Criticism of CVT teachings about Jesus. Criticism of CVT teachings about Jesus New Thought Worldview
Clive Lewis. From “Is Theology Poetic?” (Quoted in They Asked for a Paper - 1962 Geoffrey Bles, London, p. 211).
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JesusChurch Universal and Triumphant compared to the historical and biblical Jesus
Luke P. Wilson
Views of the Church Universal and Triumphant, led by Elizabeth Clare Prophet, fit the general definition "New Era Movement"(DNE). This
the movement is usually described as a broad cultural movement that carries
Western society non-Christian (i.e. non-biblical) philosophical and
religious ideas are predominantly of Eastern origin1. However
New era movement- and this is very important - never ignored
the central Person of Christianity.
eras are assigned to Jesus Christ (at least symbolically ) important place in
your worldview. Some of them even pass off their words as
modern supernatural revelations received from Him
Considering the dominant role of Christianity in the formation of Western
civilization, it is not surprising that the leaders of the New Age are trying to find some
connection between Jesus and your religious views. But for this they
it is necessary to introduce radical
changes. Old Testament ideas such as monotheism and the difference between the Creator and
creations, which are generally considered an integral part of Judaism of the first
century AD e., and in the context of which Christ lived and preached, are inferior
place for pantheism and monism, and sometimes for statements that Jesus preached
some secret knowledge (gnosis) not included in the New Testament.
3. However, Jesus is not only a religious symbol, but also a historical
personality, and the details of His life and teachings can be made with reasonable accuracy
establish from historical documents that have come down to us from ancient times (in
including the books of the New Testament). This circumstance forces
think about the true origin of the views that adherents of the New
eras attributed to Jesus, and to doubt whether these people have
there are sufficient reasons to believe that these ideas come from Him.
Is it worth talking about this seriously?
Yes, and there are two reasons for this:
first, the New Age Movement, especially the revelation of the “New Jesus”
era" has a significant impact on our society;
secondly, the revelations of the “New Age Jesus” are essentially ahistorical and often occult in nature, they differ sharply from the uniquely historical biblical creed and seriously distort the theology of Jesus and early Christian Churches
4.Among the most famous religious groups, professing worldview
New era and claiming to connect their teaching with Jesus, most fully
formulated the essence of the New Age ideas about His personality and teachings,
perhaps, Church Universal and Triumphant (hereinafter CVT). In this article we will examine the views of the CVT as a representative example of the New Age teaching about Jesus Christ. The main thesis of the article is that CVT attempts
demonstrate the historical connection between the historical Jesus and so
called "modern revelations of Jesus" insolvent .
First part of the article represents overview of history and doctrine CVT -
this will help you understand their unusual ideas.
(1) the source of information about Jesus;
teachings about (2) the personality of Jesus,
(3) His sermons and
(4) His death.
Then we will offer you criticism of the views of CVT and will pay special attention to the question of how this movement links its beliefs to the person of the historical Jesus.
In conclusion, we will draw some conclusions about the validity of CVT's claims in the light of these criticisms.
Origin and history Church Universal and Triumphant - CVT
Religious scholars believe that CVT has its roots in two occult
trends of the 19th century: "New Era" (especially its theosophical
direction) and “New Thinking”
5. The main role belonged to Theosophy.
Theosophy, in turn, arose on the basis of spiritualism in the 19th century. centuries and
formed into an independent movement after It was 1875
The Theosophical Society was created.
Spiritualists tried to substantiate - empirically
through and without connection with organized religion (i.e. historical
Christianity) - its main thesis, immortality of the soul.
Their starting point was ideas of Emmanuel Swedenborg(1688-1772). However, spiritualists
failed to create an intellectual basis capable of competing with
the growing influence of scientific rationalism (especially Darwinian theory
evolution), and by the 1870s the popularity of spiritualism began to wane.
Theosophy became a counter move by the intellectual elite of the spiritualist
movement that attempted to create such an intellectual basis.
6.Russian emigrant Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) was in charge
ideologist and main driving force the process of transformation of spiritualism into
Theosophy. When she began attending seances at the Vermont Spiritualist Group
(on basis which later gave rise to the Theosophical Society), its level
contacts with the spiritual world grew rapidly from communication with the spirits of the deceased
relatives of group members before contacting such exotic and
cosmopolitan figures like the Kurdish Warrior and the Turbaned One
Hindu
7. In addition, Blavatsky started talking about contacts no longer with
disembodied spirits of dead people, and with the mysterious ancient Brotherhood
Adepts - individuals who have developed supernatural powers
abilities through initiation into Gnostic mysteries rooted in
history of ancient civilizations, especially Egyptian. In his famous
essay " Isis Unveiled" she put forward an impressive eclectic
theory of comprehensive occult knowledge (gnosis), which in all ages and
in all civilizations had brotherhood of initiates. In Isis there was a man
depicted as an emanation descending from the Universal Divine Spirit in
matter; the doctrine of salvation set forth in this book was reduced to evolution,
returning a person to a higher spiritual level through knowledge
(gnosis) and communication with this secret brotherhood of adepts called
Ascended Masters or Mahatmas
8 .In 1879 Blavatsky moved to India, and her views soon became
in a fusion of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy with inherited theosophy
ideas of Western occultism
9. It was then that the idea was born what is the soul
evolves in an upward spiral over many lifetimes, and
the main driving force of this process is karma, the universal spiritual
cause and effect law. The teaching of the Ascended Masters was
modified accordingly to become the idea of brotherhood
highly developed personalities who, through Gnostic initiation during
numerous reincarnations have reached superhuman positions and
abilities. Theosophy ranks among the Ascended Masters the great
religious leaders (including occult) known to us from the Bible and
stories: Melchizedek, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Jesus and the Count
de Saint-Germain. From time to time the Lords came to earth as
embodied teachers to teach people occult wisdom, and these
phenomena are explained based on the doctrine of astrological periods. All
great teachers have invariably declared the same thing; if they are visible
contradicted each other, it was only because their words were adapted to
appropriate historical and cultural environment, or because they
the true teachings were distorted. (The CVT creed portrays Jesus as one
from the Ascended Masters; He is often called the patron saint of the era of Pisces.) Created
Blavatsky's occult synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas was embodied in her
magnum opus " The Secret Doctrine" (1888), the true "bible" of theosophical
movement, which had an incomparable influence on the history of occultism.
