The Gospel of Thomas....claims to offer secret teaching - teaching quite different from that of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. According to Mark, for example, Jesus first appears proclaiming that "the time is at hand; the kingdom of God is drawing near. Repent, and believe in the gospel" (1:15) According to mark, the world is about to undergo cataclysmic transformation: Jesus predicts strife, war, conflict, and suffering, followed by a world-shattering event - the coming of the Kingdom of God (13:1-37).
But in the Gospel of Thomas the "kingdom of God" is not an event expected to happen in history, nor is it a "place." The author of Thomas seems to ridicule such views:
Jesus said, "If those who lead you to say, 'Lord, the kingdom of God is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you.' (NHC II.32.19-24).
"Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father" (NHC II.32.25-33.5).
But the disciples, mistaking that kingdom for a future event, persist in naive questioning:
"When will . . .the new world come?" Jesus said to them, "What you look forward to has
already come, but you do not recognize it: (NHC II.42.10-12).
According to the Gospel of Thomas, then, the kingdom of God symbolizes a state of transformed consciousness. One enters that kingdom when one attains self-knowledge. The Gospel of Thomas teaches that when one comes to know oneself, at the deepest level, one simultaneously comes to know God as the source of one's being.
____________________________________________________________
*Source: The Origin of Satan, by Elaine Pagels, pp. 70-71.
Posted April 20, 2013 (for my other readings/reflections,etc., you can go to: jnriingen@aol.com.post; YouTube-John Riingen; john riingen/google; juan riingen/facebook)
No comments:
Post a Comment