“ ‘Knowledge is Truth’: A Course in Miracles as Neo-Gnostic Scripture”
In: Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic StudiesSearch for other papers by Simon J. Joseph in
Current site
Google Scholar
A Course in Miracles represents a modern-day neo-gnostic scripture that reflects significant trends in contemporary Western religiosity, especially the quest for alternative forms of esoteric “spiritual” knowledge and experience in a nominally Christian or post-Christian Western world. While this text has largely been ignored or marginalized in mainstream scholarship, a critical evaluation of the Course, its editing, reception, and contemporary interpretation not only represents a fascinating case study in how “texts” become invested with “scriptural” authority, but illustrates how the Course’s claims about Jesus and God exemplify the gnosticizing trajectories in the contemporary New Age movement.
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A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume: I, Text; II, Workbook for Students; III, Manual for Teachers 2007 3rd ed Mill Valley, CA Foundation for Inner Peace
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Basil Robert Not Necessarily the New Age: Critical Essays 1988 Buffalo, NY Prometheus
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Biderman Shlomo Scripture and Knowledge: An Essay on Religious Epistemology 1995 Leiden Brill
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Brakke David The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity 2010 Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press
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Brox Norbert “Doketismus. Eine Problemanzeige” Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte Stuttgart 1984 95 301 314
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Campbell Bruce F. Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the Theosophical Movement 1980 Berkeley University of California Press
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Carroll Robert T. The Skeptic’s Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions 2003 Hoboken, NJ John Wiley and Sons
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Coburn Thomas B. “ʻScriptureʼ in India: Towards a Typology of the Word in Hindu Life” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 1984 52 435 459
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Coward Harold Sacred Word and Sacred Text: Scripture in World Religions Maryknoll 1988 NY Orbis
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Davies Jon. G. Cross F. L. “The Origins of Docetism” Studia Patristica 6: 13–35 1962 Berlin Akademie tu 81
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Davies Jon. G. & Wollaston Isabel The Sociology of Sacred Texts 1993 Sheffield Sheffield Academic Press
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DeConick April D. “The Original Gospel of Thomas” Vigiliae Christianae 2002 56 167 199
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DeConick April D. Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and its Growth 2005 London T & T Clark
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Denny Frederick M. & Taylor Rodney L. The Holy Book in Comparative Perspective 1985 Columbia University of South Carolina Press
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Easwaran Eknath The Bhagavad Gita 1985 Tomales, CA Nilgiri Press
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Eddy Mary Baker Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures 1994 [1875] Boston Christian Science Board of Directors
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Fox Matthew The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance 1988 San Francisco Harper San Francisco
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Furst Jeffrey Edgar Cayce’s Story of Jesus 1968 New York Coward-McCann
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Gallagher Eugene V. Reading and Writing Scripture in New Religious Movements: New Bibles and New Revelations 2014 New York Palgrave Macmillan
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Gathercole Simon The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas: Original Language and Influences 2012 Cambridge Cambridge University Press
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Geertz Clifford The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays 1973 New York Basic Books
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Gill Sam Native American Religious Action: A Performance Approach to Religion 1987 Columbia University of South Carolina Press
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Goodacre Mark S. Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas’s Familiarity with the Synoptics 2012 Grand Rapids Eerdmans
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Graham William Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion 1987a Cambridge Cambridge University Press
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Graham William Eliade Mircea “Scripture” Encyclopedia of Religion 1987b Volume 13 New York Macmillan 133 145 16 vols.
