During the last seventy-five years, major discoveries have been made in the fields of science and religion. As unlikely as it might seem, the combination of these discoveries can will inevitably change the way you look at life.
In 1945, an earthenware jar containing a collection of ancient books was accidentally discovered in Egypt. Scholars where shocked to discover that several of the books appeared to be written by Jesus’ earliest followers. But they found an even bigger surprise. Rather than serving as a support to the Bible gospels, these papyrus books painted a decidedly different picture of Jesus. Known as the Gnostic gospels, their contents are bringing Bible teachings into question. Scholars now realize that the earliest Christians held wildly diverse views of Jesus’ life and teachings. Since no eyewitness accounts exist, the gnostic gospels are every bit as valuable and worthy of attention as the New Testament gospels.
Quantum physics has also rocked the scientific world with unexpected discoveries that brought into question everything we know about our world. At the visible level of the universe, Classical (Newtonian) physics explains how our world operates in a manner that’s compatible with the world of separate forms that we see. But when scientists started researching the subatomic (quantum) world, they realized that the universe is very different that it appears to be. Instead of smaller and smaller forms, they discovered a sea of interconnected energy permeated by consciousness. The universe can no longer be described as a multitude of assembled parts, but must be understood as one interrelated, cohesive whole.
During the 16th and 17th centuries men of science realized, and eventually proved, that the earth orbited the sun. Their work discredited the church teaching that God had placed man at the center of the universe and created a rift between science and religion that has continued to grow. However, many physicists who have studied the quantum world are beginning to move back toward the belief that we live in an intelligent universe. Although the rift between science and Western theology remains, the gap is far smaller where Eastern traditions are concerned.
Many Eastern philosophies contain a central theme of conscious oneness that echoes discoveries made by quantum physicists. Over three 
thousand years ago, the writer of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad recognized the conscious unity that exists beneath the illusion of form. That ancient writer stated, “As a lump of salt thrown in water dissolves and cannot be taken out again . . . the separate self dissolves in the sea of pure consciousness, infinite and immortal. Separateness arises from identifying the Self with the body, which is made up of the elements; when this physical identification dissolves, there can be no more separate self.” In this scenario, the creator and the creation are one.
In direct contrast, Western culture is based on the concept that a creator God stands outside a universe that’s made up of a collection of separate, unconscious parts. In this scenario, consciousness is a gift given only to the highest life forms. Undoubtedly, quantum discoveries will render a large percentage of Bible based teachings invalid, but does this mean that all Western belief systems must fall with it?
Surprisingly, the gnostic gospels may be the bridge between science and Christian teachings.
But what are the gnostic gospels?
Gnosis is a Greek word that means “know” or “knowing,” but it’s not knowledge that comes from intellectual pursuits. Gnosis is experiential; it’s an understanding that can come only from a direct personal experience like riding a bicycle. In the strictest sense of the word, it means understanding received through a direct, personal experience of the Divine. Unlike religious dogma, science poses no threat to gnosis, and in fact should enhance it. When examined from the standpoint of quantum physics, many of the Gnostic Gospels do reflect an understanding of the universe that very closely parallels Eastern philosophies.
Physicist David Bohm used the hologram to explain what our universe is really like. If you’ve ever seen a hologram, you know that it’s a three –dimensional image that appears to float in space. The image appears very real, but it’s actually no more than a projection, a virtual reality. Photographic film shows a negative image of the picture that was taken, but holographic film spreads the image over the surface of the film in a series of intersecting patterns. These patterns appear to have no relationship with the image they produce. Never-the-less, the “real” part of a hologram is the film, not the projected image. Bohm saw our universe in the same way.
The visible portion of the universe is like a holographic image; it seems real, but it a virtual reality. The quantum level of the universe is like the holographic film; it appears to be nothing more than a sea of energy, but it’s real. The quantum level is the seat of consciousness and the source of all potential. The material universe is like a holograph that’s projected from the quantum level.
In truth, we are not the bodies that we project; we are the mind that exists at the quantum level and does the projecting.
Our earthly “lives” are no more real than the action that takes place on a movie screen. Surprisingly, gnostic Christians, like their Eastern counterparts, were well aware of this phenomenon. It may seem odd that these ancient people were so astute, but we must remember that they learned through gnosis. When they experienced the Divine, they bypassed the limited brain and accessed the one consciousness we all share.
The Gnostic Gospel of Truth speaks of explains that the visible universe is, “like a dream in the night.” We can wake from our dream of virtual reality anytime we choose, and when we do we will, “. . . see nothing, they who were in the midst of these disturbances, for they are nothing.” Similarly, the beautiful Gnostic narrative poem, The Hymn of the Pearl, tells the symbolic story of a prince of the spirit realms who journeys to a far country of matter and form. The prince falls asleep, forgetting his true spiritual identity, and is rescued by waking up and remembering who he is. Like quantum physicists, Gnostic Christians also understood that we live in a universe of indivisible oneness. Marcus, a second century Gnostic prophet, taught that everyone was part of the same whole, a oneness that will be restored when we choose to see past the illusion of separation.
Recent discoveries in neurophysiology agree that the brain is little more than a receiving unit for the true mind, which exists at the quantum level. In essence, the universe itself can be seen as one cohesive consciousness. Most of us have learned to think with the brain, shutting out the one mind we share with All That Is, but Jesus encouraged each of his followers to tap into this quantum field. The writer of The Gospel of Truth identifies a “living book” that “was written in the thought and mind of the Father.” Jesus is said to have learned from that book and, “He inspired them with that which is in the mind.” In The Testimony of Truth, Jesus differentiated between the brain and the mind that exists at the quantum level when he encouraged every seeker to become the, “disciple of his own mind” because “the Father of the truth” resides in that mind.
Most Christian teachings single out Jesus as the separate and unique only-begotten son of God. Rather than claim any special position, the Gospel of Thomas quotes Jesus as saying:
I am not your master. . . He who will drink from my mouth will become as I am; I myself will become he. . . When you come to know yourselves . . . you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father.
These statements not only recognize oneness, they clearly demonstrate that each of us has access to the information we need to wake up from the illusion that we are the body we project. Indeed, this is the essence of gnosis, an intuitive and experiential process that cannot be institutionalized.
Rather than see God as an entity that existed outside the universe, Gnostic writers agreed that oneness included God, who permeated all things. Not only is God the creator, but God is the stuff out of which all things are created. The Gnostic teacher Monoimus expanded on this point by adding, “Look for Him (God) by taking yourself as the starting point. Learn who it is within you. . . you will find Him in yourself.”
For Gnostics, God’s kingdom was not a place or a thing; it is “an immediate and continuing spiritual reality” that permeates everything in existence, a state of conscious being we can experience at any time.
As quantum understanding increases, many belief systems will be challenged. Many Christian teachings will not be able to withstand the challenge of quantum physics, but Gnosis, based on our innate ability to access the Mind of God at the quantum level, will.
Copyright © 2011 Lee and Steven Hager