The Nag Hammadi Library
The Prayer of Thanksgiving

Translated by James Brashler, Peter A. Dirkse and Douglas M. Parrott

This the prayer that they spoke:

"We give thanks to You! Every soul and heart is lifted up to You, undisturbed name, honored with the name 'God' and praised with the name 'Father', for to everyone and everything (comes) the fatherly kindness and affection and love, and any teaching there may be that is sweet and plain, giving us mind, speech, (and) knowledge: mind, so that we may understand You, speech, so that we may expound You, knowledge, so that we may know You. We rejoice, having been illuminated by Your knowledge. We rejoice because You have shown us Yourself. We rejoice because while we were in (the) body, You have made us divine through Your knowledge."

"The thanksgiving of the man who attains to You is one thing: that we know You. We have known You, intellectual light. Life of life, we have known You. Womb of every creature, we have known You. Womb pregnant with the nature of the Father, we have known You. Eternal permanence of the begetting Father, thus have we worshiped Your goodness. There is one petition that we ask: we would be preserved in knowledge. And there is one protection that we desire: that we not stumble in this kind of life."

When they had said these things in the prayer, they embraced each other and they went to eat their holy food, which has no blood in it.

Scribal Note
I have copied this one discourse of his. Indeed, very many have come to me. I have not copied them because I thought that they had come to you (pl.). Also, I hesitate to copy these for you because, perhaps they have (already) come to you, and the matter may burden you. Since the discourses of that one, which have come to me, are numerous ...

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A Vegetarian Meal
This passage is also found in the Epilogue of Asclepius, in "HERMETICA," translated by Sir Walter Scott: "Having prayed thus, let us betake ourselves to a meal unpolluted by flesh [animalia] of living things."

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The G.R.S. Mead translation of the same passage says: "With this desire we now betake us to our pure and fleshless meal."

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"With such hopes we turn to a pure meal that includes no living thing." (Asclepius, translated in "Hermetica", Brian Copenhaver, Cambridge University Press)

not sure where in the bible it says dont eat meat. actually if we refer to the biblical food laws, all such questions of what we are to eat are answered quite clearly.

'rambill',

LadyValkyrie37 is the hostess of this thread.

She offers a thankgiving prayer for VEGETERIANS, which has no direct or indirect relation to your BIBLICAL SCRIPTURES.

Stop 'highjacking' legitimate threads. It's as boring as it is irritating.

You are CARNIVOROUS, and you are EXCLUSIVELY interested in BIBLICAL topics, this thread addresses neither.

If you wish to talk about CARNIVOROUS matters as it relates to Thanksgivng, and your litteral interpretation of the bible, start your own thread on the subject.

FYI: I eat all types of meat... poultry, beef, and pork. I've even hunted and eaten venison, squirrel, and wild turkey. I don't care for any type of fish or seafood.

As I've stated in other threads I study many spiritual texts such as The Holy Bible, The Lost Books of the Bible, The Pistis Sophia, The Nag Hammadi Library, and The Apocrypha. When I found what I posted above, I found it very interesting and thought I'd post it as some "food" for thought.

Personally I do not believe that a Vegetarian or Vegan lifestyle is wrong or the only way of life to lead. I believe it's a lifestyle that is different from my own that I wish to understand better.

I'm not going to apologize for wanting to share something on here that I find interesting. Just as I don't expect any other person with a different religion, philosophy, or way of life to apologize for sharing what they find interesting on here. However, I saw that someone posted another thread for "Omnivores" I believe it was in a blatant attempt to counteract this thread. Personally I find it a little childish. But hey, who am I to say anything about someone sharing what they are truely interested in, right?

My sister has been a vegetarian for many years. She actually became a vegetarian while we were still children living at home even though our mother was accustomed to eating meat as well as vegetables.

In any case, my sister has recently become a vegan, or at least she is working toward that goal. This requires giving up even dairy products. Her greatest sacrifice in this area will be cheese, since she has always used cheese in the past as a source of protein as a vegetarian. Cheese and other dairy products are typically not considered to be ‘meat’ even though they are of animal origin. They actually come from the milk that is naturally intended to nurture the newborn young of animals.

In any case, she is currently working hard to move to a completely vegan diet which requires no animal products of any kind.

In addition to this, she also renounces the cooking of vegetables. Therefore she is moving toward eating entirely fresh uncooked vegetables meals. I’m not sure that she is doing this entirely for moral reasons as she is not religious in any way, and this includes being atheistic. In other words, she prefers not to comment on the topic of a possible supreme being. Whatever is, is. That is her stance. Que Sara Sara.

I believe her motivation for becoming a vegan is grounded partially on morality as well as on ideas that she simply believes it to be a healthier diet. I’m not sure if it would make much sense to argue against dairy products based on morality, unless a person is protesting the industrial conditions concerning the treatment of commercial dairy animals.

I just thought I’d share this for anyone who might find it interesting.

My apologies in advance if this post was inappropriate for this thread. Reading the prayer just reminded me of my sister’s dietary practices.

Abra, no need to apologize. I enjoyed reading about your sister's vegetarian to vegan journey. I'll post more later. Right now I have to check on dinner.

As I was saying...

My daughter came to me when she was 12 and said she wanted to become a vegetarian. I told her that before I gave my blessing she had to do some research and write a report on how her very young and still growing body could get the proper nutrition it needs on a vegetarian diet. She agreed to my terms. As she did that, I did my own research and consulted family doctors. When she presented her report to me she concluded that it was in her best interest if she became a lacto-ovo-vegetarian because she was still so young and still growing. I agreed. She was a lacto-ovo-vegetarian for about 6 -7 months. She realized how expensive it was becoming and how much work it was for me to basically make two seperate meals most times, she decided to give up the lifestyle... at least that was the reasons she gave. The night she gave up that lifestyle she asked to be taken to her favorite family sit down resteraunt and she ordered the biggest and greasiest bacon cheese burger on the menu. I was LMAO on the inside.

In going through this with my daughter I was forced to research the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. I find it very interesting even if it's not for me personally. I respect anyone who is that disciplined and strong willed to live those particular lifestyles, especially in a world full of people who think you're a freak for what you believe.

I have been a vegetarian for 27 years...for my own reasons...no religious doctrines or disciplines needed.

For me to eat a sentient being feels wrong..to take the existence of a living creature to satisfy my hunger, or the expected hunger as set down by society, felt inappropriate to me.

However my children's father, and our children, raised our own organic meat, as they chose to eat it...and I felt if within their choice they required it, then I would offer the cleanest, and gentlest foods for them.

All our table animals were hand raised, organically, and slaughtered in a calm and humane...or (animane) manner, with the utmost respect to the creature whose life was taken for my children.

I have two of the four children, that have elected to be vegetarian, their own educated choice, as there is no condemnation to their dietary decisions on my part.

To each their own.

Lady, that was beautiful. I am going to share it with my best friend who is a vegetarian.

Thanks for sharing!