Lesson 6: The Stigmata: Pains of Grace and Gnostic Scripture
For Thought
- Think of grace in terms of objects or superhuman powers that some of the heroes in our movies have been given. Do they become heroes because of those powers and magical objects, or do they become heroes through their own integrity and efforts?
Think of Aragorn when he goes to free the dead in the Haunted Mountain. Before he goes, he is given the sword of his fathers, Anduril. Anduril is not exactly a magical sword, but it is recognized as implying kingship. The sword deflects the attack by the King of the Dead. Could Aragorn have freed the dead without the sword that was given to him?
Think of Frodo, as well. He is given a number of magical items on his journey, each of which seemingly saves his life. Could Frodo have made it without the magical items? Did he earn them?
If you have answers for these questions, try applying your answers to the question of grace. Do humans earn it? How do humans participate in heroic acts?
Albright, Matthew T. The Stigmata: The Psychological and Ethical Message of the Posttraumatic Sufferer. Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, Vol. 25, No.3, 2002.
Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, ed. The Jerome Biblical Commentary. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 1968.
Charles, R.H., ed. The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.
Charlesworth, James H., ed. Three Enoch (The Book of Enoch by Rabbi Ishmael the High Priest). The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. I: Apocalyptic Literature and testaments. New York: Doubleday, 1983.
Eisenman, Robert and Michael Wise, ed. The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered. London: Element Books, 1992.
The Gnosis Archive. Retrieved on November 1, 2004. http://www.gnosis.org/welcom.html
The Gospel of Thomas Homepage. Retrieved on November 1, 2004. http://home.expix.net/~miser17/thomas.ht...
Groothius, Douglas. "Gnosticism and the Gnostic Jesus." Mustardseeds web site. Retrieved on November 1, 2004. www.mustardseed.net/html/body_tognosticism.html
Harrison, Ted. Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. Retrieved from http://www.elca.org/ea/jddj/declaration.... , 1999.
Layton, Bentley, ed. The Gnostic Scriptures: Ancient Wisdom for the New Age. New York: Doubleday, 1987.
Meeks, Wayne A., ed. The HarperCollins Study Bible. New York: HarperCollins, 1989.
Robinson, James M., ed. The Nag Hammadi Library in English. Koln, the Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1996.
Rudolph, Kurt. Gnosis: The Nature & History of Gnosticism. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1977.
Thurston, H. The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism. Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1952.
Whitlock, F.A. and J.V. Hynes. Religious Stigmatization: An Historical and Psychophysiological Enquiry. Psychological Medicine, 8:185-202, 1978.
Wilson, Ian. Stigmata: An Investigation into the Mysterious Appearance of Christ’s Wounds in Hundreds of People from Medieval Italy to Modern America. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
Yarom, N. Body, Blood and Sexuality: A Psychoanalytic Study of St. Francis’ Stigmata and Their Historical Context. New York: Peter Lang, 1992.
