Let be begin by providing a more enlightened history of the Church as set forth at The Secret Doctrine of Christianity @
http://nazirene.org/secret_doctrine.htm
. In the beginning all Enlightened Christians were portrayed as
Gnostics Christians who remained and integral part of the Church.
Quoting from
http://DivineManna.org :
Under the heading of Gnosticism, the
Encyclopedia Britannica states: “Among the majority
of the followers of the movement, 'Gnosis' was understood not as meaning
'knowledge' or 'understanding', in our sense of the word, but 'revelation'.
These little Gnostic sects and groups all lived in the conviction that they
possessed a secret and mysterious knowledge, in no way accessible to those
outside, which was not to be proved or propagated, but believed in by the
initiated, and anxiously guarded as a secret. This knowledge of theirs was not
based on reflection, on scientific inquiry and proof, but on revelation. It was
derived directly from the times of primitive Christianity, from the Savior
himself and from his disciples and friends, with whom they claimed to be
connected by a secret tradition, or else from later prophets, of whom many sects
boasted. It was laid down in wonderful mystic writings, which were in the
possession of the various circles”. Those Christians who had
prepared themselves to receive the Higher Knowledge imparted directly to them by
the Logos, must be understood as the Christians who Paul portrayed as having
gone beyond the "milk" of the Gospel, and
were able to receive the "solid food" from
Spirit -- i.e., “But God hath revealed them unto us by
his Spirit” (1 Cor 2:10 KJV).
Regarding these two groups of
Christians -- i.e., the faith-based entry-level Christians who could only be
given what Paul called the "testimony" of
Christ- - and the mature Christians who were no longer in need of the
"milk" of the Gospel intended to nourish
"babes in Christ", Smith and Wace's
Dictionary of Christian Biography states: “We have no
reason to think that the earliest Gnostics intended to found sects separated
from the Church and called after their own names. Their disciples were to be
Christians, elevated above the rest as acquainted with deeper mysteries, and
called Gnostikoi because possessed of a Gnosis superior to the simple faith of
the multitude… They also boasted to be in possession of genuine apostolical
traditions, deriving their doctrines, some from St. Paul, others from St. Peter,
and others again from Judas, Thomas, Philip, and Matthew. In addition moreover,
to [this] secret doctrine which they professed to have received by oral
tradition, they appealed also to alleged writings of the apostles themselves or
their disciples”. Which, while ignored by the faith-based
Christians, is confirmed in the ignored words of Jesus when he was asked by his
disciples why he ONLY spoke to the multitudes in parables:
“The
secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside
everything is said in parables so that, they may be ever seeing but never
perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding” (Mark 4:11-12
NIV).
With
the advent of the Age of Enlightenment, Spiritually Mature and Rational
Seekers understood that the leaders of the Church had become so
corrupt, that they could only comprehend what Paul portrayed as the
"milk" of the Gospel. Like the Pharisees who Jesus condemned, they were
blind to the inner spiritual meaning of the scriptures as set forth in
the article on the Key of Knowledge (
http://KeyOfKnowledge.org
). Those Seekers who understood the Natural Laws of Creation -- and
put the Laws into action within their own Mind and Being (see
http://OuterDarkness.Nazirene.org
) -- became enlightened and knowing in relation to the faith-based
aspect of the Church. Some of these enlightened individuals such as
George Washington aligned themselves with the Masons -- others, such as
Franklin, Jefferson and Paine, were Deists. Both groups possessed the
Higher Knowledge because they knowingly embraced the Natural Laws of
Creation -- using the scriptures as an allegorical blueprint of their
own mind -- revealing to them the Forces and Laws of Consciousness.
On
http://ThomasPaineRedux.com the question is posed: (quoting)
By what
name do you call an evolved and matured
Christian whose spiritual knowledge has
enlightened him far beyond the very limited
knowledge and understanding of the faith-based
believer? While they can be portrayed as
American
Gnostics -- they were often called
Deists,
because over the course of many lifetimes they
had submitted themselves to the spiritual
process of TheWay, and were themselves
enlightened spiritual souls. But who were the
Deists? Quoting the Wikipedia under
Deism: History of
religion and the deist mission. Most deists
saw the religions of their day as corruptions of
an original, pure religion that was simple and
rational. They felt that this original pure
religion had become corrupted by "priests" who
had manipulated it for personal gain and for the
class interests of the priesthood in general.
