"The danger facing humanity requires getting beyond the usual mind or self sense. Political action, social programs, humanitarian work and so forth are good, but not enough. Only transformed consciousness can transform the world. The ultimate action then, is no action at all except to change consciousness." (1)
"Gnostic," from the Greek term gnosis, means factual knowledge, specifically knowledge about the logos/logic of God. Gnostic Christianity is not about Jesus' public teachings; it is about the gnosis, or practical knowledge, that Jesus taught in private.
The private teachings of Jesus are mentioned in Mark 4:10-12, 4:33-34; Matthew 13:10-11, 13:34; and Luke 8:9-10.
In Mk 4:33-34 jbv, for example, Mark said: "Using many parables…he [Jesus] spoke the word* [again, meaning the logic or reasoning of God]…so far as they [the general public] were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but explained everything to his disciples when they were alone." In Rm 1:9-14, Paul explains that "pneumatic truth [Jesus' logos/logic teachings] cannot be communicated by means of written documents but only through oral communication. For this reason, the apostle says 'we [Gnostics] speak wisdom [Jesus' Christ or logic teachings] among the initiates (teleioi [perfect], 1Cor 2:16) and to them only 'in secret', since most people remain incapable of receiving it."
Scholars refer to Jesus' private teachings as his "logos," logic or oral tradition. Mystics refer to those teachings as Jesus' lost or secret teachings. The important thing to remember about Jesus' public and private teachings is that both are his. Jesus used his public teachings to inspire us, through mystical awe and spiritual insight, to love one another. He used his private/Gnostic teachings to provide us with the foundations for a nonjudgmental system of logic that makes it reasonable for us to relate ideas in ways we now think of as spiritual and loving.
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