Alternative Christian views
Guess what: those public speeches is what we've got in the Bible. Which means that the real teachings of Christ got hidden or even lost. People like Annie Besant and Rudolf Steiner felt they could recover those teachings with the help of their own spiritual insight and the teachings of the universal mystery religion.
Lately the inspiration of early gnostic Christianity has come back to us through the discovery and translation of the Nag Hammadi library.
Richard Smoley, Inner Christianity
Alternative christian views
"Inner Christianity give a new, powerful view of the Christian faith, its history and the work of self-transformation found within its teachings. Not pedantic, not preaching, just a clear, calm , non-sectarian guide to the inner meanings of Christianity."
Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition
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Esoteric Christianity
Annie Besant on Mystic Christianity
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"Citing examples from scriptural passages, noncanonical gospels, and writings from Church Fathers, Besant shows that Jesus' closest followers had a deeper knowledge of spiritual matters than the believers around them. Furthermore, this secret information was passed down from teacher to student throughout the ages within the Church hierarchy. Besant advocates that these mystical truths be revealed to the public to help them evolve spiritually. She then discusses fundamental Christian principles from an esoteric perspective including the Resurrection of Christ, the Trinity, prayer, and the sacraments."
Esoteric Christianity
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Christianity As Mystical Fact: And the Mysteries of Antiquity
Mystic Christianity explained by Rudolf Steiner
In this book he describes the development of Christianity from the Jewish faith of Christ and the Hellenistic background of Paul. In the mix the mystery religion of the Greeks was continued under ground.
Otherwise hard to understand Biblical passages are explained with ease.
Christianity as Mystical Fact: And the Mysteries of Antiquity
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The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception Mystic Christianity
Mystics of the Christian tradition
The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception Mystic Christianity (1922)
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Teachings of the Christian Mystics
Mystical Christianity in its essence: an anthology
Teachings of the Christian Mystics
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The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism
Mystical Christianity in its essence: an anthology
Covers such issues as: Biblical Interpretation, Asceticism and Purgation, Inner and Outer Practices, Trinity, Christ, Vision, Deification, and Love and Knowledge.
The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism (Modern Library Classics)
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Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism
Mystical Christianity in its essence
Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism (Second Edition)
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Esoteric Christianity and Gnosticism
Gnostic Christianity
Studying the Gnostic texts it is clear that they aren't all Christian. But there are certainly Christian Gnostic texts and these are often a lot like the Gospel of John. It's no coincidence that it is felt that this Gospel is the most esoteric of the whole Bible.
With the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts a whole lot more is known about Gnosticism, Hermeticism and early Christianity. We have yet to see how this will effect main stream Christianity, but the effect is certainly felt in alternative Christian circles with the popularity of the Gospel of Thomas for instance. The gnostic Christian inspiration is one of the revitalizing ingredients in Christianity today.
Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism and the Gospel of Thomas
Learn more about gnostic Christianity
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts Complete in One Volume
Preorder this revised translation of the Gnostic Gospels.
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The Gnostic Gospels: Including the Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Sacred Wisdom)
In 1945 several secret gospels, hidden since the first century, were discovered in the Egyptian Desert at Nag Hammadi. They caused a sensation in the religious world as they revealed the mysteries of Gnostic Christianity. The gospels selected for this volume reveal intimate conversations between Jesus and his disciples and shed new light on his relationship with Mary Magdalene. The Gospel of Thomas, also included, consists of symbolic mini-parables, many of which are not in the New Testament.
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The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated & Explained (Skylight Illuminations,)
Very thorough and precise translation and commentary on the Gospel of Thomas. Doesn't go too far in speculating about the possible meaning, but still comes to interesting conclusions about vegetarianism and relationships between men and women for instance.
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The Gnostic Gospels
Elaine Pagels, the author, explores the possibility of Christianity developing without excluding the Gnostics. What would have happened? The human Christ would have been stressed, the divine feminine would have been a part of the story, self knowledge would have been stressed and more.
Pagels stresses that there were political reasons for suppressing dissent.
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The Modern Christian Mystic: Finding the Unitive Presence of God
Essential writings of Christian Mysticism
The Modern Christian Mystic: Finding the Unitive Presence of God
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Christian Mystics: Their Lives and Legacies throughout the Ages
Essential writings of Christian Mysticism
Christian Mystics: Their Lives and Legacies throughout the Ages
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Early Christian Mystics: The Divine Vision of Spiritual Masters
Essential writings of Christian Mysticism
Early Christian Mystics: The Divine Vision of Spiritual Masters
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Meister Eckhart - selected writings
Essential writings of Christian Mysticism
Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)
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Edgar Cayce - the most famous esoteric Christian of our time
This psychic Christian deserves his own lens - below you'll find his views about Atlantis, Reincarnation, Auras, Stones, Self transformation and Healing.-
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Edgar Evans Cayce (March 18, 1877 - January 3, 1945) was a clairvoyant. He channeled answers to questions on subjects such as health or Atlantis, while in a self-induced trance. For this reason he has been called the sleeping prophet. Though Cayce wa...
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- chicandsavvy chicandsavvy Apr 21, 2009 @ 8:51 am
- How odd. I was raised Christian from and early age and have never even heard of this. My world's a little larger now.
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- Sojourn Sojourn Apr 20, 2009 @ 6:16 pm
- I learn something from every one of your lenses and this is no exception. Nice work!
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- GrowWear GrowWear Apr 18, 2009 @ 2:26 pm
- Another great resource from you, Katinka!
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