Within the original statements to which I initially replied, Zen appealed to the sixth century AD Targum, in this case he appealed to the “Writings of Abraham” which, I must admit, is a little difficult to pin down. All anyone seems to know about it is that it is based on papyri found in Egypt 1831 AD. Thus, for all we know, it is The Testament of Abraham Lincoln as he was born 1809 AD. Well, alright, maybe not.
However, some of the confusion about the text is that there are references to the “The Writings of Abraham,” also to “The Testament of Abraham” and “The Testament of Abraham, The Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, The Narrative of Zosimus” there is “The Testament of Abraham” within the “Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. IX” and a “Book of Abraham” which the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints claim that their founder, Joseph Smith, began translating in 1835 AD (FYI: “Egyptologists, beginning with Theodule Deveria in the late-19th century, have disagreed with Joseph Smith’s explanations of the facsimiles. They have also asserted that damaged portions of the papyri have been reconstructed incorrectly. The controversy intensified in the late 1960s when portions of the Joseph Smith Papyri were located. Translation of the Egyptian text revealed that the rediscovered portions bore no relation to the Book of Abraham text”— see here).
In fact, one source, The Messianic Evangelicals: New Covenant Assemblies of Yahweh (whatever that is) has the text that Zen Garcia quotes as being “The Second Book of Abraham also known as the Writings of Abraham” and noting, for what is it worth:
The Second Book of Abraham, originally known as the Writings of Abraham…The accuracy of this book (which was not produced by a member of this order and was originally heavily tainted with LDS ideas, both historical and theologically) cannot be vouched for and should therefore be treated with caution. A number of revisions have been made by this ministry to remove the bulk of false LDS teachings from it but this is still not complete.
They reference a “fourth revision of the original” but do not provide any information about the original beyond the statements above and that “There has been some debate as to whether it should be removed altogether…a fifth revision may be made in the future to remove all remaining traces of Mormonism.”
The point being that the text Zen quotes appears to be very much literal apocrypha with no one knowing anything about its author nor date or authorship (any info on this would be appreciated). Now, I certainly have no problem whatsoever in urging researches to read such texts as we can derive some historical and cultural context as well as to discern what sorts of theological speculations were afoot at the time of authorship. My problem with Zen Garcia is that he has turned discernment on its head. One is to read such texts and judge them by the Bible but Zen judges the Bible by such texts. This is evidence in many, many ways such as, for example, his claim that Adam and Eve were disembodied beings of light who did not have bodies and did not live on Earth until after the fall—based on apocryphal texts. But why make such claims when the Bible states very, very clearly that this was simply not the case. Genesis 1 references the earth 21 times and Genesis 2 references it 6 times (with it sometimes referring to the planet and other times to the soil/dirt upon the planet). Moreover, Genesis 2 specifies that Eve was made from Adam’s rib and that when he saw Eve he said, “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” and Jesus elucidated “spirit hath not flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39).
Yet, Zen does not allow the Bible to correct his conclusions that he bases on apocrypha rather, he contradicts the Bible based on the apocrypha.
Zen Garcia and Dr. Joye Jeffries Pugh
Worse yet, much, much worse; Zen has actually told his audience to read the Nag Hammadi and the problem is not that the told them that they should merely read them but that they should do so because they are, or so he claimed, the writings of the apostles.
This is an utterly shocking claim as the Nag Hammadi texts represent some of the purest forms of literally Satanic doctrine. Now, in making this claim I am not merely offering a random opinion but am appealing to someone with whom Zen Garcia has some acquaintance. Dr. Joye Jeffries Pugh is a fellow (to Zen) believer in the serpent seed of Satan theory and in her book “Eden: The Knowledge of Good and Evil 666” (which I reviewed here) devotes an entire section to the Nag Hammadi texts which she calls “Satanic.” Here is some of what she has to say on the matter (emphasis added for emphasis):
…hypnotic vibration allowed Satan, envisioned as a bright light, to enter their souls and possess their minds. Gnostics believe that once a person accepts the light, they have become illuminated. Those possessing this illumination declare that they have received a divine spark that has given them a god-like status, thereby making them equal to the Angels. Those who practice Gnosticism today follow teachings from texts that were found buried in Egypt.
These texts, called the Nag Hammadi, are believed to have been written by their god. The Nag Hanunadi is a library of books that include a total of 51 texts called Codices…a closer look at the Gnostic Codices so we can further distinguish their differences from Christianity’s biblical accounts.
Codex One uses New Testament language. It records that secret books were written regarding the resurrection of Jesus and were given to the Apostles. These secret books explained to the Disciples the ‘Craft’ of Black Magic…They were apparently written in an effort to downplay the true resurrection of Jesus.
Codex Two rejects what is in the Genesis account of the Bible. It totally magnifies Satan as the good god of mankind. The texts composing his Codex explain that it was Jehovah who was the deceiver in the Garden of Eden…Therefore Satan, not Jehovah, is applauded as the ‘Bringer of Light and Truth’ to mankind…
The Texts also taught that mankind was capable of re-incarnation so that he could, eventually, obtain god-hood through successive visits to earth.
In the Gospel of Phillip contained within this Codex, Mary Magdalene is referred to as the most loved Disciple of Jesus. She is recorded as being Jesus’ favorite companion, whom He often kissed…Jesus loved her more than anyone else.
If Zen takes issue with this, he can contact Dr. Pugh and report back their discussion. It is a fact that the Gnostic Nag Hammadi texts turn the Bible upside-down, inside out and backwards. For some details see Gospel of Judas, part 5 of 7 : AEON SOTER – Some Gnosis of Gnosticism.
For my whole Serpent Seed of Satan series including my discussions with Zen Garcia, see see here. In the next segment, we will consider Zen’s elevation of apocrypha, 2 of 2.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A plea: I have to pay for server usage and have made all content on this website free and always will. I support my family on one income and do research, writing, videos, etc. as a hobby. If you can even spare $1.00 as a donation, please do so: it may not seem like much but if each person reading this would do so, even every now and then, it would add up and really, really help out. Here is my donate/paypal page.
Due to robo-spaming, I had to close the comment sections. However, you can comment on my Twitter page, on my Facebook page and/or on my Google+ page.
Twitter: #serpentseed, #satan, #zengarcia
Facebook: #serpentseed, #satan, #zengarcia