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Graham William Levering Miriam “Scripture as Spoken Word” Rethinking Scripture: Essays from a Comparative Perspective 1989 Albany State University of New York Press 129 169
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Groeschel Benedict J. A Still Small Voice: A Practical Guide on Reported Revelations 1993 San Francisco Ignatius Press
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Hanegraaff Wouter J. New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought 1998 Albany State University of New York Press
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Hanson Richard P. C. Ackroyd P. R. & Evans C. F. “Biblical Exegesis in the Early Church” The Cambridge History of the Bible. Volume I: From the Beginnings to Jerome 1970 Cambridge Cambridge University Press 412 453
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Holdrege Barbara Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture 1996 Albany State University of New York Press
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Jampolsky Gerald Good-Bye to Guilt: Releasing Fear through Forgiveness 1985 New York Bantam
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Jonas Hans The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity 2001 3rd ed. Boston Beacon Press
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Joseph Simon J. “Jesus in India? Transgressing Social and Religious Boundaries” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 2012 80 161 199
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Jung Carl G. Psychology and Alchemy 1968 Princeton Princeton University Press
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Kelly John N. D. Early Christian Doctrines 1978 New York Harper & Row
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King Karen L. What is Gnosticism? 2003 Cambridge Harvard University Press
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King Karen L. “ ‘Jesus said to them, “My wife . . .” ’: A New Coptic Papyrus Fragment” Harvard Theological Review 2014 107 2 131 159
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King Richard Orientalism and Religion: Postcolonial theory, India and “the mystic East.” 1999 London Routledge
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Kloppenborg John S. , Meyer Marvin W. , Patterson Stephen J. & Steinhauser Michael G. Q Thomas Reader 1990 Sonoma Polebridge
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Kort Wesley A. “Take, Read”: Scripture, Textuality, and Cultural Practice 1996 University Park Pennsylvania State University Press
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Larson Bob Larson’s Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality 2004 Wheaton, IL Tyndale House
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Leipoldt Johannes & Morenz Siegfried Heilige Schriften. Betrachtungen zur Religionsgeschichte der antiken Mittelmeerwelt 1953 Leipzig Otto Harrassowitz
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Levering Miriam Rethinking Scripture: Essays from a Comparative Perspective 1989 Albany State University of New York Press
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Malley Brian How the Bible Works: An Anthropological Study of Evangelical Biblicism 2004 Walnut Creek, CA Altamira
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Marjanen Antti Was there a Gnostic Religion? 2005 Helsinki Finnish Exegetical Society Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society 87 Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
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Markschies Christoph Gnosis: An Introduction 2000 London T & T Clark
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Miller D. Patrick The Complete Story of the Course 1997 Berkeley, CA Fearless Books
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Newport John P. The New Age Movement and the Biblical Worldview: Conflict and Dialogue 1998 Grand Rapids Eerdmans
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Notovitch Nicholas Connelly J. H. & Landsberg L. The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ: By the Discoverer of the Manuscript 1890 New York R. F. Fenno Co
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O’Flaherty Wendy Doniger The Critical Study of Sacred Texts 1979 Berkeley, CA Graduate Theological Union
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Pagels Elaine The Gnostic Gospels 1979 New York Vintage
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Pagels Elaine Layton Bentley “Gnostic and Orthodox Views of Christ’s Passion: Paradigms for the Christian’s Response to Persecution?” The Rediscovery of Gnosticism 1980 Leiden Brill 262 283
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Perry Robert , Mackie Greg & Watson Allen One Course, Two Visions: A Comparison of the Teachings of the Circle of Atonement and Ken Wapnick on A Course in Miracles 2003 Sedona, AZ The Circle of Atonement Teaching and Healing Center
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Price Robert M. Top Secret: The Truth Behind Today’s Pop Mysticisms 2008 Amherst, NY Prometheus
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Raschke Carl The Interruption of Eternity: Modern Gnosticism and the Origins of the New Religious Consciousness 1980 Chicago Nelson Hall
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Rudolph Kurt Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism 1987 New York Harper and Row
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Sabar Ariel “The Unbelievable Tale of Jesus’s Wife” The Atlantic (July/August) 2016 http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/07/the-unbelievable-tale-of-jesus-wife/485573/
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Skutch Robert Journey without Distance: The Story Behind A Course in Miracles (1984) 1996 Mill Valley, CA Foundation for Inner Peace
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Smart Ninian & Hecht Richard D. Sacred Texts of the World: A Universal Anthology 1982 New York Crossroad
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Smith Jonathan Z. “Sacred Persistence: Toward a Redescription of Canon” Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jonestown 1982 Chicago University of Chicago Press
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Smith Wilfred Cantwell What is Scripture?: A Comparative Approach 1993 Minneapolis Fortress
