Reply: The God Who Wasn't There Greetings Hal: In reading about your DVD entitled The God Who Wasn't There, there is an important element to the equation that is totally absent from what you are presenting -- and that element is the fact that the scriptures were written by Gnostic Mystics -- composed for those who seek the Ebionite Nazirene path of TheWay.  And what this means is that none of the people you interviewed -- whether they are true believers (Fundamentalists), accepted scholars and historians, or any variety of philosophers and clergy -- all the opinions and positions that you present is mere speculation, because the people you interviewed neither understand the original objective of the scriptures, or the spiritual language of the soul that the scriptures are written in. Like all such spiritual writings, the Gospels emphatically state that the personage of Jesus did not openly reveal what was called the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God to the multitude of people -- i.e., "And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables? He answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given" (Matt 13:10-11 NKJ). To the degree that Paul, who had been taken up into the Kingdom, stated that without the transformation of the lower nature that is essential to the mystical path of TheWay, that the believers will look upon the Mysteries of the Kingdom as "foolishness" ( http://DivineManna.org#literal ). Which means that even in my attempt to explain the mass confusion with respect to those who attempt to read the scriptures without having brought about the necessary spiritual transformation of the lower nature, the very words that I express will be rejected and seen as "foolishness". Paul portrayed the written word of the scriptures as the "letter that killeth" (see http://Ebionite.com/defeat.htm ). Why? It is impossible to understand the inner spiritual meaning of the scriptures, without the transformation, opening and Anointing of the mind of the disciple -- i.e., "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (Luke 24:45).  And the fact that the Pharisees had thrown away what Jesus called the Key of Knowledge ( http://KeyOfKnowledge.org ), and attempted to read the scriptures without first bringing about the necessary spiritual transformation and this opening and enlightenment of the mind, is why Jesus portrayed them as the offspring of the Devil -- i.e., "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:43-44 NKJ).  And once you begin to truly understand what is being portrayed in the above words, all the authorities who you have interviewed not only study the written word of the scriptures "...from [their] own (carnal organic) resources -- but that they each fail to understand that they are "...speak[ing] from [their] own resources" -- and thus, the whole framework of their thinking is drawn from a mindset that parallels that of the Pharisees who Jesus condemned as not understanding the true meaning of the scriptures. To even begin to understand what I have presented to you in the above, and why Jesus portrayed the Torah Observant Pharisees as the offspring of the Devil, you must first understand why Jesus commanded: “But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren” (Matt 23:8 NKJ).  And it is in this one very important statement that neither believer, nonbeliever, clergy, scholar or critic understands, that is the paramount cause of their error and folly. Who is the One Teacher? Among the original Ebionite Nazirene disciples of Jesus who were condemned by both the Jews and the Christians, the One Teacher was portrayed as the True Prophet ( http://TheThreeLies.com#TrueProphet ) -- and it was warned that only those who become the "good ground" in the parable of the Sower and the Seed, can be taught by the True Prophet -- to the degree that they can themselves become Anointed (Messiah/Christ)-- i.e., "These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him" (1 Jn 2:26-29 NKJ). The necessary "...practice [of] righteousness" has absolutely nothing in common with the blind belief of manmade Church doctrines which is promoted by Christians today -- but rather, the very thinking, lifestyle and mindset of the sincere seeker who strives to do as Jesus taught, and seek the Kingdom (within). It has been speculated that those writings known as the Clementine Homilies (the disciple of the Apostle Peter), represents the original Ebionite Nazirene teachings which have long been suppressed by the Church -- and it is in these writings that the above reference to the One Teacher is explained by Peter where it is written: "And therefore I advise not only wise men, but indeed all men who have a desire of knowing what is advantageous to them, that they seek after the true Prophet; for it is He alone who knoweth all things, and who knoweth what and how every man is seeking. For He is within the mind of every one of us, but in those who have no desire of the knowledge of God and His righteousness, He is inoperative; but He works in those who seek after that which is profitable to their souls, and kindles in them the light of knowledge. Wherefore seek Him first of all; and if you do not find Him, expect not that you shall learn anything from any other. But He is soon found by those who diligently seek Him through love of the truth, and whose souls are not taken possession of by wickedness. For He is present with those who desire Him in the innocence of their spirits, who bear patiently, and draw sighs from the bottom of their hearts through love of the truth; but He deserts malevolent minds, because as a prophet He knows the thoughts of every one. And therefore let no one think that he can find Him by his own wisdom, unless, as we have said, he empty his mind of all wickedness, and conceive a pure and faithful desire to know Him. For when any one has so prepared himself, He Himself as a prophet, seeing a mind prepared for Him, of His own accord offers Himself to his knowledge”. And this was the very reason that Yeshua stated to the Pharisees that the Kingdom would never come upon the earth in the manner that carnal men look for it -- for it is within you (Luke 17:20-21) -- which reality is further detailed at http://GateOfEden.com ). While your authorities correctly state that: "The Jesus of the Gospels bears a striking resemblance to other ancient heroes and the figureheads of pagan savior cults" -- and while this is a typical statement by countless scholars and historians, because they each fail to understand both the objective of the scriptures, as well as the language of the soul the scriptures are written in -- they all arrive at an equally flawed conclusion. And once this flawed conclusion is understood, their error is equal to those who you portray as the "Contemporary Christians [who] are largely ignorant of the origins of their religion." But this same warning was presented from a very different perspective in the words: “Biblical scholars were not disturbed by what they found in the Dead Sea Scrolls because they had known all along that the origin of Christianity was not what was commonly supposed to have been” (A. Powell Davies quoted by Millar Burrows in More Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls). The problem that the scholars who note the "...striking resemblance to other ancient heroes and the figureheads of pagan savior cults", is seen in the fact that the accounts of these other ancient heroes are also written in the language of the soul, and neither are these other religions which are put forth as "...figureheads of pagan savior cults" understood with any greater depth, than the mystical Gnostic accounts of the New Testament. The great Truth that none of the culturally accepted experts, scholars, clergy or philosophers have all failed to understand, is the fact that regardless of the ancient religious tradition, the inner core and scriptural authors of each of these ancient religions, were all confronted by the profound reality that the mind of organic man which Paul portrays as being of a "natural" consciousness ( http://DivineManna.org#literal ), is incapable of understanding the higher reality of the soul and what Jesus portrayed as the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God.  Which means that in all cases, not only were each of these authors and core religious groups incapable of portraying in the common language of their cultures the Truth that they knew -- but that each of these religious groups had to employ the mystic language of the soul, in order to convey essential Truths to those who understood the objectives of the scriptures, and the application of what Jesus called the Key of Knowledge ( http://KeyOfKnowledge.org ). The Common Theme and core of all religions at their essence that is not understood by the outer body of believers, is portrayed in the parable of the Prodigal Son -- which in many respects, parallels the analogy of Plato's Cave (see http://DivineStrategery.com#Plato -- or, what is presented in the completion of the cycle from the Alpha to the Omega as portrayed in Jewish Mysticism in the Zohar: “All souls are subject to the trials of transmigration; and men do not know the designs of the Most High with regard to them… The souls must re-enter the absolute substance whence they have emerged. But to accomplish this end they must develop all the perfections, the germ of which is planted in them; and if they have not fulfilled this condition during one life, they must commence another, a third, and so forth, until they have acquired the condition which fits them for reunion with God”. That the vast majority of people are totally ignorant of not only the true meaning of the scriptures, but also the higher reality of their own souls and the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God, is because they dwell in what Jesus portrayed as the "outer darkness" of mind and being (see http://DivineStrategery.com#OuterDarkness ). Thus, the common symbols of all religions, represent the universal journey of the soul that only a handful of seekers ever truly come to understand the reality of. That these symbols employed in the scriptures are themselves universal, is portrayed by G.R.S. Mead in his book entitled Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, where this explanation is put forth: “…what the Gnostics projected onto the screen… [in the form of a ] picture of the universe was in reality a picture of their own minds. Its mythology is a symbolic portrayal, almost a deliberate one, of the forces which operate in the structuring and evolution of the human personality”. And it was for this reason that Carl Jung called the Gnostic Christians the worlds first and foremost psychologists who understood the very fabric of human consciousness. Moreover, while the body of believes don't themselves understand the inner spiritual reality of the scriptures, they are led to believe and embrace them, because the universal symbols used in the written narrative of the scriptures act as a catalyst which connects them to an inner reality of soul and spirit that they don't yet comprehend with any depth of understanding. What all these religious traditions share in common, is that the inner spiritually enlightened core were all turned upon and murdered (see http://Ebionite.com/prologue.htm ), and their scriptures which were promoted by unenlightened priests, politicians and institutionalized religion, were very quickly corrupted (see http://BibleCorruption.com ). Few people ever come to understand the Laws ( http://DivineStrategery.com#TheLaws ) which hold them spellbound in the illusion of Plato's Cave -- which Jesus portrayed as a type of prison. And it is for this reason that the Apostle Peter in the Homilies warns with respect to the True Prophet that Jesus portrayed as the One Teacher: “Hence, O beloved Clement", proclaims Peter, “if you would know the things pertaining to God, you have to learn them from Him alone, because He alone knows the truth. For if any one else knows anything, he has received it from Him or from His disciples”. And the philosophical and theological premise that all your quoted authorities (pro and con) begin on, is that Jesus was wrong and did not know what he was saying. All those who escape the illusion of Plato's Cave , come to understand the journey of the soul from the Alpha of absolute ignorance, to the Omega of Enlightened Light and Knowledge, which must be accomplished over the course of many lifetimes. And the fact that this essential teaching was removed and outlawed from Christianity, is easily demonstrated (see http://ChristianReincarnation.org ). And once the mystical path of TheWay is truly understood -- and the fact that the escape from the illusion of Plato's Cave is through an inner dimension of mind -- only then can the sincere seeker begin to understand the reason why Jesus taught the necessity of living the Consecrated Life in TheWay -- seeking to transform yourself into what is portrayed by AskMoses.com as the Final Temple (see http://TheThreeLies.com#temple ) -- and this will enable you to enter within the Holy of Holies within you, and learn from the True Prophet who will not only open and Anoint your mind and understanding, but will reveal all the Mysteries of life, the soul, and the Kingdom to the few who prepare themselves to make the journey. And that those who are quoted in the DVD The God Who Was Not have not themselves made the necessary journey in TheWay -- and themselves dwell under the illusion of Plato's cave and the "outer darkness", is the reason why they fail to understand the the historical Jesus was a man who overcame the Laws within himself, and achieved Absolute Unity with the Logos of God. GodSpeed in TheWay, Brother of Yeshua

As evidence of their own ignorance -- regardless of the facts that are presented to them -- Atheists, and alleged scholarly intellectuals are of the impression that religions are concocted in people's minds, in order to explain away phenomena that they (religious people) don't understand.    Yet, nothing could in fact be further from the truth.    In a high school text book I observed that Buddhism was portrayed as being superior to Hinduism because it wasn't as pagan -- yet, in this same school text book, Buddhism was faulted for "having borrowed the belief in reincarnation from Hinduism".     Yet, in a total denial of what the Buddha actually taught, the wisdom of the historical Buddha (Enlightened One) was derived from the fact that his mind became enlightened to the journey of his soul over the course of the previous lifetimes his soul had lived.   The historical Buddha, became the Buddha, by virtue of the knowledge of his past lives, as well as the knowledge of his higher soul-reality that few people possess any understanding of whatsoever.   Yet, the authors of the school textbooks were unable to even present the facts to the children, because from their secularly linear mindset, it was inconceivable to the authors of the school text book that such realities as past lives could even exist.   Resulting in the inability of the authors of the textbooks to present the religious facts as they have been taught and accepted.    And while counterfeit religious authorities do this same thing all  the time in their interpretations of scriptures, that educational authorities resort to this same practice, is simply unforgivable!    For no other reason than their own structure of beliefs, they refused to openly state Buddhist teachings to the student -- and it was inconceivable to the text book authors that, under the proper conditions, the memory of previous lifetimes can be restored to a person in this world.   Therefore, they merely attempted to dismiss and ignore the facts, and totally misrepresented Buddhism to the students who were required by law to study their misinformation.   But while I am not in any way a Buddhist, what I found objectionable was the secularized Atheistic spin that was presented to the students under the guise of a factual education -- and we see this often in the secular Atheistic position that religions merely borrow beliefs from other religions, in order to explain away phenomena.   In fact, I directly address this folly in the above copy of my Blog article which is a reply to the DVD entitled, The God Who Wasn't There .    Contrary to the folly of their thinking, the similarities between the exoteric allegorical scriptures of all religions is not the result of borrowing religious beliefs -- but rather, the fact that all religions have the same spiritual objective -- and the fact that they are all striving to overcome the same universal Laws and limitations of consciousness, mind and being, within themselves.  