Smaller but also Another significant contribution to the CVT creed was made by
American occult movement of the 19th century - "New Thought"" Home
The figure of this movement was the parapsychological healer Phineas Parkhurst Quimby
(1802-1866). Quimby became interested in practice mesmeric healing,
developed by the Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1733?-1815).
Mesmer noted that some patients put under hypnosis
trance-like state received physical healing. Pulling back
Mesmer's theory that these healings were performed by some secret energy,
called "animal magnetism", Quimby concluded that the mind
a person initially has a number of abilities that can be released
using hypnosis
10. Although Quimby did not found any organization, he
thoughts about the possibilities of the mind had a direct influence on Mary Baker Eddy and
Fillmore couple - founders of Christian Science (1879) and Christian
Unity Schools (1895). Within the framework of the "New Thought" were developed
specific techniques that supposedly allowed the use of creative
the potential of the mind to do good and prevent evil. « Counting the mind
crossing of spiritual and physical reality, Quimby's followers at
by means of oral declarations embodied in the physical world what the mind
considered it to be true"
11. This is where the main practice of CVT originates."decrees", T. e. verbal or mental repetition of “energy prayers” or mantras to counteract evil influences and achieve unity with God.
12.In the first half of the twentieth century several groups were created based on theosophy
overtly religious movements. One of the most notable was the movement
"Ascended Master I AM" created by Guy W. Ballard (1878-1939).
Ballard was familiar with theosophical literature and the doctrine of the Ascended Ones
Lords
13. In 1930 he took a trip to northern California,
Where there were rumors that on the slopes of Mount Shasta there is something
mystical brotherhood of the Lords. Ballard claimed that on this mountain he
Saint Germain, a prominent figure in 18th-century European occultism, appeared
(Comte de Saint-Germain)
14. Based on this event, Ballard created the doctrine
that after his incarnation in the 18th century, Saint Germain became an Ascended One
Lord and appeared on earth to begin " Seventh Golden Age
eternal Perfection I AM on earth." Ballard, his wife and son Donald
were appointed as the sole plenipotentiary representatives of Saint Germain
15."I AM Presence" which becomes the core concept of CVT, represents the individualized presence of divine life emanating from the (apparently) impersonal divine monad or "Central Sun"
16. (The term "I AM" used by Ballard and CVT, undoubtedly
borrowed from an Old Testament passage, in which God Himself talks about
To yourself[Exodus 3:14]; this is just one of many examples of use
biblical terms contrary to the context of the Bible.) In addition, Ballard added
to his teaching emphasis on civic virtues and national pride.
Throughout the 1930s this culturally adapted mixture of Theosophy and
civil religiosity has won many more followers than
ever succeeded in theosophical ideas
17. At one time, up to 7 thousand listeners gathered at Ballard’s lecture in Los Angeles
18.With the death of Guy Ballard in 1939, the Ascended Master I AM Presence movement split into several parts . Each of these newly formed groups developed its own ideas about hierarchy
Ascended Masters.
One of these groups was founded in 1958 by Mark Prophet - then it was called “Summit Lighthouse” (“Beacon on the Top”). "Prophet" claimed that he was performing mission entrusted to him from above, corresponding to the new era of truth of the Ascended Lords"
19. Heclaimed his rights to leadership , placed El Morya at the head of the hierarchy of the Ascended Masters and announced himself the only herald of his revelations.
20. After Prophet's death in 1973, his wife Elizabeth took over leadership duties. Now the organization he created is called the Church Universal and Triumphant.
Analysis of CVT's ideas about Jesus
Sources of knowledge about Jesus.
Current CVT leader Elizabeth Prophet and her
late husband Mark wrote several books.
Two of their works: “The Lost Years of Jesus” (1984) and the four-volume “Lost
teachings and sus "(The Lost Teachings of Jesus, 1986)
wider readership than others, and clearly written to prove
the connection between New Age teachings and the historical Jesus, therefore in this article
we will use them exactly.
IN In these books, the Prophets name four sources of knowledge about Jesus:
The Bible, selected works of the early Christians and Christian Gnostics,
legends about the journey of Ii Susa to India and(4) revelations of the Ascended Masters
22. At the same time, the second and third points look rather like an excuse
fourth than self-sufficient sources of information. But that's what we're talking about
Let's talk in the next part of the article.
The Prophets' Writings cite the Bible as an important source of knowledge about Jesus.
The fourth volume of The Lost Teachings of Jesus contains no less than 756 quotations from
Old Testament and 2,182 quotations from the New Testament
23 . However, CVT does not
attaches decisive importance to the information of the Bible and does not consider it infallible.
On the contrary, according to the Prophets, the Bible is missing the most important parts
teachings of Jesus Christ (esoteric, as opposed to exoteric):
...In fact, the Bible is silent about some of the most precious
facts concerning the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the patriarchs and prophets,
and also about the core Truths necessary for the development of the soul...
24The second source of knowledge about Jesus is selected passages from the works of
works of Christian Gnostic literature:
Gospel of Thomas,
The Gospel of Philip, the so-called Secret Gospel of Mark and Pistis
Sophia. For example, in In the works of Origen we supposedly find confirmation that
what Jesus taught about reincarnation and karma
25 and the Gnostic writings supposedly confirm that Jesus preached a secret doctrine, that He remained on
earth for a few more years after His resurrection, and that He did not claim
to a unique relationship with God
26. The third source of information is legends about travel to India and some
other places of the Far East, supposedly undertaken by Jesus in his youth
(the so-called “lost years” or “years of silence”, covering the age
from 12 to 30 years old).
