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**VeniHemealm** · 03-20-2012, 11:50 AM

Gerradthor, just curious, have you ever studied any of the Gnostic teachings? I just ask because your view of the Kingdom of God sounds similar to there's. They were an early Christian sect that lost to Pauline Christianity. They taught that each person had an hidden potential for secret knowledge that could be unlocked through training and mediation. They had their own set of Gospels and taught that the Kingdom of God is within you. Perhaps a Christanized version of Buddhism?

The only hold I really have left on Christianity is gnosticism.

There's a verse in Luke where Christ replies to the pharisees that the Kingdom of God is within. Some thinkers seem to say this is a mistranslation - that Christ would never have had said that to the god-awful pharisees.

That's where I jump to the verse found in the gospel of Thomas where the same thought is expanded. He says the kingdom of God is within you - but is also outside you. It was a bit of an aha! moment when I realized the oneness of the Universe within this statement. If the kingdom of God is within you and it's also outside you - but it is the same thing - you suddenly feel a unity between your internal reality and your external reality.

I know the term Kingdom of God is kind of limiting myself to one cultural view - but it's the best descriptor for something I am seeking in my own personal life.

There's link I bookmarked a while ago that compares the gospel of Thomas with Buddhism http://buddhistfaith.tripod.com/gospel/id9.html - I might have even found it on these boards.

03-20-2012, 11:50 AM	#10
VeniHemealm Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 468 Senior Member	Gerradthor, just curious, have you ever studied any of the Gnostic teachings? I just ask because your view of the Kingdom of God sounds similar to there's. They were an early Christian sect that lost to Pauline Christianity. They taught that each person had an hidden potential for secret knowledge that could be unlocked through training and mediation. They had their own set of Gospels and taught that the Kingdom of God is within you. Perhaps a Christanized version of Buddhism? The only hold I really have left on Christianity is gnosticism. There's a verse in Luke where Christ replies to the pharisees that the Kingdom of God is within. Some thinkers seem to say this is a mistranslation - that Christ would never have had said that to the god-awful pharisees. That's where I jump to the verse found in the gospel of Thomas where the same thought is expanded. He says the kingdom of God is within you - but is also outside you. It was a bit of an aha! moment when I realized the oneness of the Universe within this statement. If the kingdom of God is within you and it's also outside you - but it is the same thing - you suddenly feel a unity between your internal reality and your external reality. I know the term Kingdom of God is kind of limiting myself to one cultural view - but it's the best descriptor for something I am seeking in my own personal life. There's link I bookmarked a while ago that compares the gospel of Thomas with Buddhism http://buddhistfaith.tripod.com/gospel/id9.html - I might have even found it on these boards.
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