The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
 This article's tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (January 2010)

The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ (full title: The Aquarian Age Gospel of Jesus, the Christ of the Piscean Age) is a book by Ohio preacher Levi H. Dowling first published in 1908. Starting with the Church of Christ, by the late 19th century, Dowling claimed to have direct access to esoteric sources. He said he had transcribed the text of the book from the Akashic records. In the later 20th century, it was adopted by New Age spiritual groups.

The title is derived from the practice in astrology of naming time periods in terms of constellations and their dominant positions in the sky. In that system, the Age of Aquarius is approaching. [1]

Contents

[edit] Contents

Search Wikisource Wikisource has original text related to this article:

SECTION I. Birth and Early Life of Mary, Mother of Jesus. Chapter 1.

SECTION II. Birth and Infancy of John the Harbinger, and of Jesus. Chapters 2-6.

SECTION III. Education of Mary and Elizabeth in Zoan. Chapters 7-12.

SECTION IV. Childhood and Early Education of John the Harbinger. Chapters 13-15.

SECTION V. Childhood and Early Education of Jesus. Chapters 16-20.

SECTION VI. Life and Works of Jesus in India. Chapters 21-35.

SECTION VII. Life and Works of Jesus in Tibet and Western India. Chapters 36-37.

SECTION VIII. Life and Works of Jesus in Persia. Chapters 38-41.

SECTION IX. Life and Works of Jesus in Assyria. Chapters 42-43.

SECTION X. Life and Works of Jesus in Greece. Chapters 44-46.

SECTION XI. Life and Works of Jesus in Egypt. Chapters 47-55.

SECTION XII. The Council of the Seven Sages of the World. Chapters 56-60.

SECTION XIII. The Ministry of John the Harbinger. Chapters 61-64.

SECTION XIV. The Christine Ministry of Jesus. Introductory Epoch. Chapters 65-71.

SECTION XV. The First Annual Epoch of the Christine Ministry of Jesus. Chapters 72-90.

SECTION XVI. The Second Annual Epoch of the Christine Ministry of Jesus. Chapters 91-123.

SECTION XVII. The Third Annual Epoch of the Christine Ministry of Jesus. Chapters 124-158.

SECTION XVIII. The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus. Chapters 159-164.

SECTION XIX. The Trial and Execution of Jesus. Chapters 165-171.

SECTION XX. The Resurrection of Jesus. Chapter 172.

SECTION XXI. Materialization of the Spiritual Body of Jesus. Chap- ters 173-180.

SECTION XXII. Establishment of the Christine Church. Chapters 181-182.

[edit] Major Points

The "Aquarian Gospel" makes the following claims, among others:

  • The revelation of the Aquarian Gospel was prophesied 2000 years ago by Elihu, who conducted a school of the prophets in Zoan, Egypt. He said thus:

"This age will comprehend but little of the works of Purity and Love; but not a word is lost, for in the Book of God's Remembrance a registry is made of every thought and word and deed.

And When The world is ready to receive, lo, God will send a messenger to open up the book and copy from its sacred pages all the messages of Purity and Love. - Aquarian Gospel 7:25-26

  • Jesus puts on the role of The Christ, but is not automatically Christ by nature. By making himself, through effort and prayer, a fit vessel, Jesus enabled The Christ to dwell within him. Christ is therefore used as a term for the perfect human being that Jesus exemplified, a human being that has been "Christened" (anointed) and therefore made holy.
  • Jesus came to earth to show the way back to God via his lifestyle and teachings. He is the example we must model our own lives after, if we seek salvation.
  • Reincarnation exists, and is the explanation for various seeming injustices. Reincarnation allows people to settle debts they have incurred in past lives.
  • Humanity has forgotten God and is currently working its way back to fully remembering God.
  • Time is separated into ages. These ages last approximately 2,000 years. We are now nearing the start of the Aquarian Age.
  • All souls will eventually mature and become perfect, like Jesus, thus ending the cycle of reincarnation.
  • No soul is ever abandoned by God.

