User:Snowspinner/Thomasine Church
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[edit] History
According to the legend taught within the Thomasine Church, Thomas the Apostle was known as the Twin of the Savior because Jesus referred to him as his spiritual counterpart and intimate confidant. They claim that the thomasine movement began in Edessa, in Eastern Syria near the upper reaches of the Euphrates valley.
[edit] Modern Movement
The Thomasine Church was formed as a modern manifestation of the ancient Thomasine movement and its Teachings. Their canons include the Gospel of Thomas, The Hymn of the Pearl and the Book of Thomas the Contender. The formation of the Thomasine Church was predicated on the need for an ecclesiastical body which espoused and promoted these teachings as found within these canons.
[edit] Philosophical vs. Religious
The Thomasine Church is not a church in the usual sense. It holds to no prescribed dogma rather it subscribes to rationalism and an Illuminist philosophy.
Modern Illuminist philosophy holds that ignorance, not sin, is the cause of the suffering attendant upon the human condition. The Thomasine Church teaches that ignorance is the prefix to incorrect thoughts, words, and deeds and that ignorance is the delusion of the mind that keeps one from attaining gnosis or illumination.
[edit] Illumination (Enlightenment)
According to the doctrine of the Thomasine Church, enlightenment or the "Knowledge of the Truth" is the goal of all beings regardless of religious or philosophical affiliations. While they use some Gnostic terminology, they are not Gnostic as that term is used by some modern gnostics. They emphasize some notable differences between their theories and methods with that of other Gnostic churches. According to the Thomasine Church, enlightenment, gnosis, or illumination, is the experiential process of self-acquaintance which can be tested and replicated.
