Christian Studies

A Light Overview Of the Beginning of The Book Of John

Rev. Pablo (Eric) Sanchez

The Gospel According To John, the last of the four gospels, is full of the rich history of a man named John the Baptist, of the origin of the Apostles, and many of the miracles of Jesus.

          The telling begins with an explanation of the Word, and "the light of the world", where John states "life was the light"… that nothing happened or began without it. John tells of the man, also named John, who was a witness of the light, and came to testify-- to establish faith among the people. He was questioned by the Jewish Pharisaic Priests, who were sent to identify him, where he stated that he was not Elijah, but that was the "voice crying from the wilderness", imploring others to straighten the way for the coming of the Lord.

Soon after, the arrival of Jesus the messiah allowed John to herald the arrival of the Son of God. Soon afterward, he finds among the followers Simon and Phillip. They then join Him in His journey, along with Nathaniel. Shortly afterward, He comes across a wedding in Cana, where He produces the first of miracles among His new followers by turning water into wine. During the Passover, while with His mother, and family, He over turned the moneychangers in the temple, admonishing them not to turn His Father's House into a house of merchandise. He said "destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." He was not only referring to the temple, but of Himself, and his soon to come sacrifice for humanity. He preached and spoke with many, including the Pharisee Nicodemus, whom He told that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whomever believes in Him will have everlasting life." He then continued to Judea, and continued baptizing many, and preaching the word of His Father.

John, while baptizing in Enon, rose into dispute among his students. It was there that he said "no one on earth can receive a single thing beyond what is given them from the sky."  He further testified as to the reality of Jesus.

The Messiah performed many more miracles and wonders on his journey. The Gospel is rich with the history of Jesus and John. It is a necessary read upon your own journey into the light of God's word and promises to His believers. I found it to be very enlightening. I would suggest that others who give it a read will do the same, and will strengthen their belief in our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Rev. Eric Pablo Sanchez 
Christian Studies

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To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link.

Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church. 

Christian Studies

As I read the book, The Unvarnished Gospels, I compared what was contained within; to what I was taught to me by Thomas directly (some call him Saint Thomas ). Before I continue, I should probably explain. 

It was in 2006, when I was first attuned to Reiki. Before my first attunement, my Reiki teacher explained that once we are attuned to Reiki, our healing angel would make themselves known to us. Upon my first attunement, I suddenly began hearing the name Thomas over and over in my head. I asked my Reiki teacher about it, and she said that is how angels reinforce themselves- by repetition. While driving home that night, I began to hear, "Thomas from the Bible" over and over; I was confused, because I didn't recall a Thomas gospel in the Bible. When I got home, I opened my Bible and searched the index, but found no reference to Thomas; I decided I would search the internet later. I made dinner and sat down in front of the tv, when I turned it on, the History channel came up. Then the announcer said, "Coming up next on Banned from the Bible, the Gospel of Thomas." As you can imagine, I felt chills run through me and probably turned about five shades of white. 

Thomas was only with me a short time, approximately a month. During that time he opened me up to all sorts of teachings, but most importantly, the true teachings of Jesus; I believe that was his reason for being with me. For most of my life, I had a very negative view of Jesus, feeling that because of him, so much pain and death were wrought upon this world. Yet, through Thomas, I was exposed to the true teachings; I was shown in a mental, emotional and spiritual manner. This occurred while I was at work one day, since there is no 'time' within spirit; it took less than a few minutes. Afterward, tears began to flow down my face and would not stop. I had to retreat to the bathroom for several minutes, because I was so consumed with the power of what I had just experienced. Not only because the event itself was so powerful, but also because I realized how wrong I had been about Jesus. HE wasn't the one to blame for the atrocities carried out in his name, or the religion that sprang up in his name; it was ignorance and human ego that was to blame.

From that point forward, I felt a stronger connection to Jesus, and have been very grateful to Thomas for sharing his knowledge and wisdom with me. When Thomas left, I received a new healing angel, and I knew then that Thomas had only come to show me the truth of Jesus and help me to awaken myself to higher levels of understanding.

The Four Gospels

What I learned through reading the four gospels, even with the original Greek translation, is that all of them are mostly inaccurate about his teachings. I do not come from any religious background, so I believe that I can remain fairly impartial when examining religious teachings. I do not hold any particular scripture sacred, yet, I also do not believe that any religion or teachings are wrong. In all of my studies, I have found some Truth within each of the numerous religions around the world. I also know that every person is incarnated here and reincarnated numerous times, in order for their soul to learn, grow and evolve, and within that framework, people can only grasp the ideas and concepts that they are ready for.

In regards to the four gospels, it was clear from my viewpoint, having been exposed to Jesus' true intentions through Thomas, that none of the four gospel writers understood what Jesus was teaching. All of them appeared to exhibit Jewish foundational beliefs, and tried to explain Jesus through those precepts, instead of realizing that Jesus, while raised Jewish, was speaking about something clearly different from traditional Jewish teachings. Remember, Jews were taught about the Old Testament "wrathful and vengeful god that should be feared and worshiped" while Jesus taught about a radically different form of god. It should be of no surprise that most people, especially traditional Jews of that time, would not have understood this radical departure. The only way that many could understand, was by interweaving this new concept, within the old belief system; hence the reason each gospel author interpreted things in their own way.

