The Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas was an interesting read after reading Jesus of Nazareth. The messages were much the same. One thing I did notice though was how Jesus referred to himself as All. It reminded me of the I am of the old testament. The Gospel of Thomas is much like the book of Mark in some ways. The followers of Christ keep asking him questions that have these ridiculously obvious answers and none of them know what is going on and its almost as if they don’t really understand why they are following him. I really loved the part that says “if you bring forth what is inside you it will save you but if you don’t bring it forth it will destroy you.”(My Paraphrase) The Gospel of Thomas has a lot of similarities to the canonized books in the New testament but is slightly different with the terms used.

Jesus of Nazareth

I really enjoyed the words of Jesus. The golden rule is brought up time and time again in his teachings and I think that is very key. One thing that I thought was a little different than most other writings I’ve read so far was how he spoke about not worrying what to wear or eat because the Lord will provide. Most the other writings don’t ask the reader to depend on a higher power yet they ask the reader to depend on other humans or their own selves. The part with seek and you will find kind of brings it all back to the golden rule again. It doesn’t take much experience in life to know that this is where most people myself included fail. The Kingdom of God is within you is a quite profound thing to say. It isn’t something find in the desert or in your house the Kingdom of God is hard to define for most and it is never clearly defined in scripture. Love and forgiveness are Jesus’ two main points in the story of the prodigal son. It is a parable of the fathers love for his people and how we can always come back to him.
The Gospel of Thomas

Pai-Chang

This passage makes me think that the enlightenment of a person is like an awakening from a dream. After you are awakened you are on a new level. I guess it puts you on a new plane on reality. This reality can only be found within and can not be influenced by anything outside of yourself. The mind that you first have is a mind of perfection and something that should be held on to. This passage seems to call for simplicity in the mind of people. I honestly don’t understand the part about the “there is no mind and no truth” I’m completely lost at this part.

Tzu-Ssu

I found that Tzu-Ssu wrote a lot about to each is own. He claims that if we are all to live sincerely everyone will be happy and the world will be a better place. I believe what he is saying only because the golden rule appears in his teaching without this factor the living with sincerity would not work since everyone’s Tao is different. I didn’t really like the idea about the way a mature man adapts to situations I think that was along the lines of selling your true self out. However I may have read into it a bit and over looked the real point of it. It does make sense when he says that there is no situation in which he isn’t a master of himself. This is true in the way that man always has control of his attitude in any situation no matter what. I also though the idea of the archer is quite insightful. Instead of looking at all the outside forces that could possibly affect him he looks inside himself to see what he has done wrong and takes the responsibility for his actions.

The Buddha

I really didn’t like Buddha’s teaching on not listening to Holy Scriptures or religious teachers. I think the message is more of just what feels good to you as an individual. With this it seems like we would live in a society without justice. Also I don’t think letting go of truths is a good idea. People should hold on to truths in their life. They can always be reused. I might sound a little bit like an old man and narrow minded but this stuff just seems a little out of balance to me. One thing I did like that was said was how we need to watch out for one another like a mother watches her child. It is true that this does and would create compassion in peoples lives for one another. Maybe I don’t understand most of these things as well as some might but I do believe I understand them well enough to not agree with them.

Wu-Men

What I am about to say is strictly all assumption based. I have no idea if I’m close to being right or anything but this is what I got out of it and like the old saying goes to each is own. I think that Wu-men was talking about purging the body of what ever ales it. It seems as if there is pain and suffering involved in the process of purifying oneself. He makes it seem as if this is what must be done to bridge the gap between who you are today and who you must become. The person you must become is somewhat of a dream only known to yourself. Once you realize what it is you must become and how to go about it you reach a stage of clarity. All this change and renovation can be sparked from one small dream or epiphany. This dream sets your world on fire and into transformation. This whoever is what you must concur you must wipe your mind clean of all wrong ideas and attitudes that could lead you astray.

Philo

I really enjoyed this reading. I thought that the author brought up good points about how God loves to give. In Christian tradition he has given grace love mercy and forgiveness and his own son. Also the author talks about how he has given the world to his people which is a really good point that gets neglected so often in the Christian thought. I loved the part where he talks about what God is and how he describes him. The only thing I really have to disagree with or just say is that God in my eys isn’t all cuddly and warm like a big teddy bear 24/7... He does feel pain humans can inflict it upon him it seems as if he didn’t he wouldn’t care about us like the Bible claims. The part about wisdom got me a little confused but overall I thought it was right on. There is no real substitute for time and understanding and that is where wisdom comes out of. Wisdom as he talks about it is something I think everyone desires and very few will ever achieve.

The Bible

I know I’m super partial to this stuff but I think its amazing. And I know a lot of what is found in here isn’t really new to anyone by any means but sometimes repition is key to understanding things such as religion or philosophy. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is just the golden rule but honestly it helps to hear it time and time again. Also I like the bit where it talks about how all men know good in there innermost mind and there is know denying him. It shows the power of God I guess and the grandeur of Him. It kind of goes to show there is something inside us all that pulls or tugs on us to do things we are selves aren’t so sure of. My thought is that this is in fact an outside source and it is God revealing himself to people. I don’t know how many of you guys agree with me but this just seems logical to me…with that said I know there is about a million different reasons why my ideas on this can be ripped to shreds but im all good with that.