In 1894, Russian journalist Nikolai Notovich announced his discovery - ancient legend about the journey of Ii sus to India and Tibet, where
He allegedly studied Buddhist and Hindu scriptures. Notovich published
translation of the ancient text " Life of Saint Issa, Best of the Sons
human”, which he allegedly saw with his own eyes. The text contains
unusual teachings attributed to Ii sus. Present to the world a Tibetan manuscript
no one has ever tried the story of Jesus, but in the 20th century at least three
people independently traveled to Tibet, after
what they said in the press that they had verified the authenticity of the story
Notovich. One of these publications included a new translation of an ancient
legends about Issa. Both notorious translation inform the reader that
Jesus (Issa) left Israel at the age of 13 and went to India,
intending to become acquainted with the teachings of the Buddha. He preached the unity of all
religions and upon returning to Israel was killed - just not by instigation
Jews, but by the Romans themselves, who considered Him politically
unreliable
27. We will definitely consider these statements in another part of the article.
The fourth and most important source of knowledge about Jesus for CVT is
modern revelations received from the Ascended Master himself. Books
The Prophets are replete with stories of personal revelations and conversations with the Ascended One
Lord Jesus, for example:
I remember one day in a conversation with Jesus we discussed the words “man is not
can see God and live." I said, "Jesus, I think
that this statement deprives us of all opportunities - after all, when a person
reaches a sufficient level of spiritual development to see God, he
dies". Jesus replied, “This statement is not complete.” He asked:
“Shall I give it to you?” I replied, “Yes, please.” Jesus delved into the chronicles
akash and extracted something from them that sent shivers down my spine.
chill. He said: "A man cannot see God and live
As a person"
28.Based on these modern revelations, the teachings of the CVT supposedly correct
numerous errors and omissions from the Bible.
CVT Teaching on the Person of Jesus. The doctrine of CVT is very different from
orthodox Christianity, therefore, analyzing their views on this or that
other issue it's better to start with what they don't believe in. Yes, to the question
"Who is Jesus?" First a negative answer is given: “ He is not a unique Son
God's." The orthodox doctrine of the person of Christ is unequivocal and
consistently denied:Churches have turned everything inside out. They consider Jesus Christ to be the only begotten
Son of God, not realizing that this is the matrix from which we are all created.
Christ is the Universal Reality from which we all originate
29The Christ Self is an expression of God's absolute love for all his children… IN
otherwise God would have had a favorite son, Jesus, and we, the rest of us,
would be deprived of their sovereign right to his kingdom
30.Not being the only Son of God, Jesus should not be the object
worship:
There's nothing wrong with Jesus, don't get me wrong. He is the greatest
Lord I've ever met, but he expects us all
we will play the same role... we will not living Christs, simply
worshiping Jesus...
31As CVT teaches, it is important to understand that behind the name “Jesus Christ” (they
prefer to say "Christ Jesus") is not worth the personality in which forever
two natures united, divine and human: "We love Jesus
with all our hearts, [but]… we know that between Jesus the man and Jesus
Christ makes a difference"
32. Jesus is a man whose human nature has been transformed into
Deity; Jesus realized his True Self, the individualized I AM
Presence, Light emanating from the Central Sun
33. He achieved it
unity through self-purification and application of secret knowledge throughout
many lives (one of His previous incarnations was King David)
34 ions are available to every person:
And this achievement on earth... was the goal of Jesus throughout the chain
incarnations, during which he used various aspects of the Law
initiatic Christ consciousness
35. Thus, Jesus is the great Example. He shows us how to
achieve self-improvement and gnostic initiation into the science of being
personal divinity and mastery superhuman healing forces,
which Jesus showed (“ You can become a Lord like Jesus or El
Moriah, or Saint Germain, each of you…»
36. From a transformation perspective
there was no nature in the way Jesus realized His Christ consciousness
nothing unique. Unique was the role He chose for Himself in
this particular astrological period; He was the teacher of the world, and He
was to be "as an avatar, as an example for the general
imitation throughout two thousand year old cycle of the era of Pisces to embody
land of Christ"
TsVT teaching about the message of Ii sus.
Studying the CVT’s ideas about the message of Ii sus,
again, it's better to start with what they don't believe in.
CVT rejects the orthodox Christian teaching that
Jesus showed us God in a unique way;
Jesus considered man's main problem to be sinfulness of the heart;
man is separated from God by the abyss of sin;
Jesus called Himself the Savior of mankind, who would solve the problem of human sin by offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice.
CVT claims that in fact Jesus brought two messages: one public and
intended for everyone (exoteric), and the second secret,
intended for initiates (esoteric)
38. The public message of Ii sus supposedly states that there is a holy Christ being in every person; The Kingdom of God is not outside, but within every person (Luke 17:21).
Jesus' words that the disciples should be the light of the world (Matt. 5:14),
should be understood as follows: “You are the light of the world. City [citadel of Christ consciousness],
placed on the mountain [of achievement], cannot hide" (brackets orig.)
From this, CVT concludes that through the healing of the man born blind (John 9) Jesus
revealed to people the truth about reincarnation and karma
40; and what was said about karma
also in the exoteric teaching of Paul, a disciple of Jesus and His apostle,
who expressed this spiritual law in Galatians 6:7: “What man
he who sows, he will also reap"
41. However, Jesus' real message was His
His own life example - the fact that He realized His True Self,
his Divinity, and lived in the light of this knowledge: “ Jesus came to show
example to us that every child of God has a Holy Self of Christ»
42.As CVT teaches, Jesus shared with people in personal conversations special occult
knowledge (gnosis) and taught them techniques for realizing personal Divinity.
The spirit of most people is not attuned to such teaching; That's why
Jesus spoke in parables reserving sacred knowledge for the inner circle
dedicated:
And he preached the word to them in many parables as long as they could
(Mark 4:33-34)
43.B The New Testament contains only hints of this secret knowledge, but he himself is there
No. This knowledge can also be called the "science of being"
44. The Apostle Paul is considered an example of a person dedicated to the risen Christ Jesus.
CVT teaching on the death of Jesus.