^  The Great Void - Science, History, Philosophy & Religion:   From an historical perspective, the limits of intellectual inquiry and research is inhibited by the great void in what can be literally learned from the chronicles of man's past.   First off, (1) it must be recognized that it is the winners of all historical conflicts who write the accounts of man's past -- and thus, the historian is not only limited by the political and philosophical spin of these accounts, but when dealing with man's spirituality and religion, it is impossible for the literal and historic minded researcher to even gain access to the essence and core of the spiritual movement.    Why?   Because true spiritual movements have no lineage that can be traced in the historical or linear path.    The Laws that control this world twists all of man's institutions to make them turn upon their own First Principles -- i.e., see The Law Of Octaves. -- and all genuine spiritual movements are always born at an interval in the Laws where the original movements are immersed in corruption.   And it is the movement of the Laws that the modern linear thinking intellectual knows absolutely nothing about, (2) that is the second determining factor that makes it near impossible for most intellectuals to comprehend the birth of not only genuine spiritual movement, but all revolutions that bring about great change.    Therefore, generally, the historian is an intellectual -- and the crux of the intervals of the Laws which cannot be perceived in a linear manner -- an interval in the Laws that brings about the necessary conditions  that gives birth to the spiritual essence of a religion -- is not only beyond the linear-intellectual's grasp, but cannot be documented in the traditional manner.   

Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, there has been a general consensus among historians that the foundation of Christianity is the Essenes.   The words of biblical scholar A. Powell Davies warned the Christian world that discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls had confirmed what they had believed all along -- that the Roman Church created the divinity of Jesus -- i.e., “Biblical scholars were not disturbed by what they found in the Dead Sea Scrolls because they had known all along that the origin of Christianity was not what was commonly supposed to have been” (quoted by Millar Burrows in More Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls).   Proof of just how the Church under the control of Pagan Rome took an entirely different path than that prescribed by Jesus is seen in the fact that throughout most of the Christian world today, the words mysticism and Gnosticism are words more appropriately used to describe heresy and heretics -- and yet, in the words of Dead Sea Scroll expert Prof. John Allegro in is book, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of Christianity, he writes: “It is a fact that the Qumran Library has profoundly affected the study of the Johannine writings and many longheld conceptions have had to be radically revised. No longer can John be regarded as the most Hellenistic of the Evangelists; his gnosticism, and the whole framework of his thought is seen now to spring directly from a Jewish sectarianism rooted in palestinian soil, and his material recognized as founded in the earliest layers of Gospel traditions.”

What is the meaning of the word mysticism? Briefly, mysticism is descriptive of the ability of man to look beyond the limitations of the five senses in order to gain a better understanding of life, God and Creation.  The whole concept of mysticism is rejected by the linear thinking intellectual who rejects the existence of anything beyond the perception of the five senses.    The word Gnostic, as used by Prof. Allegro, is the Greek word used to describe the acquisition of knowledge gained through the mystical process of man's inner and direct connection with God.   While Christians today embrace the doctrine of faith that was defined by the Apostle Paul, the flaw in their many perception is seen in their inability to understand that Paul’s doctrine of faith was based upon the foundation of mysticism that was laid by the Apostle when he wrote: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14 NKJ).    And the very essence of all genuine religious movements are "foolishness" to the mind of the untransformed organic man, because the essence of the spiritual movement is based and founded upon those realities that are beyond the vision and scope of the man's physical senses -- i.e.,  "while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor 4:18 NKJ).   

While from a dogmatic perception which has been politically motivated from an institutional vision rejects the truth from one perspective, the linear thinking scholar more often than not, embraces an opposite error.   And from a Christian doctrinal perspective, the words of Edmund Wilson, an expert who worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls, is even more detrimental to the traditional Church position, when he further raised the question as to what difference it makes if “Jesus... had been trained in the discipline and imbued with the thought of a certain Jewish sect, and that he had learned from it the role that he afterwards lived...” (The Scrolls From The Dead Sea).  

It is important to note that while the institutional religious position attempts to totally eliminate the human element -- proclaiming that God manifest in the form of man -- and his presence in the earth had nothing to do with the influences of man -- the linear intellectual attempts to negate what he sees as the supernatural, and attempts to promote the position that Jesus was the product of the Essene foundation, which culminated in his proclamation that he was the expected Messiah.   And while each of these positions possess a thread of paradoxical truth, the sum of their prevailing error inhibits man from perceiving the true facts of what has taken place in the reality of mankind.     

The original Ebionite Nazirene disciples and followers of Jesus who walked and talked with him daily, held that he was a man who became the Messiah by fulfilling the Law, were condemned by the later Gentile Church as heretics who were too Jewish to understand what Jesus revealed to them.     These same Gentiles who worshiped the emperor as God -- as well as the sun, the moon, the stars, the powers of nature as well as manmade inanimate objects, declared Jesus to be God.   Thus, for the modern Christian to blindly accept even the ideas of God from these heathen people, is in and of itself the surrender of the very God-Given gift of reason that separates man from the beasts of the earth.  

In The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbon notes that the teachings of Jesus was “…embraced by great numbers of the Therapeutae, or Essinians…”, and wrote that: “Le Clerc (Hist. Ecclesiast p. 477, 535) seems to have collected from Eusebius, Jerome, Epiphanius, and other writers, all the principle circumstances that relate to the Nazarenes or Ebionites. The nature of their opinions soon divided them into a stricter and milder sect; and there is some reason to conjecture that the family of Jesus remained members... of the latter and more moderate party”.  Which confirms that not only was Jesus' mother and family members of the Ebionites who were condemned by the later idol and emperor worshiping Church of Rome, but when it is realized that the original Gospels declared that Jesus was a man who became the Messiah/Christ at his baptism in the Jordan (see The Ten Words) -- and that these words were edited from their original context so that the people of the empire could continue in their traditional forms of pagan belief and worship -- then the whole doctrinal foundation of the Church is counterfeit. 

To even suggest that the immediate family of Jesus who came to be Ebionites ("the poor ones") did not have any conversations about either his birth or his relationship to both mankind and God, is simply inconceivable.   And if, as is stated in the Book of Acts, the brother and disciples of Jesus were themselves Anointed (Messiah/Christ) by the Holy Spirit -- and this direct communion with the Holy Spirit failed to reveal the Truth with respect to the nature of Jesus -- is once again simply inconceivable.   When the people questioned the source of Jesus' words, he called himself a prophet: "So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house" (Matt 13:57 NKJ).    And not only did he call himself a prophet, but spoke of the crucifixion as his ultimate process of perfection:  "On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.  And He said to them, Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.' Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem" (Luke 13:31-33 NKJ).   And when the man approached Jesus calling him good teacher, Jesus rejected the title stating: "So Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God" (Mark 10:18 NKJ).   And when it was recognized that the man was asking Jesus about how to achieve eternal life -- and that Jesus did not reply to believe in him (Jesus) as God -- but to keep the Law and the Commandments -- then the Ebionite position that Jesus became the Anointed (Messiah/Christ) by fulfilling the Law -- and that it was necessary for Jesus' disciples and followers to in like manner fulfill the Law and keep the Commandments -- is exactly what Jesus the Anointed Prophet taught and expected of those who believed in what he taught.  

Now if you add to the above the very words attributed to Jesus', we can understand both the original Ebionite position that followers of Jesus must keep the Law, and the profound spiritual ignorance which rejects the requirement of actions as an integral part of the equation: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:17-26 NIV).   

Prior to the scriptures being edited to support the Pagan doctrines of Rome (see http://BibleCorruption.com ), the words spoken to Jesus by the Father was: "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee"  (see http://TheTenWords.com ).   And this original statement is further confirmed in both the Book of Acts, as well as the Epistle to the Hebrews -- wherein, with regard to the passage at Hebrews 1:5, The Adam Clark Commentary writes: "This most important use of this saying has passed unnoticed by almost every Christian writer which I have seen; and yet it lies here at the foundation of all the apostle's proofs. If Jesus was not thus the Son of God, the whole Christian system is vain and baseless..."   Stating that if what Paul states is true -- which the scriptures confirm (see http://TheTenWords.com ), then "...the whole Christian system is vain and baseless..."   Why?    Because the teachings of Jesus represented the pattern of healing to bring about Wholeness -- whereas, the Church since the fourth century has used Jesus as a Pagan mojo sacrifice to peddle a license for those of a heathen mind and lifestyle of perversion, to dwell in a state of perpetual sin and spiritual abandonment.   Ignoring the words of Paul that such a mindset and lifestyle is "...apostasy [ to TheWay], since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.."   Warning that those who call themselves Christians and thereafter "...sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins".  

If it were not already difficult enough for the linear thinking intellectual scholar to understand the spiritual essence of a religious movement without comprehending the movement of the Laws, the inner dimension of of mind and being that is the true Source of the birth of the movement, and the interval in the Laws and that dimension of mind which man calls Time, that brought the conditions of birth about in this world, makes the task of the intellectual near impossible.    And in like manner, the linear intellectual scholar who attempts to discern what men, or schools of thought, a man such as Jesus learned from, does not understand the reality of Wholeness, or the result of fulfilling the Law within one's self.    Thus, each of the positional opposites are equally in grave error.   

While it is true that there are similarities between the Essenes and the Gospel accounts of the New Covenant, because of the inherent void in the perception and understanding of historians and experts such as Edmund Wilson, whatever he wrote failed to capture the true spiritual essence of the Ebionite Nazirene framework from which the Gospels were drawn.   And in this respect, even the statement in the Encyclopedia Britannica is only partially true where they wrote: Thus, the Encyclopedia Britannica writes: "Most of the features of Ebionite doctrine were anticipated in the teachings of the earlier Qumran sect, as revealed in the Dead Sea Scrolls. They believed in one God and taught that Jesus was the Messiah and was the true prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15. They rejected the Virgin Birth of Jesus, instead holding that he was the natural son of Joseph and Mary. The Ebionites believed Jesus became the Messiah because he obeyed the Jewish Law. They themselves faithfully followed the Law, although they removed what they regarded as interpolations in order to uphold their teachings, which included vegetarianism, holy poverty, ritual ablutions, and the rejection of animal sacrifices. The Ebionites also held Jerusalem in great veneration" (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online).

