Hallelujah

Original version published in the book "Being Reasonable" by this author

Religion must be one of the greatest instigators of brutality and pain in the history of our species. I know it’s impossible but if we could somehow add up all of the hurt it has caused on one side, and all of the benefits on the other, it would be interesting to see where the balance is. The fact that most of the benefits are supposed to arrive in the "next life" makes that measurement virtually impossible, (and if you believe this is pure coincidence there is this guy named Bernie Madoff who wants to sell you shares in a wonderful investment scheme.)  

Over the ages, religion has been a major tender spot in our psyche because, if we are believers, it promises to extend our identities to the end of time and who doesn't want to live forever or, at least, to a point of our own choosing?  

I was brought up in a Christian environment but not one that was devout and I quickly came to understand that for many "Sunday Christians", like me, membership in an established church is of secondary import, at least most of the time. You always have to maintain in some back corner of your mind how this is where we go during both the saddest and the most joyous occasions in our lives, and tampering with its fundamental truths could prove a scary proposition. If you disagree, and believe yourself open to opposing ideas, or immune to criticism of your mother church, see if you don't twitch a little while I scribble a thumbnail sketch from some recent, and not so recent, research into the myths of Christianity.

More and more publications are appearing based on translations of the Nag Hammadi and Dead Sea scrolls, which are a written record of Biblical times, often by people who witnessed them. As well, popular works by authors such as Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln whom I borrow from profusely with great gratitude, (and which formed the basis for Dan Brown's bestselling "The Da Vinci Code"), have brought to light long suppressed truths surrounding the events leading to how our religion was shaped. It is amazing how far we have drifted, or been pushed away from the realities of Jesus himself.

Christianity, as everyone knows, comes from the root word Christ, referring to Jesus Christ, the son of God, who was born to the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, Judea, approximately 2000 years ago. One popular belief has it that our calendar corresponds with his birth, and December 25th of any given year depicts how old Jesus would have been if he was still alive. Actually, by our dates, he was born in 7 BC and from that calculation 1993 was his 2000th birthday, but that is wrong too because December 25th isn't his birthday. We are not quite sure on which day he was born but January 6th was celebrated as his birthday for the first three hundred years after his death. In the fourth century the Roman Emperor Constantine who, at the time, had also taken over as Pope (thus, the name, Roman Catholic Church), moved Christ's official birthday from January 6th to December 25th to coincide with the festival of Natalis Invictus. It is the festival in honor of Sol Invictus, the sun god. Having two major festivals only a few weeks apart was inconvenient for the empire, and Emperor/Pope Constantine apparently favoured Sol Invictus, so he made an adjustment to Christ's birthday, (Merry Christmas to you too).

Another awkward situation was the Sabbath. The Christian Sabbath was Saturday and the Sun God's was Sunday, (of course), so a large part of the population ended up shut down for two days of the week. In the year 321 this same very practical Emperor/Pope decided that the Christian holy day should also be moved to Sunday thereby scrapping the 4th Commandment, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8 - 11)

It didn't seem to be a problem that Jesus and his Disciples observed Saturday as their holy day, being both Pope and Emperor gave Constantine a certain leeway, even to change the Ten Commandments – and he wasn't finished. In a further effort to combine Christianity and sun worship, Constantine also arranged for the round bright light that formed the head of the sun god to be shifted over onto figures of Christ, thereby creating the Christian halo effect, which remains to this day part of our vision of Jesus. Constantine believed that consolidating the major religions into one entity was an effective political strategy and he worked diligently at it, but he wasn't all about politics. Jesus was voted into “Godhood” (?) at the Council of Nicaea in 325, with Constantine presiding. However, at the same time Emperor Constantine was voted in as a better and more effective Messiah than Jesus. I suppose it's pretty hard to be an emperor and not an egomaniac. After he died the church was able to quietly ignore the second aspect of that vote.

Stepping backward to the time of Jesus of Nazareth it should be noted that Nazareth didn't exist. It came into being a couple hundred years later. The confusion probably came from the mistranslation of Jesus of the Nazarene, describing the particular Judaic sect he was brought up in. Jesus, by the way, is actually the Greek translation of his name. Greek was the main written language of the time. People actually called him, and he referred to himself, as Yeshua, which in English we translate as Joshua, and "Christ" was a hereditary title handed down to every Jewish king from the House of David. Jesus was a direct descendant of David (remember David and Goliath). His father Joseph was the son of Heli who was a direct descendent of Nathan, one of King David's younger sons, this was the main reason Jesus posed a threat to the Romans who had conquered and occupied Judea. To many Jews, Jesus was Jewish royalty and represented a rallying point where they could organize their resistance to the Roman occupation – and he did much to encourage this view.

Jesus was brought up in a privileged environment, well educated, and properly schooled in the craft of being a leader. He was considered very intelligent, witty, and a gifted speaker. For what it is worth, he was born in a manger but not quite as the story goes. All women of his religious faith had to leave home to deliver their babies, the same as they had to leave when menstruating. It was considered unclean to do either in the home. As a result, each community had a building some distance away where women could go, and the one Mary went to was called the Manger.

