Teaser for 'The Gnostic Gospel of John' 07/03/2010

THE GNOSTIC GOSPEL OF JOHN MAIN

Topics Discussed:

--Understanding the Johannite Community that produced the Gospel of John—its location, theological origins, practices and what other Christian, Jewish and Gnostic groups they just plain didn’t like.
--How the unique mysticism of the Gospel of John differs from other esoteric Jews and Christians of the day, including the mysterious concept of ‘Faith Mysticism’.
--Understanding the influence of that Pagan Mystery Schools, proto-Kabbalah and proto-Gnosticism on the Gospel of John.
--Revealing that, when reading between the lines, the Gospel of John is the precursor of a tectonic, tense splitting of two groups that would be later known respectively as Catholics and Valentinians.
--Uncovering the Gnostic Spirit in the Gospel of John, including the presence of the Demiurge, the fall of the soul into matter, Sophia, Gnosis, Pauline mysticism and other concepts.
--The relationship and rivalry of the Johannite Community and the Thomasite Community, and how each of their gospels influenced the other symbiotically.
--Various theories on the real identity of the Beloved Disciple, the Paraclete and other characters of the Gospel of Juan.

And much more!!!

To commemorate the 4th of July weekend, our rebroadcast is Aeon Byte #123-- Esoteric Secrets of the Founding Fathers with Robert Hieronimus, author of Founding Fathers, Secret Societies and The United Symbolism of America.  The Founding Fathers drew from many sources to create the experiment called the USA. Many of them were members of Secret Societies, very open to ancient pagan ideals or the mystical regions of the Judeo/Christian matrix. We delve into their minds, motivation and the occult clues they left in American symbols, architecture and the founding documents themselves. We also dispel many misconceptions, some that we have taken for granted, that have stoked the fires of Conspiracy Theorists, Christian Fundamentalist and even New Age Gurus. And perhaps we find the Gnostic influence somewhere hidden in the background. From the codes in the dollar bill to the true identity of the Statue of Liberty, it's a fascinating journey.

Next week we continue with our series on modern Gnostic churches.  This time we get acquainted with the Apostolic Johannite Church, an original strand of the French Gnostic revival of the 19th Century whose spiritual allegiance goes all the way back to John the Baptist.  We learn about the AJC’s doctrines, rituals and history, as well as their release of ‘The Levitikon’, an esoteric translation of the already esoteric Gospel of John that serves as another important thread in understanding the historical tapestry of Gnosticism.  Our guest will be Bishop William Behun, author of The Historical Pivot: Philosophy of History in Hegel, Schelling, and Hölderlin.

It's a week of John's--John the Beloved, John the Baptist, John Adams...John, John, John!


So welcome to the desert of the real!