Where the historian and/or intellectual attempts to trace the lineage of movements, because the intellectual is incapable of contemplating the inner dimension of mind and being, the best that they can present is fragments of truth that cannot be fully understood.   In the case of Jesus and his disciples who all entered into that life as a group to institute the New Covenant teachings of TheWay, there were vast differences between the Essenes and the Ebionite Nazirenes that would be near impossible for the intellectual to comprehend -- not without being able to understand and even access, the necessary inner dimensions of mind and being that is the initiating factor in the birth of a totally new spiritual movement.    And while the Essenes provided an environment within which this totally new spiritual movement could be born, the great differences were vast that separated the Essenes from the New Covenant teachings of TheWay.  

In like manner, Islam has been portrayed as being strongly influenced by the Ebionites living in Mecca who had been run out of the Roman Empire by the Church of Constantine, and the uncle of Mohammed who was a Nestorian (Gnostic) monk.   And while on the surface this may provide a feasible answer that satisfies the mind of the historian/intellectual, it remains virtually impossible for the true facts in the matter to be ascertained from a linear perspective.   And while there is a connection between the Ebionites and the foundings of Islam, it is not at all in the traditional manner that can be traced and understood by an intellectual.    More factually, one of the most important elements in the equation that the historian and linear thinking intellectual can't come to terms with -- and it is this point that is the most important in man's search for Truth -- is presented in the example that, what has come to be Islam was spontaneously born from purely spiritual sources, and the birth of the movement then influenced the existing Ebionites and Gnostic sects such as the Nestorians to become Muslim.   And while I quote author and historian Dane Dahl (see The True History Of Islam) to demonstrate that the founding of Islam is not at all what has been traditionally taught -- and therefore what Dane Dahl writes on some historical events (see  The True History Of Islam) possesses greater factual truth than the traditional accounts -- his attempt to portray Islam as being strongly influenced by the Ebionites in and around Mecca, is simply not spiritually accurate.   But unless you come to understand why the void exists in the positions of the historian and intellectual, you will yourself make no substantial gains in your quest to Know the Truth.

Using this example it is important to recognize that it is impossible for the historian or intellectual to present an accurate picture to the reader, without being ostracized by their colleagues.   Anything that can't be proven and demonstrated by the intellectual, is immediately relegated to the category of being faith-based.   Yet, the faith-based community which has been compromised by priests who use religion in their own pursuit of status, wealth and cultural and political power, reject the very source and reality of the Gnostic mindset and knowledge that initiated and brought about the Spiritual birth of the movement, as heresy and even satanic.    Which means that any historian or member of the intellectual community that even suggests the real source of a genuine religious movement -- without cloaking his unorthodox suggestions in conjecture, psychobabel and doublespeak -- will find himself very quickly run out of the intellectual and scholarly community.   In the below I will demonstrated from not only a spiritual perspective, but also a scientific perspective, why it is presently impossible for the intellectual community to eradicate the void that inhibits their understanding.    An important clue to the equation can be found in the very first order of business in the Book of Acts, where Spiritual Communities were established -- and it was these Spiritual Communities that served as not only the bedrock -- but the very womb that brought about the necessary subsequent stages of birth -- that Jesus taught was required to enter the Kingdom as a Child of TheWay.   That the modern intellectual is attempting to understand, what can only be comprehended by the transformed by that is in the process of bringing about this next stage of birth -- is one of the primary reasons why it it impossible for the modern intellectual that has been made subject to the anti-mind expansion environment of our systems of education, to make any real progress in the development of mind beyond the organic limitations that immerses mankind in the illusions of Plato's Cave, and what Jesus portrayed as the "outer darkness" of mind and being (see Outer Darkness).  Resulting in the fact that, because of both the limitations of the faith-based and intellectual communities which environments maintain the great void, the necessary inner dimensions of mind and being that is the initiating factor in the birth of a totally new spiritual movement such as the Ebionite Nazirene teachings of TheWay, as well as Islam, simply cannot be documented or even explored by the historian or intellectual.  

As will be demonstrated throughout this article, traditional science that is linear and confined to the physical elements of this world, has been shackled by the same great void that has hindered the historian.   Yet, for the first time the modern physicist has begun to draw back the curtain to the higher reality of the inner dimensions of mind and being that give birth not only to spiritual movements, but is in fact the source of all events in this world that has perpetually perplexed and confused mankind.    That there is a cause and a reason for all events in the lives of all peoples that cannot be perceived using the senses of the body, has immersed the intellectuals and philosophers of this world in the abyss of unknowing.   That this limited vision and understanding created by the void has caused man's philosophers and traditional scientists to cling to what can only be portrayed as flat-earth fossilized conclusions, is presented in the words: “The present scientific establishment has grown somewhat fossilized by its current world picture and is locked into a view of reality that has outlived its usefulness.  It has begun to limit mankind’s growth and has so increased its sense of specialization, separateness, materiality, and mechanical computer-like functioning that it is in real danger of self-extermination” (William A. Tiller, Materials Sciences Department, Stanford University).

While the findings of the physicist that has proven the traditional world picture to be fossilized, it is also true that unless the physicist himself begins to embark on a path that will reveal to him the esoteric realities that he has only begun to discover, then the physicist will himself find himself flat-lined in his search for the source of what he perceives with his physical senses.    Jesus portrayed this world as the Far Country -- and the "outer darkness" of mind and being -- because the mind and senses of organic man is only capable of perceiving the tip of the iceberg -- and only then, in the allegorical form of that aspect of mind that the objects in the outer world represent.      

It is the reality of the Great Void that causes intellectuals to embrace the fossilized and mentally flat-lined Theory of Evolution.   It is once again, the reality of the Great Void that seduces intellectuals to conclude that religions borrow doctrines of belief from other religions.    Because most of the ancient religions embraced the traditional Virgin Birth of a savior-god, the Great Void has seduced the intellectuals to conclude that Christianity and most religions merely borrowed this doctrine from each other.    In the same way that the historian can't conceive of the the inner dimension of mind and being that is the initiating factor in the birth of a genuine spiritual movement, neither can the intellectual conceive of the true source of these doctrines that they erroneously conclude must be borrowed.     

In like manner, while the intellectual would like to attribute such world events as the Holocaust to men like Hitler, it remains true that Hitler and Nazi Germany were in many respects danced on the world's stage by the predetermined factors and the underlying Laws that brought these events about.   Rabbi Ovadia Yosefan, the former chief rabbi of Israel, a religious scholar who was also the spiritual leader of the Shas party, made the statement that no innocent Jews died in the Holocaust.  What Rabbi Yosefan said was that the 6 million Holocaust victims "were reincarnations of the souls of sinners, people who transgressed and did all sorts of things that should not be done.”   Rabbi Yosefan explained that these souls who had previously lived lives of sin, “…had been reincarnated in order to atone.” 

Thus, there were underlying factors of predetermined events, in conjunction with the Laws that control all events in this world, which brought the Holocaust about -- and since the intellectual can't access either the source of the predetermining events, nor does he possess any understanding of the Laws, it is this Great Void that perpetually causes him to remain blind in what Jesus portrayed as the  "outer darkness" of mind and being.   And while the intellectual will attempt to dismiss what I am stating, their rejection is the product of their own blind ignorance.   Einstein experienced shock when he first came into contact with the new reality of atomic physics, and wrote in his autobiography: “All my attempts to adapt the theoretical foundation of physics to this [new type of] knowledge failed completely. It was as if the ground had been pulled out from under one, with no firm foundation to be seen anywhere, upon which one could have built”.   In the words of Einstein: “We may therefore regard matter as being constituted by the regions of space in which the field is extremely intense… There is no place in this new kind of physics both for the field and matter, for the field is the only reality” (quoted in M. Capek, The Philosophical Impact of Contemporary Physics).   Therefore, unless a researcher has the ability to access the field that is the source of what appears to the senses in what man perceives as concrete matter, then it will remain impossible for him to even begin to contemplate the true reality of what he thinks he sees or perceives.    And it is this inability of the organic senses or mind of man to access the causal Etheric Field, that is representative of the Great Void in his vision and understanding of all world events -- past, present, and the future.

 

 

 ^

Science Proves The Gnostic Vision: Gnosis is the Greek word meaning Spiritual Knowledge -- and True Gnosis is defined as Knowledge received directly from God.   Gnosis cannot be found in a book -- it cannot be taught by another man or teacher of this world -- and it is representative of a higher spiritual reality that simply cannot be redefined by man.   Gnosis is the Greek word which indicates that revelationary experiential Knowledge received from God -- and cannot be imparted by any other Source.   Which means that when quasi-religious and politically-religious motivated people condemn Gnosis/Spiritual Knowledge as heresy, they are in every way condemning and rejecting the Divine Manna imparted to the most religious and spiritual of mankind, as heresy.    Those who ignorantly condemn Gnosis, condemn the Knowledge of God.    And the fact that, because of the politics of religion and the fact that governments the world over have traditionally used religion as a means to maintain rule and authority over the people, we can begin to understand the very reason why genuine Mystics who have dedicated their lives to seeking Spiritual Knowledge -- defined as Gnosis -- have concealed the means to acquire this Spiritual Knowledge within the written text of the scriptures -- cloaked in allegory, so it would not be revealed to carnal/organic man.   

What this means is that Gnosis has nothing to do with man's history -- nothing to do with any historical people, including Jesus and Mary Magdalene (see The Cult Of The Worship Of Mary Magdalene) -- and what is presented in the scriptures, is an allegorical portrayal of the forces and Laws at work within the cosmology of one's own body, mind/soul and spirit.   That this body of esoteric knowledge is so important to preserve and protect, is the reason why Mystics and Spiritual Disciples will write virtually anything in the literal text -- even outlandish absurdities -- so long as the unenlightened people of organic consciousness will insure it is carried forth into future generations. 

Organic man sees himself as nothing more than the physical body -- i.e., human meat spread out upon  a butcher's block -- and one of the primary inherent problems of this gravely limited understanding of self, is that in accord with mankind's organic mindset, it is virtually impossible for him to even conceive why a group of men would go to such lengths to conceal, protect, and preserve certain types of knowledge that most men would consider dubious at best?   The knowledge that organic man envisions, pertains to the day to day realities of this life which is temporal, because it is cultural -- and nothing more.   The concepts of religion that organic man envisions, has to do with beliefs in what is classified as the unknown -- and man's survival after death which he portrays as achieving salvation.    It never even dawns on the limited vision and understanding of organic man that from a spiritual perspective, he is already dead -- and the objective of true religion is to enable him to escape this condition of death which Jesus portrayed as the "outer darkness" of mind and being.   From the limited perspective of organic man who exists in a state of spiritual death, everything beyond the very limited reality that he sees with his physical senses, would be considered mere unproven speculation.   And since organic man in his condition of spiritual death in the "outer darkness" is totally ignorant of hot only his own higher spiritual reality -- but exists in an unknowing condition of undeveloped and inhibited level of consciousness -- he becomes offended and even overtly hostile, when he is told by one who actually knows, that his ideas of birth, life, death and salvation, are not only reflective shadows often perceived in reverse of his higher true reality, but are gravely flawed.    Traditionally, when one who possesses genuine Gnosis attempts to convey higher soul-reality to organic man, the enlightened Gnostic is condemned as a heretic, and in the past he was slain -- i.e., "...but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God" (John 16:1-2 NAS).

