Bøger af Jean-Yves Leloup

Restores to the forefront of the Christian tradition the importance of the divine feminine.

A new translation and analysis of the gospel that records the actual words of Jesus.

RELIGION / CHRISTIAN STUDIESThe familiar story of Judas, betrayer of Jesus, is striking because of its incomprehensibility. Why would one of Christ's disciples and companions of the heart deliver him up to his enemies and a barbarous, ignominious, and certain death for thirty pieces of silver? Jean-Yves Leloup's careful investigation of the gospels, various apocryphal texts, and most importantly the Coptic codex known as the Gospel of Judas leads him to conclude that there is more to the familiar story of Judas than a simple demonstration, viewed through one man, of humanity's inherent failings.In this reconstruction, based on these classic texts, Leloup offers an alternative explanation for Judas's actions, complete with illustrative dialogue. The betrayal of Jesus to the Romans was Jesus's idea, explains Leloup. Jesus persuaded Judas to play the role of "evil" in humankind by telling him that this enactment was crucial to God's plan and would set Judas by Jesus's side in eternity: "There where I am," spoke Jesus to Judas, "is where I wish you, too, to be."But to get there, Judas--a metaphorical representation of the darker side present in all human beings and the "shadow" counterpart to his Messiah dying on the cross--must first shed all his human qualities. His failings of greed, deceit, and cowardice--and even his faith and hope--are washed away in the despair that engulfs him. A parallel moment occurs for Jesus on the cross, when he comes to know the despair of separation from God. The moment Judas "loses" his life and all that gave it meaning--his God, his law, his justice, his Messiah--is the very moment he finds that which cannot be discarded--life eternal. Thus, in the moment of his ultimate extremity, Judas receives Jesus's true message and his intended gift.JEAN-YVES LELOUP is a theologian and founder of the Institute of Other Civilization Studies and the International College of Therapists. His other books include The Sacred Embrace of Jesus and Mary, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Philip, and The Gospel of Thomas. He lives in France.

For more than fifteen hundred years Christianity has cultivated a rich and varied teaching on the practice of stillness and inner calm. Here we can find answers to the contemporary psychological struggle for inner peace.In a fresh and engaging reading of this contemplative path, Jean-Yves Leloup explores the writings of many spiritual masters from across the centuries, in particular the Desert Fathers, the fourth-century monk Evagrius, St John Cassian, and the anonymous nineteenth-century author of The Way of the Pilgrim.Drawn from the experience of the monasteries of Sinai and Mount Athos, here is a clear and practical presentation of the spiritual art of arts: stillness in the face of interior pain and confusion.These spiritual riches, refined and developed by the Orthodox tradition in Christianity, can also be recognized in the teaching and practice of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islamic Sufism. The fundamental truth of one tradition is to be found under its own proper forms and nuances in others. Far from diminishing the unique value of this hesychastic way of prayer, the most developed spiritual traditions of humanity affirm it as one of the great forms through which humanity reaches out to embrace Infinite Reality.

Accompanying the exhibition Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers, this book offers an insight into the visual culture of electronic music.

A profound reflection on how complementary themes in Buddhism and Christianity could serve as the basis for a truly ecumenical faith • Compares Zen meditation with the Greek Orthodox practice of Hesychasm (prayer of the heart) • Shows how Buddha and Jesus represent the distinct yet complementary values of meditation and compassion In Asian spiritual traditions the mountain traditionally symbolizes meditation while the ocean signifies compassion. Jean-Yves Leloup uses this metaphor to compare Buddhist and Christian approaches to meditation and compassion to reveal the similarities and divergences of these profound practices. Emphasizing their complementary nature, Leloup describes how Jesus and Buddha are necessary to one another and how together they form a complete system: Jesus as awakening through love, and Buddha as awakening through meditation. Where Buddha represents the forests, Jesus represents the trees. Buddha is brother to the universe, whereas Jesus is brother to humanity. Nevertheless, these two religious traditions have a profound common ground. Compassion is central to Buddhism, and meditation practices have been central to many Christian traditions. Both view murder, theft, and the destructive use of sexuality as great barriers to realizing our essential being, and both agree on the need to rise above them. Here, however, Leloup suggests that both faiths could benefit from the precepts of the other. The complementary aspects of Christianity and Buddhism offer the possibility for a truly profound ecumenical religion whose interfaith relations are based on deep understanding of the true meaning and practice of meditation and compassion and not merely shared goodwill.

A new translation and analysis of one of the most controversial of the apocryphal gospels.