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Very little can be known of the founder of this sect, a certain Yeshuah ben Yosef (better known to the world as "Jesus Christ"). Certainly in the years after his death a powerful meme developed around his person, mainly through the work of Paul of Tarsus, a convert who never met Yeshuah.
The Christian meme - which stems in large part from the theology of Paul - is one of the most potent in the world. It revolves around the idea of personal redemption or salvation through the divinised messiah figure of Jesus Christ. Although Christianity seeks to elevate man back to his divine status, the emphasis is very much on faith (i.e. belief) rather than on activity such as yoga or meditation. Salvation is a gift coming from God, the "marriage" of Christ to the Church, or the result of God revealing Himself completely.
Gnosticism is the name given to a number of early heresies (literally "free thinkings") which emphasised a more cosmological, intellectual, and esoteric approach. It should be emphasised however that not all Gnostic sects were Christian.
Christianity tends to very hostile to occultic traditions or new age teachings which describe spiritual or divine attainment in evolutionary terms, or as something coming from the human direction. Teilhard de Chardin however was one exceptional theologian who attempted to reconcile the two very diverse memes of Catholicism and Darwinism.
Mystical elements of Early Christianity | Catholicism | Protestantism (under construction) | Where are All the Christians - Suba | Correcting the New Testament Version of Judaism - Yakov Leib haKohain | Christian Mysticism | Beyond the Problem of Evil | Spinozism and Christianity | Buddha and Christ - Two Gods on the Path to Humanity | Teilhard de Chardin | Creationism | The Nature of the Soul and Salvation in Christianity and Buddhism| The Savior and the Godhead
passages on the Mystical and Numinous experience
from Andrew Wilson - Readings from World Scriptures
The Unitative State
The Transcendent, All-Pervasive Reality
 Hermetic Kabbalah The Big Pictureshows where Christianity fits in to the Western esoteric tradition |
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Links - Christianity | |
The Christian Classics Ethereal Library contains a huge amount of on-line public domain material, including many classics of Christian mysticism.
The Chapel on the Web - pretty good Christian site
Christianity - on Mike's Religion page
Christianity -
excellent coverage
RP2040 - Philosophy of Christian
Religion - excellent theological notes, by Mr Sze-chi Chan
The following, while considered "heretical" by the fundamentalist churches, nevertheless present a valid alternative and more esoteric interpretation of Christianity. Do not click on this site if you only follow a literalist religious perspective.
The Independent Church of Australia - an esoteric and mystical Christian movement...Its College offers practical on-line courses in personal growth and Christian gnosis which can lead to the Diploma of Metaphysics. Rev Mario
Schoenmaker, the founder, uses his clairvoyant perception of the aura, his understanding of reincarnation in his esoteric interpretation of the Bible.