In order to preserve their scriptures from being destroyed, the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls protected their writings by hiding them in caves -- while the early Christians who hid the Nag Hammadi Library from the threat of destruction by the fourth century Church of Rome (see Pure Scriptures), clearly preserved these writing for a future time, long after they had departed this world.   And this fact, in and of itself, should provoke great thought.   By our manner of thinking, we can't even imagine why a religious group would create scriptures written in a secret code, which preserved an esoteric knowledge, for some unknown people in the future -- who, lacking the code, would not even be able to decipher this esoteric knowledge.   

It is modern man's failure to understand the motivations that moved these (heretic) religious groups in the past to -- at all cost -- preserve their scriptures and sacred writings, that totally alienates modern man from gaining access to the very Source of Knowledge that would provide him with the most important answers, to his most important questions, pertaining to the life that he is presently living.    That modern man believes that he knows, is perhaps the epitome of his intellectual and religious folly that shackles him to the abyss of profound ignorance.

^

 

 

To the Ephesians Paul asks for them to pray for him, saying: "And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" (see Eph 6:19-20).   What is the meaning of the word "mystery"?   Thayer's Lexicon states that it is a "hidden thing, secret, mystery... confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals.  A hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding.  Of God: The secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men... in rabinic writings, it denotes the mystic or hidden sense of an Old Testament saying..."

What Paul is stating is that spiritual knowledge (Gnosis) belongs only to those who are themselves spiritual -- not because anyone desires to conceal this esoteric knowledge -- but rather, the organic facilities of mind associated with the limitations of the physical body, are simply incapable of perceiving man's own higher reality of soul and spirit.   Paul therefore portrays himself as an ambassador who has been sent to speak to the people -- and that because they are yet too immature and carnal to understand the higher reality of the soul and the Mysteries of the Kingdom, he cannot speak openly as to both the true spiritual meaning of the Gospel, or his true knowledge of the Gospel.   Thus, Paul stated to the baptized believers that he himself had instructed: "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.  I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal" (1 Cor 3:1-3 NKJ).   And that the Christian was to overcome the limitations of their carnal minset and nature -- enabling them to expand and evolve the mind and the transformation of their physical being into a state of spiritual maturity -- with the objective of the Gospel message as demonstrated in the commandment of Paul: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature..." (Col 3:5 NIV) -- "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24 NIV).

Thayer's Lexicon uses the term initiate -- and an initiate is one who has become prepared to receive higher instruction and revelation.   In the parable of the ten virgins (Matt 25:1-13), only those who had prepared themselves with the oil of purification could receive the Lord at his coming.   Thus, the five who had prepared themselves were the initiates -- and while the other five virgins believed and had faith in his coming -- and were in fact awaiting the coming of the Lord -- to those believers who had not prepared themselves with the oil of purification it was said: "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you".   In the parable of the Sower and the Seed ( http://SowerAndSeed.com ), this preparedness is taken one step further -- as in the rungs of the proverbial Jacob's Ladder.   Those who bring forth what is portrayed as sixtyfold, can perceive and understand a higher perception and understanding of what Paul calls the Mysteries of the Kingdom, than those who have brought forth thirtyfold -- and while the ones who have brought forth one hundredfold, can perceive and understand what others cannot.   Yet, the parable of the Sower and the Seed also warns that those who have not overcome their human carnal nature, and have failed to bring about the process of expansion of mind and being by becoming the "good ground", cannot even begin to understand anything of any true sustenance and spiritual value.    Thus, the warning of Jesus to those who ignore what the parable of the Sower and the Seed states:  “Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” (Mark 4:13 KJV) -- or, in the wording of a the modern language New Living Translation: “But if you can’t understand this story, how will you understand all the others I am going to tell?”    That the vast majority of believers, as well as the Gospel critics, all fail to understand the true spiritual meaning of the Bible, is because they ignore what this parable states to them.

In analyzing what the Thayer's Lexicon is stating above:  Because the people are not yet initiates into the knowledge that is beyond the understanding of "...ordinary mortals"  --   secret knowledge that is "...not obvious to the understanding"  -- knowledge that is impossible to be revealed in the written text of the scriptures -- knowledge that Paul, as "...an ambassador in bonds", cannot speak openly about to the congregation of believers who he himself taught -- Paul portrays the congregation of believers as "babes in Christ".    Again, to the Colossians Paul asks for their prayers that "...God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak" (see Col 5:3-4).    Thus, these mysteries of the Gospel that Paul portrays as beyond the comprehension of believers of a "natural" mind, because these believers of the Gospel will look upon and reject esoteric spiritual concepts as utter "foolishness" (1 Cor 2:14) -- cannot be revealed in man's spoken or written words -- but only when "...God ...opens ...a door of utterance, to [reveal] the mystery of Christ" -- a knowledge that cannot be revealed "...to ordinary mortals.  A hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding"   -- including  "...the mystic or hidden sense of an Old Testament" story.    And while God wants all the lost pro prodigal sons and daughters to receive the sacred knowledge which is Thayer's Lexicon states is "...not obvious to the understanding [of] ...ordinary mortals" -- because the human earthly nature must be evolved, this sacred knowledge can only be perceived and comprehended by those who have prepared themselves to receive it.

When Jesus said of his disciples: “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding” (Mark 4:11-12 NIV) -- that word translated secret, is the same word translated mystery, and makes reference to an esoteric knowledge that is beyond man's organic comprehension.   Yet, in a state of spiritual denial, the the modern Church attempts to ignore the implications of what these words convey.    In explanation of the above words of Jesus, the Wycliffe Commentary writes that: “…the initiate was instructed in the esoteric teaching of the cult, which was not revealed to outsiders… The mystery of the kingdom in its ultimate development is the full-orbed message of the Gospel (Rom 16:25-26). The purpose of parables was to instruct the initiates without revealing the items of instruction to the ones who were without. This is in keeping with the Biblical principle that spiritual understanding is restricted to those who have become spiritual...” 

If, as openly stated above, it is true that Jesus taught initiates differently than the multitude of people who he portrayed as being "...outside", then a true seeker must conclude that every article of faith promoted by the Church today, would have to be totally re-evaluated.    Thus the question: What was Jesus stating with respect to why he spoke in parables?   To ignore this question, is to reject the whole foundational objective and revelation of the Bible.   Jesus was stating that only those who become separate from the thinking and ways of this world, and became true disciples of Messiah/Christ, are able to perceive and understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God -- and in the Greek language, this sacred Knowledge is called Gnosis.   And by the very meaning of the word that is being presented that cannot be revealed "...to ordinary mortals.  A hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding" -- it is of the utmost importance to recognize that what is being conveyed is the fact that "...spiritual understanding is restricted to those who have become spiritual...”.   Why?   Because man in his organic or "natural" condition of mind, has yet to develop the facilities of mind necessary to receive and comprehend this higher spiritual knowledge that the biblical authors are making reference to.

When it is recognized that this very warning was stated by Paul to the baptized and totally committed believers at Corinth -- i.e., “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way -- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge -- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” (1 Cor 1:4-7 NIV) -- the modern reader who does not pause and reflect on what this means -- personally -- to them, remains a blind man who is beyond the reach of the Gospel message.   What is Paul stating to the believers at Corinth?   That even though Paul himself had instructed them in the "testimony" of Christ -- and that they had received the entire revelation of the Good News of the Gospel -- to the degree that they were not "...lacking any spiritual gift" -- they had yet to evolve and mature those facilities of mind that would enable them to perceive, discern and comprehend the higher reality of the soul and what Paul portrayed as the Mystery of the Gospel.   And this is especially demonstrated in the second chapter of the very same Epistle where Paul warns these believers who have been given all primary historical knowledge and testimony of Christ: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14 NKJ).    And just as important is thee fact that Paul stated that when they complete the process of transformation and achieve this higher level of spiritual maturity, that the Christ will come to them and teach them -- i.e., "...as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed”.    And thus, this is the meaning of the allegorical End Times when the Kingdom (within) comes upon the earth (the body) of the disciple/seeker.    This Spiritual Knowledge that can only be revealed by the Lord, is called Gnosis -- i.e., spiritually experienced and acquired knowledge that can only be imparted to those who have so prepared themselves that they are as virgins who have filled their lamps with the oil of purification necessary to receive the Lord.

The early Christian Valentinius quoted Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians when he made reference to Gnosis Kardias -- or, the enlightened eyes of the heart.   "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints" (Eph 1:18).   And that Paul wanted very much to speak about the Mystery of the Gospel to the Ephesians, but could not, is the reason he portrayed himself as an ambassador in bonds: "And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" (see Eph 6:19-20).   And how did a seeker/disciple obtain these enlightened eyes of the heart?   Very briefly, by fulfilling the role of a virgin who awaits the Lord with the oil of purification -- and by becoming the "good ground" that permits the necessary expansion of the facilities of mind to be brought about, which enables the seeker/disciple to be taught by the Indwelling Logos/Son of God/True Prophet.   And in the same way that in the parable of the ten virgins it was said to those who had failed to prepair themselves with the oil of purification that "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you" -- even though they believed and had called upon the Lord and was awaiting his coming, this reality of the believer who has failed to prepare himself is futher explored in the early Christian scripture known as the Shepherd of Hermas.  

In the introduction of the early Christian writing known as the Shepard of Hermas, it is written: “The Pastor of Hermas was one of the most popular books, if not the most popular book, in the Christian Church during the second, third, and fourth centuries... In ancient times two opinions prevailed in regard to the authorship. The most widely spread was, that the Pastor of Hermas was the production of the Hermas mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans. Origen states this opinion distinctly, and it is repeated by Eusebius and Jerome”.   If, then, it is true that the Pastor of Hermas was one of the most important scriptural authorities over the first four centuries, then we can use it in our endeavor to better understand the essence of early Christian thought.   What the Shepherd of Hermas has to say is very important to us today, because it represents the scriptural tradition that was taught directly to the faithful flock by the Apostles of Christ.  Thus, on the nature of scripture, in the Shepherd we find: “I am senseless, sir, say I, and do not understand these parables. For how she can crush out, and on the other hand save, I do not perceive. Listen, says he. Those who have never searched for the truth, nor investigated the nature of the Divinity, but have simply believed, when they devote themselves to and become mixed up with business, and wealth, and heathen friendships, and many other actions of this world, do not perceive the parables of Divinity; for their minds are darkened by these actions, and they are corrupted and become dried up. Even as beautiful vines, when they are neglected, are withered up by thorns and divers plants, so men who have believed, and have afterwards fallen away into many of those actions above mentioned, go astray in their minds, and lose all understanding in regard to righteousness; for if they hear of righteousness, their minds are occupied with their business, and they give no heed at all. Those, on the other hand, who have the fear of God, and search after Godhead and truth, and have their hearts turned to the Lord, quickly perceive and understand what is said to them, because they have the fear of the Lord in them. For where the Lord dwells, there is much understanding. Cleave, then, to the Lord, and you will understand and perceive all things”.

