Like many of us at Earthchangers College, we have grown up in a Christ-haunted culture. I say “haunted” because we are living in a post-Christian era – after the death of the Christian church. Mainstream Christianity long ago lost the war with the world. The death throes in the U.S. have been going on for decades. Say Good-bye to the old, distorted Christianity.
But, is this the end of Christianity? As the institution founded by Paul of Tarsus, based on his interpretations of the death, resurrection and second coming of the Christ, yes. But, as to the message of Jesus, no. To his message and its esoteric meaning, I say Hello.
There are groups of Christians (and have been for two thousand years) who understood the hidden meanings underlying his message and, when the tide turned in favor of institutional Christianity, they went underground to protect and preserve it.
[If you are thinking gnostic, there is some of what is labeled gnosticism (Greek for “knowledge”) inherent in Christ-ianity, but gnosticism, as to what evolved as a belief system--wherein salvation resides only in knowledge--like everything else, went off track, too.]
So, there are two kinds of Christian churches. The extoteric (public) church, is the one that everyone is familiar with, and preaches the parables and stories. Then, there is the esoteric (hidden) church, consisting of those who wanted to know more and were able to understand the hidden meanings. As you know, the history of the church shows how those who didn't toe the line with mainstream dogma (Roman Catholic Church-RCC) were subjected to some very unloving actions—quite the opposite of what Jesus the Christ preached.
Ah, but the Reformation came about. That handled the abuses. Didn't it? To some extent and for a time. But still, there has been so much emphasis put on Paul's teachings, and scriptures that are rife with mis-copyings, missing text, added information, legends born of oral traditions, etc., as to make the scriptures informative, but not infallible. (Details are in the attachment below).
It has been said that what became the RCC kept Christianity alive, because of its codification of scriptures and its cohesiveness (and force when needed). But, was it alive in the first place? The RCC propagated Paul's version of salvation by belief in the death and resurrection of the Christ, but Jesus never preached (as far as history allows us to know) that people had to rely on his death and resurrection to find salvation. And, it begs the question, salvation from what? It is said there is a hell and salvation is from its eternal damnation. But, that's not what Jesus preached. He preached love. L-O-V-E.
What Jesus did say to his followers was that we, too, could do the things he did, and even more. He also said the kingdom of God is within. So, what was he saying? That he was God? No, he was saying he was human, and that we can achieve what he had achieved.
While its a well-known New Age concept (that all answers lie within), it dates back to the Christ himself. Imagine if you will that Jesus was born a human, just like you and me, but a human far along on his spiritual path, so much so that he ascended that lifetime. Did he ascend by the same method he expected the rest of us to follow? To just believe that his death and resurrection would cause his own ascension? How could he?
As you will see in the following summaries from one of my studies of early Christianity, his saying “believe on me” is not necessarily something he said. As you will learn from the summaries, his saying you can do this, and even more, and the kingdom of God lies within, are not sayings Christians would have made up, since it goes against the proto-orthodox (the early beginnings of the RCC) grain. In case you are unfamiliar, the RCC was the Christian church up until the Protestant Reformation, beginning in 1517 A.D.
I hope the summaries will give you a quick, but insightful, glimpse into why the Bible, as well as the belief systems that rely on it, isn't what it seems. Understand, the textbook from which the summaries were made is a scholarly examination into the literature of early Christian writings. And, there was a lot of it, much of which never made it into the Bible. There is no intent to proselytize. It's a work about the historical accuracy of Christianity and Jesus, history that can be proven, with a reasonable level of certainty. For the best understanding, I encourage you to pick up a used copy of the book on amazon.com and read it.
In closing this introduction, I'd like to share how I ended up in these studies. Through a series of synchronicities, I ended up in a small, esoteric seminary wherein, through one of the initiatic rites, I had a most marvelous vision. It was of a giant cross arising out of a lily. The real message, as Jesus intended, is being resurrected.
Summaries attached. Christianity-Goodbye-Hello.docx
