The God I is not the self per se, but is the point where Hinduism and Christianity share the same understanding. The Hindus call it the One and the Gnostic Christians call it the god I . It is much greater than the self, but it also includes the self. To show my understanding of the god I I wear on my necklace, the Gnostic cross. It is a symbol of eternal life and is not to be confused with the ankh cross. The ankh is a cross representing fertility. The loop of the ankh is the symbol of femininity, while the T shape is the symbol of masculinity. These two symbols then come together sexually to replicate life and they symbolize a perpetual existence in the material world. The Gnostic cross appears on the pages of the Gospel of Judas. The ring is a perfect circle representing the rainbow. When not broken by the horizon of the earth, the rainbow forms a perfect circle. The colours of the rainbow that we can see form only a tiny part of that rainbow. There is infrared and ultra violet. We also have x-rays, gamma rays, radio waves and other light waves that are all part of the rainbow of light that ultimately come together as One light. Our total body which includes a personality, spirit and soul, is part of the everlasting circle of eternal life which ultimately comes together with the spiritual bodies of all of mankind to form the One consciousness. The two bars beneath in the shape of a “T” represent the god [b]I[/b] standing to create eternal life and lying across the top of Myself to support eternal life. It is the cross of the early Christians and appears on the pages of the recently discovered Gospel of Judas. The cross that we recognize as the traditional cross of Christianity is the cross of martyrdom and suffering and was invented by the Roman church long after the death of Jesus. It is the cross of ha satan, the adversary, because a martyr is one who acts as though he has enemies and uses the warped wisdom of the elitist and self righteous belief that the idol Jesus Christ martyred himself to save us all from our sins, and as such, is superior to all other idols. Jesus hung on a tree, not as a martyr, but as a person who knew that he has everlasting life, as we all do, and that when suffering and death comes from a deliberate action of others, we offer forgiveness and thankfulness to those who release us from the bonds of physical life for a higher and fuller existence in the non-physical. The Gnostic cross is a far more positive symbol for Christians to use than the dark and negative cross of suffering and martyrdom because the circle of the rainbow represents the vast number of different colours and personalities that humans encompass and their capability of harmonizing themselves as One in a circle of love.

I like your description of the Gnostic Cross and I am thinking of wearing one. I like its symbol of oneness and Wholeness. I have come to believe our separate, individuial selves is an illusion. Every seven years every cell in our body has died and has been replace. Who we are as persons is influenced by our environment, culture and the people around us. There are people in my life who had died who have had a great influence on who I am. I like the idea that when die we all come together as One or that we each contribute to the Whole. I would like to explore more the meaning this has in Gnosticism.

The empty cross that is suppose to represent the salvation of life after death has little meaning for me. However, the image of Jesus, dyiing on the cross and saying 'My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me, had great meaning for me when I spenjt a year neglected in hospital. It reminded me that suffering was a universal experience and what it meant to suffer with grace.

Marilyn

Marilyn:
The meaning of the Gnostic Cross is not specifically explained anywhere. I managed extrapolate
its meaning from about 10 years of studying and reading everything I could about Gnosticism.

I could not find a Gnostic cross when I went looking for mine. I had to have my jeweller make it for me and it broke the bank. I wanted to make sure I got the perfect circle and not the oval of the Ankh cross. I wear it proudly.

The Gnostic Bible and the Gnostic Society web site are probably the best places to learn more about Gnosticism. However, there are no specific references to the meaning of Gnostic cross. The only place that I could find its image in scriptural writings is in the Gospel of Judas.

BobD

Would your jeweller make another one (or two)? My bank aint' that big, though. I've been looking for one ever since spying it on the Gospel of Judas. I, too, would like to wear it proudly.

Do you consider yourself a Sethian Gnostic?

Eric

Hi Eric;

The name of my Jeweller is Moss Jewellers 91 Victoria St. Amherst, N. S. Canada, B4H 1X7. Phone 1-902-667-2592. Amherst is on the border between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Ask for Mary Jane Fraser. Tell her you know a guy named Bob who had a Gnostic cross through them about a year and a half ago and that you would like one (or two). I am sure they will be happy to give you a quote.

I really cannot say that I am a Sethian Gnostic per se. I follow the basic concept of Gnosis that I know god experientially. I follow the "I AM" sayings of Jesus and Yahveh. I agree with some of the concepts of Stephan Hoeller but not all. For example I think that he is on a fool's pilgramage when he starts playing around with the Tarot cards. I am against the law and would prefer to use the 10 Commandments as Guidelines rather than law. I see the Book of Revelation as exposing the 10 horns of the law (10 Commandments) as a great beast used to intimidate people. I recognize Hebrew as a symbolic language. I seek harmony as opposed to chaos and I refuse to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I see the symbol of Yaldabaoth as warped or demented wisdom. I see Yahveh as an idol created by man. It is this idolization of Yahveh that has produced the demiurge. The real Yahveh is a man who once walked the earth thousands of years ago. This man and his associates had tremedous technological power gained from knowledge that had built up on earth in ancient times as evidenced by the many megolithic sites and religious mythologies. Whether Yahveh and his associates are immigrants to earth or whether they were born on earth, I cannot say. The Jews and Christians have built this man into a complex beast of an idol called god. The Christians further complicate this beast by adding Jesus and the Holy Ghost as part of a trinity to be worshiped. These are some of the ideas that I have formed since becoming a Gnostic. You can also see some other ideas that I have expressed in points 1 to 4 of Progressive Christianity. I don't promote Gnosticism as such. I would prefer to promote harmonizing religion, abolishing the concept of power and control and idol worship and expanding our egos to include everyone in the family of man as equals. One world under god.

BobD

Ahnk.....SAnctuary! Sanctuary!
Oh,no here comes a Sandman, run or he'll make us go to carosel!
Renew Renew!

I like Celtic Crosses myself.