Christ’s noble truths he widdled down to one, and the Christ Consciousness movement emphasizes this. God is love and though art God. The term love didn’t have such a narrow view, it meant for all intents and purposes peace. That in finding peace you find God, not in finding rationalization and he speaks heavily against that. Not in finding a body of followers.
The “apocrypha” are writings that were from the same sources, but were determined to be not of God by the members of the supposed apostolic succession long after they were penned. The tradition was almost strictly oral before then, and Jesus had directed that the spirit be kept but that it not be profaned by “opinion”. Evidence suggests he didn’t actually want anything codified, and his understanding may have been what permitted him to perform miracles.
Let’s hope he doesn’t return, he will be very angry I expect. He was reported to get violently angry though infrequently.
Violently angry indicates to me he was a real person. Nor do the students of the Christ Consciousness movement deny that he was a real man, but like the Jews they see him as an exemplar and rabi, and not any more or less of a deity than we are. For the life of me I can’t find any evidence that Jesus announced himself as a deity.
What will he make of the world today? He would say simply it has no heart.
It is not the man Jesus but the state of being that he exemplified like Buddha and enlightenment. People worship Buddha, but enlightenment is the goal. This is how Buddhists see him too, just not official in any way? Yes. Many schools of Buddhism do acknowledge Jesus as a Buddha, enlightened one. This is in no way an affront to the Christ Consciousness movement. Jesus had a well documented habit of meditation. He had many practices that are really pretty clear in the Bible. I actually had an argument with an Orthodox Christian not too long ago who said he didn’t really have to worry about anything he does because he was “already saved”. That he just had to acknowledge Jesus as his savior. I tend to shy from discussions of Christian doctrine, so I do deliberately limit them. Not because I might be smited, but because I tend to retch when I hear so much hierocracy. Jesus himself had a tirade on the very issue. He was enraged that members of the synagogue were keeping the law and yet defiling the spirit.
I always like how everyone quotes the apostles when in fact Jesus was constantly saying to them “you have ears but do not hear, eyes but do not see”. Yes, he reprimanded his students regularly, and seemed to resent having to resort to parable (a.k.a. metaphor) and he never wrote a single verse in the printed book. If Jesus wanted a book all evidence suggests he was a literate man.
Does the Christ Consciousness movement embrace those parts of Jesus teachings that I’ve heard were deleted from the Bible? The Christ Consciousness movement does indeed, so you won’t really find any temples yet they do meet and talk, but they would tell you Gods place is everywhere.
They practice group meditation and no form of ritualized prayer, thus an observation of the edict to not utter Gods name in vain. They have a rather different take on much of it, but the gospel of Thomas and even new writings are not considered profane or heresy. If anything was heresy, wouldn’t the “divine” Jesus have delineated it? Did he seem inclined to mess with peoples heads? I don’t recall any wording of “just kidding”, or “if you want”, or “I didn’t mean it”, ever having been uttered by him.
It’s taught in part in the Bible, but it is obvious that he had been criticizing the Torah and was challenged. When challenged he said, I paraphrase: I come not to remove the law but to fulfill it, meaning to bring the spirit of the law to the people. As far as even the temporal law he had only this to say, render unto Caesar what is Caesars. His concern seemed to be anything but laws and power over people.
When challenged on adultery law, he answered ‘who among you is without sin (error) let him cast the first stone’. It was legal, but he pointed out basically that all have sinned and fallen short of the grace/glory of God would have to kill everyone. Can’t go about doing that now could they?
His message dealt with “transcendence”. He spoke in parables which were also transcendent truths. Even in his death he forgave saying that they know not what they do, meaning that they can and will transcend their current understanding. Fixed law was not his bag, but rather law that transcended into clarity. Yes, that sums it up.
As is obvious I didn’t take the Christ Consciousness path either. I didn’t stay even with it.
Why did you not? I didn’t because I felt a different calling. The kinship in that spirit didn’t resonate with me. I could feel that spirit in some places, but though it was positive and uplifting there was a very clear sense of “though art other”, “I know thee not”.
It is too bad many of the western Bible belt Christians seem to blow chunks all over their master. This happens in every religion. Yes. Even the title ‘master’ was more meant as master/disciple, not sovereign/subject.
Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.
Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~