In regards to eating meat

[Tenet Nosce]

Yeah who knows? The 'accepted' gospels are quite suspect too.

Who knows what he really said?

Hrmm. Yes I mean here we have two sets of quotes directly attributed to Jesus which appear to promote opposite views. And neither view made it into the canonical gospels.

I'm not into the Bible (anymore) so I'm not looking for validation in it

Me neither. But I do find it fascinating! Even looking at the same line in different versions of the Bible can convey very different meanings to the reader.

but if anyone is interested, here is an excellent analysis of Bible quotes concerning this question:

I see this article uses the word gnosis, but I don't know that these views are Gnostic.

A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis (esoteric or intuitive knowledge), is the way to salvation of the soul from the material world. They saw the material world as created through an intermediary being (demiurge) rather than directly by God. In most of the systems, this demiurge was seen as imperfect, in others even as evil. Different gnostic schools sometimes identified the demiurge as Adam Kadmon, Ahriman, El (deity), Saklas, Samael, Satan, Yaldabaoth, or Yahweh.

...

Numerous early Christian Fathers accused some Gnostic teachers of claiming to eschew the physical realm, while simultaneously freely indulging their physical appetites; however, there is reason to question the accuracy of these claims.

I guess the scholars don't really know either. But what I do like about the Gnostic cosmology is the idea of the false god Yahweh and the focus on developing self-awareness and paying attention to one's inner guidance over external sources and gurus. This would appear to line up nicely with the Ra material as well as other historical data and writings.

I also like that gnosticism attracted women in particular because of its egalitarian perspective and allowed their participation in sacred rites. I just have this hunch Jesus wasn't a chauvinist.

In addition, the views most closely parallel the Pure Land form of Buddhism, as espoused by Thich Nhat Hanh. I think that guy is spot on.

For anybody further interested in learning about gnostic christianity, I would recommend the works of Elaine Pagels: The Gnostic Gospels, The Origin of Satan, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent and Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas.

Well the wheat commonly eaten bears very little resemblance to the wheat of our ancestors.

True enough.

All else aside, I think the common thread for me is that I take issue with dietary law. All religions have certain sects which espouse dietary law, but they seem to run most strongly through the Abrahamic traditions.

Really it all goes back to the story of how Abraham forbade the Israelites from making animal sacrifices while he was up on the mount with Yahweh (I happen to believe this was the false Yahweh). When he returned to find they were worshiping a golden calf that Aaron had made, he ordered his brothers and sisters to be slain.

This task was taken up by the Levites (or sons of Levi) who later were placed in charge of protecting the tabernacle which held the Ark of the Covenant as the tribes wandered through the desert. So interesting how the Ten Commandments were protected by a band of murderers... but the Bible doesn't exactly point that out in the open.

Later, the Levites were "given" the land which is now the "Middle East" (before that Phoenicia and before that Canaan) which of course meant they were given permission to murder the previous inhabitants. In those times, it was a haven for thieves and criminals looking to escape justice in their home lands.

Let us not forget the first commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. I always thought that was interesting wording there. Hmm.. now what kind of a god would say such a thing?

Interestingly, the book Leviticus I referred to earlier was actually a code of behavior specifically for the Levites. I don't think it was meant toward people in general. As you may recall, this is the book that homophobes like to cherry-pick from to support bigotry.