Secret Jesus Scroll

The original manuscript, commonly referred to as The Lost Jesus Scroll, is now housed in the Archives of the Roman Vatican. It came into the Vatican's protective custody through the hands of Nestorian priests who were forced to flee from the East in order to escape slaughter by the advancing Genghis Khan. Remnants of both the ancient Aramaic and Hebrew texts date back to the early years following the crucifixion.

And there are also many other things, which Jesus did, The which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books That should be written. St. John 21:25
(On the third evening after the Sabbath - Monday evening at sunset.)
And so it came to pass that one evening, again as the sun was just setting, Jesus came to be alone with his disciples.
At first they sat quietly. After a time, however, John asked Jesus, "Master, your words contain more wisdom than those of the Scribes and Pharisees. Tell us how you are able to see and know things no other man has known?"
And Jesus replied, "Those who would come closer unto the Heavenly Father shall also have a greater understanding of all living things. At first we are like little children, who see something, but not the power that created it. We see the flower, but not the seed that gave it life, or the power in the seed that made the flower possible.
"Yet, one should not seek wisdom for the sake of wisdom alone, for then one becomes as a mind filled only with empty words that have no power.
"Wisdom is of God. In Him are the answers to all things. Therefore you must seek to unite your mind with His mind and all that you would know will be given unto you, even the secret of the stars."
Then one of the disciples spoke up, saying, "Master, we are not like you. We have no power save for that which moves our bodies. How can we come unto God, for we are not holy and divine?"
Maintaining his usual beneficent countenance, Jesus replied, "I say to you, that you are more holy and divine than you know, for even as I am of God and He is in me, so are you of God. The Heavenly Father created all things holy, both man and beast, but only man can perceive his own heritage and know that he is the son of a living God.
"Therefore, take no heed that you are not like unto me. First, seek ye therefore the heavenly kingdom and all powers shall be yours to use. And one day you shall come to know those things you have not heretofore known.
"When you close your eyes, think upon the wonder of creation; the valleys, the trees and the great seas. Think of the sun and the moon. Is there any greater wonder than the light of the sun, which glorifies the sky by day, or the moon that governs the tides? I say to you that all these have been brought into being by the one wisdom that created all things.
"Think of Him who instilled power in a grain of wheat to become twenty grains, or the seed in woman which becomes a child playing in the sun. Think you not that any man is truly wise who has not come first unto the One who is all wisdom.
"Draw in deeply from the mind which has brought forth creation and even now continues to guide all the stars. Feel the mind of God flow through your mind. And when you have again opened your eyes, see things anew. I tell you truly; all living things today are but shadows of things yet to come.
"Allow wisdom to guide you in all that you do, lest you become like those who go down into a deep well and take all others with them. I say to you, ever since the beginning the blind have led the blind and the thousands follow them.
With these words Jesus finished speaking, and he slowly rose up and left his disciples that he might be alone to commune with God.

Collected Comments on Christian Mysticism

Mysticism is nothing more or less than a love-driven way of knowing God, that is centered in direct, immediate experience of God’s presence –- as contrasted with the efforts of our minds to think through, capture, and describe the object of our belief in clear language, theological subtlety, or scientific precision.

A little over 50 years ago, E. Allison Peers, the translator and biographer of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, noted that the word mystic had for some time “been getting into the wrong company.” For one thing, mysticism is consistently and confusedly identified with the highly publicized, easily dramatized special effects of the spiritual life – rare, exotic phenomena such as levitation and stigmata that mark the lives of some who have sought to live with God. But these effects are not the reward for spiritual success, signs of God’s approval, any more than their lack is a mark of spiritual failure, a sign of God’s indifference. “A mystic,” Peers wrote, “is a person who has fallen in love with God. We are not afraid of lovers -– no indeed, all the world loves a lover. They attract us by their ardor, their single-mindedness, their yearning to be one with the object of their love.” Mysticism is a way of living that makes this consciousness of God’s presence the shaping context, the compelling energy of our lives. John Kirvan, God Hunger

What is Christian mysticism? It is a way of living prayerfully and lovingly, being open to God’s presence, however it may appear. While this is experienced most in contemplative prayer, it does not mean withdrawing from the world. Truly effective, responsive action in the world needs to be filled with and informed by contemplative awareness. Here are some quotations from well-known Christian writers that attempt to describe contemplative Christian mysticism. (with gratitude to the Shalem Institute)

Christ filling the hearing, sight, touch, taste, and every sense Origen Hanging by God’s thread of pure Love Catherine of Genoa

Seeing through exterior things, and seeing God in them Thomas Merton

A blind feeling of one’s own being, stretching unto God The Cloud of Unknowing The pure, loving gaze that finds God everywhere Brother Lawrence

The mind’s loving, unmixed, permanent attention to the things of God Francis de Sales

Finding God in all things Ignatius of Loyola

A continual condition of prayerful sensitivity to what is really going on Douglas Steere

Seeing God in everything and everything in God with completely extraordinary clearness and delicacy Marie of the Incarnation

