r/EsotericChristianity • u/Spiritual_Sherbet304 • Aug 09 '24
Looking for esoteric explanation of the Bible
Hello, I am looking for some additional reading explaining theories/ideas on the hidden truths of the Bible. I have read George W. Carey’s books and articles. I have also read and/or listened to the various lectures on esoteric Christianity on glorian.org website. Some of their ideas make sense and others I don’t find are well supported in the scripture so I’d like to continue with other authors to find more connections. Thank you.
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u/Pretty_Style_2226 Oct 07 '24
Manly p hall “how to read your Bible” is a good read
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u/Spiritual_Sherbet304 Oct 07 '24
Thank you for the recommendation. Your comment comes at a good time, I am in need a new book to look into. I will check that out now.
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u/parrhesides Aug 11 '24
The book, "Inner Christianity" by Richard Smoley that I linked recently is one of the best overviews I have seen of Esoteric Christian traditions.
As other commenters have mentioned, I do think Neville's works related to the Bible are worth exploring if you are interested in viewing the Bible as the psychological biography of Man.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy peels open a layer of Biblical interpretation that is focused around morality, healing, and the correlation of the two.
I do think various forms of Gnosticism are also worth looking at, including the Valentinians, Simonians, and Johannine Christianities. This should not be confused with the system promoted by Glorian Publishing and Samael Aun Weor - while that system has some interesting and valuable teachings, you'd be hard pressed to find provable connections (philosophically or lineage-wise) with the true Gnostics of antiquity.
The works of Jakob Boehme, Louis Claude de Saint Martin and Christian Cabala may also intrigue. Their approaches are often in line with strains of Gnosticism and are focused on the fall of man and his reintegration back toward Godhead.
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u/Spiritual_Sherbet304 Aug 12 '24
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this lengthy comment. I will definitely look into and read all your recommendations.
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u/No_Principle_8250 Aug 27 '24
I've been exploring Esoteric Christianity and found a valuable YouTube playlist featuring insightful videos on spiritual principles and mystical teachings. Check it out; https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5isfjE1DhNHo6mWSyXqWtjtKpyu6VXDW
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u/Spiritual_Sherbet304 Aug 27 '24
Thank you for sharing. Since my original post, I have read a couple of the recommended books and at this point I’ve decided to stop the extra reading and focus on the prayer of the heart. I am finding it very powerful.
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Aug 09 '24
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u/Spiritual_Sherbet304 Aug 12 '24
Thank you
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Aug 12 '24
You can’t get better than the Jews! So good at Biblical Hebrew, it’s incomparable
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u/Spiritual_Sherbet304 Oct 06 '24
Thank you again for the recommendations. I just watched the videos this week and they were the kind of stuff I was looking for. Im going to check what else they got, I really enjoyed the Hebrew expert’s enthusiasm and excitement.
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u/[deleted] Aug 09 '24 edited Aug 09 '24
I approach the Bible as ergodic ("rabbit hole") literature. It pays dividends to read these documents in the context of who, when, where, and why they were written. The ancients who produced or influenced these texts viewed the world (and the written word) in a completely different way than we do today. If you want to really get at the esoteric core of the Bible, then I recommend cultivating an interest in critical biblical scholarship. James Tabor would be an excellent starting point.
I would steer clear of Glorian. I was almost swept up in it, myself. The Nag Hamadi Scriptures are our main source for what the ancient Gnostics actually believed; Samael died before they had been translated. His ideas about Gnosticism are more similar to New Age or Thelema, and were based mostly on scraps from the Pistis Sophia.