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Sugirtharajah R. S. Wimbush V. L. “Known Knowns and Unknown Unknowns: Scriptures and Scriptural Interpretations” Theorizing Scriptures 2008 New Brunswick, NJ Rutgers University Press 62 66
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Szekely Edmond Bordeaux The Essene Gospel of Peace (1928) 1981 Nelson, British Columbia International Biogenic Society
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Thompson Doug A Course in Miracles: Urtext Manuscripts: Complete Seven Volume Combined Edition 2009 Jaffrey, NH Miracles in Action Press, LLC
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Upton Charles The System of Antichrist: Truth and Falsehood in Postmodernism and the New Age 2001 Ghent, NY Sophia Perennis
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Van der Leeuw Gerardus Bultmann Rudolf Phänomenologie der Religion, Neue theologische Grundrisse 1956 2nd ed. Tübingen Mohr Siebeck
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Vroom Hendrik M. & Gort Jerald D. Holy Scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Hermeneutics, Values and Society 1997 Amsterdam Rodopi
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Walker Ethan III The Mystic Christ: The Light of Non-Duality and the Path of Love According to the Life and Teachings of Jesus 2003 Norman, OK Devi Press
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Wapnick Kenneth Love Does Not Condemn: The World, the Flesh and the Devil According to Platonism, Christianity, Gnosticism, and A Course in Miracles 1989 Temecula, CA Foundation for A Course in Miracles
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Wapnick Kenneth Absence from Felicity: The Story of Helen Schucman and Her Scribing of A Course in Miracles 1991 Roscoe, NY Foundation for A Course in Miracles
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Wapnick Kenneth & Clarke W. Norris A Course in Miracles and Christianity: A Dialogue 1995 Temecula, CA Foundation for A Course in Miracles
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Wapnick Kenneth The Most Commonly Asked Questions about ‘A Course in Miracles.’ 1995 Temecula, CA Foundation for A Course in Miracles
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Wapnick Kenneth The Message of A Course in Miracles 1997 Temecula Foundation for A Course in Miracles
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Wapnick Kenneth Forgiveness and Jesus: The Meeting Place of ‘A Course in Miracles’ and Christianity (1983) 1998 6th ed. Temecula, CA Foundation for A Course in Miracles
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Weigandt Peter “Der Doketismus im Urchristentum und in der theologischen Entwicklung des zweiten Jahrhunderts” 1961 Diss. Theol. Heidelberg
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Widengren Geo The Ascension of the Apostle and the Heavenly Book Uppsala Universitets Arsskrift 1950 Upssala A. B. Lundequistska
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Widengren Geo Religionsphänomenologie 1969 Berlin Walter de Gruyter
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Williams Michael Allen Rethinking “Gnosticism”: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category 1996 Princeton Princeton University Press
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Williamson Marianne A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles (1992) 2012 New York HarperOne
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Wimbush Vincent L. Theorizing Scriptures: New Critical Orientations to a Cultural Phenomenon 2008 New Brunswick, NJ Rutgers University Press
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Wisse Frederick “The Nag Hammadi Library and the Heresiologists” Vigiliae Christianae 1971 25 205 223
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Yogananda Paramhansa The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You: A Revelatory Commentary on the Original Teachings of Jesus 2004 Los Angeles Self-Realization Fellowship 2 vols
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3
Widengren 1950; 1969, 546–93.
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6
Coburn 1984, 435–59; Graham 1989, 129–69; Gill 1987, 129–46.
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7
Davies and Wollaston 1993; Malley 2004.
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8
Sugirtharajah 2008, 64.
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9
Geertz 1973.
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10
Graham 1987b, 134.
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11
W. C. Smith 1993, 141 (emphasis added).
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12
Graham 1987a, 68.
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13
Levering 1989, 5.
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14
Levering 1989, 2.
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15
Levering 1989, 11.
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16
Biderman 1995, 13.
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17
Biderman 1995, 49.
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18
Biderman 1995, 50.
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19
Wimbush 2008, 14.
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20
Sugirtharajah 2008, 67.
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21
Holdrege 1996.
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23
Hanegraaff 1998; Newport 1998; Basil 1988.
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24
Hanegraaff 1998, 443.
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25
Campbell 1980.
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26
Hanegraaff 1998, 303–04.
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27
Cf. Newport 1998, 13.
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28
Newport 1998, 17.
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30
See, e.g. Wapnick 1989, 1998 [1983], 1995, 1997; Wapnick and Clarke 1995; Williamson 2012 [1992], Jampolsky 1985, Skutch 1996 [1984].
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31
Groeschel 1993, 82; Larson 2004; Miller 1997; Carroll 2003; Upton 2001, 221–50.
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32
Price 2008, 132.
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33
Price 2008, 134.
