The Crucifixion Conspiracy – a Preamble
In the Bible’s New Testament, the self-proclaimed “apostle” Paul established the contemporary Christian church’s beliefs related to the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ – namely, that Jesus did indeed die on the cross, that he was indeed buried for three days thereafter, and that he did indeed rise from the dead into everlasting life …
“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day … If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and our faith has been in vain.” ~ Paul (1 Corinthians 15:3-4+13-14)
And in those same epistles, Paul often quite adamantly stated that any theological divergences from his own beliefs about Jesus Christ were not only illegitimate, but damned as well …
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or a messenger from heaven itself should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we have already proclaimed, let that one be accursed.” ~ Paul (Galatians 1:6-8)
Now this is all fine & good for those Christians who are still satisfied worshiping a god of wrath & judgment; a god whose “love” is given only conditionally, and given only to those few who prove themselves “worthy” of the same. And yet for thousands upon thousands (if not hundreds of thousands – if not even millions) of their spiritual brethren, such a godhead reeks of unjust tyranny. For these slowly reawakening “Followers of Jesus’ Way” (and those already walking that Way), the brittle love of such a petty god is simply not enough. These believers know deep within their Souls that God is somehow greater; that His LOVE knows no such limitations – and that the LOVE of His son Jesus Christ was & remains just as perfect & just as true.
And as it turns out, in a delicious twist of irony, Jesus himself had a similarly progressive — if not downright “radical” — view of Heaven & Salvation, along with the LOVE that was (& still is) required for us to attain both or either. Consider the following small sampling of the hundreds of similar verses showing this to be so:
*Jesus on Heaven: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of Heaven is even now at hand. Alter your ways, and believe in my Good News … For the Kingdom of Heaven is not coming in the future with material things that be observed … For in fact, the Kingdom of Heaven is already within you.” ~ Mark 1:15 & Luke 17:20-21
*Jesus on Salvation: “I am an embodiment of the resurrection, and a reflection of the Life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, are truly alive.” ~ John 11:25 [note that the Greek “zao”, normally written as “shall” or “will be” in English Bibles, is actually more appropriately translated in the present tense – as “is” or “are”]
*Jesus on Redemption: “And behold, one came to [Jesus] and said, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I might have eternal life?’ And [Jesus] said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? There is no one good but one, and that is God. And yet if you would enter into eternal life, keep the Commandments … Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and will do even greater works than these … And by this will everyone know that you are my disciples: when you show Love to one another.” ~ Matthew 19:16-17 & John 14:12 & John 13:35
For those of you who resonate with these more gentle passages of scripture (and any others like them) – for all you newfound “Followers of The Way” who are letting the Truth in their Souls speak louder than the transcripts of each Sunday’s sermons, it is becoming less & less important to worship Jesus Christ as the physically resurrected Son of God – and more & more important to simply live as he lived, to serve as he selflessly served, and to care as he courageously cared.
Of course, for a still-significant portion of the Christian community (all evangelicals, fundamentalists, and literalists – really any Christians who still consider themselves to be spiritually “conservative”), these ideals are borderline blasphemy — if not downright heretical. For these folks, there is only one set of beliefs supported by the scriptures – their beliefs – and all other ideas or interpretations thereof are to be dismissed, or rejected, or ridiculed … or even condemned.
Needless to say, this is not a recipe for Peace … And seeing as how a significant portion of the world’s population (over 32%, as of 2012), how the vast majority of Americans in general (over 77%, also as of 2012), and how almost all of the so-called “leaders” of the United States (over 90%, as of 2013) consider themselves to be members of a Bible-based religion, we come to the crux of the matter: namely, what does the Bible itself have to say on this very important matter? Or a question better posed: does the Bible itself provide an alternative explanation for what happened that very first Easter weekend; an explanation that is – for believers & non-believers alike — more-peaceful, more-accepting &, for lack of a better term, more Loving?
Well I have some Good News for you all: INDEED IT DOES!
Now before I begin illuminating this new & nuanced theory, I want you all to know right up front that I in no way intend to claim that I have hereby found “the answer” related to what the Bible “actually says”, nor do I wish in any way to intimate that I know what “actually happened” on those fateful days in & around Jerusalem some 2000+ years ago.
In essence, I admit right away that atheists might be right in saying that none of it actually happened; that the entire Bible is just a collection of fairy tales & primitive superstitions; that the early Christians merely mass-hallucinated the return of their dearly missed Savior; or that Jesus didn’t physically return to them at all … And I admit as well that conservative Christians might be just as correct in believing that it all happened just as the church says it did; that Jesus was indeed the only Son of God; that he was merely obediently following the “spiritual script” that God mandated him to follow; that he really did die on the cross, that he really was entombed for three days, and that he really did physically rise from the dead to spread a message of redemption for those very few who eventually chose to worship him as their only “personal Lord & Savior”.
“Fair enough”, to both these extremes, I say … Neither resonates with my own personal take on the either the contents or the worth of Biblical scripture, and yet I humbly admit that either of these theories might be truthful.
Of course, right or not, the former group (composed primarily of secular humanists & “New Agers”) is completely missing out on the amazing psychological & sociological Truths that can only be gleaned & appreciated by actively emulating The Way of Christ that the Jesus of the Biblical Gospels illustrates … while the latter group (composed exclusively of conservative Christians), right or not, is completely missing out on worshiping an equally worthy, equally available & equally “real” God of perfect Love & unconditional Mercy & compassionate Justice – a deity who just happens to cohabitate with their more wrathful god; who can just as readily be found in the neighboring verses of the very same Bible.
That having been said, what I AM offering with this short book is an alternative – a “Middle Path” or “Narrow Way”, if you will … one that is both ethically sound and fully supported by scripture.
So, regardless of your particular religious inclinations – be they Christian or atheist or anything “in between”, I offer the following deeper glimpse into the very first Easter, with the faith that opening yourself to its possibilities will make the deep-seated Peace & radiant Joy of Jesus’ selfless Way more readily available to you & yours in your everyday lives.
Amen … Let it be so.
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