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Resurrection: Difference between revisions
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== Gnostic teachings == | == Gnostic teachings == | ||
The resurrection | The resurrection is an essential element in Gnostic theology. But like other Gnostic beliefs, it developed along different lines than the evolving orthodox view of the early Church. To the Gnostics, the resurrection was not just the unique event of Jesus arising from the dead on Easter morning: it became the springboard for understanding the process of their own personal salvation. | ||
The starting point in a study of the resurrection in Gnosticism is an understanding of what they called the Call. This is based on the fundamental Gnostic belief that a spark of light, identical in nature with God, which we call the threefold flame, resides within man, and the soul, embroiled in this world and unaware of its divine nature, must be awakened from its state of slumber or drunkenness. | The starting point in a study of the resurrection in Gnosticism is an understanding of what they called the Call. This is based on the fundamental Gnostic belief that a spark of light, identical in nature with God, which we call the threefold flame, resides within man, and the soul, embroiled in this world and unaware of its divine nature, must be awakened from its state of slumber or drunkenness. | ||
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Passages from Gnostic scriptures point to the all-important aspect of the resurrection missing from orthodox theology: that it was an experience to be realized in the here and now. Contrary to the orthodox view—then and now—of the resurrection, the Gnostics did not limit the resurrection to a one-time event that took place on Easter morning to Jesus and would occur at some future date at the end of the world for all believers all at once. | Passages from Gnostic scriptures point to the all-important aspect of the resurrection missing from orthodox theology: that it was an experience to be realized in the here and now. Contrary to the orthodox view—then and now—of the resurrection, the Gnostics did not limit the resurrection to a one-time event that took place on Easter morning to Jesus and would occur at some future date at the end of the world for all believers all at once. | ||
For the Gnostic, the resurrection is the glorious liberation of the soul from a state of forgetfulness and ignorance to self-knowledge in God—gnosis today. It is the resuscitation of the divine spark of light, or spirit, within man, whereby that spirit can and does increase. It is the initiation of spiritual self-transformation and self-transcendence. | For the Gnostic, the resurrection is the glorious liberation of the soul from a state of forgetfulness and ignorance to self-knowledge in God—gnosis today. It is the resuscitation of the divine spark of light, or spirit, within man, whereby that spirit can and does increase. It is the initiation of spiritual self-transformation and self-transcendence. | ||
== Your resurrection == | == Your resurrection == | ||