| Secret Sayings | ||
| The
excerpt below demonstrates a little Gnostic theology applied to familiar,
orthodox scriptures; it is a part of an exegesis on texts from the Sermon
on the Mount. The Interpretation was found in the Nag Hammadi
library.
This Teacher of Immortality made a living school against the other school, that which teaches using dead writings as textbooks. Through this school we are taught about our death and dead things. On the other hand, the teacher of immortality causes us to remove ourselves from this kind of worldly evil. Here is his teaching: Don't call to any father on the earth; rather, call upon your Father in heaven, for he is one. Those who do his will are my family and friends. You are the light of the world. But what good is it to gain the world when you lose your very soul? Now the world does not belong to you, nor you to it. Don't esteem worldly possessions as advantageous! On the contrary, the world is disadvantageous, even punishment.... |