Additionally clear, is that by the time John was written, the author(s) were clearly writing to solidify the new Jesus "religion". The lessons began to sound more like they came from an evangelical preacher, than from a humble enlightened carpenter who was teaching his wisdom to the masses in order to help build a better, more loving world.

I am sure there are people who will take exception to my essay based upon my connection to Thomas; however, I am not one to doubt my own personal experiences.

Through Thomas, I learned that Jesus was just an enlightened human man with human flaws just like everyone else. Jesus was teaching about the God within, and how by finding this pure, loving light within each of us; we could truly transform the world. He was both a leader and a teacher; willing to risk everything for what he felt compelled to share with the world.

In the end, he sacrificed himself to fulfill the prophecies, believing that this would bring about a revolution of human thinking and behavior, but what came instead was the complete opposite of his true intentions. Yet, over two-thousand years later, finally his true teachings are being realized, as many souls have finally evolved enough to comprehend the same understanding that Jesus had taught back then.

People are realizing that God does not live outside of us. God is not some deity living worlds apart. God is not hiding in another dimension, in the sky, or in a place called heaven. God does not judge, nor does God favor. God doesn't grant us wishes, nor does God answer prayers. God is apart of everything, as we are each a part of everything. God is within, because we are all an interconnected individualizations of God.

When Jesus said, "My God, your God, my Father, your Father" he was telling us that we are ALL children of God. There is nowhere that God is not. So seek God not outside of yourself, but learn to find and connect to the Divinity within. Once there, realize that you become your thoughts and your beliefs. It is not God, is it not fate, it is you that is in control of you. These are the Truths that I have awakened to in this lifetime.

With Blessings.

Rev. Bradley

"Those who are here to teach, should teach; Those who are here to live, should learn; Those with ears, should hear!"

Rev. Bradley

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To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link.

Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church. 

Christian Studies

The Four Gospels Course  I was most comforted by the acts of faith. The most wonderful part of those acts was that each individual was made whole in some way. There was the ruler who believed that his daughter…who had just died…would live again if Jesus were to intervene. Jesus went to see the "dead" girl, took her hand, and she got up. (Mt. 9:18-25) Then there was the woman with a bleeding disorder. She believed that she would be healed if she could just touch Jesus' cloak. She managed to get close enough to Jesus so that she could touch his clothing. The woman was instantly healed of a medical condition that had plagued her for twelve long years. (Mt. 9:20-22) Jesus said, "…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Mt. 17: 20) As you know, Jesus spoke in parables or religious stories. He was not teaching us that we can literally move mountains. He was telling us that through faith we can move the obstacles that block our path. Without faith, we will not be able to see our way out of our trials and tribulations. We cannot move our mountains without faith. It doesn't require a lot. You simply need faith the size of a mustard seed. He was teaching us that faith is essential in our Christian life. When you have a moment, go online and look up the words "mustard seed." You will be amazed at their minuscule size. You will then fully understand what Jesus requires of you. There is also another aspect to the exercise of faith, and the subsequent healings that took place. In both cases, an effort was made to seek out Jesus. Each individual had the requisite faith; however, neither sat back and waited for a miracle! The ruler sought out Jesus in the crowd, and the woman fought the crowd to reach Him. Had the ruler stayed at home, his little girl would have been dead and buried. Had the woman stayed at home, she would have continued to bleed. What does this mean for us? The bible teaches us that you must make an effort when you want something to happen in your life. When I was a little girl sitting in church I always heard, the Saints say, "You make one step and He'll make two. " Get up! Go and get what you need. Use your faith, pray, and ask God for what you need, and then claim it as yours! "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Mt. 7:7) In summary, these are the steps you must take: (1) Pray and ask God to give you what you need; (2) Exercise your faith and claim that what you have asked for is yours; (3) Receive your blessings! Just say this to yourself when life becomes difficult, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." (Php. 4:13) May God bless each and every one of you in all of your endeavors. -- Rev. D. Borum, J.D., D.D. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link. Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church.

