The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew

by VM44 16 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  VM44

  

  http://www.amazon.com/Gnostic-Gospel-Bartholomew-Robert-Hitchcock/dp/1430302992

  The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew (Paperback)
  by Rev. Robert B. Hitchcock Ph.D. (Translator)

  Review
  The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew, more than any other, dismantles the shaky underpinnings of mainstream and fundamentalist Christianity. -- Mark A. Smith, atheist scholar/lecturer. JCnot4me.com

  From the PublisherDiscover strange events in the life of Jesus, as well as occult and enigmatic sayings of Jesus that you will not find in any other Gospel, such as, "Soon thereafter Jesus spoke of an old priest who was about to be made High Priest, who dreamed a dream: 'In the dream the old man had to fight his way with sword through many blind gods at the gated entrance of the Jerusalem temple. He cut through their numbers quickly and easily. He ran to the bronze sea where he was confronted by more blind gods. The gods fought savagely to bar his way, yet the old priest prevailed. He moved from there to the porch steps and there also blind gods awaited. He fought those as well and soon had a victory. On to the holy place he hurried, and fought nearly to his own demise the many blind gods lurking there. He dashed to the holy of holies, where the largest and most savage god of all confronted him, even the Lord of Hosts. 'I shall not let you pass, old one,' the Lord of Hosts vowed. 'You are blind!' shouted the old man, 'I shall not be defeated by a blind god!' With that declaration the old man plunged once more into the battle. For two hours they did battle, and when at last the Lord of Hosts lay dead at the old man's feet, and he himself was bleeding and exhausted, he staggered forth to the veil of the Holy of Holies. 'At last!' he cried out, 'I shall know the Truth!' The old man pulled aside the veil, and then stepped into the Holy of Holies. There he saw his own reflection in a mirror, the only object in the chamber. The highest Truth was unveiled to him that day.' "
  Or this saying: "I am the underground spring from which you flow. Drink of this underground spring and the Life of the Aeon of the Aeons shall be yours, and you shall know we are One," as well as "Thaddeus approached Jesus and said, 'Master we found a man preaching in your name, saying that you teach all to worship Helios, for Helios is the source of Light and Life.' Jesus replied, 'Do not meddle with that man, for it is better to worship Helios than the gods of the Jews.'" Or, "I am like unto a bell. Tap me softly and you shall hear a pleasing tone. Strike me hard and you shall hear a piercing peal unto the ends of the Earth."

  The Gospel of Bartholomew is a must read for everyone interested in occult lore about Jesus and his apostles, Gnostic wisdom, and the hidden sayings of Christ. We, the publisher, have been unable to verify either the authorship or antiquity of the codex from which this translation was made. So we cannot--and do not--at this time make any guarantees as to its authenticity. May the Unknown God grant you Gnosis via this Gospel.

  From the Author
  Although Moon Temple Press cannot confirm or demonstrate the historical authenticity of this Gospel, we can, however, offer evidence of the Divine inspiration of this Gospel in a manner that science or history can never offer: Your own powerful inner Witness of the Holy Spirit that this Gospel Scripture is indeed genuinely inspired by God Most High. The close of this Gospel invites the reader to seek God for wisdom in this matter: "Those who desire the Truth alone, those who are spiritual, and neither soulish nor hylic, can confirm the Truth of these words by seeking the Mother and Father of Lights in prayer for Sophia [wisdom]." In light of these words, we invite the reader to pray for illumination and wisdom concerning this Gnostic Gospel.

  Just as the Nag Hammadi Library and other Gnostic scriptures demonstrate a profound Buddhist influence, so does The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew. Buddhism had a profound influence upon all the Mystery Religions of the ancient Mediterranean world, and especially upon Gnostic Christianity, so one should expect such influence to be readily apparent in Gnostic Scriptures. The reader is strongly encouraged to examine the Nag Hammadi Library to get a feel for Gnostic writings and their strong Buddhist taste and texture, which is also present in The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew. In fact, the reader will notice that some portions of this Gnostic Gospel bear close resemblance to various Buddhist and Zen scriptures. This isn't surprising given the amount of cross-pollination between Buddhism and Gnosticism in the ancient world. Therefore it's very possible that this Gnostic Gospel influenced Medieval Buddhism, including Zen, and some of these Gnostic stories about Jesus became stories about heroic "Zen Masters." This Gnostic Gospel may have even influenced Cathar Christianity, judging by its Cathar-like elements.