The message that is very clear from this early Christian writing is that it is impossible to mature spiritually, while attempting to divide oneself between the two worlds.   In our present day culture we are living proof as to the validity of the wisdom that is portrayed in this writing -- i.e., one cannot perceive the true meaning of the parables and the inner significance of the historical narrative of the scriptures, while one devotes their lives to their “business, and wealth, and heathen friendships, and many other actions of this world” -- which would include the whole array of addictions provided by all the many leisure’s and entertainments that captivate and control our every-day lives.   Further, do we truly do unto others as we would want others to do unto us -- i.e., do we send our children (the souls who were placed in our care) off to government secularized schools to become imbued with the thinking, mindset and lifestyle of the heathen culture in which we presently live?   

In the Shepherd of Hermas a reference is made to a tower, of which it is written: “And the tower, I asked, what does it mean? This tower, he replied, is the Church. And these virgins, who are they? They are Holy Spirits, and men cannot otherwise be found in the kingdom of God unless these have put their clothing upon them: for if you receive the name only, and do not receive from them the clothing, they are of no advantage to you. For these virgins are the powers of the Son of God. If you bear His name but possess not His power, it will be in vain that you bear His name”.    In understanding what is written, it is most important for us to be aware of the continual message found in the words: “If you bear His name but possess not His power, it will be in vain that you bear His name”.   Thus, if you call yourselves Christian, but fail to purify and develop your mind and body from the defilements of this world -- and do not possess the true Knowledge of the Spiritual Christ -- and have not yourselves inherited the same higher powers of mind that the Son of God promised all his followers would possess -- then “it will be in vain that you bear His name”.   And again, this is demonstrated in the words spoken to those who believed upon the coming of the Lord, and even called upon his name, but had failed to bring with them the oil of purification, where it was stated: "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you"  

The problem that Paul is unsuccessfully attempting to convey to the reader is this: What was revealed to the True believers and disciples of Jesus and TheWay at the beginning of our Common Era, was truly the most Black Swan Event every to transpire.    Organic man -- whether he is a believer or unbeliever -- whether he is a scholar or an acclaimed intellectual genus by the standards of our culture -- those who are limited to man's organic senses and reasoning, are simply not prepared to even envision man's own higher soul and spiritual reality.   And in view of the fact that Jesus himself made reference to bringing about subsequent stages of birth, the vast majority of mankind who have chosen to ignore these crucial words of Jesus, and have not brought about these subsequent stages of birth, can no more envision their own higher soul and spiritual reality, than a sperm or ovum can envision the life of a child beyond the limitations of the womb where the development of a fetus takes place.  

Unlike the flock of believers at Corinth to whom the Epistle is written, the modern Christian was not taught directly by Paul -- and the very fact that the Christian world remains divided by an uncountable number of factions and manmade doctrines of belief based upon organic carnal reasoning, is proof of the deficiency of the modern dogma and doctrines that are promoted by the Churches.   In understanding man's human and often complacent nature, Paul even went as far to say that anyone who promotes a faction -- i.e., a doctrine of belief -- is a sinner who has been turned out of TheWay (see No Sects).   Why?    Because the primary objective of the teachings of Jesus and TheWay was to bring about the necessary subsequent stages of birth and transformation of the disciple/seeker -- a process of transformation that would enable them to Know All things, and find the Gospel being fulfilled within themselves in a manner that could not be understood by organic man.   Therefore, according to Paul, those who cling to manmade doctrines of belief, have already been turned out of TheWay.  

It is important to recognize that the believers at Corinth who Paul stated were too carnal to understand the higher reality of the soul and the Mysteries of the Kingdom, existed at a time when these Gospel teachings were still in a pure and undefiled state.   This was in a timeframe that could truly be classified as "BC" -- i.e., Before Constantine and the Pagan Church of Rome that threw away and lost the spiritual essence of the teachings of TheWay.   Therefore it must be acknowledged that whatever the modern believer views as the Gospel requirements with respect to faith, saying the proper prayer accepting the Lord as their personal savior, or any other such requirement, no modern believer can even suggest that Paul did not know the Gospel requirements when he personally taught and baptized the Corinth flock of believers.   Yet, Paul then goes on and warns these believers of a yet untransformed "natural" mind who were committed and dedicated to Christ: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ” (1 Cor 3:1 NAS).   Thus, these believers who were taught personally by Paul -- in a time of greater spiritual purity, B.C. -- could only be taught the doctrine of Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor 2:2), because they were not yet spiritual men -- but rather, they were men of flesh and still very much “babes in Christ”.   Paul then explains that: “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able” (1 Cor 3:2 NAS).  

What should be troubling to the modern believer is that Paul openly admits that the baptized and confirmed Christians at Corinth -- people who had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and received the gifts of the laying on of hands and speaking in tongues -- people who were not taught by preachers and priests, but the Apostle himself -- were not yet able to understand and comprehend what Paul referred to as the Mysteries of the Gospel of God.    When it is recognized that Paul confessed that if he attempted to convey to this congregation of believers the true spiritual meaning of the allegorical scriptures, or the esoteric knowledge which is preparatory to comprehending what Paul portrays as the higher reality of the soul and the Mysteries of the Kingdom -- that these same believers would condemn and reject these higher spiritual concepts as "foolishness" -- then only a fool would claim that they know what is spiritually true and false by virtue of their study of the written words of the scriptures.

Speaking of the Disciples and what they experienced in order to learn and know the Truth that other men were blind to, Paul writes that they were "caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (2 Cor 12:4-5 NKJ).   Why?   Every sincere Christian and intelligent reader of the Gospels must ask the questions: Why can't the experience of being brought up into Paradise be expressed in words?   And perhaps even more important is the question as to why "...it is not lawful for a man to utter" what a Disciple who enters the Kingdom experiences?   Moreover, if this witness to the inconceivable higher realities of the Kingdom is true, then why can't Christians gain access to the same spiritual experience of entering the Kingdom as Jesus' disciples did?    When Jesus stated that those who walk in TheWay will find revealed to them the "Truth that sets them free", he was not making reference to the "milk" fed to those Christians who Paul portrayed as “babes in Christ” -- but rather, the mature disciples who had brought about the necessary transformation of their lower animal earthly nature, brought about the subsequent stages of birth, and emerging out of what Jesus portrayed as the "outer darkness" of mind and being, was able to begin to receive the revelation of Gnosis directly from the Logos of God -- which is incomprehensible to the organic mind of man, even when they are committed and baptized believers who Paul states, had received the initial gifts of the spirit.   These are serious questions, that can only be addressed by very serious seekers who truly seek not only to Know the Lord, but to Know anything beyond the temporal mundane of this world which fades like the cycle of leaves falling off a tree before the winter.    

The most profound statement which is all but ignored by seekers today, is found in the Epistle of Peter And James where it is written: "Hear me, brethren and fellow-servants. If we should give the books to all indiscriminately, and they should be corrupted by any daring men, or be perverted by interpretations, as you have heard that some have already done, it will remain even for those who really seek the truth, always to wander in error.   Wherefore it is better that they should be with us, and that we should  communicate them with all the fore-mentioned care to those who wish to live piously, and to save others."   Why would it be stated that, if the esoteric wisdom and knowledge of the teachings of Jesus and TheWay were to be lost, that it "...will remain even for those who really seek the truth, always to wander in error"???   And while many people think they know, in truth these words represent a reality that they have yet to come to terms with: “If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Cor 8:2 RSV).  

When Paul warns the baptized and committed Christians at Corinth that, because they were of an organic and "natural" mind, they were yet too carnal in their understanding to comprehend the spiritual meaning of the Gospel -- which is often referred to as the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God -- he conveyed to them the reality that they would judge and even condemn this higher reality of the Spirit as absolute "foolishness" -- i.e., “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14 NKJ).    Thus, it is imperative to ask the question: What is the "natural man"?     The condition of mankind that Paul is making reference to, would just as well be portrayed as "organic" -- or, of the physical body.   The "natural man" , is the "organic" human being.   And what Paul warns is that the mere act of turning to belief in Jesus does not in any manner enable the believer to understand the true Gospel Teachings that can only be grasped by those who have undergone the necessary spiritual transformation of mind and being of truly walking in TheWay.

It is said that human consciousness is like the tip of an iceberg -- and in the same way that only a very small tip which is supported by an immense foundation of ice protrudes above the water where it can be seen -- organic man who Paul portrays as of a natural mind, can only utilize a very small portion of his potential of mind.   Like an ovum that is released into a woman's womb, without the proper and balanced fertilization, and the necessary environment that initiated growth and development, the mind of organic man remains earthbound in it's thinking -- simply because those higher areas of mind that are not necessary to the support of the physical body and the culture of this world, do not develop!    Because these areas of mind are rarely to ever  used, they not only fail to develop, but they remain mentally atrophied.    Therefore, it is not a question of how smart a person is from the perspective of man's way of measuring intelligence.   But rather, it is a reality that if these higher areas of mind that do not correspond to the vibration of the earth are not properly stimulated and developed in the proper environment that initiates growth and maturation, then the very spheres of mind required to contemplate and understand anything beyond the physical and mundane, simply fail to develop.   And when Paul states that the wisdom of this world will come to naught (1 Cor 2:6-8), it is because of these organic limitations that inhibit all of mankind who are of a "natural mind", from understanding anything beyond the forms of this physical world.   And as I will demonstrate in the below, even the most brilliant of secular intellectuals do not in any manner possess any real understanding of even the forms they see, as they look out into the world in which they presently dwell.    In fact, you could enroll in all the most esteemed colleges and universities that man has created -- you could endlessly study the volumes of books composed and written by men considered wise throughout the ages -- and your wisdom and knowledge would pale in comparison to the Disciples of Jesus and the earliest of Spiritual Christians who were sincere Disciples of TheWay.  

The average modern believer who reads these words would probably reply: If this is true, then the Disciples of Jesus were set apart from the rest of mankind, and we cannot expect to know what they knew.   Yet, nothing could be further from the truth! The flock of Christian believers have in fact been robbed of their inheritance -- like the lost prodigal son -- by embracing the consciousness of the earth over the spiritual -- which Paul portrayed as the way of the god of this world -- which Jesus portrayed as the Citizen of the Far Country.     That early Christians, other than the disciples themselves, also inherited the promise of the teachings of Jesus and TheWay, is demonstrated in the writings of the first century elder Ignatius, who personally knew both Paul and the other Disciples.   And in his Epistle to the Trallaus he speaks of the Mysteries of the Gospel and the Kingdom in the same exact manner that Paul does, and writes: “Might I not write to you things more full of mystery?  But I fear to do so, lest I should inflict injury on you who are babes.  Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being able to receive their weighty import, ye should be strangled by them”.  The only way that Ignatius could have written these words, was if he, himself, understood what was beyond the comprehension of the organic mind of the believers of the simple faith.   And while he states that he understood what was incomprehensible to the organic mind of man, he also confesses that though he is aware of the mysteries, he is not yet “by any means perfect, nor am I such a disciple as Paul or Peter”.   

Thus, Paul writes to the congregation at Corinth -- who being babes in Christ, only knew Jesus and him crucified -- where he wrote: "We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nought" (1 Cor 2:6 ASV).   In other translations the word fullgrown, is translated either mature or perfect.   Yet, in not even understanding the primary objectives of the Gospel, modern believers study and learn the wisdom of this world and the opinions of men, failing to move on to maturity and learn directly from God -- i.e., "It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me" (John 6:45 NIV).   Not in belief, doctrine, or to a manmade church -- but rather, the objective of the teachings of TheWay is to enter in at the inner "narrow gate", and learn directly from God in the Kingdom.   And to accomplish this, it is necessary to disregard that which we see without our physical eyes and understanding, and seek and learn via our spiritual eyes that is able to perceive beyond the limits of this world -- i.e., "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor 4:18 KJV).

