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1. Wake up to something more valuable than gospel rattling
Jesus said, "I am all: from me all came forth, and (...) Split a piece of wood; I am
there. Lift up the stone, and you'll find me there." [Thomas 77]  I hope you do a thorough job in chopping wood, then.
The question is how far we have come
to see the teachings of the Gospel of Thomas as true.
Thomas [loggion 13] demonstrates that some teachings had better be kept away from the apostles of Jesus, even. Still it says: "There's nothing hidden that won't be revealed. [Thomas 5]". You can sleep on more important matters and hopefully wake up to a good solution. That should be time well spent.
Jesus said, "A city built on a high hill and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be
hidden." [Thomas 32] Jerusalem was fortified and on a high hill, and yet fell during the reign of Vespasian. In 70 AD, the armies
of his warfare-skilled son Titus surrounded the city of Jerusalem. After a bloody siege,
the city was overrun, the temple destroyed, and the Jews taken captive. Now you see you cannot trust Jesus in this either. What next?
"Whoever doesn't hate father and mother cannot be my disciple. And whoever doesn't hate brothers and sisters, and carry the cross as I do, won't be worthy of me." [Thomas 55] Have you noticed how (little) fit this is? Stay out of the confusing mess.
2. Have awareness to stay in control enough over your body too
Jesus: "I am the one who comes from what is whole." ... " [Thomas 61] — "Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." [Thomas 62
(excerpt)] To be whole mentally, have such awareness and interest intact that you know what both hands are doing. Stay coordinated and things may go well for a long time. What Jesus appeared to hint of through this adage, was discretion.
To do greater deeds than Jesus is OK. [John 14;12]
3. Only the miraculous followers would be left if all who call themselves Christians, were made to drink deadly poison as a test. I don't think it is wise to advocate all Christians to kill themselves just like that - maybe I am too soft . . .
BEFORE his death he said he would give the Comforter and Reminder of all he had
taught. He also said he would accompany his true followers. The marks: The true followers
are marked by casting mountains into the sea, waking the dead - Peter did - and drinking
poison heavily. They can lay their hands on ill persons and making them well in a single
moment. Do not put your health and life at stake. And, after all, many of the words of Jesus were not taken care of - there is good evidence of it - and followers nowhere cast mountains into the sea, not literally. Perhaps you should decide on what's the most relevant and esteemed intriguing question and thing to do before you speak up.
- Valuable are true solutions, not Bible verbiage that leads to mass suicide.
- Stay aware, have fair control, and remain cogent and able. Do not succumb to a sect.
- It may be called a miracle if someone drinks deadly poison like mad and survives. However, a medical expert may be expected to look for explanations of it - and others would like those who call themselves Christians, to behave less childish and stop feigning -
Many solutions have been found in the hands of experts. Expects become good at what they are doing, by not pretending over and over.
Never mind. "If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves, and if you pray, you will be condemned, and if you give to charity, you will harm your spirits," said Jesus [Loggion
14] Is that so? Stay aware that gospels teach differently. We may combine gospel directives on praying and being charitable, with this, and then it stands out what Jesus is at: harm and condemnation of those who try to follow him. Being a Christian martyr makes added sense in such a wild scenario . . .
By now you have hopefully lost all motivation to buy a complete version of the Gospel of Thomas in Coptic (the native Egyptian language
written in an alphabet derived from the Greek alphabet), as it was found in Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945. That version can be dated to about 340 A.D.
Jesus said, "The [Father's] kingdom is like a woman who was carrying a [jar] full
of meal. While she was walking along [a] distant road, the handle of the jar broke and the
meal spilled behind her [along] the road. She didn't know it; she hadn't noticed a
problem. When she reached her house, she put the jar down and discovered that it was
empty." [Loggion 97] If it is so, the heaven of Jesus is empty, which could be important to see.
Jesus said, "The person old in days won't hesitate to ask a little
child seven days old about the place of life, and that person will live.
For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one." [Loggion
4] To be true, a newborn baby may not say much that makes sense. And old Christians die off.
Jesus said, "The kingdom is within you and it is outside
you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you
are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then . . . you are the poverty." [Loggion 3] If the text has it right, then know yourself. Contemplation is for that. And you don't need Jesus to succeed, for healthy one's do not need him, he says in Matthew 9:12-13 and Mark 2:17. Take care of your health in a wide sense, then. Holistic health-concepts serve well.
Does it matter? You can probably not live up to all of them anyway. But who knows for sure? Many sayings in Thomas are also in Mark, Matthew and Luke. And
it is quite possible that Thomas retains sayings that the biblical gospels don't retain
and ... that Thomas is more reliable as a guide to some sides of the thinking of Jesus and
some of his utterances than the biblical gospels are.
Jesus said, "If you become my disciples and pay attention to my sayings, these stones will serve you." [Loggion 19] Some seem to make sense of many sayings of Jesus by interpreting them figuratively, not literally. They are wise. Rather interpret metaphorically the harsh commands to pluck out one's eye than molest oneself, for example. Do not be insane.
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