According to this world view, over time
"priests" had succeeded in encrusting the
original simple, rational religion with all
kinds of superstitions and "mysteries" –
irrational theological doctrines. Laymen were
told by the priests that only the priests really
knew what was necessary for salvation and that
laymen must accept the "mysteries" on faith and
on the priests' authority. This kept the laity
baffled by the nonsensical "mysteries",
confused, and dependent on the priests for
information about the requirements for
salvation. The priests consequently enjoyed a
position of considerable power over the laity,
which they strove to maintain and increase.
Deists referred to this kind of manipulation of
religious doctrine as "priestcraft", a highly
derogatory term. Deists saw their mission as
the stripping away of "priestcraft" and
"mysteries" from religion, thereby restoring
religion to its original, true condition –
simple and rational. In many cases, they
considered true, original Christianity to be the
same as this original natural religion. To the detriment
of the congregation of believers of all of man's
religions, the above position of the Deists is
correct. At its Source, religions such as
Christianity are Pure and Spiritual -- but once
these religions are placed in the hands of
priests who
(1)
lack the spiritual maturity to fully comprehend
the purpose of the teachings from a Spiritual
Perspective --
(2)
and they recognize the reality that the position
of priest is a position of power and influence
over others that often garners great wealth and
political influence -- both the original
objectives and purpose of the religion, as well
as the teachings themselves, very quickly become
corrupted.
At
the time of our Nations Founding, the Spiritually Mature Souls were
called Masons and Deists -- but as demonstrated in the above, both
groups retained their connection to the Church -- much like the early
Church remained connected to the Gnostics. And the relationship of the
early Church to the Gnostics and the more modern connection to the
Masons and Deists is readilly demonstrated in a quotation on
http://ThomasPaineRedux.com where it is written:
An interesting and
appropriate statement by one of the earliest
authorities of the Church is that made by
Clement of Alexandria when he compared the
inherent weakness of faith-based religion, to
that of the Spiritual Christians who had
acquired the Sacred Knowledge (Gnosis) of the
Kingdom -- i.e.,
“Faith
is the foundation; knowledge the superstructure,
by knowledge faith is perfected, for to know is
more than to believe. Faith is a summary
knowledge of urgent truths; knowledge a sure
demonstration of what has been received through
faith, being itself reared upon faith through
the teachings of the Lord.
Thus
the Gnostic grasps the complete truth of all
revelation from the beginning of the world to
the end, piercing to the depths of scripture, of
which the believer tastes the surface only.
As a consequence of this intelligent sympathy
with the Divine Will, the Gnostic becomes in
perfect unity in himself, and as far as possible
like God. Definite outward observances cease to
have any value for one whose being is brought
into abiding harmony with that which is eternal;
he has no wants, no passions; he rests in the
contemplation of God, which is and will be his
unfailing blessedness.”
Both
the Masons and the Deists possessed the Higher Body of Knowledge that
evolved them to a Condition of Knowing and Enlightenment. The Deists
embraced and put the Natural Laws into action -- or, as stated above:
"...Thus
the [Gnostic or Deist or Mason] grasps the complete truth of all
revelation from the beginning of the world to
the end, piercing to the depths of scripture, of
which the believer tastes the surface only."
Unlike the people of the simple-faith who have been seduced by
priest-craft, the Enlightened Gnostics/Deists/Masons understood that the
scriptures are not history -- but rather, allegorical portrayals of the
Forces and Laws of Mind and Consciousness as demonstrated in the
following statement by Thomas Paine:
But the
Church of Rome having set up its new religion,
which it called Christianity, invented the creed
which it named the Apostle's Creed... It then
manufactured the allegories in the book of
Genesis into fact, and the allegorical tree of
life and the tree of knowledge into real trees,
contrary to the belief of the first Christians,
and for which there is not the least authority
in any of the books of the New Testament; for in
none of them is there any mention made of such
place as the Garden of Eden, nor of anything
that is said to have happened there. But
the Church of Rome could not erect the person
called Jesus into a Savior of the world without
making the allegories in the book of Genesis
into fact, though the New Testament, as before
observed, gives no authority for it. All at once
the allegorical tree of knowledge became,
according to the Church, a real tree, the fruit
of it real fruit, and the eating of it sinful.