The folly of the Christian world is seen in the fact that they learn from the teachers of this world who proclaim that there is no unseen -- and only what is seen with one's physical eyes is valid.   Christians send their children to learn about what is temporal, while alienating themselves from what is eternal.   Christians flock to churches which are temporal and built with the hands of men, while rejecting the Temple of their soul which is Eternal and Sustaining.

With respect to the witness of Ignatius: What preacher of the Gospel today would stand before his congregation and state to the people in their pews, that if he was to reveal the true teachings of the New Covenant -- the Mysteries of the Gospel of God -- he would “inflict injury on you who are babes” in Christ?   What teaching of the Lord could a present-day preacher of the gospel reveal that the congregation of believers are not “able to receive their weighty import”?   If Ignatius or the other early Church Fathers who knew the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God were with us today, what profound mystery could they speak regarding the true teachings of Jesus that believers today would be “strangled by them”?  

Throughout the history of mankind those who have openly claimed to possess the Secret Knowledge which is called Gnosis, were condemned as elitists and heretics.   Yet, what the rest of mankind totally fails to understand, is the fact that it is not that a more advanced spiritual soul wishes to conceal higher knowledge from others -- but rather, in the same way that kindergarteners are not prepared to study and comprehend at a university level -- neither are the organic minded earth-bound people of this world, prepared to understand the higher reality of the soul and the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God.   In the same way that the mind of the kindergartener must develop and mature, so too must the mind of man begin the process of expansion beyond organic limits that are supported by the physical body-vessel.    And this is exactly what Paul states when he writes: "However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing" (1 Cor 2:6 NKJ).   The King James Version reads that wisdom can only be revealed to those who are "perfect" -- but what must be understood is that each soul can only perceive and comprehend in accordance with their own level of soul-evolution and spiritual development.   

Of equal importance is the wisdom just following this statement that only the mature can perceive and comprehend the hidden truths of the Spirit -- hidden, because the organic mind of the physical body only supports that area of mind and being that is of the vibration of the earth -- and what is beyond this very basic level, must be developed by the disciple who walks in TheWay.   Thus, Paul writes: "But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.  For 'who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?' But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:9-16 NKJ).

When Paul uses the term Christ -- the English translation of the word is the Anointing (Messiah/Christ) -- and the objective of the teachings of the New Covenant is embodied in the words: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Gal 4:19 KJV).   If the believer received Christ with baptism, or the saying of a prayer accepting the Lord as their savior, then these words could never have been written by Paul to the congregation of the Galatians.   Even though the congregation had turned to Christ, Paul speaks of the process of birth that must be brought about "...until Christ be formed in you".   The dictionary defines the word travail:  "(1) very hard work; toil (2) labor pains; pains of childbirth (3) intense pain; agony".   Thus, the birth process that transforms the believer from a "babe in Christ", to a "mature and perfect" disciple who has experienced Christ formed in them, requires great effort that is not in any manner represented in modern Christian Church doctrine.  

The arduous objective of striving to achieve the next stage of birth, is further presented in the goal that all those who are of an organic mind and spiritually immature, will over the course of many lifetimes evolve "to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:13 NKJ).   But to understand what Paul is presenting, it is important to understand one of the surviving quotations of the Original Matthew  known as the Gospel of the Hebrews/Ebionites where St. Jerome preserved the text at the baptism (quoting Jerome): "But according to the gospel which the Nazaraeans read, written up in Hebrew speech: The whole fount of the holy spirit shall descend over him.... Further on in the gospel of which we made mention above we find these things written: But it happened that, when the Lord ascended from the water, the whole fount of the holy spirit descended and rested over him, and said to him: My son, in all the prophets I was expecting you, that you should come, and I might rest in you. You indeed are my rest. You are my firstborn son, who reigns in eternity."   To which Jerome correctly explains  "not partially as in the case of other holy men."

While the prophets and holy men of the past had received the Anointing (Messiah/Christ) that enabled them to understand the Mysteries of the Kingdom to the degree that they were able to receive the Anointing, only the historical man Jesus had so fulfilled the Law within himself, and was therefore able to receive "...the whole fount of the Holy Spirit".   Thus, this original teaching is preserved by the early Church writer Hippolytus when he stated that Jesus  "was justified by fulfilling the Law. He was the Christ of God, since not one of the rest of mankind had observed the Law completely. Had any one else fulfilled the commandments of the Law, he would have been the Christ."  And in speaking of this original Ebionite Nazirene position, he writes that when each disciple "...thus fulfills the law, they are able to become Christs, for they assert that our Lord Himself was a man in like sense with all humanity."  (Hippolytus, Refut. Omn. Haer. vii. 34).   And it is this spiritually evolved objective of the teachings of the New Covenant that Paul is making reference to when he states that each believer is to be matured into "...a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:13 NKJ).    

In the case of the historical man Jesus who totally fulfilled the Law within himself, he was in “...supernatural union of a man and God... In their [his Ebionite Nazirene disciples] eyes, Jesus of Nazareth was a mere mortal, the legitimate son of Joseph and Mary: but he was the best and wisest of the human race, selected as the worthy instrument to restore upon earth the worship of the true and supreme Deity. When he was baptized in the Jordan, the Christ, the first of the aeons, the Son of God himself, descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, to inhabit his mind, and direct his actions during the allotted period of his ministry” (Gibbon; The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire, V.4, P.366)   The Son of God is the True Prophet (see True Prophet), who was called the Logos among the Greeks, the Teacher of Righteousness among the Essenes -- and for those who correctly understand the original teachings on the Trinity, the Logos is the Mind of God.  

Do you believe the Bible?   Or, do you believe the doctrines of men?   Prior to the fourth century takeover of the Church by the Emperor Constantine and the most carnal bishops in the Church, all the early Church writers noted that at the baptism in the Jordan, the words spoken to Jesus were: "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee".    And this is easily documented and proven in the article known as The Ten Words.   The fact that the modern Church is in denial with respect to what the Gospels originally stated, is typical of ..... mind.   Robert Jastrow, an astrophysicist who heads NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, pointed out that the big bang is not exactly an explanation of cause. He is quoted in The Aquarian Conspiracy: “If a scientist really examines the implications, he would be traumatized. As usual, when the mind is faced with trauma, it reacts by ignoring the implications - in science this is called ‘refusing to speculate’".   Thus, because the scientist is traumatized by the facts and realities presented to them, they simply "refuse to speculate".    But this is not only true with respect to the scientist who is confronted by a factual reality that he can't deal with the implications of -- but this is just as true with the modern religious leaders who can't deal with the implications of The Ten Words.   Why?   Because these ten words represent the Achilles Heel of the manmade doctrines of the Church -- and the spiritual reality they present not only demonstrates that the Church of Rome was in error -- but that the Ebionite Nazirene disciples of Jesus who the Church condemned as heretics who were too Jewish to understand what Jesus taught, were correct all along. 

In the same way that Jesus warned about the blindness of the carnal Jews to see beyond the limitations of their doctrines of belief -- and Paul warned that the people of a "natural" mind will reject the "mysteries" of the Gospels as utter "foolishness", and interesting parallel point is advanced by Gary Zukav in his book, The Dancing Wu Li Masters, where he writes that "A rational mind, based on the impressions that it receives from its limited perspective, forms structures which thereafter determine what it further will and will not accept freely. From that point on, regardless of how the real world actually operates, this rational mind, following its self-imposed rules, tries to superimpose on the real world its own version of what must be" (P. 160).   Even though it can be proven that Darwinism is a fraud -- their patterns of thought have been fixed and fossilized -- and the multitude of scientists are incapable of perceiving the world outside of their ideological and philosophical box.    In much the same way, While it can be proven that the Gospels originally stated that Jesus became the Anointed (Messiah/Christ), and  the "adopted" Son of God at his baptism in the Jordan -- which is exactly as the original Ebionite Nazirene disciples of Jesus believed -- yet, it is impossible for the multitude of Christians to see beyond their (pagan) doctrinal box.    True examples of the reality that  "...regardless of how the real world actually operates, this rational mind, following its self-imposed rules, tries to superimpose on the real world its own version of what must be."    While it can easily be proven that the Genesis Account is not historical -- but rather, presents ultra important spiritual truths to the minds of those who possess the eyes to see -- yet, both the Fundamentalist believer and the Atheist non-believer ignore are simply incapable of coming to terms with the higher reality that the scriptures were intentionally written so that a rationally minded person could not in any manner believe the literal/historical text.   Thus, the Church Father Origen who was called the "prince of Christian learning", second only to the disciples, writes: “What man of sense will agree with the statement that the first, second and third days in which the evening is named and the morning, were without sun, moon and stars, and the first day without a heaven. What man is found such an idiot as to suppose that God planted trees in paradise in Eden, like a husbandman, and planted therein the tree of life, perceptible to the eyes and senses, which gave life to the eater thereof; and another tree which gave to the eater thereof a knowledge of good and evil? I believe that every man must hold these things for images, under which the hidden sense lies concealed” (Origen - Huet., Prigeniana, 167 Franck, p. 142).

If, as the Jewish disciples of Jesus who were historically known as Ebionites, understood that Jesus was a man who became the Messiah/Christ at his baptism in the Jordan by fulfilling the Law within himself -- which is confirmed by the original Gospels (see s The Ten Words) -- then the modern Christian world has been gravely misled.   And it goes to the core difference between a philosophical belief in Jesus, in contradistinction to imitating Jesus as the Pattern of Salvation for all to follow in TheWay.   And thus, the words: "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46 KJV).   And this is why Jesus warned those who would call themselves his followers and believers: “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt 10:38-39 NKJ).   The requirement that has been set forth is that “ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:45 KJV).    In the words of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa: “…it is imperative on all those who have an equally earnest desire for the Good as He has, to be followers by the path of an exact imitation of Him Who leads the way to salvation, and to carry into action what He has shown them. It is, in fact impossible for persons to reach the same goal unless they travel by the same ways”.   And this is why the requirement was set forth by Jesus with respect to his disciples and followers:  “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48 RSV).

The reality portrayed by Jesus in the parable of the lost prodigal sons and daughters plight in this, the Far Country, is seen in the quotation of Clement of Alexandria who portrayed the vast majority of people as "...Atheists who destroy and pollute, as far as in them lies, the Deity dwelling in them - that is, the Logos -- by association with their vices”.    Why Atheists?   Because if they truly believed, then they would live the Truth in every aspect of the lives that they live.    The Truth is not known by those who believe from the perspective of the organic mind of what Paul portrays as the "natural" mind of man which is earth-bound and blind to the higher reality of the soul and the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God -- but rather, the Truth can only be known by those who become the Final Temple -- and in accordance with each person's success in becoming the "good ground" in the parable of the Sower and the Seed.   With the ultimate level of spiritual success in the pattern of Jesus who was able to achieve Absolute Oneness with the Indwelling Logos/Son of God/True Prophet.   And this is the purpose of living the Consecrated Life in TheWay that Jesus taught.  

The living of the necessary Consecrated Life cannot be discarded!   As stated by Jesus himself: "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46 KJV).   Paul states that we must each come to the "...fullness of Christ ...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting" (Eph 4:14 NKJ).   And this can only be accomplished when each believer lives the Consecrated Life that enables them to become the Final Temple -- striving to purify one's self in accord with the pattern of Jesus as stated in the words: “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure” (1 Jn 3:3 NIV) -- becoming the Anointed (Messiah/Christ) that enables the disciple to be taught by the Indwelling  True Prophet -- as stated by John: "These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.  But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him" (I Jn 2:26-27 NKJ).  

