Customer Reviews

Closing the Circle: Pursah's Gospel of Thomas and A Course in Miracles

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A gentle and inviting journey into the core concepts of, "A Course in Miracles" (ACIM) and an uncorrupted message from the Messenger, and/or God's Helper Within.

Made available to us, via excerpts from the "sayings" Gospel of Thomas (GT), is a series of statements called Logia. The Logia are presented as uncorrupted versions, shared by Pursah, an Ascended Master,* and previously included as part of Gary Renard's, "Your Immortal Reality." If one had a wish to be able to travel with Jesus 2000 years ago, and to hear Him speak, this might be a good as it gets for a while. The Logia are nicely framed by an outstanding introduction and epilogue, as well as abundant and supportive index material. ACIM concepts appear to be in concert with the Logia.

This author continuously references Gary Renard's insightful works, "Disappearance of the Universe" (DU) and, "Your Immortal Reality" (YIR) as well as ACIM. Pursah's restatements of some of the Gospel of Thomas language from Nag Hammadi, and earlier finds, form the central core of the book. Just as healing can be described as, "removing what does not belong," so does Pursah's language "heal" some of the Logia in Thomas (via Hag Hammadi "editing" and interpretations) and help to refresh our experience with it. Pursah removes what does not belong. The sayings are now clear and concise and without editorial corruption, it would seem. Sitting with them silently a while, they seem to come alive within for me. The corruption of centuries of interpretation has been stripped away for us.

The bottom line for me here is that the Message survives 2000 plus years since the Messenger appeared to leave us. "Metanoia" IS the Message whose Real meaning (change of thought) was misinterpreted along the way. In his discussion, the author serves the reader well as he clearly demonstrates the nexus between the Logia and ACIM. The Message IS alive within all of us and is a (the?) fundamental precept of ACIM. We need now only wake up to our Reality by our assiduous application of the Message--change of thought (from pervasive guilt to quantum forgiveness)--or "Choose once again." The author also demonstrates that the Message survives the trappings of two thousand years of obfuscation of ego thought.

I just love the way in which, "The Da Vinci Code" is very briefly handled by this author. Yes, it is an exciting suspense story and yes, it contains some fabrication--poetic license, BUT, it stirred something deep within that impelled me to resume my spiritual journey. I'm reminded of the line from Hamlet, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" which, in this context, evokes an inner stirring to, once again, look at, and then beyond Church authority regarding "absolutes." Emergent here, as assisted by the author, and as I look more closely, is that many of the "absolutes" are ego-based. Yes, as I look, I still stand on the shoulders of the Church teachings, and other teachings, but now I have an option of another way of seeing things. I am now afforded the benefit of contrast by which Spirit teaches me so often. Some "absolutes" DO fall away, then, as I allow another way to emerge. This is certainly part of my experience with "Closing the Circle." But, I don't attack what I have replaced in my journey of looking and choosing once again. It's a "roots and wings" attitude on my part, and I feel this sort of spirit in the author's work.

The author reveals the effect of Paul's egoic thought processes on the early Church Scripture without attempting attack on Paul--although MY ego thought system might wish to take it as so in a "knee-jerk" style. The impetus, perhaps, for the "Jefferson Bible" is nicely established, in addition. Jefferson's "apologia" cover letter (1820) to William Short, which forms part of Forrest Church's introductory text of my copy, was truncated, and important information deleted. We find the complete letter in this book as part of the supporting material. Near the end of the book, the author acknowledges something to the effect that much of the early development of Christianity was the result of good intentions. Some, of course, was not. But rather than provoke conflict, the author appears to sensitively invite consideration of this information. He even invites the reader to come up with his/her own responses to the Logia presented and discussed. Ultimately, he reasons that if this is not your path, stay with what you have going.

Never does the author long lose sight of ACIM principles in this work. As soon as an idea is presented, ACIM, GT, DU and/or YIR are referenced. I came away from my read with a feeling of congruity amongst the four, provided by this new book--albeit in somewhat different form. But then it's content that counts, in the long run, and the form fits as it is needed. Ken Wapnick is acknowledged as the fine ACIM teacher that he is several times in the book. This book is perhaps not an intro to ACIM, but a worthy addition to any current ACIM student's library. It delves into the root level of conflict AND reveals the royal road (metanoia) to resolution.

