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Post by Tamrin on Jan 17, 2014 8:32:36 GMT 10
Mr. Hannah says "It is not difficult to show that Freemasonry, in so far as it has consistent teaching, is formally heretical “It is a force which seems to hark back to some form of Gnosticism (knowledge of spiritual mysteries claimed by the early Christian heretics)” ... He asks "Is a blood-curdling oath sealed on the Bible-to protect utter trivialities-lawful for a Christian?” This charge contains a grain of truth which, when appreciated, may turn the intended rebuke on its head.
Among the criticism levelled at the Catholic Church by early "heretical" “protestants” such as the Cathars and Waldensians of the proto-reformation were that, if it had ever possessed them, it had long since abandoned or neglected the mysteries of the early church — teaching only a degenerated version of Christianity’s allegorical facade, originally intended for children and those otherwise unable or unworthy to comprehend the greater mysteries (traditions of greater and lesser mysteries are common throughout the world, including among indigenous communities in Australia). Rightly or wrongly, the proto-reformation groups commonly believed they had preserved the genuine mysteries of the early church since apostolic times.
Christianity's allegorical facade is attested to in several places in the New Testament, such as in Mark 4:34, where it is written: “But without a parable spake he [Jesus] not unto them [the multitude]: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.” The knowledge of the genuine mysteries among his apostles is more specifically stated, as in Luke 8:10, where it is written: “And he [Jesus] said, Unto you [apostles] it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.”
When one appreciates how Jesus (who, like Joseph, was a "tekton" or "tektonos" meaning "craftsman" — not necessarily a carpenter) and the Essene sect of Judaism had many views in common (to some this suggests Jesus was an Essene), one might be interested to read in, Who were the Essenes? [Excerpt]:
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 17, 2014 8:33:53 GMT 10
Christianity's allegorical facade is attested to in several places in the New Testament, such as in Mark 4:34, where it is written: “But without a parable spake he [Jesus] not unto them [the multitude]: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.” The knowledge of the genuine mysteries among his apostles is more specifically stated, as in Luke 8:10, where it is written: “And he [Jesus] said, Unto you [apostles] it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.” From this we may gather that the genuine "mysteries of the kingdom of God" were communicated "mouth to ear," as was typical with the greater mysteries, including those of Kabbalah. However, the apostles are unlikely to have practiced the various forms and methods of late-medieval Kabbalah as we understand it today. More likely their methods were a form of Jewish mysticism practiced at the time, e.g. Merkabah mysticism — which merged with later traditions). Perhaps more importantly to our present interests is what post-medieval esotericists THOUGHT were the mysteries of the early church, rather than what they actually were, in which case they probably sincerely imagined they were "on the money" with medieval Kabbalah, Hermetic Qabalah or Christian Cabala.
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 17, 2014 8:52:30 GMT 10
From this we may gather that the genuine "mysteries of the kingdom of God" were communicated "mouth to ear," as was typical with the greater mysteries, including those of Kabbalah. However, the apostles are unlikely to have practiced the various forms and methods of late-medieval Kabbalah as we understand it today. More likely their methods were a form of Jewish mysticism practiced at the time, e.g. Merkabah mysticism — which merged with later traditions). Perhaps more importantly to our present interests is what post-medieval esotericists THOUGHT were the mysteries of the early church, rather than what they actually were, in which case they probably sincerely imagined they were "on the money" with medieval Kabbalah, Hermetic Qabalah or Christian Cabala. We read:Thus traditions from France and Spain found fuller expression and development within the Ottoman Empire of the 16 th Century ( Suleiman the Magnificent reigned for much of this period, 1520 - 1566, and was responsible for religious tolerance at the time, which was otherwise uncharacteristic of Ottoman rule and of the age generally).
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