[edit] Accuracy

Contemporary scholars have pointed out inaccuracies in Dowling's text (which claims to be based in history):

  • Dowling misidentified the ancient ruler known as Herod, identifying "Herod Antipas" as the ruler of Jerusalem, during a period when Herod the Great actually ruled.[2]
  • The book depicts Jesus as visiting the cities of Lahore, India (pre-Partition, now in Pakistan); Jagannath in Orissa, India; and Persepolis in Persia. Lahore did not exist during the period in question, and Persepolis had already been destroyed by Alexander the Great.[2]
  • Dowling and Edgar Cayce both claimed to have produced an account of the life of Jesus through the transcription of the Akashic records, but there are significant differences between their accounts.[2]
  • Dowling's claim that Jesus knew Meng-tse of Lhasa, Tibet is not true because Meng-tse lived 300 years before Jesus’ time.[2]

Supporters of Dowling argue that within Theosophical thought, figures such as Meng-Tse, Matheno, Miriam, Moses, Elijah and Vidyapati exist in an ascended state. As such, they communicated with Jesus after they had passed on from earthly existence.[3]

[edit] The Aquarian Church (ACCU)

The Aquarian Christine Church Universal, Inc. (ACCU) is a denomination based on the Aquarian Gospel. Members are commonly called Aquarians, but the proper term would be Aquarian Christines - the church does not convert or proselytize. The name Christine is used in the Aquarian Gospel instead of Christian, emphasizing that the Church is the Bride of Christ. The church was incorportated in 2006, however the church had existed for numerous years previous to incorporation - there is no paid professional clergy. The teachings of the Aquarian Church (ACCU) are based primarily on the Aquarian Gospel, but also are based in part on other writings by Levi Dowling and share many teachings with the I Am Activity or I Am Movement and Ascended Master Teachings. Some of the teachings include: the Triune God composed of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Mother Holy Spirit; release from the cycle of rebirth through the Ascension Process; the equality of the races and sexes; and the transformation (transmuting) of the individual and the world through the study and practice of the teachings. Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel, by co-founder and director Rev. Dr. J. L. Watson, serves as textbook for those interested in learning more about the teachings of the church. [4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gaer, Joseph, The Lore of the New Testament, 1st ed. (Boston: Little Brown, 1952) p.130
  2. ^ a b c d Eric Pement, "Don't Touch that Dial: The New Age Practice of Channeling", Cornerstone Magazine, Nov 1988, Retrieved March 24 2008
  3. ^ Rev. Dr. J.L. Watson, Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel, (2009) Outskirtspress, ISBN 9781432745981
  4. ^ Rev. Dr. J.L. Watson, Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel, (2009) Outskirtspress, ISBN 9781432745981

[edit] Further reading

  • Contend For the Faith: Collected Papers of the Rockford Conference on Discernment and Evangelism, ed. Eric Pement. (Chicago: Evangelical Ministries to New Religions, 1992)
  • Keith Edward Tolbert and Eric Pement, The 1996 Directory of Cult Research Organizations, (Trenton, Mich.: American Religions Center, 1996)
  • Committee on Ethics, EMNR [Craig Branch and Eric Pement], The Manual of Ethical and Doctrinal Standards for Evangelical Ministries to New Religions,Birmingham, Alabama: Evangelical Ministries to New Religions, 1997
  • Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ and Christian Mysticism: Pristine Christine Church & Missions, First Edition (2009) ISBN 978-971-94375-0-5
  • The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ: The Philosophic and Practical Basis of the Religion of the Aquarian Age of the World and of the Church Universal, DeVorss & Company; New Ed edition (June 1972), ISBN 0-87516-168-5

[edit] External links

[edit] Text Sources

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aquarian_Gospel_of_Jesus_the_Christ"
Languages