The bibliography is extensive and shows a broad path to understanding found in the pages of this book. I would like to see a "back-of-the-book" index in the next edition for search and navigation, as well as some help (footnote interpretations) with my meager Latin skills as there are a few Latin phrases that escape me at present--but that's my shortcoming. This author is impressive AND insightful as he fills in some of my "blanks," connects a few "dots," and closes a number of "circles" for me.

* "Ascended Masters" could be thought of as another term (if one finds the title uncomfortable) for a seemingly separated source of uncorrupted "right mind" correctional information which we, by egoic "default" choice, decide to keep hidden from ourselves. Other titles could be, Helper Within, Comforter, Paraclete, Holy Spirit, et al--and are generally experienced as separate and apart from us in the condition in which we think we exist. Ultimately, Jesus, as the greatest symbol of Love in the Western World, would play this role for us--a Teacher of Teachers of God. In the dream, then, it's different strokes for different folks as long as a belief in duality, or separateness, is embraced by "each" of us. But, in any case, we must not let "theology" delay us in our discernment of Our Message.

Biblical scholarship meets Course in Miracles via Disappearance of the Universe
by Doris Lora, Ph.D., student of A Course in Miracles and a writer/editor of material with a spiritual focus.

In a breakthrough book on the Gospel of Thomas, Rogier Fentener van Flissingen has widened the scope of rigorous biblical scholarship to include the perspective of personal
transformation.

What if the Jesus Seminar scholars publicly advocated asking for guidance from the spirit of the Nazarene in their academic research?

What if it became acceptable to trust equally one's Inner Teacher and outer teachers?

What if rigorous biblical research and writing included tuning in to one's true identity as Spirit?

The result might be something like "Closing the Circle. Pursah's Gospel of Thomas and a Course in Miracles" (O Books, 2008).

When physicists are saying that the material universe of time and space is just very dense energy and energy appears to be just a thought, perhaps it's time to reconsider all of our
previous learning and conditioning - including our methodology of research and writing, how we decide who we are, what we're doing here, and what our function is.

Researcher Rogier has dared to choose the word of Pursah, an ascended master who appeared in the flesh to Gary Renard as he described in "The Disappearance of the Universe" (2003) and "Your Immortal Reality" (2006), as his authority for the authenticity of the controversial Gospel of Thomas. On what basis? Examining rigorously the Thomas scholarship to date and including his own personal experience of inner transformation as a result of studying and practicing the principles of "A Course in Miracles," the topic of Gary Renard's books.

Rogier has given us a saying-by-saying explanation of the meaning of Pursah's Gospel of Thomas (sayings of Jesus and the first gospel), basing his explanations on (1) his research into ancient texts and recent scholarship, (2) Pursah's explanations in "Disappearance" and "Your Immortal Reality" (she herself heard Jesus speak them, she says), and (3) his own study and practice of the Course. That's the bulk of the book. However, his Preface, Introduction, discussion of the Course and Epilogue are in themselves worth the book, providing a balanced and educated overview of biblical scholarship controversies and historic distortions by religious authorities, laced with a Course-inspired forgiving attitude toward differences of opinion.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in biblical scholarship and I especially recommend it to Course students. Rogier Fentener van Flissingen's "Closing the Circle" is an aid to bringing increased clarity to Course principles by showing the inner consistency of the Thomas gospel and "A Course in Miracles." The result for me was enjoying a deeper understanding of Course principles and experiencing increased motivation to practice the unique forgiveness the Course teaches.

Closing the Circle works like a successfull bypass operation opening the completely cluttered blood vessels of every belief system the world holds on and helps us moving the blockades for Truth, for Love for God. It opens the hart.

