Evidence that John's Gospel used Poemandres (Hermetic, Pagan, c. 50 AD) as a Source

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Uploaded: 01 Jul 2017 (9 years ago) · Shared: 26 Aug 2019

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Kegan Chandler, author of the book, “The God of Jesus,” speaks to his audience regarding the question “Did John write his gospel to compete with Gnosticism?” Kegan asserts that orthodox Christology is

ultimately Gnostic Christology repackaged and painted over.

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EXPLORE TOPICS : PAGAN | 133 GOSPEL | 221 KEGAN CHANDLER | 30

Overview & Key Concepts

Who is Kegan Chandler?

Kegan Chandler is a Christian author and researcher of Early Christianity, pagan religion, and Gnosticism. He is an adjunct professor at Atlanta Bible

College. Chandler holds a Master of Theology from Campbellsville University's School of Theology, where he studied Church History and Theology, and is a graduate of SCAD University, where he studied Graeco-Roman drama, medieval literature, and dramatic writing.
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He is the author of the forthcoming book 'Constantine and the Divine Mind' (Wipf and Stock, TBD), and 'The God of Jesus in Light of Christian Dogma' (Restoration Fellowship, 2016). He is also an award-winning screenwriter, and currently writes for his blog on Church history.
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Chandler also sits on the board of directors of the Unitarian Christian Alliance (formed 2019), and New Life Ministries of America, Inc., a small non-profit which has been producing Christian literature and financing overseas missions since 1994.

What is Gospel?

Gospel is the Old English translation of Greek evangelion, meaning "good news". It originally meant the Christian message itself, but in the 2nd

century it came to be used for the books in which the message was set out. The four gospels of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the main source of information on the life of Jesus.

What is Pagan?

Paganism is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians. It was applied on populations of the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism

either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population or because they were not milites Christi (soldiers of Christ). Alternate terms in Christian texts for the same group were hellene, gentile, and heathen. Pagan and paganism were pejorative terms for the same polytheistic group, implying its inferiority. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry", and for much of its history was a derogatory term. Both during and after the Middle Ages, pagan was a pejorative term that was applied to any non-Abrahamic or unfamiliar religion, and the term presumed a belief in false god(s).

Frequently Asked Questions

1.How was Christianity made appealing to pagan idol worshippers?

Pope Gregory I (540-604 CE), a famous Christian leader encouraged accomodating pagan customs and beliefs. So if pagans worshipped a Tree or Spirit abiding in it, rather than shun the pagan worship, he urged priests to somehow link the worship to Jesus Christ, and allow them to continue their Tree or pagan idol worship.

2.How was 25th December celebrated by pagans?

December 25th was the most important of Sun Festivals, the new birth of the God, rising three days after 'dying' at the winter solstice. Today, the celebration continues and its many features can be witnessed. A few of these include:

* Excessive eating, drinking and merry was commin in Saturnalia festival
* Father Christmas (Red Man) - who was originally Apollo, the Sun-God or Thor God depicted as an elderly man, jovial or friendly, of heavy build with a long white beard who drove a chariot through the sky
* Fireplace - the fireplace in pagan homes was sacred to Thor God which he would descend though the chimney
* Giving of gifts - a feature of Saturnalia festival
* Christmas card bearing the cheeky robin bird (with its chest bearing the flame symbol)
* Snowman - who melts when the Sun comes out (is defeated by the Sun)
* Fir-tree trinkets and decorations, symbolising life in the 'dead' parts of the world
* Holly - to deflect evil goblins in winter solstice
* Ivy - the female version of the 'male' holly
* Mistletoe - used by pagan druids in their worship
* Yule Log - sacred to the Thor God which is symbolised today as a chocolate cake

3.How were the Triadic or 'Trinity-like' Pagan Gods presented?

Ancient triadic deities in the Roman Empire were depicted in art and monuments as a single, unified figure featuring three distinct faces or heads to illustrate their triune nature.

4.Does the Christian Trinity come from pagan Triadic dieties?

Yes, the core teachings of modern Trinitarian Christian churches do not come from Jesus, but were pagan three-in-one concepts that existed long before his arrival and were later adopted by Christians to make their doctrine highly appealing to idol-worshipping masses.

5.Why are their so many similarities between Jesus Christ and all the pagan Gods?

It is probable the reason why the Church priests burned and destroyed the earlier records of pagan Gods was to hide the evidence for the real origins of their own Christian mythology.

6.What do Synoptic Gospels say about Jesus?

The Synoptic Gospels strictly portray Jesus through a human lens as an honorable prophet, a moral hero, and a devoted martyr. They do not present him as a literal God who assumed human flesh, nor do they frame his life as a cosmic sacrifice intended to die and rise again for the spiritual salvation of mankind.

7.What did Apostle Paul think of his fellow Gospel writers?

Paul was deeply unyielding toward alternative views of the faith, explicitly writing in Galatians 1:9 that if any person preached a gospel different from the one his followers had received, that individual should be completely accursed. This indicates he aggressively dismissed the legalistic, Jewish-Christian perspectives held by original disciples like James and Peter.

8.How did Matthew (Gospel) support Apostle Pauline Christian doctrine?

The Gospel of Matthew, aimed at law-abiding Jewish-Christians, did not support Pauline doctrine and actually stood in direct opposition to it.

9.When were the Gospels written?

The canonical gospels were composed during the second half of the 1st century, with Mark widely dated around 65-70 CE, followed by Matthew and Luke between 80-90 CE, and John close to 90-100 CE. These dates mean the texts were compiled decades after Jesus' earthly ministry, drawing on reliable oral traditions and early eyewitness testimonies.

10.What did Apostle Paul say about the other gospels?

In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul strongly condemned anyone preaching a different gospel, reflecting a significant conflict in the early church between his Gentile-inclusive mission and strict adherence to the Law.

11.Who wrote John's gospel?

The author of the fourth gospel is believed to be a Greek convert with limited knowledge of traditional Judaism, who frequently uses "the Jews" as an antagonistic term over 60 times in the Gospel of John alone.

12.What were the Apocryphal Gospels?

Apocrypha are works, usually written works, that are of unknown authorship, or of doubtful authenticity, or spurious, or not considered to be within a particular canon.

The Apocrypha (Greek for 'hidden away') are revered Biblical text which were excluded from the canon Bible. They were literally hidden away from the early Christians, and tell a very different story of Jesus.

Gospel of Nazoreans
Gospel of Ebionites
Gospel of Egyptians
Gospel of Peter
Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Hebrews

13.What is the significance of the Gospel of Thomas?

Thomas is the most important non-canonical Gospel recently discovered in the last century. It positively features in current studies of Christian origins and the historical Jesus.

Gospel of Thomas with sayings of Jesus is thought to be earliest written record of his life produced within ten years of his death.

14.How was the Gospel of John viewed?

In the 2nd century, some Christians felt John gospel was so different in tone and approach in comparison to the other three synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke); it should have been excluded from the cannon.

15.In 325 AD, did Emperor Constantine burn gospels, writings and religious text?

The books of Arius and his followers, after the first Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.), were burned for heresy by the Roman emperors Constantine, Honorius, and Theodosius I, who published a decree commanding that, "the doctrine of the Trinity should be embraced by those who would be called catholics; that all others should bear the infamous name of heretics".

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