|
With Rev. David Wallace
Thursday evenings, April 3, 10, 17
& 24
6:30
pm – 9:00 pm
OSIS Credit Value: 1
$120 Public, $95 OSLA Students & Alumni
Distance Learning Available
|
Between the 2nd and 4th
centuries A.D., a rich literature emerged amongst some sects of early
Christians which proposed that there was a secret, revealed knowledge of
God. These teachings – thought to be
transcribed from oral teachings of the first disciples of Jesus -- became
known as Gnosticism (“gnosis” is the Greek word for “knowledge"). Lost writings from this period were found
in Egypt in 1945 – the Nag Hammadi texts – and scholars have long suggested
that Christianity would look much different if it had been shaped by the
ideas represented by these – pictures of a very human Jesus who was a master
at Zen-like teaching, who was both informed and intimate with Mary Magdalene,
who celebrated the Divine as both Mother and Father, and who taught a radical
egalitarianism which prefers spiritual experience and “living the message”
over mere religious observance.
Over
the course of four evenings, we will read selections from the classic 2nd
century Gnostic texts (purported to be written by Jesus’s twin, Judas Thomas;
his brother, James; his disciple, the fisherman John, and others): The Gospel of Thomas (the major text of
Gnostic experience); the Gospel of Mary Magdalene; The Secret Book of John,
and others. In a seminar setting, we
will look at the historic context of the early Christian church, and search
for the mystic heart message of these extraordinary words – timeless, alive
and as poignantly enigmatic as they are compelling – and, potentially,
healing.
Rev. David Wallace is an Interfaith minister and 2nd year dean for One
Spirit Interfaith Seminary. He is a graduate of the classics department of St. John’s College and is a lifelong student of
the “great books” of philosophy and psychology. David has an extensive career
in publishing and marketing, along with award winning work in retail.
|