Does the death of Jesus have any special significance in terms of reconciling sinners with God? The CVT teaching categorically rejects this fundamental teaching of orthodoxy.
soteriology: “God does not require propitiation in the form of a human
sacrifices so that one soul undergoing crucifixion bears
to bear the burdens of another soul, which belong only to her.”
45. The CVT considers such an understanding of the death of Jesus humiliating and absurd:
They [orthodox Christians] tricked us into accepting our
idolatrous dogma about the uniqueness of the mission of Ii sus to force
us to cry and weep for His crucifixion
46. In reality, the death of Jesus was rather an occult
crucifixion with the aim of changing the karma of the world. It is believed that Jesus as
Christ "shed his own Light to transform the sins of the whole world"
47. Thus, Jesus did not shed physical blood, but the glory of Christ, and this
the action had a spiritual meaning:
...Because his Body of Light, the universal Corpus Cristi, was broken into
pieces - like countless drops in a vast ocean - you can feel
The Person of Christ in His Own Being
48. For those living in the Age of Pisces, the death of Jesus, as well as His Person Christ, in
to some extent unique. And yet it does not give the final
deliverance and, at best, only contributes to salvation.
Criticism of CVT teachings about Jesus
New Testament and early Christian literature does not confirm that Jesus
preached secret knowledge.
According to Prophets and CVT, canonical
The New Testament is a distorted and incomplete version of the biography and
teachings of Ii sus. For example, the secret teaching that Jesus preached, or
accidentally, or due to malicious intent, was not included in the canonical New Testament. However
this esoteric knowledge can be recreated with the help of other available
sources at our disposal, including ancient Gnostic writings,
Tibetan myths and revelations of the Ascended Masters. The knowledge in question
speech is not just additional information that could
satisfy our curiosity or clarify some unclear points.
CVT calls it "vitally important" and "extremely edifying"
49. In other words, it is the core of the message of Jesus.
CVT bases its arguments on two assumptions:
(1) in The New Testament allegedly contains indications that Jesus preached some secret teaching;
(2) some extra-biblical evidence can be interpreted in favor of the hypothesis secret teaching that Jesus supposedly conveyed to the inner circle of His
followers. IN The Prophets found a number of details in the New Testament,
which, in their opinion, confirms that Jesus preached a secret doctrine.
For example, in the pre-Easter chapters of the Gospels there are often references to
about what Jesus taught, but the text of these teachings is missing. Here's a typical one
And Jesus went through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching
Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every disease among people (Matt.
9:53)
50. Since the Gospels do not always reproduce what Jesus said, Prophets
and CVT believe that many important teachings have been lost. But it's nothing more than
superficial assumption- primarily because it appeals to
lack of information. In addition, many biblical passages show
significant excerpts from Jesus' teachings about the "Gospel of the Kingdom" and
many other issues (eg Matthew 5-7; 13; 15:1-20; 16:1-20:17;
21:23-25:46; Mk. 4:1-33; 7:1-23; 8:31-38; 9:36-10:52; 12:1-13:37; OK.
6:17-49; 8:1-18; 9:57-10:37; 11:1-18:34; 19:11-27; 20:1-21:37; In. 3:1-12;
5:16-47; 6:26-59; 7:14-43; 8:12-59; 10:1-41; 13:7-20; 14:1-17:26).
what Jesus did in this or that situation (John 20:30-31); it would be unwise
make such demands on them. Since we don't have any specific
reasons to suspect the evangelists of concealing facts, we have every right
we can assume that they made up a representative sample for us
at least the most important exercises and key events
51. Assumption that
early Christian the community has lost or deliberately hidden the very essence of the message and sus, needs irrefutable evidence, and There is no such evidence in the books of the Prophets.
CVT also notes that the New Testament does not give any details about
Jesus' youth, the so-called "silent years" between
twelve and thirty years of age
52. Prophets support the popular New Age theory that Jesus spent these years in
India and Tibet, studying Hindu and Buddhist scriptures and practicing
getting acquainted with Eastern mystical traditions
53. It is this knowledge acquired in the East that they consider the basis of the notorious esoteric teaching of Isa and even finds biblical confirmation of this in Matthew. 24:27:
I am reminded of his [Jesus'] own timeless prophecy about
returning to Palestine after traveling through India and Tibet: “For, as
lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so it will be
the coming of the Son of Man"
54. This interpretation of these words of Jesus has two serious flaws:
firstly, neither in the New Testament nor in any extra-biblical sources there is
convincing evidence that Jesus undertook such a journey (and
adopted eastern, pantheistic ideas about God);
secondly, this statement by Ii sus is part of a rather long speech on the topic
eschatology (Matt. 27:1-51 - thus, we are clearly talking about the future
the coming of Jesus “on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (v. 30).
As follows from the interpretation proposed by the CVT, since the Bible is silent
about the "lost years" of Jesus, our attempts to understand His life and message
are doomed to fail. But this argument is also an appeal to
lack of information and therefore unconvincing. It is clear that completeness and
the reliability of our knowledge about any section of history, including
the life of Jesus depends on the honesty of the chroniclers. However, we have no reason
suspect that such important facts of history as seventeen years
spent by Jesus in Indochina studying Hindu and Buddhist
scriptures, and His subsequent return to those professing monotheism
compatriots-Jews with the preaching of pantheistic religion, could be
expunged from the New Testament. Edgar J. Goodspeed noted that it is possible to
ten years of studying the Hebrew Bible headlong and not getting something like this
deep knowledge of this subject, such as Jesus showed. Assuming
that from the age of thirteen to thirty Jesus continually studied the writings of the East,
Where did such perfect knowledge of the Old Testament come from?
55 The public ministry of Jesus is practically the only topic discussed in
canonical Gospels, and the greatest attention is paid to the events
Holy Week - all this helps us understand what the evangelists saw
the true meaning of His life. CVT, for its part, cannot imagine
convincing evidence that those missing from the New Testament
details are important for understanding the message of Ii sus, or, more specifically,
that this missing information could support the Prophets' proposed
radical interpretation of His teachings.
