CHRISTIANITY UNDER SIEGE
Philip F. Harris
April 27, 2006
Wherever one turns, basic Christian precepts and dogmas are under attack. From the DaVinci Code, the History and National Geographic TV channels, to the Jesus Papers, the Gospel of Judas, the Gospel of Mary, and the soon to be released novel, Waking God, the very foundations of the Christian body of churches have been forced into the trenches. Long held beliefs and myths are being exposed and open to close examination, forcing even the most faithful to question the true history of their religions.
While there have always been doubters, skeptics and blasphemers, the tenacity of the current onslaught is relentless. The texts of the suppressed Gnostics have finally made their way into the limelight, and their version of Christianity is far different than that portrayed in the carefully selected Church canons. Fundamental questions are being explored. Was Jesus married? Did he have children? Did he really die on the cross? Was there ever an intent to truly form an organized church? Was Jesus even Jewish and did he belong to the secret society known as the Essenes? Did Nazareth exist or was Jesus a Nazarene? Have secret societies preserved a bloodline or perhaps the teacher?s DNA? Was Judas, in fact, the greatest of the disciples?
History shows that from its inception, the Church came under fire. The difference between then, and now, is that in times gone by, the Church wielded totalitarian powers. It was able to suppress dissent at every turn. The Gnostics were ostracized, the heretics burned at the stake, competing religions destroyed or co-opted, and non-believers had to contend with relentless crusades. Things have changed. The long arm of the Church has been reduced in size and power by the Age of Information. No longer in control of the information network and lacking the backing of power-seeking monarchies, the dissemination of alternative versions of church histories can no longer be censored.
Beginning in the 1920?s, works by such men as H. Spencer Lewis portrayed a totally different version of the Passion and the nature of a man called Jesus. Lewis claimed in several works that Jesus was an initiate of a secret society and that rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated. Many of these ideas have been supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls and other documents. No longer in control of censoring its own history, the Church now finds itself on the cusp of a new age skepticism and doubt. While current authors try to portray their works as original, most of their ideas have been around, just not popularized.
Are the siege and the quest for the true Holy Grail just? This observer would say that these efforts are long over due. Christian history is one of blood and deceit. While the Messenger of Christian doctrine can easily lay claim to insights on the true nature of life, much of his message has been perverted, hidden, censored and rewritten. Actually, almost every organized religion has been the root cause of war, human divisiveness, and human misery. They have removed from the thing that we call human the true notion of responsibility. The concepts of ?do as you will and all will be forgiven? as long as you join my church have given humanity a false belief that we do not ?reap what we sow.? Man must take responsibility for his actions and learn that he must solve his own problems. The ?reward of heaven? has driven mankind to the extremes of his nature and forms the basis of the world?s current ills. Terrorism, global rape, the struggle of the poor and homeless, and the lack of basic human freedoms can point their fingers at religions as the root cause of their problems. Does this mean that there are not well meaning members of these churches? Of course not. But it does mean that it is now time to find the true meanings of the teachings our great avatars and move forward into a new age of philosophical enlightenment and spiritual evolution. Has anyone ever heard of a Buddhist crusade or inquisition?
Philip F. Harris
While there have always been doubters, skeptics and blasphemers, the tenacity of the current onslaught is relentless. The texts of the suppressed Gnostics have finally made their way into the limelight, and their version of Christianity is far different than that portrayed in the carefully selected Church canons. Fundamental questions are being explored. Was Jesus married? Did he have children? Did he really die on the cross? Was there ever an intent to truly form an organized church? Was Jesus even Jewish and did he belong to the secret society known as the Essenes? Did Nazareth exist or was Jesus a Nazarene? Have secret societies preserved a bloodline or perhaps the teacher?s DNA? Was Judas, in fact, the greatest of the disciples?
History shows that from its inception, the Church came under fire. The difference between then, and now, is that in times gone by, the Church wielded totalitarian powers. It was able to suppress dissent at every turn. The Gnostics were ostracized, the heretics burned at the stake, competing religions destroyed or co-opted, and non-believers had to contend with relentless crusades. Things have changed. The long arm of the Church has been reduced in size and power by the Age of Information. No longer in control of the information network and lacking the backing of power-seeking monarchies, the dissemination of alternative versions of church histories can no longer be censored.
Beginning in the 1920?s, works by such men as H. Spencer Lewis portrayed a totally different version of the Passion and the nature of a man called Jesus. Lewis claimed in several works that Jesus was an initiate of a secret society and that rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated. Many of these ideas have been supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls and other documents. No longer in control of censoring its own history, the Church now finds itself on the cusp of a new age skepticism and doubt. While current authors try to portray their works as original, most of their ideas have been around, just not popularized.
Are the siege and the quest for the true Holy Grail just? This observer would say that these efforts are long over due. Christian history is one of blood and deceit. While the Messenger of Christian doctrine can easily lay claim to insights on the true nature of life, much of his message has been perverted, hidden, censored and rewritten. Actually, almost every organized religion has been the root cause of war, human divisiveness, and human misery. They have removed from the thing that we call human the true notion of responsibility. The concepts of ?do as you will and all will be forgiven? as long as you join my church have given humanity a false belief that we do not ?reap what we sow.? Man must take responsibility for his actions and learn that he must solve his own problems. The ?reward of heaven? has driven mankind to the extremes of his nature and forms the basis of the world?s current ills. Terrorism, global rape, the struggle of the poor and homeless, and the lack of basic human freedoms can point their fingers at religions as the root cause of their problems. Does this mean that there are not well meaning members of these churches? Of course not. But it does mean that it is now time to find the true meanings of the teachings our great avatars and move forward into a new age of philosophical enlightenment and spiritual evolution. Has anyone ever heard of a Buddhist crusade or inquisition?
Philip F. Harris
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