The window of the soul cleansed perfectly and made completely transparent by the divine light John of the Cross

Awareness, absorbed and amazed Teresa of Avila

The enlightening of the understanding, joined to the joys of God’s love Walter Hilton

Continual communion through all things by quite simply doing everything in the presence of the Holy Trinity Elizabeth of the Trinity

The mind, gazing upon the universe of God’s handiwork, rapt by the divine and infinite light Maximus the Confessor

The mind stolen from itself by the ineffable sweetness of the Word Bernard of Clairvaux

Divine wakefulness with pure and naked intuition Gregory of Nyssa

With the flash of one trembling glance, my mind arrived at THAT WHICH IS, but I could not fix my gaze thereon. Augustine

The alertness which finds everything plain and grasps it clearly with entire comprehension Hugh of St. Victor

Receiving the clarity of God without any means; a single nakedness that embraces all things Jan Van Ruysbroek

Right understanding, with true longing, absolute trust, and sweet grace-giving mindfulness Julian of Norwich

Awakening to the presence of God in the human heart and in the universe which is around us... knowledge by love Dom Bede Griffiths

The world becoming luminous from within as one plunges breathlessly into human activity Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

---- Mysticism has been in the past & probably ever will be one of the great powers of the world & it is bad scholarship to pretend the contrary. You may argue against it but you should no more treat it with disrespect than a perfectly cultivated writer would treat (say) the Catholic Church or the Church of Luther no matter how much he disliked them. ----

Uncontrolled, the hunger and thirst after God may become an obstacle, cutting off the soul from what it desires. If a man would travel far along the mystic road, he must learn to desire God intensely but in stillness, passively and yet with all his heart and mind and strength. Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), British author. Grey Eminence, ch. 9 (1941).

On the Concept of God

The Master would insist that the final barrier to our attaining God was the word and concept "God."

This so infuriated the local priest that he came in a huff to argue the matter out with the Master."But surely the word 'God' can lead us to God?" said the priest."It can," said the Master calmly."How can something help and be a barrier?"

Said the Master, "The donkey that brings you to the door is not the means by which you enter the house."

Einstein on Mysticism

The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical. It is the power of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms- this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I belong to the rank of devoutly religious men. Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German-born U.S. theoretical physicist. Quoted in: Philipp Frank, Einstein: His Life and Times, ch. 12, sct. 5 (1947).

Soren Kierkegaard on Mysticism

Just as in earthly life lovers long for the moment when they are able to breathe forth their love for each other, to let their souls blend in a soft whisper, so the mystic longs for the moment when in prayer he can, as it were, creep into God. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-55), Danish philosopher. Either/Or, vol. 2, "Balance between Esthetic and Ethical" (1843; tr. 1987).

On Mysticism

The Christian mystic is in love with God, and hungers for an awareness of God’s presence. Whether we seek it through the practice of contemplative prayer or any other means, we spend our lives learning to fix our gaze constantly on God and to be mindful of God in all things.

The contemplative life is not easy. It can be isolating. Many other Christians mistrust those who are called by God to this path. The mystic finds God more easily through silence than through activity; more through prayer than through study; more through love than through knowledge.

The mystic knows God by faith and is content with “unknowing.” But Christian church communities tend to place great value on knowledge and study. If you were to count the number of Bible studies compared to the number of prayer groups offered in churches, you could see this trend easily. Church communities are usually centered around activity and stimulation. These things do not help the mystic feel closer to God; in fact, mystics find these things to be distractions that make them feel farther from God.

In most Christian church communities, silence and prayerful contemplation are rare. The Christian mystic, longing for silence, can feel quite abandoned. How does one pray in the contemplative way? This sort of prayer is not about asking for things. Julian of Norwich described it thus: “I look at God, I look at you, and I keep on looking at God.”

Many modern Christians who are drawn to the mystic approach practice contemplative prayer in small groups which may meet once a month. Much of the prayer is silent, with anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour of silence at a time. Learning contemplative prayer involves learning how to use that silence to focus one’s mind and heart totally on God, not to say anything to God, but to open one’s heart to listen for God. Naturally we all have things constantly reverberating through our minds -– our little to-do lists, conversations, commercial jingles, whatever. The goal of contemplative prayer is to quiet all those distractions, the better to be open to God’s voice. The highest experience of contemplative prayer is simply to be aware of God’s presence and delight in it. There is no agenda other than love. “Be still, and know that I am God.” This type of prayer does not appeal to everyone.

God calls some people to activity; God calls some people to intellect and study. But God calls the Christian mystic to seek him in this interior landscape, in a cloud of unknowing, in love and by faith. Naturally, in addition to contemplative prayer, the Christian mystic must live a well rounded Christian life, including worship in community, Bible study, and compassionate living. As Catherine of Siena has said, “The secret of Christian contemplation is that it faces us, with Jesus Christ, toward our suffering world in loving service and just action.”

Biblical Corruption

elow is a link to a long, yet thought-provoking article that discusses the possiblity of Biblical corruption in a historical perspective.
http://www.reluctant-messenger.com/biblical-corruption.htm