Dr. Ron Miller speaks at the Theosophical Society in America in 2007 on the Gospel of Thomas. To the many subcategories of Christianity, we can now add the “Thomas Believer.” That’s what Ron calls himself and other devotees of the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of Jesus’ sayings that have been circulating since the 19th century in fragmentary form, but were found as a complete Coptic text at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945.
Click here to get Ron’s book “The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Pratice”
Click here to get this talk on DVD or CD from Theosophical Publishing House and Quest Books
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Thank you
Ron Miller’s lecture on the Gospel of Thomas was inspirational and helped me on my journey to change my world. I am a disciple of the Course of Miracles and I believe Thomas’ gospel is the true word of God.
I wonder whether Ron ever saw the movie “Stigmata” (1999) which relies on the Gospel of Thomas as an important part of the plot.
See IMDB page for “Stigmata” where I found these quotes:
(In the movie, Frankie Paige is possessed by the spirit of Father Alameida, who found and hid the original Gospel of Thomas before he died, because he feared that the Catholic Church hierarchy would suppress it):
Frankie: JESUS SAID… THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS INSIDE YOU, AND ALL AROUND YOU, NOT IN MANSIONS OF WOOD AND STONE. SPLIT A PIECE OF WOOD… AND I AM THERE, LIFT A STONE… AND YOU WILL FIND ME.
(The question is posed on the IMDG page):
WHY IS THOMAS’ MESSAGE SO DANGEROUS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?
THE GOSPEL OF SAINT THOMAS IS SAID TO BE WRITTEN BY JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF TO HIS APOSTLES. JESUS’ ADMONITION THAT GOD CAN BE FOUND EVERYWHERE, NOT JUST IN BUILDINGS, WOULD NEGATE THE NEED FOR CHURCHES. THIS WOULD BE A DEATHBLOW TO THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY AS WELL AS ALL OTHER CHURCHES AND INSTITUTIONS THAT REQUIRE MEMBERSHIP IN ORDER TO BE CERTIFIED AS A CHRISTIAN.
Reminds me of a segment I saw on the TV show “Ronan Farrow Daily” yesterday, when he discussed with a woman some proposal to Pope Francis put forth by a group of women who are “in relationships” with priests in Italy, asking the Pope to allow priests to marry. The woman with whom Ronan was discussing this story remarked that because priests are considered “married” to the church, when they die, all their estates revert to the church. If priests were allowed to marry and have families, the Church would have to pay them a “living wage” so that they could support their families — that and the fact that the Church wouldn’t inherit their estates when they died might give even this Pope pause, despite the fact that the Church seems to be finding it harder and harder these days to recruit people to the priesthood. She mentioned that chastity is a discipline which came into the Church late in the 11th century or around that time, that it’s not “Church Dogma” or doctrine.
Another argument for acknowledging and following the “Truth” in the Gospel of Thomas and Ron’s admonition to “follow your own practice.”
Oops! Celibacy is what I meant to say, not chastity, as I misstated my understanding of what I heard to be church practice for the last 1000 years or so. Even so, I find Ron’s ideas (and those of the Gospel of Thomas re the Kingdom of God being everywhere and within people, not just, or maybe even in ORGANIZED RELIGION) to be still relevant today.
Friends, your religion does not matter. Nor does your doctrine, gender, race, age, or nationality. It does not matter if you are gay or straight, an alcoholic or a drug user. Your level of evolution matters not as well. The only thing that matters is what is going through your consciousness right NOW.
Thank you for this enlightened and enlightening speech. It was very usefully to me to have access to these ideas…. It’s very kind of you to keep sharing your Dad’s discourses with us all.
Thank you for sharing the latest comments — I feel as though Ron is still with us in spirit because of moments like these. It’s ironic that just a few days ago, I shared with a friend what I had written for the Lake Forest College newsletter re my thoughts after Ron’s passing:
I knew Ron from when Common Ground first met @ Immaculate Conception in HP. It was wonderful to reconnect with him when I started working @ LFC in the late eighties — he was my favorite teacher! I continued to follow his work and interests by attending his classes @ Oasis (a community for people over 50), NSSC (North Shore Senior Center), and the various churches/temples/synagogues where he was invited to speak (maybe some mosques, too — also once at his annual “retreat” in Naples, FL when I lived in FMY). To say that his spiritual presence will continue to be felt indefinitely, even though his physical presence may be missing, is an understatement. He influenced and even transformed so many lives, mine included, by both his work and his charismatic personality that I’m sure all would agree that he made the world a better place. My heart goes out to his loved ones at their sudden loss. May we all be comforted by the memories of him that we share, as well as strengthened to bear up and carry on the work that meant so much to him!
Thank you again for helping to keep alive the memory of someone who touched so many lives, whose teachings meant so much to so many!