Prophets quote and some other passages from the Synoptic Gospels and
epistles of Paul - in their opinion, these texts indicate that Jesus and
Paul had a kind of secret teaching intended only for the inner circle
dedicated. As an example, the Prophets are called Mk. 4:33-34 and 1 Cor.
56. Mark's text says:
And he preached the word to them in many parables as long as they could
hear. Without a parable he did not speak to them, but explained everything to his disciples in private.
(Mark 4:33-34).
On a superficial reading, this passage can indeed be interpreted as
in the sense that Jesus reserved the secret teaching for the inner circle
students, but there is a much better and simpler explanation.
A parallel passage in Luke's Gospel (8:1-15) clearly shows that
the notorious secret the teaching is fully expounded in the canonical Gospels and,
contrary to the statements of the Prophets, has nothing to do with the occult
knowledge. After listening to the parable of the sower (Luke 8:1-8; Mark 4:1-8), the disciples
asked Jesus for clarification:
His disciples asked Him: what does this parable mean? He said:
it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but to others in parables, so that they
seeing they do not see and hearing they do not understand. This is what this parable means... (Lk.
8:9-11).
Intellectually and spiritually, Jesus' disciples were similarly incapable
understand His parable, like the entire crowd to whom He spoke this parable.
Their only difference was a stronger spiritual hunger, which prompted
the disciples stay and ask Jesus for an interpretation. Nothing (for
except for insufficient spiritual hunger), obviously did not interfere with others
listeners to stay and turn to Jesus for clarification. But what's more important
In all, the interpretation of Jesus is recorded in Luke. 8:9-15, available to any reader and
does not contain any occult knowledge.
Finally, the Prophets ignore the opinion of Jesus himself, who categorically
denied that he preached any secret doctrine. During interrogation at
Sanhedrin Jesus said:
I spoke clearly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where I always
The Jews converged, and secretly said nothing. Why are you asking Me? ask
those who heard what I said to them; behold, they know what I said(John 18:20-21).
Jesus Himself refuted the speculation that He preached a secret doctrine, and about
This can be read in the canonical books of the New Testament.
The same is true with 1 Cor. 2:6-9. In this passage Paul
does mention " wisdom" which he preaches "between
perfect." But just a few verses below he explains what he has in
seemingly not intellectual, but moral maturity, which they cannot
boast of carnal babes in Christ, always quarreling and jealous
each other(1 Cor. 3:1-3). Like the notorious "secret teaching" of Jesus, the secrets
Paul is fully explained in his letters:
He who is able to establish you, according to evangelism mine and Jesus' preaching
Christ, by the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept silent from eternity,
but which is now revealed, and through the writings of the prophets, according to the commandment
eternal God, was proclaimed to all nations to subject them to faith... (Rom.
16:25-26).
Paul's "secret" is not some elitist occult knowledge, but grace
God's in Christ, now revealed more fully. This knowledge is intended for
the widest public, and therefore is described in detail in publicly available
epistles of the apostle (see Eph. 3:4-6; 1 Tim. 3:16). Assumption about
existence of the lost teaching is erroneous and unnecessary, since they themselves
The New Testament Scriptures give a completely reasonable explanation of all the passages on
which CVT refers to.
Proving the need to supplement the New Testament Scriptures, CVT also
refers to a number of external evidences that Jesus preached today
lost secret teaching.
Prophets cite a number of passages from the patristic
works, from which, in their opinion, it follows that the resurrected Jesus continued
appear to students for almost twenty years. But careful
a study of these passages showsthat the root of the problem is misinterpretation.
For example, in the works of Irenaeus the Prophets find indications that after
resurrection Christ appeared to the disciples for another ten or twenty years - a period
“quite sufficient for the transmission of secret teachings”
57. In an excerpt from the essay “Against Heresies” (con. II century), in question, Irenaeus argues with
beliefs of the Gnostics, who apparently denied the reality of the physical
body of Jesus, and therefore tried to minimize the duration of His
earthly service. Seeking to refute views he considered dangerous
docetic
58 teaching, Irenaeus states that Jesus knew all the stages
human life - childhood, maturity and old age - so that it can be more fully
to become a representative of all humanity. It's based on words
Jews in I n. 8:57: “You are not yet fifty years old.” Irenaeus states that
Jesus' ministry, which He began at the age of thirty (Lk.
3:23), lasted not one year (as the Gnostics claimed), but much
longer. Otherwise, he writes, Jews would not have mentioned
age limit of fifty years. Admittedly, Irenaeus's reasoning
poorly reasoned, but it is still clear from them that, contrary to opinion
Profetov, says nothing about the long service of Ii sus after
Alexandrian, and supposedly indicating the existence of an internal
circle of disciples - James, John and Peter, - who were entrusted with secret
knowledge: “To James the Righteous, John and Peter the Lord after the Resurrection
conveyed the highest knowledge." However, in more reliable translations of the word "supreme"
no, but the context makes clear the meaning of the passage: “To James the Righteous, John and
The Lord passed on knowledge to Peter after the Resurrection, and they passed it on
the rest of the apostles, the rest of the apostles - seventy..."
59Once again, CVT creates a problem where a reasonable explanation lies in
surfaces. The notorious “secret knowledge” actually turns out to be
the ordinary Gospel, which was preached publicly.