As
priestcraft was always the enemy of knowledge,
because priestcraft supports itself by keeping
people in delusion and ignorance, it was
consistent with its policy to make the
acquisition of knowledge a real sin... Reason is the forbidden tree of priestcraft,
and may serve to explain the allegory of the
forbidden tree of knowledge, for we may
reasonably suppose the allegory had some meaning
and application at the time it was invented. It
was the practice of the Eastern nations to
convey their meaning by allegory, and relate it
in the manner of fact. Jesus followed the same
method, yet nobody ever supposed the allegory or
parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the
Prodigal Son, the ten Virgins, etc., were facts.
Why then should the tree of knowledge, which is
far more romantic in idea than the parables in
the New Testament are, be supposed to be a real
tree? The answer to this is, because the Church
could not make its new-fangled system, which it
called Christianity, hold together without it.
To have made Christ to die on account of an
allegorical tree would have been too barefaced a
fable.
In
the above words of Thomas Paine what we see is an enlightened
understanding of the nature and reality of the scriptures which has been
perverted by priest-craft and their corrupt Church. When we make
reference to the Laws of Nature and Nature's God, when the allegorical
accounts of the scriptures are properly understood, the True Spiritual
meaning of the scriptures are an embodiment of the Natural Laws of
Higher Consciousness. Paine knew this -- as did all the enlightened
Masons and Deists. And this is why it is written in the above
quotation in the Encyclopedia: "...Deists saw their mission as
the stripping away of "priestcraft" and
"mysteries" from religion, thereby restoring
religion to its original, true condition –
simple and rational. In many cases, they
considered true, original Christianity to be the
same as this original natural religion." And
leaders such as George Washington recognized that to accomplish the
restoration of True Enlightenment, it was necessary to maintain a
connection to the body of faith-based believers who were still in the
Churches, but had reach the point where they desired to embrace the
Higher Knowledge that evolves them into a state of Enlightenment and
Knowing. And George Washington was therefore sworn into office as
President, on a Bible from the local Masonic Lodge (quoting the
Wikipedia) The
George Washington Inaugural Bible is the
book that was
sworn upon by
George Washington when
he took office as the first
President of the United States. The Bible itself has subsequently been used in the inauguration ceremonies of several other U.S. presidents.
St. John's Lodge No. 1,
Ancient York Masons, are the custodians of what is now known as the
George Washington Inaugural Bible. On April 30, 1789 it was upon this
Bible that George Washington took his oath of office as the first
President of the United States.
At
the founding of our Nation, Spiritually Mature and Enlightened
Christians were known as Deists and Masons. In the actual article which
can be found at
http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2017/february/why-george-washington-was-not-a-deist-but-a-practicing-christian
, the author incorrectly states: "Jonathan Edwards, the great father of
the first Great Awakening, in his
writing says no deist will ever call the Bible the word of God because
they believe that God doesn't have a written word" -- and as
demonstrated in the above quotation of Thomas Paine, the foregoing
statement of Jonathan Edwards is based upon his own abject ignorance of
the nature and purpose of the scriptures. As explored throughout the
article on the Key of Knowledge (
http://KeyOfKnowledge.org
), the scriptures are an allegorical text-book that the seeker uses to
find and enter the Presence of God. As stated by the Church Father
Origen who is known as the greatest teacher second only to the Apostles
stated with respect to those who believe the literal text of the
scriptures:
"...What man is found such an idiot as"
to believe these forms and symbols
literally, and not to understand
"...that every man
must hold these things for images, under
which the hidden sense lies concealed”? (see The Hidden Reality Of The Old Testament @
http://AnInconvenientTruth.org#OldTestament .
Quoting
the Church historian Eusebius who writes of
the doctrines conceived by the early
Christians Papias and Irenaeus:
“Papias reproduces
other stories communicated to him by word of
mouth, together with some otherwise unknown
parables and teachings of the Saviour, and
other things of a more allegorical
character. He says that 'after the
resurrection of the dead there will be a
period of a thousand years when Christ's
kingdom will be set up on this earth in
material form'. I suppose he got these
notions by misinterpreting the apostolic
accounts and failing to grasp what they said
in mystic and symbolic language. For he
seems to have been a man of very small
intelligence, to judge from his books..."
(Eusebius, Hist Eccl., Book III, 39.11).
Factually, both the author of the article and Johathan Edwards upon whom quotes must be understood as men of "...small
intelligence" who are lacking the ability to "...grasp what they [scripture authors] said
in mystic and symbolic language". George
Washington was a Mason, because he was enlightened as to the spiritual
meaning of the scriptures -- as was Franklin, Jefferson and Paine who
were Deists.
