Timothy Freke
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Timothy Freke has an honours degree (B.A.) in philosophy and has written extensively on world mysticism. He has co-authored with Peter Gandy several books including The Jesus Mysteries, which was a top 10 best-seller in the UK and USA, an Amazon.com 'surprise bestseller', and a 'Book of the Year' in The Daily Telegraph. Another co-authored book, Jesus and the Lost Goddess, was cited by Dan Brown as an inspiration for The Da Vinci Code. He has often been featured in the media around the world. Recently he was interviewed for the History Channel documentary Beyond The Da Vinci Code and has been the focus of 'Modern Mystics' on the BBC World Service and 'Beyond Belief' on BBC Radio 4.
Tim's most recent work, "The Laughing Jesus: Religious Lies and Gnostic Wisdom", co-authored with Peter Gandy, is a damning critique of religious literalism and a passionate affirmation of mystical spirituality.
It follows on from "The Jesus Mysteries", an examination of the evidence for a historical Jesus and the parallels of Paganism with early Christianity, and "Jesus and the (Lost) Goddess", a philosophical and mystical exegesis of Christian (especially Gnostic) mythology. Although backed up by scholarly research, Freke and Gandy's works are written to be accessible for a popular audience.
Although he has written extensively on Gnosticism in the sense of the ancient religious movement, Tim also uses the term 'Gnosticism' in a much broader sense to describe his mystical approach, in the etymological sense of 'knower'. This is contrasted with 'Literalism', or rigid dogmatic religious belief, which he criticises as a dangerous force in today's world, in particular in its Fundamentalist form.
Although dismissed as 'anti-Christian' by religious conservatives, his work has attracted many progressive Christians, and it is not unusual to find Christian priests attending his seminars, along with many others of various faiths or none.
Tim lectures and runs experiential seminars in the UK, USA and Europe. He lives in Glastonbury England with his wife Debbie, his ten year old son Beau Brook and his five year old daughter Aya Sophia.
Published Works
1995
- Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching
- Heaven
- (with Yvette Mayo) Exotic Massage for Lovers: Sensual Techniques from the Ancient East
- (ed.) Children's Visions of Heaven and Hell: Innocent Observations of the Afterlife
- Zen Koan Card Pack
- Zen Wisdom: Daily Teachings from the Zen Masters
- The Illustrated Book of Sacred Scriptures
- The Way of the Desert: Meditations for Today (Meditation for Today Series)
- The Way of the Sea (Meditations for Today Series)
- The Wisdom of the Hindu Gurus (Wisdom of the Masters Series)
- The Wisdom of the Sufi Sages (Wisdom of the Masters Series)
- The Wisdom of the Zen Masters (Wisdom of the Masters Series
- Shamanic Wisdomkeepers: Shamanism in the Modern World
- Taoist Wisdom: Daily Teachings from the Taoist Sages
- The Wisdom of the Christian Mystics (The Wisdom of the World)
- The Wisdom of the Tibetan Lamas (The Wisdom of the World)
- Zen Made Easy: An Introduction to the Basics of the Ancient Art of Zen
- Encyclopedia of Spirituality: Essential Teachings to Transform Your Life
- Rumi Wisdom: Daily Teachings from the Great Sufi Master
- Life's Daily Meditations
- Spiritual Traditions: Essential Teachings to Transform Your Life
- The Heart of Islam: Inspirational Book and Card Set
- In the Light of Death: Spiritual Insight to Help You Live with Death and Bereavement
- Tao Book & Card Pack
- Lucid Living: A Book You Can Read in an Hour That Will Turn Your World Inside Out
With Peter Gandy
- The Complete Guide to World Mysticism (1998)
- The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs (1998)
- The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? (1999)
- The Wisdom of the Pagan Philosophers (The Wisdom of the World) (1999)
- Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians (2002)
- The Laughing Jesus: Religious Lies and Gnostic Wisdom (2005)
See also
External links
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