Prophets also refer to the thesis, put forward by Elaine Pagels in the book
"The Gnostic Gospels". The essence of the thesis boils down to
that the New Testament canon was created artificially, and the Gnostic
accounts of the life of Jesus were unjustly excluded from it,
since the apostles did not want the political aspects of the prisoner
60. According to CVT, the Gnostic gospels prove that Jesus did not claim to be unique
relationship with God, but came to show how all people can
achieve godhood:
The Gnostic Gospel of Philip tells of a follower of Jesus,
who follows in His footsteps in everything, no longer as a Christian, but as
Christ. In the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says: “I am not yours.”
lord... He who drinks from my lips will become like me. Me too, I will
61. Meanwhile, CVT’s desire to use Pagel’s point of view as an argument in
benefit of the need to radically reconsider our ideas about
historical Jesus, clearly goes far beyond the limits of what is permissible,
unanimously established by New Testament scholars. Not so long ago
a group of scholars studying the Nag Hammadi manuscripts and belonging to
the most devoted connoisseurs of early Gnostic-Christian literature,
works like the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip do not put
question the basic features of the personality of Jesus as depicted in the canonical
New Testament. For example, the late James M. Robinson writes:
We can say with all certainty that the find (1945) and publication
significantly change our knowledge and ideas about historical
Jesus
62.Helmut Koester from Harvard University, one of the most zealous
apologists for the early origin and importance of the Gospel of Thomas, are clearly not
intends to revise traditional ideas about the meaning of Jesus' teachings
based on Gnostic writings found at Nag Hammadi. Considering
several logias (sayings) from the Gospel of Thomas, which, in his opinion,
may turn out to be the original words of Jesus, not included in the canon, Koester
writes: “...these few, perhaps genuine, non-canonical words
Jesus adds little to our understanding of Jesus' message."
63. Other scholars are open to the idea that the Nag Hammadi manuscripts could add
our ideas about Jesus, drawn from the canonical New Testament,
in the sense of our understanding of Jesus Christ, with even greater skepticism. Bruce M.
Metzger, for example, writes:
If we take into account the dozens of gospels that have recently become available,
deeds, letters and apocalypses from the Nag Hammadi library, we are more confident
than ever before, we can say that not a single book or collection of books
the ancient Church cannot compare with the New Testament in terms of its degree
importance for the history and doctrine of Christianity. Confidence that
Our New Testament contains the best sources about the life of Jesus - the most
valuable knowledge that can be gained by studying the history of the canon
64. Regarding the more general idea that the early Church, forming
New Testament canon, did not use any objective criteria,
Metzger speaks out quite unequivocally. He says that judgment
scientists like Pagels and others who believe that the process is "random", in
as a result of which the Gnostic writings were excluded from the canon,
rely “not so much on careful historical reasoning as on
philosophical reflection"
65. Prophets consider that on the final process
formation of the New Testament canon in post-Konstantinova Churches are strong
influenced by politics, and it is argued that the very first list
The canonical books of the New Testament were compiled in 367 AD. e.
66 But this date
inaccurate, since it reflects only an official, conciliar decision, - between
those already in the 2nd century inspiration and the apostolicity of Paul's epistles and
the four Gospels were generally accepted. In The Cambridge History of the Bible (The
Cambridge History of the Bible) RobertM. Grant writes synoptic
Gospels that they “undoubtedly enjoyed wide recognition in
second century, but the competing gospels did not.”
67. Thus, Christians living in the shadow of the apostolic era already understood
that our New Testament Gospels have great historical and spiritual
value from the point of view of preservation of the message of Jesus than the Gnostic
works like the Gospel of Thomas. Speaking about the principles that
was guided by the early Church, recognizing the authenticity of the books included in
canon of the New Testament, and rejecting various Gnostic writings, on
which CVT refers to, Metzger comes to the following conclusion:
...despite purely human factors (confusio hominum),
acted in the creation, storage and collection of the books of the New Testament,
(providentia Dei)
68.And the inevitable conclusion: Prophets could not be found in the New Testament and
early Christian literature reliable confirmations their theories about what Jesus preached secret knowledge, not recorded in the New Testament.
Mythical stories and modern revelations are not trustworthy.
Although early Christian literature does not seem to provide
reasons to talk about a certain lost body of secret teachings, CVT
continues to insist that Jesus preached Gnostic secrets.
To restore this supposedly lost knowledge, they say, maybe two
sources:
(1) mythical Tibetan chronicles that tell of
young Jesus' journey to India and Tibet to study Buddhist And
Hindu scriptures, and
(2) modern revelations of the Ascended Master Jesus.
Under the cover of his book The Lost Years of Jesus Elizabeth Prophet collected
stories from four people who claim that during the visit
Buddhist monastery in the mountains of Tibet, they either heard from the monks about
ancient manuscripts telling about “St. Isse", which in ancient times
came to India from Israel, or studied them personally. The first to tell the world
about Tibetan Isse, was Russian journalist Nikolai Notovich , in 1894
wrote about his discovery in a book called “The Unknown Life of Jesus.”
Notovich claimed that while traveling in Tibet he heard stories
about the mysterious Saint Isse, which came to India from Israel in ancient times. He
decided to check what this legend is based on, and in the monastery Himis
discovered manuscripts narrating about the Saint Isse. Senior Lama of the Monastery
translator, made notes, which he later published. His book
includes a translation of the notorious story about Isse entitled "Life"
Saint Issy, the best of the sons of men"
69. Several years later Hindu by name With you Abhedananda read the book
Notovich and in 1922 allegedly went to a monastery Himis, to
verify the existence of manuscripts telling about Isse. In 1929
year Abhedananda published a report O his travel entitled
Kashmir O Tibbate. He claimed to have held ancient manuscripts in his hands, and
presented his own translation of the text included in his book
70.In 1925, a third person, the Russian artist Nicholas Roerich, reported that
I also went to a monastery Himis and became convinced of the veracity of the stories about Isse,
although he did not claim to have seen the manuscript. Roerich tells history his
meeting the legend of Isse in three books: “Altai - Himalayas”, “Heart
Asia" and "Himalayas"
71. Finally, Swedish Elisabeth Kaspari, now living in America and consisting V
state CVT, claims she visited the monastery Himis in 1939 Lamas
allegedly showed her ancient manuscripts and said: “These books say that
your Jesus was here"
72.Careful research shows that none of the four witnesses
was able to provide even a minimal amount of evidence to support his words
evidence.
Firstly, we are not aware of any manuscript notorious
legends about Isse, and we have no copies, drawings or photographs that
could confirm that such a manuscript actually existed.
Secondly, in two so-called translations of the Tibetan manuscript about Isse
there are many internal contradictions that reveals them to be fake.
Third, in the stories of all four witnesses there is obvious contradictions And
inconsistencies, and this seriously undermines their credibility.
