Ancient Christianity
Initiation existed, read the ancient books
at
Home2b.nl
Initiation in Ancient Christianity existed
In modern Christianity a lot
of subjects are not spoken about.
Such a subject is initiation.
Nevertheless initiation has
played an important role
in Ancient Christianity.
The history of Christianity
and the choices made in history
have been forced upon present
day believers.
Home2b.nl has no intention to
hurt anybodies feelings.
We respect modern religion as
it is, but we also want to KNOW
what has been hidden in
centuries past to influence us.
To mention a few subjects:
personal
rebirth into a new life;
the existence of Female Divinity;
destruction
heretic books and heretic buildings;
Robert and Susan have the opinion, that
"heretics" were also normal believers and human beings;
it was absolutely a crime to torture and kill believers called
"heretics".
More
subjects:
who is the
"Holy Ghost" and why is the "Holy Ghost" so different;
Paul was an
apostle of Ancient Christianity;
who and
what was John the Baptist;
who and
what were the sisters Mary and Martha;
who was
Lazarus;
why do
some churchfathers from the first centuries write
that Jesus
died at high age;
why do the
gospels of Matthew, Marc and Luke
tell us that Jesus was preaching for one year
and John
gives us three years of preaching.
The subject of this webpage is initiation
of believers.
In the Letter to the Corinthians, chapter one,
verses 6-9
is written by Paul:
|
6 |
σοφιαν
δε λαλουμεν εν
τοις τελειοις
σοφιαν δε ου του
αιωνος τουτου
ουδε των
αρχοντων του
αιωνος τουτου
των
καταργουμενων |
For we speak perfect wisdom of God, and not
the wisdom of this age nor of the princes of this age, that come to nought, |
|
|
αλλα
λαλουμεν θεου
σοφιαν εν
μυστηριω την
αποκεκρυμμενην
ην προωρισεν ο
θεος προ των
αιωνων εις δοξαν
ημων |
but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,
[even] the hidden [wisdom], which God predestined before the ages unto our
glory, |
|
|
ην
ουδεις των
αρχοντων του
αιωνος τουτου
εγνωκεν ει γαρ
εγνωσαν ουκ αν
τον κυριον της
δοξης εσταυρωσαν |
which none of the princes of this age knew
(for had they known [it], they would never have crucified the Lord of glory). |
|
|
αλλα
καθως γεγραπται
α οφθαλμος ουκ
ειδεν και ους
ουκ ηκουσεν
και επι
καρδιαν
ανθρωπου ουκ
ανεβη οσα
ητοιμασεν ο
θεος τοις
αγαπωσιν
αυτον |
But as it is written, That which eye has not
seen nor ear heard neither has entered into the heart of man [is] that which
God has prepared for those that love him. |
The apostle Paul is speaking about hidden
wisdom,
the wisdom of God being a mystery,
which God will reveal to those who love Him.
Because of modern preachind we think that the
revelation
of the mysteries will be to us and everybody, because
we love Him.
But is this correct?
These words of Paul are about initiation of only
a small group of special believers.
The same we find in the Gospel of Marc, chapter
4, 11 and 12
where Jesus said:
11 And
he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know
the mystery of the kingdom of God:
but unto them that are without,
all these things are done in parables:
12 That
seeing they may see, and not perceive;
and hearing they may hear, and not
understand;
lest at any time they should be
converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Only a small group of special
believers knew more.
The important writer Clemens of Alexandria
wrote around the year 200 AD:
"revelation is not for the many,
but for the few who could understand the truth
and were ready to understand.
What is hidden for many,
will be revealed to some."
Stromateis (Patchwork) boek I, chapter 1, 13.
In Marcus 16, verse 9 we read
"he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom
he had cast seven devils"
Many scholars are saying that seven devils thrown
out of Magdalene Mary
means that Mary Magdalene was seven times
initiated.
In the Nag Hammadi III, 5, 139 in the "Dialogue
of the Savior"
is written:
"Mary Magdalene uttered this as a woman who had
understood completely".
"A
woman who knows All"
This means that Mary
Magdalene was a completely initiated person.
The Ancient Christians
of that time believed that a seven fold initiation
opened the Hodos
until coming into the Ogdoade or Paradise.
From there the Hodos
went through the Enneade into the Kingdom,
the Pleroma.
The so-called "Gospel of Thomas",
an important writing from the Nag Hammadi
books,
in Logion 13 says:
Jesus took Thomas and withdrew and told him three things.
When
Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him:
"What
did Jesus say to you?"
Thomas
said to them: "If I tell you one of the things,
which he
told me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me."
So Thomas got a special initiation, separately
from the other disciples.
Initiation is related to the Way, the Hodos.
Read about the Hodos on my special page.
The "way" or "Hodos" was the
road the soul had to travel
after
separation of the soul from the body,
which occurs after death.
This very much the same thought as the famous
book of John Bunyan.
The important question is:
does the New Testament bring us the religion
for the many,
or is the New Testament also for the initiated?
Some texts in the New Testament could suggest
that some knowledge for the initiated
is also in the text of the New Testament.
But it seems very sure, that the New Testament
is only written for
the non-initiated and the initiated for the
first degree.
The other knowledge for the
higher initiations is not there
in the New Testament.
More and more people are feeling, that the
power groups
of long lost centuries have erased the extra
knowledge
that could be important to us.
Once I heard a wise preacher say:
"outside
the Bible is nothing that gives us salvation".
This could be true.
Still it does not take away our
right to know more
about the truths hidden for us.
Robert has finished a lot of extra research
about the most likely grades of initiation.
Very soon:
The special webpage on the Grades
of Initiation.
You may e-mail:
Updated August 30,
2007
Everything on this website:
CopyrightŠ2002-2007 by Robert and Susan