relationship of Christ and Lucifer (or Love and Knowledge); the various paths of initiation, including the Christian-Gnostic and Rosicrucian Paths; and Steiner's early interpretations of St. John's gospel and the sermon on the mount. All of Steiner's lectures on the Lord's Prayer are also included, as well as the version of the prayer that Steiner himself prayed throughout his life. This is an excellent book for all those who want to deepen their understanding of the Western stream of Christian esotericism and Rudolf Steiner's approach to Christianity as a spiritual practice.

Download or read book Exoteric and Esoteric Christianity written by Rudolf Steiner and published by North Vancouver : Steiner Book Centre. This book was released on 1983 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exoteric Christianity is to be found in the Gospels and as they have been interpreted through history; esoteric, inner Christianity is the living teaching of the Risen Christ: resurrection. Today it lies in the resurrection of thinking: how dead thoughts can be awakened to life in the form of moral impulses.

Download or read book Gu nonian Esoterism and Christian Mystery written by Jean Borella and published by Sophia Perennis. This book was released on 2005-03 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rene Guenon's explication of the principles of an interior understanding of sacred forms has established his reputation in the West as the master theorist of esoterism. But till now his doctrine has not been the focus of thorough study in Christian circles, and this has had serious consequences. Guenonian Esoterism and Christian Mystery is the first major work to combine an analysis of Guenon's ideas about esoterism with a critical examination of their application to Christianity in terms of data provided by Christianity itself. But to accomplish this, such data cannot simply be surveyed superficially-it must be known firsthand; hence the abundance of citations and references in this text. Such an approach not only lets us decide about certain issues, but may also help us rediscover an all too misunderstood facet of the revelation of Christ. Jean Borella taught philosophy at the University of Nancy until 1995. A Platonist by formation, he has been strongly influenced by Guenon and Eastern metaphysics. But his deepest inspiration derives from unceasing meditation on the Christian faith, which led him to undertake the present searching critique of 'Guenonian Christianity'. A religious philosopher, he strives to hear the reverberations awakened in human thought by revelation. "Rene Guenon was one of the great metaphysical minds of the last few centuries, and it was a great loss to the Catholic Church when he converted to Islam. Prof. Borella shows in this landmark study exactly where Guenon's work remains of perennial value for Christians, but also demonstrates the limitations and personal idiosyncrasies which led Guenon to distort some of the most important elements of Catholic and Orthodox doctrine. Prof. Borella's book may well stimulate the recovery of authentic metaphysics within the Church for which Guenon longed, but which he despaired of seeing in his lifetime." -Stratford Caldecott Editor, Second Spring, Director (UK) of the G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture"

Download or read book The Gnostic Gospels written by Elaine Pagels and published by Random House. This book was released on 2004-06-29 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time The Gnostic Gospels is a landmark study of the long-buried roots of Christianity, a work of luminous scholarship and wide popular appeal. First published in 1979 to critical acclaim, winning the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Gnostic Gospels has continued to grow in reputation and influence over the past two decades. It is now widely recognized as one of the most brilliant and accessible histories of early Christian spirituality published in our time. In 1945 an Egyptian peasant unearthed what proved to be the Gnostic Gospels, thirteen papyrus volumes that expounded a radically different view of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ from that of the New Testament. In this spellbinding book, renowned religious scholar Elaine Pagels elucidates the mysteries and meanings of these sacred texts both in the world of the first Christians and in the context of Christianity today. With insight and passion, Pagels explores a remarkable range of recently discovered gospels, including the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, to show how a variety of “Christianities” emerged at a time of extraordinary spiritual upheaval. Some Christians questioned the need for clergy and church doctrine, and taught that the divine could be discovered through spiritual search. Many others, like Buddhists and Hindus, sought enlightenment—and access to God—within. Such explorations raised questions: Was the resurrection to be understood symbolically and not literally? Was God to be envisioned only in masculine form, or feminine as well? Was martyrdom a necessary—or worthy—expression of faith? These early Christians dared to ask questions that orthodox Christians later suppressed—and their explorations led to profoundly different visions of Jesus and his message. Brilliant, provocative, and stunning in its implications, The Gnostic Gospels is a radical, eloquent reconsideration of the origins of the Christian faith.

Download or read book The Secret Teachings of Jesus written by and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-09-28 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In December 1945, two Egyptian fellahin, digging for natural fertilizer in the Nile River valley unearthed a sealed storage jar. The jar proved to hold treasure of an unexpected sort: a collection of some fifty-two ancient manuscripts, most of which reflect the teachings of a mystical religious movement we call Gnosticism (from the Greek word gnosis, "knowledge"). The texts are also, with few exceptions, Christian documents, and thus they provide us with valuable new information about the character of the early church, and about the Gnostic Christians within the church. In this volume, Marvin W. Meyer has produced a new English translation for general readers of four of the most important and revealing of these early Christian texts -- the Secret Book of James, the Gospel of Thomas, the Book of Thomas, and the Secret Book of John.

Download or read book Esotericism in African American Religious Experience written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-11-06 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Esotericism in African American Religious Experience: “There is a Mystery” ..., Stephen C. Finley, Margarita Simon Guillory, and Hugh R. Page, Jr. assemble twenty groundbreaking essays that provide a rationale and parameters for Africana Esoteric Studies (AES): a new trans-disciplinary enterprise focused on the investigation of esoteric lore and practices in Africa and the African Diaspora. The goals of this new field — while akin to those of Religious Studies, Africana Studies, and Western Esoteric Studies — are focused on the impulses that give rise to Africana Esoteric Traditions (AETs) and the ways in which they can be understood as loci where issues such as race, ethnicity, and identity are engaged; and in which identity, embodiment, resistance, and meaning are negotiated.

Download or read book Hidden Truths from Eden written by Caroline Vander Stichele and published by Society of Biblical Lit. This book was released on 2014-10-31 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examine a rich history of spiritual interpretations from antiquity to the present Since the sixteenth century CE, the field of biblical studies has focused on the literal meaning of texts. This collection seeks to rectify this oversight by integrating the study of esoteric readings into academic discourse. Case studies focusing on the first three chapters of Genesis cover different periods and methods from early Christian discourse through zoharic, kabbalistic and alchemical literature to modern and post-postmodern approaches. Features: Discussions, comparisons, and analyses of esoteric appropriations of Genesis 1–3 Essays on creation myths, gender, fate and free will, the concepts of knowledge, wisdom, and gnosis Repsonses to papers that provide a range of view points

Download or read book The Bible of Esoteric Knowledge written by Brian J. Krall and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-01-14 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the testament of a Shaman, Tantrika and Metaphysicist detailing all of his most esoteric knowledge about The Universe, Existence, Physics, Metaphysics, Spirituality, Shamanism, Magick, Personal Development, Success and Sexuality. This book is written in verse format just like the bible and many scriptures for easy referencing of the information, but unlike most other scriptures this book reveals all of the most hardcore information that most religious authorities do not want you to know and have kept hidden for thousands of years. This is indeed a concise manifest of all of the secrets of the universe that you need to know to understand your life and reality. This book will challenge your mind as well as enlighten and empower you, and not only give you the knowledge of the universe and existence that you need to understand exactly how everything works, but it will give you an entire magickal tool chest for success in your life so you can make it what you want and change the world around you. This book is a very valuable and empowering testiment that will give you the secret magickal power that the religious authorities have tried to keep away from the masses and all to themselves. If you have been searching for a way to enlightenment and spiritual attainment and power, you have just found it.