Summary: John is joined again by Sean Fox to discuss a huge and difficult topic, The History Of Early Christianity. They point out many discrepancies and issues of this period including, most, if not all of the books attributed to the apostles were not written by them. Alternative views existed but were labeled as heresy such as Gnosticism. Many of the popes were not good people, but very flawed, greedy and in some cases depraved.<br> <a href="http://mysterioustopics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/early_Christianity.jpg"></a><br> Image from: wikipedia.org<br> They discuss an ancient form of experiential spiritualism that Freddy Silva states in his book “The Lost Art Of Resurrection” that more than two thousand years before Christianity, initiates from spiritual traditions around the world were already practicing a secret mystical ritual in which they metaphorically died and were reborn into a higher spiritual state. During this living resurrection they experienced a transformative awakening that revealed the nature of reality and the purpose of the soul. Upon returning to the material world they were declared “risen from the dead.”<br> Exploring the practice of living resurrection in ancient Egyptian, Greek, Persian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Celtic and Native American traditions, Freddy Silva explains how resurrection was never meant for the dead, but for the living — a fact supported by the suppressed Gnostic Gospel of Philip: “Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error. If they do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when they die they will receive nothing.” He reveals how these practices were not only common in the ancient world but also shared similar facets in each tradition: candidates took instruction for up to three years, then retreated for a three-day period into a cave or restricted room called a bridal chamber to undertake a voluntary near-death experience, roamed the Other world, and returned fully aware to the body before being led by priests or priestesses to witness the rising of a morning star.<br> <a href="http://mysterioustopics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/early_Christianity_2.jpg"></a><br> Image from: flickr.com<br> Silva describes the secret chambers around the world where the ritual was performed, including the so-called ‘tombs’ of pharaohs Unas and Thutmosis III, which featured empty sarcophagi and detailed instructions for the living on how to enter the Otherworld and return alive.<br> <a href="http://mysterioustopics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/thutmose_iii.jpg"></a><br> He reveals why esoteric and Gnostic sects claimed that the literal resurrection of Jesus promoted by the Church was false and how the Church branded all living resurrection practices a heresy, relentlessly persecuting the Gnostics to suppress knowledge of this self-empowering experience.<br> They also discuss the importance of starting this conversation in an age where millennials identify themselves as non religious by twice that of their parents and grand parents generations.<br> <a href="http://www.invisibletemple.com/lost-art-of-resurrection-book.html">http://www.invisibletemple.com/lost-art-of-resurrection-book.html</a><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_years_of_Jesus">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_years_of_Jesus</a><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_the_Christian_biblical_canon">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_the_Christian_biblical_canon</a><br> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea#Biblical_canon<br> <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/pope-joan-279083#synopsis">http://www.biography.com/people/pope-joan-279083#synopsis</a><br> <a href="http://www.oddee.com/item_96537.aspx">http://www.oddee.com/item_96537.aspx</a><br> <a href="http://www.livescience.com/8606-7-unholy-pope-scandals.html">http://www.livescience.com/8606-7-unholy-pope-scandals.html</a><br>
