Gnosticism

Many people enjoy reading books that are in their favorite genre. This seems to be the case, because they can just enjoy the story line and not really think of deep meanings that could be hidden within the pages. However, many people find it hard to read a difficult text and dwell over the words until they truly understand the text. Reading 1 john does exactly that. 1 John seems to be a short book of the Bible, but it is filled with so many lessons that one must take time to analyze each chapter…

Gnosticism- (70 CE-present) A vast and amorphous movement that existed both within and outside of Christianity. Gnosticism derives from the Greek word gnosis meaning knowledge believed that Gnostics possessed a special mystical knowledge of the secret key to salvation. Gnosticism was a serious threat to Christianity throughout the second century and Gnostic faith continues to resurface in…

During the 3rd and 4th centuries controversy arose among the leaders and population due to the rising questioning of the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ. At the beginning of the fourth century, the First Council of Nicaea was convened to come against the heretical teachings of Arius. Arius, a presbyter from Alexandria, along with his followers, believed that “before [the Son] was begotten or created or defined or established, he was not for he was not unbegotten and that the Son had a…

The movie Donnie Darko, directed by Richard Kelly and released to audiences nationwide in 2001, portrays the story of a troubled teenager, Donnie Darko, who is plagued by visions of a giant bunny rabbit, Frank, that persuades Darko to carry out a series of crimes and in the process unearth the perplexing physical and metaphysical laws that govern his life and the world around him. The opening credits of the movie, with white words on a black background and an audio bridge of…

From his miraculous birth to his ascension he was truly God and truly man. Neither did the two natures coalesce into one making him entirely divine (Eutyches). Christ is not a second God, a demigod (Gnosticism), nor is he only the wisdom of God, he is God, being eternally generated from God. The atoning work of Christ was accomplished through the uniqueness of who he was. To deny the deity of Christ, questions the accomplished work of salvation.…

Introduction Eschatology is a term that Christians use in reference to the study of last things. There are a lot of theories regarding the things to come throughout the history of the Church from the Early Church Fathers, through the Rise of Amillennialism, the Reformation Views, the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards, and the Modern Millennial Views. This paper is not a historical study, and not a defense of a particular eschatological view. However, this paper explores the history of eschatology…

“The Origins of Anti-Semitism” was an interesting read and will be useful towards my paper, which focuses on the topic of the origins of anti-Semitism and blood libels. One of the first things I noticed is John Gager relies on many others’ observations rather than his own, however, that did not stop me from enjoying his book. Gager’s main thesis, evident throughout the whole book, is primarily on the legacy and the ideas behind both pagan and Christian ideals behind anti-Semitism. This includes…

Egypt The first known siting of the ouroboros design is the enigmatic book of the netherworld. In the 14th century b.c it’s about the movements of the god ra and his organisation with Osiris in the underworld. In a drawing the two snakes are holding their rear end in their mouths with a coil wrapped around there head with giant feet representing an enormous god whom may symbolise ra and Osiris coming together as a unit. Both snakes are examples of the (deity me hen) who is known to have…

1. Who was Muhammad? According to a Britannica article by Annemarie Schimmel, the Islam religion views Muhammad as the last in a series of prophets. Equally important, Muhammad is considered the messenger of Allah given the words to write the Qur'an through the angel Gabriel (Schimmel, 2016). 2. How is the Qur’an structured? When is Ramadan observed? The Qur’an has 114 chapters describing different aspects of life, including God, Satan, Heaven, Hell, social justice, humanity, and so forth…

acceptance for a man and a woman to be friends and explicitly be sexual. Commitment is not an important factor in the movie because there is too much work involved. More so, you can make right what you feel in the moment. This relates to some aspects of Gnosticism. Gnostic hierarchal implies bodies do not matter as much, so do what you want with them. Like Smith proposes, our hearts are propelled by our natural desires and orient us to an end goal or telos. Summer and Thomas, who are the two…