Gospel of Thomas

Gospel of Thomas Final Essay Dennis W. Zerull I must say that I am thrilled that the ULC Seminary has offered courses on Gnosticism and in this specific case the Gospel of Thomas. It is clear the author of this course Rev. Raymond Thompson is well read on the subject of the Gospel of Thomas and wrote this course with a great deal of passion. I greatly enjoyed his insightful humor when dealing with what can be a somewhat dry subject to those who are not as well read on this particular gospel. I very much looked forward to his discourse each week. This particular work, the Gospel of Thomas, is significant for the study of church history even though these writings are not included in the canon. It gives a sample of the ideas, convictions and serves as a point of comparison with the writings contained in the canon of the New Testament. When we study what some religious scholars call "the Apocrypha" in which the Gospel of Thomas falls under, the term "apokruphos" of course derived from the Greek translation simply means, "hidden things". It is believed that the writers of the apocryphal or Gnostic writings attempted to correct what they viewed as deficiencies in the canonical accounts and to fill the gaps they believed existed. These Gnostic Gospels were later considered heretical by the "Church", but became acceptable by a widespread and diverse religious movement with the roots of Greek philosophy and folk religion. However one can not ignore that the Gospel of Thomas according to some scholars is countered in advance by the canonical epistle of 1John, which emphasizes the gospel of Jesus Christ as the message of life, available for every person to experience. No doubt that some of the Gnostic writings were believed to be produced in an attempt to gain authority for their own particular views. No one knows for sure however, so I submit it is left up to the individual who studies the gospels to draw their own conclusions. This is best done with an open mind as to avoid egocentric debate. I do have one comment on this course and it concerns discourse # 16 ; saying # 82. Jesus said, If you are near me you are near fire. If you are far from me you are cut from the kingdom." Rev. Thompson describes the last supper in which John, "the one that Jesus loved is seated on the couch with Jesus with his head resting on Jesus' breast". Rev. Thompson gives his opinion as " do you have to be hit over the head with a club to see these two men were lovers ? That Jesus not only excepted same sex love, but actively participated in it? ". I am assuming by Rev. Thompson's description that his opinion is one in which the men had intimate sexual relations.  It is my humble opinion this is not only a broad assumption but one that is made without any merit what so ever. My argument is simply this. If Jesus was truly the Son of God and was the divine it would seem completely illogical for him to give himself up to indulgence in sensual pleasure because of his right action and lack of ego. Further more if Jesus was learned and knows the teachings of God, he would understand what is worthy of consideration and what is not worthy. It further would contradict his teaching in the 87 saying " Miserable is the body that depends upon a body". Assuming that Jesus was clearly conscious in his going and coming and clearly conscious of all the physical aspects of his earthly being and clearly conscious that he is divine source between God and mankind, the only conclusion that I can draw through logic and reasoning is that Jesus casted away lust and dwells with a heart free from lust; from lust he cleanses his heart. Therefore His heart becomes free from sensual passion, craving, detachment and eventually extinction. In this state He further is free from the vain thought of man and He reaches cessation of ignorance which is a misunderstanding of reality and achieves highest, holiest wisdom. No more fear and no more desires. I hope that those who decide to take this course in the future will draw upon their own conclusions and share them with us. And like Jesus who taught openly to everyone, there is a difference in how people respond or understood his teachings. But as a  humble sentient being, I emphasize that everyone is called equally to holiness and can attain it if they wish. In each individuals life there are stages of spiritual evolution starting from the state of an ordinary being and moving toward a full enlightenment, whereas in the case of Jesus, we are referring to someone who is unique, who is the Son of God. So the process of stages does not apply. His consciousness is both beginning less and endless in the terms of its continuity.  So if we closely examine the teachings of Jesus, it is reasonable to ascertain that everything in the cosmos came from God, is an emanation of God, and will return to God. Perhaps a transformation of matter back into its original source. What or who God is, is something that each of us must determine for ourselves through reason and analysis. The important point is that in the context of one's own spiritual practice, faith derived from written or spoken form must be grounded in reason and understanding no matter who the author is. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link. Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church.

Gospel of Thomas

Jesus Christ According to the Gospel of Thomas By Michael Barth             The Gospel of Thomas presents Jesus Christ in a totally different manner than what is in the Christian Bible.  Some of the sayings I recognized as being in the Christian Bible, but most are not.  These new sayings put Jesus in a new light for me.             The biggest thing had to deal with homosexuality and bisexuality.  This was totally new to me when it came to Jesus.  According to the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus Christ might have practiced both homosexuality and bisexuality.  According to these sayings, this could have been very well true of Jesus.  This would give a new meaning to the word "beloved" in the Christian Bible.  I also did not know that older men would help younger men and teenage boys learn to have sex.             Also, the fact that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene was new.  He could have also have possibly fathered children with her during his lifetime.  According to the one of the sayings, Peter wanted Jesus to get rid of Mary but refused to do saying.  In fact, Jesus might have loved Mary and the rest of the women more than his male disciples.             The first lesson was also very fascinating.  I love history and lesson 1 gave a background on how the Nag Hammadi Library was discovered.  I had heard of the Nag Hammadi Library but did not realize that it was a more recent discovery.  A couple of men went to harvest some fertilizer outside of Nag Hammadi, Egypt. While harvesting the fertilizer, one of their shovels hit this clay jar.  This must have been guided by God.  For having these men hit this clay jar in the middle of the Egyptian desert is probably nil.             I also found interesting in why the Gospel of Thomas was hidden.  There used to be a Coptic Monastery there.  The monks tried to hide the Nag Hammadi Library expecting to retrieve them later one but did not since these monks probably were persecuted by the early church.  We are all fortunate that these documents were preserved so well since they were hidden probably in the 2nd or 3rd century and stayed there until their discovery in 1945.             This course was well written and very well presented.  The author/teacher definitely knew this subject well.  This course did present Jesus in a new light, something that was not known for a long time.  The information was presented in a straight forward manner.  The author did a really good job in interpreting the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas.  I would recommend this course to anyone, especially if you would like to see Jesus Christ in a new way or are interested in Gnosticism. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link. Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church.