The degree that each disciple can know the Truth, is in accord with the level of Anointing (Messiah/Christ) they are able to receive -- i.e., "But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.  For 'who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?' But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:9-16 NKJ).   The written word of the scriptures are made for those who are immature -- i.e., those who Paul portrays as "babes in Christ".     The objective of the New Covenant teaching is for each person to grow to maturity and receive the Anointing (Messiah/Christ) -- which connects us to the Indwelling Logos/Son of God/True Prophet -- i.e.,  "But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him" -- and this is why Peter is quoted in the Homilies as stating with respect to the Indwelling True Prophet: "...For He is within the mind of every one of us, but in those who have no desire of the knowledge of God and His righteousness, He is inoperative; but He works in those who seek after that which is profitable to their souls, and kindles in them the light of knowledge. Wherefore seek Him first of all; and if you do not find Him, expect not that you shall learn anything from any other. But He is soon found by those who diligently seek Him through love of the truth, and whose souls are not taken possession of by wickedness. For He is present with those who desire Him in the innocence of their spirits, who bear patiently, and draw sighs from the bottom of their hearts through love of the truth; but He deserts malevolent minds, because as a prophet He knows the thoughts of every one. And therefore let no one think that he can find Him by his own wisdom, unless, as we have said, he empty his mind of all wickedness, and conceive a pure and faithful desire to know Him. For when any one has so prepared himself, He Himself as a prophet, seeing a mind prepared for Him, of His own accord offers Himself to his knowledge” (see  True Prophet ).    Those who love Him, and desire to seek the Truth, are those who live the Consecrated Life in TheWay.

When Paul stated to the believers in the Churches: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ” (1 Cor 3:1) -- what he was stating was that until the believers of the simple faith begin to live the necessary lifestyle that is portrayed as the "good ground" in the parable of the Sower and the Seed (see Sower And The Seed), that it will remain impossible for them to understand the true meaning of the Gospel -- and this sacred Knowledge can only be taught by those who are able to receive Gnosis from the True Prophet/Logos/Son of God (see True Prophet).    The disciples possessed the eyes to see and understand, because as it is written: "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (Luke 24:45) -- and this higher enlightened perception and understanding that the mind of organic man is incapable of understanding, is called Gnosis. 

Jesus - The Black Swan Of The Reformation: 

In the Protestant Reformation when Calvin and Luther proclaimed the Epistles of Paul to be the most pure reflection of what Jesus taught, the great truth they failed to comprehend was the missing spiritual dimension to the writings and theology of Paul's -- a dimension of mind and being that was beyond their very carnal perception and understanding.   When rightly understood, the true meaning and essence of the Gospel Truths were very much what would be classified as a Black Swan Event -- i.e., "The term black swan (not capitalized) comes from the 17th century European assumption that 'All swans must be white'.  In that context, a black swan was something that was impossible and could not exist.  In the 18th Century, the discovery of black swans in Western Australia^[1] metamorphosed the term to connote that a perceived impossibility may actually come to pass" (see Black Swan).   In the case of the historical man Jesus, his life and how he came to accomplish what he did was such an inconceivable enigma -- and remains an inconceivable enigma even to this very day -- that what we have is the Ultimate Black Swan Event in the chronicles of mankind's existence upon the face of the earth. 

The meaning of the word "esoteric", can portray secret knowledge that is only revealed to the few -- but what is not understood is the fact that "esoteric" knowledge can only be comprehended by the few -- and those who are called initiates, more often than not, are representative of the few who are capable, and thus have the capacity, to understand the knowledge that is being presented.   Once rightfully understood, esoteric knowledge is neither hidden nor concealed -- but rather, remains incomprehensible to the majority of people because their minds are simply not prepared to understand what is being portrayed as secret knowledge.    Ultimately, these is no such thing as knowledge that is hidden or concealed -- but more factually, few people are prepared to perceive and understand what to the few, is a clear as the nose on a person's face.    Therefore, as popularly used, the words mystery or esoteric are in fact a misnomer, or even a canard -- in that, it is not the knowledge that is hidden or concealed -- but rather, the people's inability to perceive and understand. 

The profound Truths that had become manifest and revealed to the few who were prepared to receive and comprehend the esoteric knowledge of the soul and man's true relationship to God, is representative of the greatest Black Swan Event in the existence of mankind on the face of the earth.   And in the same way that the majority of Jews were incapable of perceiving the reality of the moment because of their organic limitations, so too were the pagan Gentiles who eventually enlisted under the banner of Christendom.   The man Jesus was not only an enigma to the vast majority of Jews, but even more so the Gentiles or non-Jews.    Further, because the framers of the Protestant Reformation had become alienated from the original objectives of the Gospel by the carnal and pagan doctrines of the Church of Rome, the faith embraced by Calvin and Luther was one of unquestioned blind faith in the carnal doctrines of men.    In a true Black Swan Event, the spiritual meaning and esoteric teachings which were strategically imbedded within the allegory of the Gospel accounts, very much represented "...a perceived impossibility... [that had] actually come to pass" which was beyond even their organic scope of imagination.   And, having no means to even relate to not only what had actually come to pass -- but the spiritual reality that had historically transpired -- and further,  had the potential to transpire and be brought about in the life of the True Disciple of TheWay in the present -- was simply beyond organic man's ability to even envision.    Inconceivable -- inconceivable to both believer and non-believer critic alike -- because the mind of organic man in his natural form is simply not prepared to comprehend with any real depth not only the enigma of the man Jesus -- but also the enigma of man's own soul and spiritual natures and realities -- all of which the vast majority of believers or unbelievers, is as far removed from the truth as noon is from midnight.

In many respects, Martin Luther was so spiritually disenfranchised and ignorant because of his adherence on the manmade doctrines of Pagan Rome -- and so motivated by blind faith and superstition -- that what has come to be known as Protestantism is founded upon the utterings of incoherent folly.   Because Martin Luther was in no wise prepared to come to terms with the spiritual enigmas raised by the scriptures, he instituted a religion based upon blind faith.   While the modern believer ignores countless biblical statements that God predetermines all events in the lives of all men, what the Bible asserts was not ignored by the framers of the Reformation.  Tnder the heading of Providence in the Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary it is explained that:  “Divine government is the continued activity of God by which He directs all things to the ends He has chosen in His eternal plan… He governs insignificant things (Matt. 10:29-31), apparent accidents (Prov. 16:33), as well as man's good (Phil. 2:13) and evil deeds (Acts 14:16). God acts in accordance with the laws and principles that He has established in the world. The laws of nature are nothing more than man's description of how we perceive God at work in the world. They neither have inherent power nor do they work by themselves. Man is not free to choose and act independently from God's will and plan; he chooses and acts in accordance with them. In His sovereignty, God controls man's choices and actions (Gen. 45:5; Deut. 8:18; Prov. 21:1). God's actions, however, do not violate the reality of human choice or negate man's responsibility as a moral being” (see The Great Paradox Of Freewill vs Predestination). 

How can the biblical assertion that "...Man is not free to choose and act independently from God's will" be justified within the context that  man can only choose and act in accordance with God's Will -- and “in His sovereignty, God controls man's choices and actions” -- and even begin to answer the question as to how does this “not violate the reality of human choice or negate man's responsibility as a moral being”?    While there exists an important answer to these questions, because of the corruption of the Church doctrine and the scriptures, it is impossible for the modern believer to understand the Gospel with any real depth.    So, it can be said that the faith-based religion of the Church has in fact been promoted under a self-imposed Vow Of Ignorance.   And when rational thinkers questioned the often irrationality and required suspension of reason that Luther championed, he condemned himself to the embodiment of spiritual ignorance, when he condemned the very gift of reason that separates man from the brute beasts of the earth -- i.e., “Reason”, writes Luther, “is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but - more frequently than not - struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God” (Quoted in: The Great Thoughts; compiled by George Seldes).    The result was that the image of God that the Church painted in what came to be known as Calvinism (see The Great Paradox Of Free Will), was nothing less than horrendous and even diabolical.   And while the modern Church has attempted to soften what the Bible states about Predestination, the fact that the body of believers fail to understand the Laws that bring about all events in this world, has immersed the Church itself in a sea of profound spiritual ignorance.  

There have always been the few who rejected the Church's self-imposed Vow Of Ignorance, and with a dauntless heart sought the Truth of the Spirit over the doctrines of men.   Yet, in the past, anyone who knew the Truth -- and even openly hinted at the Truth -- were immediately turned upon as a demonic heretic by the Church -- often burnt at the stake for heresy.    In the name of their god and gods, those who spoke the Truth were condemned as a disease to humanity that needed to be eradicated before it (they) could infect the thinking of other people.   And sadly, the Church has continued down this road of ignorance even to this very day.   To the mind of the true believer, such things as facts and rational thought are simply not part of the equation.    And yet, in their failure to recognize a Black Swan Event that was inconceivable to the organic mind of man who dwells in the death-state of what Jesus portrayed as the "outer darkness" of mind and being, the Church itself became the embodiment of what is portrayed in the AntiChrist.   And one of the primary problems is seen in the fact that the spiritual faith of Paul, is not only very different -- but must be understood from a totally opposite concept of faith which is espoused by those who are too carnal to comprehend the Source of Knowledge that remains beyond the reach of men of an untransformed organic mindset.    In contradistinction to the faith of the common believer, Paul's faith was based upon sure knowledge and spiritual experiences of incomprehensible Mysteries that would totally confuse the entry-level believer, who must rely solely upon blind faith in the unknown.    And while this fact is easily demonstrated using the Bible itself, because the readers of the written word are themselves blind to its true meaning, they simply skip over these crucial warnings as if they do not exist.    The result is that they put their faith in rhetoric and the doctrines of men -- which doctrines become their own limitation -- and they never move on to maturity and wholeness, and perfect their faith in the manner that Paul Commanded.

^ All Genuine Religions Are Spiritual/Gnostic: The word Gnostic is derived from the Greek word "gnosis", which is the term used to both delineate and define experiential spiritual knowledge, vs knowledge derived through human reasoning based upon the natural consciousness of mankind.    The word "gnosis" is defined as indicating "...direct spiritual experiential knowledge rather than from rational or reasoned thinking".   The objective of all genuine religions, is to bring about that condition within the mind and life of the individual where they are able to fulfill the statement in the Gospel of John, and be "taught by God" -- i.e., "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me" (John 6:45 NKJ).   And it was for this reason that Jesus commanded his disciples not to be called teacher or rabbi -- i.e., "But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have One Teacher, and you are all brethren" (Matt 23:8 RSV) -- and this was commanded, because there is Only One True Teacher, and that is the True Prophet (see True Prophet).    And that those lost prodigal sons who look to other men as their teacher, rabbi or leaders, will be greatly deceived and misguided, is why the disciple Peter in the Clementine Homilies declared: “Hence, O beloved Clement, if you would know the things pertaining to God, you have to learn them from Him alone, because He alone knows the truth. For if any one else knows anything, he has received it from Him or from His disciples”.

