In Reply to: are you sure they know what they believe??? posted by lydia on June 12, 2004 at 13:40:26:
Hi,Lydia! How are you doing?
I've been into alot of philosphyand eastern religion in the past, and had a very powerful and personal experience with Jesus.
As I grew to know Him,it was often at odds with stuff going on in the Family.
I'd like to go prettty deep into explaining why gnosticism should be avoided,why it is a spiritual lie, and a doctrine specifically taught by demons, but, for now, I'l just paste in something I just read.
Oddly enough, it is about a former Muslim, and he's answering questions much like your comments.
Here's his response to a question about Gnosticism, which I thought was particularly good:
"Again, it was Constantine who placed so much authority in the church, not Christianity. New Testament theology is quite clear that Jesus Christ Himself is our mediator with God and that the Holy Spirit, God's own spirit, personally indwells every believer in Christ. Christ removed the barrier between man and God (as pictured by the veil in the temple being torn from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross). Gnosticism was itself an attempt to substitute "secret" knowledge for the simple doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. True Christianity never places anything between the individual and God; no teacher, no institution, no rule, no interpreter, no hierarchy, just direct, unlimited access to God Himself, from the very core of your being."
Very interesting, no?