First we'll talk about testimony. Notovich. He admits that he doesn't
can present a manuscript that would confirm the authenticity of it
translation. While staying at the monastery Himis he had with him
camera. He does not directly write anywhere that he photographed the manuscript about Isse,
but casually mentions that the hired worker accidentally exposed the film with
photos taken on this trip
73. Notovich clearly understood what
huge its supposed discovery may have consequences, but not
took care to somehow confirm his discovery. It's difficult
explain. Internal contradictions in the notorious translation Notovich -
a common thing, and this fact also does not speak in his favor. The late Edgar
J. Goodspeed, New Testament scholar at the University of Chicago,
analyzes work Notovich in his book " Famous biblical
hoax" ( Famous Biblical Hoaxes). One of the most serious discrepancies
discovered Goodspeed in the certificate Notovich, is as follows:
according to Notovich, the manuscript was compiled from the words of an eyewitness of everything through
3-4 years after execution Issy, and by that time the students had allegedly already begun behind
evangelization peace. Even if we do not take into account the time that
it would take an eyewitness to return from Israel to India, this
dating contradicts New Testament chronology
74. Goodspeed also notes
what is the so called translation Notovich mistakenly applies a description to Jesus
John the Baptist (“The child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in
deserts until the day of his appearing to Israel" - Lk. 1:80). On this error and
a hypothesis has been built that Jesus was not in Israel during
proposed trip to India
75. In addition, the text Notovich shows striking similarities with his religious beliefs.
For example, it is curious that in the history of the Jew Notovich the only ones
the perpetrators of the execution of Jesus turn out to be the Romans, while the Jewish
religious leaders express full approval of His teachings and activities
76, which completely contradicts the New Testament and other sources of the 1st century. But,
perhaps the most serious argument against history Notovich put forward by prof.
J . Archibald Douglas from Agri in a magazine called "The Nineteenth Century"
(The Nineteenth Century) for June 1895 In 1895 yay Douglas visited
monastery Himis and talked about the book Notovich with senior lama. Because the
Notovich allegedly visited this monastery only eight years earlier, in 1887
year, the senior lama must have remembered him very well. According to Douglas,
Lama completely denied the story Notovich . « He firmly stated that
which essay similar to "Life" Issy“Not heard in Tibet”
77. When Douglas read the book to the lama Notovich, he exclaimed: “Lies, lies, lies, nothing but lies!»
78Certificate With you Abhedananda about the manuscript from the monastery Himis similar
replete with internal contradictions and inconsistencies. Although Abhedananda
claimed to have held an ancient manuscript in his hands and made his own
translation, he did not take a single photograph or make any effort,
to get a copy of it - despite the fact that such a difficult journey it is
undertaken solely to confirm the stories Notovich
79.Translation Abhedananda V some disagrees on fundamental points With
translation Notovich. For example, in the translation of the Jew Notovich Issa condemns
idolatry among Hindus and rejects Hindu
80; in the Hindu version With you Abhedananda there is not a word about this. C false
do not doubt the veracity of the stories Notovich And Abhedananda, if they
translations of the ancient document so clearly reflect their own
prejudices. Certificate Abhedanadas ends with a reference to the words
senior lama that the manuscript was compiled “after three or four
years" after "he [Jesus] left his body"
81, and this gives rise to the same chronological inconsistency.
Regarding Roerich's testimony, it is enough to simply say that he himself did not
saw the manuscript and retells the myth of the Saint Isse from other people's words. Roerich and his
wife were members of the Theosophical Society and therefore disinterested
prejudices when he spoke with astonishing disdain about
canonical Scriptures: “Hasn’t anyone else realized that this is so called
the apocrypha is essentially much more truthful than many officially
recognized documents"
82. Roerich's testimony can hardly be called weighty.
Words from the last witness, Elizabeth Kaspari, are also not very convincing.
In the monastery Himis Kaspari caught a glimpse of several books, and two lamas
told her: “These books say that your Jesus was here.”
83. No one read the books they saw to her or gave her any details. about their
content, and she could not verify the validity of the lamas’ statement.
About this story Kaspari I told it for the first time only many years ago later, becoming
full-time employee of CVT. Thus, it can hardly be considered
a disinterested witness.
Matching each with friend stories from all four witnesses, we come to
the inevitable conclusion that their value is low . Everything except Kaspari,
inform us that they have undertaken an arduous journey to Himis With the only one
the purpose of verifying the existence of the myth about Isse, but no one can
provide tangible evidence, and in evidence Notovich And
Abhedananda there are deep contradictions. It must be admitted that
existence of Tibetan manuscripts about Isse unlikely and cannot serve
the basis for revising our ideas about Jesus Christ.
CVT's unusual views of Jesus rest on three pillars:
evidence New Testament and early Christian authors that Jesus
secretly preached pantheistic monism and spoke about human ability
evolve to the divine level,
(2) mythical stories O So
called "lost years» Jesus in India, where he allegedly purchased these
beliefs, and finally
(3) on modern revelations of the Ascended Master
Jesus. However, we have already seen that the first two pillars do not deserve
trust. We have looked at the profound differences in the views of CVT and traditional
Christianity on the person, message and death of Jesus. Because two pillars
turned out to be unreliable, the only basis for the CVT's ideas about Jesus
New era remained modern revelations. How reliable is it
base?
Besides that these modern revelations contradict scripture , There is
there are at least two more serious reasons to doubt their reliability as
sources of reliable information about Jesus:
Firstly, CVT revelations
contradict other New Age revelations purportedly from Jesus;
Secondly, many of the CVT revelations look far-fetched, and therefore even more
suspicious.
Here are just a few examples that support the first point.
Prophets report
us that Jesus went to India at the age of thirteen and apparently
returned to Palestine at the age of twenty-nine
84. But according to others
New Age revelations allegedly received from Jesus himself, He spent
"lost years" elsewhere. Annie Besant, very authoritative
personality who once headed the Theosophical society, assures that Jesus
spent all these years in Egypt
85. Book Urantia based on revelation
claims that before traveling to India, Jesus wandered around Mediterranean
86. J.Z. Knight says that Jesus went to the East in accompanied ii Joa Anna the Baptist
87, about which Prophets generally keep silent .