It is the Jesus before Christianity who is speaking through this Thomas Logia. The Jesus who communicates with us through the mind that connects everyone and everything without any borders that are set up by the mind out of fear.
You can use the logia in a very practical way, read them let them sink in and let Jesus speak to you. Very simple and very effectively.
It tells us the real message Jesus wanted to give to the world, to the mind that thinks it separated from God, the message he also gives to us through A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe and Your immortal Reality in which we can find the Thomas Logia given to us through Pursah.
The message of returning Home to God ,from which we never left, awakening from the dream of fear, through forgiveness, like we can read in Logion nr. 58: `J said, "congratulations to the person who has forgiven and has found life."
Real forgiveness totally different from the ego's way of forgiveness we practice in this world of fear. The real forgiveness like A Course in Miracles and DU and YIR and Closing the Circle is talking about.

Annelies

I am still reading this book. I expected it to be one of those take offs on new ideas that distort the original, however, I am impressed with the careful rendering and the research and interviewing of the "founding" people. The author takes responsibility for any misinterpretation as his own mistakes - I admire this. He attempts and succeeds in an intelligent reviewing of the Gospel of Thomas within the light of a Course in Miracles and Gary Renard's work. He does not take off on an original interpretations of his own imagination.

I've been a student of A Course in MIracles for over 30 years. And, for me, Gary Renard's Disappearance of the Universe was profoundly transformational. Rogier's book is in strict alignment with ACIM's principles and Gary's message (in collaboration with enlightened masters Arten and Pursah). It is yet another welcome, succinct and clear expository on Pursah's beautiful gift to us, the correct version of the Gospel of Thomas as it relates to ACIM.

If you are a student of ACIM you will like this book. It's very well written and a wonderful biblical history lesson.

I bought this book to get another opinion of the comparisons of the Nag Hammadi's Gospel of Thomas with Gary Renard's books (Disappearance of the Universe & Our Immortal Reality) with A Course In Miracles (ACIM). If you have not read Gary Renard's books or don't know anything about ACIM, I recommend you NOT buy this book. It probably would not make any sense. The author thinks outside of the Christian and Gnostic box...........which is good. However, it is my opinion that the Gnostics saw something in the Gospel of Thomas or it would not have been included in the Nag Hammadi Library.

Some important points I received from this book is as follows:
-The greek word for "salvation" is "metanoia" which means "change of mind" NOT "the crucifixion".
-Gospel of Thomas vs. 54, "Fortunate are the poor, for yours is the Father's Kingdom." I have always wanted to know what could be gained by being poor. The author's rationale makes sense. It's not the experience of being poor that is the key to the Father's Kingdom, it's the experience of being attached to nothing physical. The experience of non-attachment leaves nothing BUT the Father's Kingdom; this is a good example of why the Gnostics included the Gospel of Thomas in the Nag Hammadi Library.
-The moment of Christ's resurrection in the New Testament was not after the Crucifixion but when he was baptized and heard the Voice for God say "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased".

And the things I did not like about this book:
-The format covers the Gospel of Thomas verses according to Gary Renard's Pursah which is fine but there was plenty of room to include the Gospel of Thomas' versus as translated from the Nag Hammadi Library. There is a lot of blank space on the pages.
-For the size of this book, it is expensive.
-I could not figure out the value of the index 3 table?

A wonderfully alive blending of insights into ACIM and the Gospel of Thomas. Anyone with the slightest interest in either would do themselves a favor by at least glancing at this book.

Those who glance without profit would do well, I bet, to glance again a few years down the road.

First rate.

All the way.

This book is very helpful on explaining the Thomas Gospel.
It helps bridge the gap to spirituality as well as making a bridge for those who will be joining me in our spirituality.

Sharon

I must confess up front that I like this kind of book. I have followed the Nag Hammadi material and have long felt that the Gospel of Thomas and also of Mary Magdelene are both as valid as the other four. The latter two did not fit at all with Christianity being a state religion and so were discarded or made to seem lesser.

Today, we realize that Mary and Thomas made deeper cuts of the same material. After all, the Master told the followers, go to all the world and preach the good news to every living creature. Mary and Thomas just saw it a little different. We are blessed that they did.