Posted by Mary Augustina of Francis on July 20, 2004 at 11:30:51
"This utter pessimism, bemoaning the existence of the whole universe as a corruption and a calamity, with a feverish craving to be freed from the body of this death and a mad hope that, if we only knew, we could by some mystic words undo the cursed spell of this existence -- this is the foundation of all Gnostic thought."
(New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06592a.htm)
Let's do a thought experiment with this premise from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Is it possible to characterize the Jesus Prayer preached by Family missionaries as "mystic words"--? When a convert prays, "Jesus, come into my heart, forgive my sins, and grant me everlasting life"--does that sincere prayer of the heart constitute "mystic words" that will automatically save the repentant sinner from the corruption of death and the calamity of the end-time judgement? This is my understanding of the The Family teaches.
Is it necessary to have some special knowledge or gnosis for Christ to come into our hearts? Do I need to know the story of Jesus bin Miriam to hear the voice of God-among-Us and open the door of my heart to the Spirit of Christ?
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me."
What does it mean to ask Christ into your heart? According to scripture, the statement, "I stand at the door and knock" was not made by the historical Jesus of Nazareth in the gospels. This statement was made by the Christ of faith speaking through the church, God-among-Us, in the Book of Revelations.
I do not agree with Christians who believe it is necessary to know about the historical Jesus in order to dine at the table of God's infinite love & mercy. In John's Gospel, Jesus of Nazareth teaches: "I am the way, truth and life; no one comes to the Father but by me."
If we interpret this to mean one must have knowledge of Jesus' name, knowledge of his human life, knowledge of his earthly teachings, knowledge of his physical death on the cross, and knowledge of the early disciples' experience of his resurrection, then we are actually asserting the necessity of a gnosis or hidden knowledge that is not available to all people in all places throughout all of history. One must be born in a particular historical period and into a particular culture and family to have access to knowledge of the historical Jesus and the events surrounding his life and death. Because of that fact, this particular knowledge is "hidden" from the majority of people who ever lived and who now live on the earth.
Therefore, I can conclude that it is a gnostic heresy to proclaim: "You must ask Jesus into your heart in order to be saved. It is only by knowing Jesus of Nazareth that one enters the Kingdom of Heaven."
Now that I think about it, we could probably characterize most of what The Family teaches as gnostic heresy. They claim to have been given a prophetic revelation of truth at the end of times. This particular revelation of divine truth is a secret knowledge, a "gnosis" that available only to those who enter into a covenant with the End-Time Prophets David Berg & Karen Zerby.
I cannot speculate on whether individual people in The Family are "true" Christians. I have argued that The Family teaches a heresy that was long ago rejected by mainstream Christianity. Does this mean people in The Family have excluded themselves from the communion of Christ? I cannot speak for Christ. I can only speak for myself. I would say people in The Family have excluded themselves from the communion of Christians who reject gnostic teachings as heretical.