  The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew deserves a fair hearing due to its many ancient historical and religious elements and details that shed light on such groups as the Essenes, the Qumran community, the Zealots, and early Gnostic Christianity. As well as Jesus and Mary Magdalene. For example, it's only in this Gospel that we learn that the "resurrection" of Lazarus was actually an ancient Gnostic ritual, not a literal raising from the dead.

  We, the Publisher, are unable to confirm the authorship or age of The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew, hence we make no claims thereto. This is a document of a religious nature, of the nature of Faith. Therefore, it's authenticity is something that the reader must decide for themselves. Moon Temple Press hereby submits The Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew to those whom God Most High has prepared to receive it by their Faith in God. We have done as we believe God has required of us. May this Gospel be a blessing to you.

  About the AuthorREV. ROBERT B. HITCHCOCK was a self-taught scholar conversant in Biblical Hebrew, ancient Coptic, and Koine Greek. He was also a Gnostic Christian minister and a dealer in rare and antique books. Rev. Hitchcock was deeply loved and respected by all who knew him. A gentle giant with an IQ well into the genius range, he died suddenly--and unexpectedly--under odd circumstances--approximately one month after submitting the Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew to Moon Temple Press for publication. This translation of THE GNOSTIC GOSPEL OF BARTHOLOMEW is his legacy to the world.
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  VM44

  The above book looks very interesting.
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  Narkissos

  Seems difficult to make it look more fishy than the author and publisher do... :)

  Whatever it rests on (the first excerpt sounds definitely modern) it is not to be confused with the Questions of Bartholomew: http://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281b/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Arcana/Gnostic%20Texts/library/gosbart.htm
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  Tuesday

  I would like some historical evidence that this was written around the times of the other gospels. I know Gnostic texts were written and I personally think they way they view alot of things make more sense than literalism. This looks interesting, but I wouldn't be interested unless I could see some historical data.
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  Balsam

  Gnosis or Knowledge is very interesting and was one the the first Christian concepts pretty quick after Jesus left this world. Carl G. Jung a contemporary of Freud had a great respect and curiosity of the Gnostic traditions which was nearly wiped out by the Catholic Church labeling it as Heretics.

  Ruth
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  cattails

  Seems like a lot of trash talk to me.

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  Leolaia

  This is almost certainly a modern-day pseudepigraphon, perhaps voicing some of the views of the modern-day gnostic movement, which is quite distinct from any ancient form of gnostic thought. It is not a good enough imitation of genuine gnostic gospels to use their sophisticated theology, jargon, and literary form. The fifteen-odd pages that I have read (thanks to Amazon.com) have a narrative form more like the canonical gospels and contains a rather simplistic superficial form of the gnostic redeemer myth that eschews all the complex Platonism that makes real gnostic writings such a hard read. The terms that are used seem to be employed incorrectly; Mary Magdalene, who is presented as inhabiting Sophia, is termed an Archon rather than an Aeon. There is only one demiurge mentioned and the name is suspiciously given as Yahoweh (unattested as such in any ancient gnostic writing) rather than Yaldabaoth or Saklas; in the Sethian gnosticism of the Nag Hammadi texts at least the tetragrammation is only presented in positive terms, whether incantated as Iao or reflected in the name of the blessed Barbelo (a reference in Aramaic to the tetragrammaton). The passage quoted in the OT concerning Helios (from p. 4 of the book) also sticks up like a sore thumb to me; the Greek god of this name only had a prominent cult on the island of Rhodes and not elsewhere, nor was this name attested in the extant gnostic literature. This passage looks suspiciously like it depends on the currently popular meme that the god of Christianity is the sun (as expressed in Archaya S and the netfilm Zeitgeist) and simply uses the Greek word for sun, helios.

  Moreover the book seems to be especially interested in biographical matters pertaining to Jesus that are of current popular interest: the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, whether Jesus had a wife, whether Jesus had a gay relationship with the "disciple whom he loved", whether Judas Iscariot was one of the sicarii and truly "betrayed" Jesus, who Joseph of Arimathea was, who was the father of Judas, etc. Ancient gnostic gospels, on the other hand, didn't care much at all about biographical matters; the characters were there merely as vehicles for esoteric teaching. And the teaching in the "Gnostic Gospel of Bartholomew" is not very esoteric in comparison.

