The Eighth Sermon to the Dead

A question from the AGCA mailing list, and my response: " So "IF" Yaldobah and Samael and Satan are all one and the same ...and a "souless" tribe was created via their union, If one worships Satan or Samael...are they indeed worshipping and promoting the agenda of the demiurge? I am very curious on the Sophian tradition on this matter as Manechians view the unknowable as the one true god and Yaldobah as the Demiurge. Thanks for your help." Historically, I'm not sure, as I haven't done the reseach. Theologically, this raises some interesting questions. We, as the Apostolic Johannite Church, believe the divine spark is present in all people. Therefore, the idea of someone as 'soulless' due to descent is antithetical to our assumptions, and we would definitely reject a literal interpretation of this idea. Mythologically, this is also a problem. The existance of a soulless tribe of individuals would lead to the definition of an 'other...

Who was John? Well, he was a crazy hermit who lived in the desert dousing people with water and saying that God talked to him. He became a distraction to the authorities, and they lopped off his head. What is his significance to Gnostics? Well, we may not live in the desert, but we continue dousing people with water and saying God talks to us. And the authorities are all distracted by the gnostic movement (just look at all the da vinci code backlash), and may try to lop of our heads at some point. So, there are parallels. Matthew 3 lays out his message: "7You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11"I baptize you ...

I wanted to invite you to the first public mass of the Parish of St. Gabriel in Madison, WI. We will be celebrating the feast of St. John the Baptist. St. John is an important saint for the Apostolic Johannite Church(http://www.johannite.org), for the account of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus the Christ is one of the most powerful examples of Gnosis in the Bible. Please join us for our inaugural celebration! Date: Saturday, June 24th, 2006 Time: 7:00 PM Location: Gates of Heaven Synagogue, Madison, WI Map: http://tinyurl.com/gzuq7 Fellowship: We’ll be arriving at the park at 4:00 pm, and having a potluck barbeque. Please RSVP if you’ll be attending the fellowship, and whether you’ll be taking communion. All that is required for receiving communion is a respect for the sacrament. Thanks for your time, and hope to see you there. -- -Rev. Deacon Scott Rassbach Apostolic Johannite Church Nonne melius est comedere et bibere et ostendere animae suae bona de laboribus suis...

This was posted on the Johannite Mailing List. Peace to all Everyone here on this list is here because they are interested in Gnosticism as a topic of interest and might be interested in Ministry later. Several are here because they are interested in pursuing/already undertaking Formational studies. for Gnostic Priesthood. It has been said that many gnostics are 'stuck in the heads' and are only interested in learnig from books or that we don't know how to translate our intellectual knowledge into actual 'praxis' - practises that help us in the world. Mindfulness and devotion need to be practised. So I have a small challenge for all of you. This is a challenge relating to Ministry, less than being purely Gnosticism, per se. It is relatively easy and certainly inexpensive, but requires committment and a little work. As there is a wide range of ages and backgrounds in the people in this group, often times people need to be nurtured in their understanding of what is me...