There are other discrepancies as well. Prophets call Jesus "Lord of the Age of Pisces" and
continually extol the virtues of astrology, while the Book Urantia
condemns astrology
88. How can these contradictory things be reconciled?
statements? Why should we believe CVT revelations more than others?
revelations of the New Era? It looks like us there is no reason to believe what a revelation
CVTs deserve more trust.
Revelations received by Mark and Elizabeth Prophet from the Ascended Masters, often seem completely contrived , which further undermines their credibility. Take for example the list of previous incarnations Prophetov. The history of Mark can be traced back to the Evangelist Mark, a companion of the Apostle Peter
89.Origen Alexandrian often praised in books Prophetov -
Mark considers him his embodiment
90. Elizabeth Prophet does not lag behind her husband - from the same revelation we learn that in one of her past lives she was a saint. Catherine of Siena
91. Elizabeth explains her childhood interest in Christian Science by the fact that Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who sat at the feet of Jesus, was a former incarnation of Mary Baker Eddy
92. It’s curious that all the revelations of the New Era Movement agree on only one thing - V
unanimous denial teachings of historical Christianity. Such a coincidence
cannot but surprise and alarm. Is it possible in light of these
circumstances not to suspect them of deception?
Conclusion
The notorious revelations of the New Age Jesus pose their adherents V
stalemate. To believe any of these revelations, a person
must understand that they are based on certain prerequisites -
the reality of the historical Jesus and His unique significance as
source of spiritual truth, hope and salvation.
But, as we found out in the process of studying the sources and essence of the CVT ideas about Jesus, these
revelations at their very core contradict what we know about Him from
reliable historical data . This problem cannot be solved by rejecting
New Testament, because we are interested in the historical personality of Jesus Christ, and
we have every reason to believe that it is Him we are talking about V New
Testament. To accept Jesus as He is described in the New Testament means
abandon Jesus CVT. To reject the New Testament is the same as
erase from history the person Jesus can be believed in. Thus,
How acceptance and rejection of the New Testament are the same destructive For
the image of Jesus created by the digital computer.
CVT Revelations Received from New Age Jesus is "Escape from
stories"
93 and escape from common sense. Escape from history because
They ignore historical data, replacing them subjective modern
experiences. Escape from common sense, because count them
reliable is possible only if you ignore this blatant
contradiction.
The Jesus that CVT preaches is “other”
(2 Core. 11:4), vol. e. false Jesus.
The concept " New Era" covers a wide range modern
quasi-religious groups. However, all these dissimilar groups
some identical features: monistic
idea of the world; pantheistic, impersonal concept of God;
idea of a person, imbued with ideas of karma and reincarnation ;
increased interest in parapsychology and paranormal phenomena
astrology and eastern mysticism. As James W. Sayre notes, Movement
new era adapts the pantheistic monism of the East to the peculiarities
cultural perception of the West, emphasizing the importance of the individual.
Eastern mystics say: “Atman is Brahman,” emphasizing on
higher metaphysical unity, while the Western New Era Movement
emphasizes the identity of the individual human mind with universal
Spirit , « Atman is Brahman "(The Universe Next Door, 2nd ed., Downers
Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1988, pp. 166-168).
Among the modern publications, the following are of interest: A Course
in Miracles (Teachers Manual) (Tibron, CA: Foundation for Inner Peace,
1975), p. 56; J. Z. Knight, "Jesus Speaks" and "The Story of Jesus"
[ audio recordings], Vols. A #3, A #13, Copyright 1981, 1982 by J. Z. Knight,
Yelms, Washington; Benjamin Creme, The Reappearance of the Christ and
the Masters of Wisdom (Los Angeles: Tara Center, 1980), p. 14; Mark L.
and Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Lost Teachings of Jesus, Vol. 1, pp.
34, 46, 111, Vol. 2, pp. 121, Vol. 3, pp. 14, 15, 55, 111, Vol. 4, p.
41; David Spangler, Revelation: The Birth of a New Age (San Francisco:
The Rainbow Bridge, 1976), pp. 16, 17, 20, 21, 46-52; The Urantia Book
(Chicago: The Urantia Foundation, 1955), pp. 1, 1341-1344. From the number
older works historically associated with the modern Movement new
era , you can note Annie Besant, Esoteric Christianity (Wheaton,
Illinois : Theosophical Publishing House, 1901, 1987), p. 87, And Levi H.
Dowling, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ (Los Angeles: L. N. Fowler
and Co., 1907, 1930), pp. 10-11.
The New Age Movement in General and Frankly iya ii New era sus in particular
have a very strong influence on the religious beliefs of modern
society. In 1987, in the article “The Impossible: It’s Already Happening”
Catholic sociologist Andrew Greeley, National Research Council Fellow
of Public Opinion Research (NORC) at the University of Chicago, cited some
evidence that such a cultural shift is taking place. Greeley
noted that between 1973 and 1984 there was a significant increase in interest To
parapsychological and paranormal phenomena closely related to DNE. TO
for example, the number of Americans who believe in the possibility of communication With
deaths, during this period increased from 27 to 42 percent, and the survey
carried out Gallup Institute showed that almost a quarter
Americans believe in reincarnation(Noetic Sciences Review, No. 2, Spring
1987, pp. 7, 8). The sharp increase in sales of books about the New Age is also about
they say something. Fashionable autobiography of the actress Shirley McLane, wherein
she talks about her path to DNE, separated four millionth
circulation, and the total sales of books dedicated to the New Era behind last thing
decade of the 20th century grew by a thousand percent ( Lillie Wilson, « The Aging
of Aquarius", American Demographics, September 1988, p. 36).By
According to some estimates, the combined sales of the three most famous
New Age revelations - The Lost Teachings of Jesus, A Course in Miracles» and Books
Urantia- amounted to almost a million copies, with the last two books
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