Ed. Please note that the title was edited, to focus more on the esoteric traditions within Christianity. The esoteric ones may have influenced the exoteric ones, and the interplay is probably important, possibly within the organisational structure. Also, the esoteric traditions focus on inner development, and draw upon ideas from other sources beyond Western philosophy.
As one example I take to be blatant, and not very controversial by comparison to many other possible observations: Whereas what we know about Jesus from various sources (the Gnostic Gospels very much included) doesn’t present Jesus as expressing or engaging in many hypocrisies, I know of no institutionalized religion that has historically been more hypocritical than Christianity. This of itself can substantiate that the principles taught by Jesus are by in large diametrically opposite to the larger sum of principles upheld by Christianity in general.
Christianity didn't just wipe out paganisms, it also wiped out Christianity - forms of it that weren't seen as being in the service of the dominant account
In this way, I am suggesting that a fuller critique of the Christian worldview is important in philosophy, especially as the perspective shaped so much Western thinking, including the foundations of science, especially the ideas of Kant and Descartes. Any thoughts? — Jack Cummins
I'm not a scholar of religion, but I have some general ideas about how the Christian religion developed. For example : if Jesus had survived his crucifixion, Christianity, as we know it today, probably would never have emerged. Jesus seemed to intend only to revive the crumbling Jewish religion with messianic motivation. But after his death, other motives were promoted by some of his followers. Their ideas ranged from personalized synagogue Judaism, to nationalized temple Judaism, to monkish retreats like the Essenes, and to abstract philosophical thinkers such as the Gnostics.Some of this may come down to scholarship, but it is likely that there are gaps here, which may reflect biases in theology, as well as the political aspects of the development of the Christian Church. This may say alot in itself, but it does make it hard to put the missing jigsaw pieces together coherently. — Jack Cummins
Pagel's has some interesting stuff on how the Gospel of John can be seen as a "Gnostic" text, and how Valentinian Gnostics read I Corinthians as a Gnostic text, but TBH, I think this only works if we stretch the definition of "Gnostic" so broadly that it makes most of the Patristics, even the main developers of Nicean orthodoxy, into "Gnostics." — Count Timothy von Icarus
So, I am asking here about what has been the influence of Gnosticism, especially in views about the role of sexuality in the development of Christian thinking? — Jack Cummins
As to my view that Jesus and the Christian Church are in many ways antithetical, do you find reason to affirm the Jesus and/or his teachings are not in direct opposition to the stringent hierarchy of religious power which was to later become full-fledged Christianity?
I agree with Pagels assessment that John itself is a "Gnostic," Gospel, — Count Timothy von Icarus
As far as I can tell, the historical Jesus was a mundane locally-focused Jewish Messiah candidate --- whose socio-political mission was limited to reviving the self-image of the sifted sediment of Abraham's seed, then living under the heel of yet another oppressive Gentile empire. In which case, it's possible that the flesh & blood Jesus had a child with Mary, as later mythologized in the Holy Grail legends. But it's also likely that --- due to his ignominious end --- his revival mission would have disappeared in the dust of history, like all the other Jewish messiahs of the era*1.I am glad that you raise the question of what happened to the historical Jesus, especially in regard to the resurrection. My own interest in uncovering the Grail tradition is in relation to this. It seems to be so important in understanding and disentangling facts and mythical ideas. The problem is so much literature, and trying to understand the historical agendas which are underlying them. — Jack Cummins
The description on Amazon.com reminds me of Pierre Hadot's Philosophy as a Way of Life. Thanks anyway. :up:There's a book, Ars Vitae: The Fate of Inwardness and the Return of the Ancient Arts of Living, by Elizabeth Lasch-Quinn, which you may find interesting. — Ciceronianus
So, in this context, I am raising the philosophy questions of how was Chrisianity was constructed, and may it be deconstructed? If the emphasis on the supernatural is demystified, how does the traditional stand as a philosophy and foundation for ethics? It may be connected to a belief in God and life after death, but these are components and how do they come together? — Jack Cummins
In this way, I am suggesting that a fuller critique of the Christian worldview is important in philosophy, especially as the perspective shaped so much Western thinking, including the foundations of science, especially the ideas of Kant and Descartes. Any thoughts?
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