The Wisdom and Knowledge that the True Prophet (Son of God/Logos) imparts to those who are worthy, is called Gnosis.   And Gnosis cannot be written in the words of man -- or even taught by man -- because Gnosis is defined as Spiritual Knowledge, or the Divine Manna of the Kingdom, that can only be received directly from the True Prophet to those who are themselves true spiritual seekers.   In the words of the second century Elder Valentinus: "Gnosis was distinct from the secret teachings they only revealed to initiates once they had reached a certain level of progression."   And the whole objective of the teachings of TheWay as revealed by Yeshua/Jesus, was to prepare the mind of the disciple to receive the revelation of Gnosis -- i.e., the Divine Manna of the Kingdom -- from the indwelling True Prophet/Logos/Son of God that is dormant within the minds of carnal believers.  

The Source of this Spiritual Knowledge that is beyond organic human comprehension, has often been portrayed as the Indwelling Logos/Son of God -- but few possess the insight to understand that this access to this higher knowledge that is beyond carnal man's comprehension, is always via one's higher reality of soul.    But since few believers or unbelievers have ever come to understand the ancient adage to Know Thyself -- and to Know who and even  what man's true nature and higher reality is, few ever come to possess the vision of the True Mystic and what is portrayed in the word Gnosis.  

While the word knowledge, and the word Gnosis, both denote a type of knowledge, the Knowledge portrayed in the word Gnosis has absolutely nothing to do with knowledge derived from this world.   Gnosis is beyond organic human reasoning -- it cannot be read in a book -- it cannot be taught by a teacher -- or even written in the literal text of scriptures.    Therefore, the term Gnostic scriptures is an oxymoron drawn out of the mouth of the person who uses the phrase -- because, the objective of all scriptures are the same -- and all scriptures are equally Gnostic.    And in this respect, an interesting statement was made by Dead Sea Scroll expert Prof. John Allegro in is book, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of Christianity, where he writes: “It is a fact that the Qumran Library has profoundly affected the study of the Johannine writings and many longheld conceptions have had to be radically revised. No longer can John be regarded as the most Hellenistic of the Evangelists; his Gnosticism, and the whole framework of his thought is seen now to spring directly from a Jewish sectarianism rooted in Palestinian soil, and his material recognized as founded in the earliest layers of Gospel traditions.”   What Prof. Allegro failed to understand, is the fact that all the Gospels are equally Gnostic, and their primary objective is to lead the disciple down the path of TheWay, and permit them to gain access to the higher reality of the soul and spiritual natures, and ultimately the Inner Kingdom that Jesus commanded to seek and find.

Quoting Valentinus, the early Christian who was considered one of the foremost Gnostics:  "Gnosis was distinct from the secret teachings they only revealed to initiates once they had reached a certain level of progression."   What Valentinus is stating, is that the spiritual concepts which have been historically portrayed as the secret teachings associated with many Gnostic groups was not at all what is defined to be Gnosis -- but rather, AT BEST, these secret teachings were the esoteric knowledge of the cosmology of one's own mind -- how the disciple must live -- and the foundational truths that must be built upon, that are necessary to bring about the expansion of mind and consciousness that enables the disciple to begin the process of acquiring True Gnosis -- i.e., a Spiritual Knowledge that cannot be comprehended by the untransformed organic mind of man.    That those who portrayed themselves as Orthodox, were totally incapable of understanding the nature and reality of this higher knowledge which they ignorantly condemned as heresy -- remains totally true to this very day.   No person who understands the higher reality of Gnosis, would condemn Gnosis -- and what they would condemn, is the manmade carnal understanding of Gnosis.   Historically, it has often been pointed out that the Gnostics rarely ever defended themselves against the onslaught of doctrinal attack waged by those who portrayed themselves to be Orthodox -- and unless one comes to understand why those known as Gnostics rarely ever attempted to defend themselves, then man's own higher reality will remain forever elusive and beyond comprehension.   

To even begin to comprehend the higher reality of the soul and what is called the Kingdom of God, requires the development of man's higher facilities of mind.   In truth, you would have greater success at teaching kindergarten children advanced calculus, than you would attempting to teach organic man about his own higher natures and reality of mind and being.   And this is not an elitist statement -- but rather, one based upon the fact that it is impossible to receive and comprehend True Gnosis, unless the higher areas of mind are developed.   What this means is that in the same way that it is impossible to convey to the believers of the simple faith this higher knowledge that is dependent upon the development of man's higher facilities of mind to comprehend, the same is true of the intellectuals who reject the scriptures as myth and a hoax.   In the same way that you can't use a kitchen spoon to dig a foundation, and then use this spoon to mix and lay the proper foundation in a great house, neither can the organic mind of man even begin to comprehend man's own higher soul and spiritual reality.   

^  The Books With The Power To Deceive - Allegorical Scriptures For An Allegorical World: Paul portrayed the written text of the scriptures as the "letter that killeth" (2 Cor 3:6).   And referred to them as "Jewish fables" (Titus 1:14).   To the Galatians who were attempting to embrace the Jewish rituals in the Torah, Paul states: “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” And then Paul goes on to explain to those who want to attempt to read the written word literally, in an historical context as Christians do today: “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory” (Gal 4:21-24 KJV).   That the carnal Jews could not see beyond the symbols of the allegory, and their eyes and hearts were hardened so they could not comprehend the true meaning of the scriptures, is readily understood where Paul states that “their minds were blinded” by the Laws of God, “for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament… even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart” (2 Cor 3:14-15 KJV).     The 2nd century Church Father Clement of Alexandria in his Stromata explained: “...now that the Savior has taught the Apostles, the unwritten rendering of the written, this has been handed down also to us”.   What Clement is stating is that it was Jesus who taught his disciples the inner meaning of the scriptures by opening their minds so their understanding could pierce through the garb of the allegorical enigmas that blind the perception of carnal men -- i.e., "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45 NIV).

In the Homilies of his disciple Clement, the Apostle Peter portrays the scriptures as the "...books with the power to deceive" those who fail to understand both the traditions, and the nature of these writings.    Contrary to what is convenient to believe, the true meaning of the scriptures is in accord with the vision and perception of its author -- and not what others choose to believe.   Jesus warned the carnal Jews that they did not understand the true meaning of the scriptures, because they attempted to perceive them through the filter of their manmade beliefs.   And in like manner, the true meaning of the Gospels, is that which was envisioned by its Ebionite Nazirene authors.

In the above subheading on The Mystery Of The Gospel, it is demonstrated that Paul taught to seek Spiritual Knowledge or Gnosis, which is beyond the comprehension of organic man -- even when he is a committed and baptized believer who has received the gifts of the spirit by the laying on of hands by the Apostle himself.   It is also demonstrated that the scriptures are written in a code that conceals the true meaning --  to the degree that Jesus had to open the minds of the disciples for them to perceive the meaning that other (organic) men were blind to -- i.e., "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (Luke 24:45).   And what is presented to us in the enigma of the allegorical scriptures that are written in a secret code, is the reason why Peter portrayed the scriptures as the "books with the power to deceive" -- and why Peter warned that "...even the falsehoods of Scripture are with good reason presented for a test.” (see  http://DivineManna.com#deceive ).    Peter explains that in the case of most people, all that they see and think they understand, is basically what they already believe -- and that the scriptures are written in such a way, that virtually anyone can confirm their previously held beliefs in the written words of the scriptures.   Why?    Because, few men who do not Know Thyself -- and remain ignorant about their own higher soul and spiritual reality that is beyond man's organic comprehension -- are capable of perceiving the true meaning of the scriptures that remains safeguarded beneath the allegory of the written words.    Why is the esoteric knowledge concealed in this manner?   To both preserve it for those who can put it to use, and safeguard it from those who would destroy it.          

The vast difference between what would be called the knowledge of man, and the higher spiritual reality portrayed in the Knowledge that is defined as Gnosis, has begun to be demonstrated by the modern scientific community.    Quoting at the link http://UnityOfMind.org#blemish : In his book, Urbausteine der Materie, physicist Walter Thirring wrote about matter that modern physics “...has put our thinking about the essence of matter in a different context.   It has taken our gaze from the visible - the particles - to the underlying entity, the field.   The presence of matter is merely a disturbance of the perfect state of the field at that place; something accidental, one could almost say, a ‘blemish’.   Accordingly, there are no simple laws describing the forces between elementary particles… Order and symmetry must be sought in the underlying field.”   One of the primary realities that science has to come to terms with in order to advance beyond their present level, is the fact that physical matter is the result of the forces in the Etheric Field coming together, causing what Walter Thirring above describes as a "blemish" that we observe with our organic physical senses.   And what this is, is Darwinism in reverse -- i.e., modern science has proven that the Field which is unseen and surrounds all matter, is the Source which impresses the aspect of mind and consciousness which is represented in the form of matter that we observe.   The problem is that to the organic mind of both the faith-based believer, as well as the Atheist, what modern science has proven is simply beyond their ability to even contemplate.

What man calls knowledge, is the wisdom and understanding gained through his study of what Walter Thirring called the "blemish" -- i.e., the illusion of what we perceive as physical matter.    Yet, without understanding the underlying forced in the Field that formed the blemish what organic man observes as concrete physical matter, it can be stated that what we observe in the physical world is so incomplete, that it would be virtually impossible to truly understand what we think and imagine we see.    Reality, states the physicist, can only be found in the (Etheric) Field -- and it is the Field that both surrounds all physical forms that we observe with our body-senses, and it is the unseen Field that is the source of what we perceive with our physical senses which we call matter.   Which again, is reverse Darwinism -- in that, Darwinism attempted to demonstrate that this physical world came into being apart from any unseen supernatural forces -- and modern science has now proven that this world is the direct result of unseen forces that would be defined as supernatural, or beyond what is seen with the physical senses.  

In defense of Darwin, it must be understood that in the same way that many unsolved crimes in the past are presently resolved through DNA, Darwin lived in the nineteenth century -- long before the most enlightening discoveries of modern quantum physics.   And in recognition of this fact, Darwin himself questioned the inadequacy of his own conclusions.  In the words of Niles Eldredge of the American Museum of Natural History: “The old explanation that the fossil record was inadequate is in itself an inadequate explanation.”  Why?  The fossil record is inadequate because everything that we see and perceive in this realm is directly caused by patterns of force being exerted upon matter from beyond the bounds of this three-dimensional world in which we presently dwell.  And the fact that the fossil record failed to support Darwin's conclusions, is openly acknowledged in his own words where he wrote: "Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain, and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory" (Charles Darwin, On The Origin Of Species). According to Darwin's theory, the geological record should be full of species that are slowly increasing in complexity over time.  Since evolution relies on time, chance, and incremental steps, sudden leaps are not possible -- which demonstrates that the fossil record itself directly contradicts the theory of evolution!   And even if a proverbial missing link could be found, this would not in any manner negate the fact that it is the forces in the Etheric Field that has brought about all changes and variations of life-forms that we observe in the physical world.

Einstein experienced shock when he first came into contact with the new reality of atomic physics, and wrote in his autobiography: “All my attempts to adapt the theoretical foundation of physics to this [new type of] knowledge failed completely. It was as if the ground had been pulled out from under one, with no firm foundation to be seen anywhere, upon which one could have built”.  In much the same fashion, the European physicist Niels Bohr stated that “…The great extension of our experience in recent years has brought to light the insufficiency of our simple mechanical conceptions and, as a consequence, has shaken the foundation on which the customary interpretation of observation was based.” These “…mechanical conceptions” make reference to Darwin and the theory of evolution.

In the same way that Peter warned that organic man only sees in the scriptures wh