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36
The primary source material is Wapnick 1991. Gallagher 2014, 241, describes this account as “hagiographical . . . Wapnick’s account of Schucman’s life is clearly an insider’s.”
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37
Gallagher 2014, 241. Gallagher further notes that Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, first published in 1875, may have “provided Schucman with a model of the type of book” that she would later write (244).
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38
Wapnick 1991, 115, notes that Schucman was “repelled” by what she regarded as “its ‘spooky’ and more incredible aspects” and described these readings as representative of “the nutty fringe of religion.” Wapnick 1991, 481, denies that either he or Schucman ever discussed gnosticism as his “interest in it did not really begin until after her death” (in 1981) and “she had no conscious awareness of this important philosophical and religious movement,” although he concludes that “there must have been part of Helen’s mind that was familiar with this tradition.”
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39
Raschke 1980.
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40
King 1999.
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41
Joseph 2012.
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42
Wapnick 1983, 8, 352; Wapnick 1995, 102.
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43
Wapnick 1991, 480.
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44
Wapnick 1991, 480–81.
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46
Wapnick and Clarke 1995, 39.
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47
Wapnick (1983) 1998. In his 1992 preface to his 1983 work Forgiveness and Jesus, published in the 1998 edition, Wapnick wrote: “My teaching now, however, has a somewhat different focus from before. . . . In my early years of teaching the Course . . . I often taught in the context of the Bible, even though it is obvious to serious students of A Course in Miracles that it and the Bible are fundamentally incompatible. . . . I would no longer make some of the statements found in Forgiveness and Jesus” (xiv–xv). He explains this as progression: “since I believe that a bridge between the Bible and the Course has been established, I typically now emphasize the discontinuity between the two” (xvi). Wapnick clearly changed his mind, teaching, and public interpretation of the Course in the years following Schucman’s death.
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48
Wapnick 1989, 4.
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49
Wapnick 1989, 4.
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50
Wapnick 1989, 3–4.
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51
Wapnick and Clarke 1995, 2.
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52
Wapnick 1989, 3, 8.
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53
Wapnick 1989, 21, 24.
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54
Wapnick 1989, 3–4.
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55
Wapnick 1989, 4–5.
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56
Wapnick 1989, 6.
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59
Jonas 2001, 42.
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60
Wapnick 1989, 544.
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61
Wapnick 1989, 7, 544.
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63
Wapnick and Clarke 1995, 43; cf. Wapnick 1989, 7.
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66
See Perry, Mackie, and Watson 2003, 48–57.
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67
Wapnick 1989, 6.
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70
Wapnick 1989, 415, 418.
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74
Wapnick 1989, 418, 415. As Wapnick puts it, “The fundamental unreality of this thought [of separation] is what marks the uniqueness” of the Course (415).
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97
Perry, Mackie, and Watson 2003, 43–59.
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98
Perry, Mackie, and Watson 2003, ix.
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99
Wapnick 1989, 539.
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100
Perry, Mackie, and Watson 2003, 6.
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101
Perry, Mackie, and Watson 2003, 38–40, 44–46.
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103
Perry, Mackie, and Watson 2003, 40.
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105
Wapnick, 1995, 4.
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119
Wapnick 1989, 473.
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138
Wapnick 1991, 398–400. Wapnick reports that this “very specific message came on October 2, 1976,” that is, after the publication of the Course.
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139
Roukema 2010, 116. Cf. contemporary authors Walker 2003, 103, 203; Fox 1988; Eddy 1994 [1875]; Jung 1968, 19; Furst, 1968; Yogananda 2004, 11–13.
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“ ‘Knowledge is Truth’: A Course in Miracles as Neo-Gnostic Scripture”
In: Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic StudiesSearch for other papers by Simon J. Joseph in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
A Course in Miracles represents a modern-day neo-gnostic scripture that reflects significant trends in contemporary Western religiosity, especially the quest for alternative forms of esoteric “spiritual” knowledge and experience in a nominally Christian or post-Christian Western world. While this text has largely been ignored or marginalized in mainstream scholarship, a critical evaluation of the Course, its editing, reception, and contemporary interpretation not only represents a fascinating case study in how “texts” become invested with “scriptural” authority, but illustrates how the Course’s claims about Jesus and God exemplify the gnosticizing trajectories in the contemporary New Age movement.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 3680 | 644 | 90 |
| Full Text Views | 294 | 5 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 136 | 14 | 1 |