  Large portions of the text have no parallels in content with ancient gospels, whether gnostic or canonical, such as the lengthy story of Tahath (pp. 1-3). But interspersed among these are little nuggets of text taken straight from the canonical gospels or from the Gospel of Thomas. The use of Thomasine material is quite conspicuous. The beginning of the book imitates the beginning of Thomas but weaves together the first three logia into a connected passage. Then immediately after this follows the original story of Tahath and then after this (on p. 3) is an imitation of the 13th logion of Thomas (making the disciples ask Jesus what he is like rather than the other way around). Then the next conversation utilizes the 10th logion of Thomas (pp. 3-4), and then there is another block of original material. Needless to say, ancient gnostic gospels were not slavishly dependent on Thomas like this.

  The most conspicuous thing, of course, is that the book claims to have been translated by a "Rev. Robert B. Hitchcock" (all references to whom on Google seem to pertain only to this book) from an original medieval uncial manuscript written in koine Greek. No evidence whatsoever is presented of this manuscript and the first thing any actual scholar would do is publish the Greek text of the manuscript, which is far far more informative than any inferior translation. Nor was there any trace of such a manuscript prior to "Rev. Robert B. Hitchcock" came on the scene in any of the research by generations of scholars before him. The location of the manuscript is not given in the introduction, nor any specific information about its condition, palaeography, textual errors, etc. The manuscript is only mentioned in the vaguest, most general terms. This behavior however is expected if no such Greek text existed. In many other cases of modern apocrypha, like Joseph Smith's The Book of Mormon, Nicolas Notovitch's The Unknown Life of Issa, Billy Meier's Talmud of Jmmanuel, Glenn Kimball's Kolbrin Bible, Edmond Bordeaux Szekely's Essene Gospel of Peace, the books are presented as "translations" of purported ancient texts that either have mysteriously disappeared or which remain secret or unpublished. Curious too is the statement in the blurb advertising the book: "We have been unable to verify the authorship or antiquity of the codex from which this translation was made".

  In short, if you are looking for a genuinely ancient noncanonical gospel about Jesus, look elsewhere. But if you are interested in an modern-day "gnostic" reimagining of the life of Jesus that draws on current popular issues on the subject, you might enjoy the read (that is to say, if you don't care much about literary artistry; the narrative linkages between pericopes are quite haphazard and confusing).
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  Cadellin

  Thank you, Leo, for once more flourishing your intellectual whip and slashing away the goatgrass of pseudo-pseudepigraphy! I agree with Nark--the publisher's notes ain't doing Hitchcock any favors.
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  Midget-Sasquatch

  If I wasn't a glutton for embarrasment, I would refrain from admitting that I know a little about Billy Meir's fictions. I couldn't read through that book of his though. his faked photos and videos were more fun.

  More to the topic: I didn't know about Barbelo being an Aramaic reference to the Tetragrammaton. Was that Valentinian? Early on Marcion, understood Yahweh as the cosmocrator and the Demiurge so I could understand negative connotations to that name. But I am a bit confused as to why the later gnostics would want to use forms of it for the True Father of the All. There wasn't any variant that I'm unaware of is there, where the Demiurge was trying to copy the name? Always learning on this site.
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  Leolaia

  No, not Valentinian, I was referencing the Sethian variety of gnosticism; Valentinian gnostics had their own complex cosmogony. But the incantation of Iao is very well attested throughout, IIRC. And yes, Barbelo is derived from barba` 'eloh "in four [letters] is God". And also fuller forms of the tetragrammaton are found in certain tractates, Iaue occurs in the Nag Hammadi Apocryphon of John as the true name of the righteous offspring of Eve (a.k.a. Abel). But I haven't yet seen a form of YHWH as a name for the demiurge.

  As for Marcion, there is no reference I know of that he specifically used the tetragrammaton as the name for the demiurge. He does regard the creator deity of the OT as the demiurge, but that is not the same thing as saying that he used the tetragrammaton as its name. Since he rejected the authority of the (Greek) OT and regarded it as propaganda from the demiurge, I doubt he would have accepted anything claimed therein at face value (even assuming that it contained the name, which is unlikely).