Jesus’ ‘brother James’ mentioned in ancient Christian document found at Oxford

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LdsMarco
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Jesus’ ‘brother James’ mentioned in ancient Christian document found at Oxford

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A manuscript of ancient alternative Christian teachings has been found by two researchers from the University of Texas. The manuscript, found at Oxford University, describes Jesus’ relationship with a brother called James.

The Greek-language scripture is being labelled as part of the Nag Hammadi Codex, a collection of early Christian writings discovered in Egypt back in 1945.

Wrapped in velum, the original documents were uncovered by farmers in the village Nag Hammadi and contain teachings of Gnosticism, a strand of Christianity that incorporates pre-New Testament doctrine.

The newly studied heretical writings, mentioning secret teachings from Jesus to James, described as the Christian messiah’s brother, are believed to date back to the fifth or sixth century. According to Geoffrey Smith, one of the scholars who located the artifacts, very few examples of Gnostic texts in the Greek language still exist.

Pages found by Smith and Brent Landau relate to the First Apocalypse of James, which refers to Jesus and his brother. The existence of Jesus’ brother is debated among religious scholars, with some arguing he could have been the head of an early church.

“We never suspected that Greek fragments of the First Apocalypse of James survived from antiquity. But there they were, right in front of us,” said Smith told UT News.

“The text supplements the biblical account of Jesus’ life and ministry by allowing us access to conversations that purportedly took place between Jesus and his brother, James – secret teachings that allowed James to be a good teacher after Jesus’ death.”

https://www.rt.com/uk/411530-jesus-brother-nag-hammadi/

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Silver Pie
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Re: Jesus’ ‘brother James’ mentioned in ancient Christian document found at Oxford

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That's cool.

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Thinker
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Re: Jesus’ ‘brother James’ mentioned in ancient Christian document found at Oxford

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LdsMarco wrote: December 1st, 2017, 6:02 pmWrapped in velum, the original documents were uncovered by farmers in the village Nag Hammadi and contain teachings of Gnosticism, a strand of Christianity that incorporates pre-New Testament doctrine.

The newly studied heretical writings, mentioning secret teachings from Jesus to James, described as the Christian messiah’s brother, are believed to date back to the fifth or sixth century. According to Geoffrey Smith, one of the scholars who located the artifacts, very few examples of Gnostic texts in the Greek language still exist.

...“The text supplements the biblical account of Jesus’ life and ministry by allowing us access to conversations that purportedly took place between Jesus and his brother, James – secret teachings that allowed James to be a good teacher after Jesus’ death.”
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing this LdsMarco.

In a documentary I heard that Gnosticism is considered the first Christian teachings, so that caught my eye in the quotes above. I looked it up and was intrigued by "basic beliefs of a true Gnostic":

"The only proper religion for mankind is humanity itself, for it is from this humanity that God first evolved. God, who is our future, came from humans, who are Their past. The concept of God is represented by two distinct and separate persons, our Heavenly Father and our Heavenly Mother. We are the literal spiritual offspring of God, and have the capacity to become just like our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother if we so choose. The Holy Spirit is no less than the office of the Heavenly Mother, and it is she who inspires and guides us through our mortal life experience. True worship is the imitation of God’s goodness; it is to imitate the character, disposition, and attitude of our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother... True worship is the imitation of God’s goodness; it is to imitate the character, disposition, and attitude of our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother...The future of mankind will be exciting, surprising, and wondrous. And although the future, at times, will be filled with challenges, the human family will meet these challenges and overcome them. We will adapt; as a species, we will endure. As true Gnostics, we DO NOT believe that mankind will end in a fiery apocalypse. We are a religion of hope, not doom."
http://www.thesongofgod.com/tgc/basic_beliefs.html

On a lighter note about James, the brother of Jesus: :D What if you were a younger sibling of Jesus? | Michael Jr. /clean comedian
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbP4KttZOcc

Rand
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Re: Jesus’ ‘brother James’ mentioned in ancient Christian document found at Oxford

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This quote from the scroll is quite interesting: "All James needs is to remember the passwords that his brother has taught him, so that he can escape from the clutches of the archons, a set of demonic beings guarding the material world."

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Silver Pie
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Re: Jesus’ ‘brother James’ mentioned in ancient Christian document found at Oxford

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Rand wrote: December 3rd, 2017, 5:14 pm This quote from the scroll is quite interesting: "All James needs is to remember the passwords that his brother has taught him, so that he can escape from the clutches of the archons, a set of demonic beings guarding the material world."
Wow! :O

And Wow! to Thinker's post, also. :O :O

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