Jesus apparently was a revolutionary not only in his desire to see his people freed from occupation but in a larger sense as well. When he was born he was widely considered to be illegitimate. If Nazarenes wished to marry they first had to undergo a betrothal ceremony followed by a substantial waiting period, (years), before the wedding can take place. Joseph and Mary didn't quite make it through their rigidly applied period of betrothal and Mary conceived before the scheduled wedding. This scandal tainted Jesus in such a way that certain powerful religious leaders in his sect later suggested his claim to the throne should be forfeit to his younger brother. Whether for this particular reason, or for a host of others, Jesus developed strong personal beliefs that were contrary to many within his religion and community – and he used his position as a hereditary leader to promote these beliefs.

He became well known for taking the side of the underdog and standing up for the weak and poor, and he promoted his idea that Gentiles, non-Jews, should be allowed full status, equal with those who were Jewish by birth, if they accepted Judaism. At this time, various levels of Judaism were enforced depending on family background and tribe of origin. The conflict eventually grew so bitter that he and his followers split from their established sect and formed their own sect of Judaism – what we now define as Christianity.

At this time in history numerous religions existed and competed for legitimacy. Jesus evidently had a knack for finding and motivating devoted followers. Peter and Paul also became legendary in their ability to find new recruits and they did this not simply with their passion but also with their imagination. They were very adept at repackaging Jesus' life, particularly the crucifixion, and other momentous events, in such a way that Christianity became broadly appealing. For instance, when Jesus was still trying to reform the Nazarene sect, he took part in a baptismal service of both Jews and gentiles as the priest. This was against the rules because he was not from the Tribe of Levi or descended from Aaron, where all priests must originate.

To take part in this service the persons being baptized had to wade into the Dead Sea and observe a ceremony where the priest blessed them, and because the priest had to dress in the traditional heavy robes of his office he was allowed to walk out over the water along a narrow jetty built especially for this service. It was referred to as "walking on water". The extraordinary event in the original story was Jesus acting the part of priest and, thus, proclaiming that any devoted member of this sect should be allowed to become a priest. As we are all undoubtedly aware, the story was later altered to become the miracle of Jesus walking on water.

Another valuable technique in gathering followers for your religion was to borrow ideas from the competition. One virtual requirement in this process was that your holy guy must have been born from a God and a Virgin. The Greeks, the Romans, all the neighboring countries, had gods who fit that mold – Adonis, Attis, Dionysos, Tammuz, and Zoroaster to name a few. Therefore, poor old Joseph had to take one for the team and Mary got a celestial lover. (It also helped explain away the early pregnancy.) Tammuz, by the way, died with a wound in his side and rose from his tomb three days later. He even had a rock rolled aside at the entrance to his tomb. Mithraism also proved a fertile ground for the Christian founders. An apocalypse, a day of judgment, a resurrection of the flesh and a second coming, were big tenets of Mithraism. The Mithraic communion might sound a little familiar as well "He who shall not eat of my body nor drink of my blood so that he may be one with me and I with him, shall not be saved".

It is hard to keep a straight face when writing this because as far as I had wandered from my roots in this religion I still feel like a fool when I read it. Five hundred years ago Pope Leo X is quoted as saying "It has served us well, this myth of Christ", but I don't think it has served anyone quite as well as it served church leaders. For two thousand years we believed every detail of Christian dogma. In fact, denying any part of it could lead to anything from community isolation to a horrible death. Meanwhile the church pushed brutal crusades, wars, vicious inquisitions, tight controls on learning, the suppression of women's rights – and it still goes on today to a lesser extent. It was just a few years ago the Irish were killing each other over which sect of Christianity better smoothed your way into heaven.

Why can't we see the silliness of it? Is it the black and white alternatives offered by religion? If we are good little sheep, when we die we rise into Heaven and sit on the right hand of God where, presumably, every wish is fulfilled for all eternity, (does that include sex?). And if we are bad little sheep we sink into Hell and burn in the non-consuming fire for all time. Let's see, the decision comes down to a choice between eternal torture and every wish being fulfilled forever. Hmmm, even if you are just slightly doubtful your best bet is to follow the well-trodden path, particularly when the weight of your culture and community are prodding you in that direction.

Strangely, I still believe there is a place for a church like organization in our society. They do a lot of important charity work and provide a much-needed structure for fellowship in each community - and worldwide. I also believe in a spiritual presence and the need to express our personal spirituality. And I believe everyone feels a desire to leave a legacy, something lasting beyond their lives, whether that includes an immortal spirit, well, your guess is as good as mine. I hope it does, for purely selfish reasons.

The original Christians, including Christ himself, were special people who put their lives on the line to bring more freedom to others. The message they preached was "we are all equal in the eyes of God", and this was a revolutionary message. Theirs was a time of deep social divisions and telling everyone they are equal, regardless of how poor or where you came from, is what brought many people to the church.

Even though that message became a fixture of Christian doctrine it was never more than window dressing for the seceding Christian leaders who quickly set about putting their own spin on the rules. The Christian Church was never designed to serve the people. It was designed to control the people – to restrict freedoms and indenture its followers to the church. I doubt if other religions are very different or other extremely powerful organizations for that matter, but where open education and free speech is allowed the incredible power of the church fades into the shadows and the sooner it happens the better, for all of us.

I haven't called myself a Christian for a long time mostly because of the church's legacy; yet, I seem to need something more than a vague sense of spirituality in my life. Lately I've started to believe that maybe I can be a Yeshua Christian. His rhetoric and charisma have certainly held powerful sway in the world for the past two thousand years. His belief that we are all equal in the eyes of God makes him the ultimate father of the Equal Rights Movement, which, in my opinion, is our best hope for saving this poor planet. Perhaps believing in two-thousand-year-old ideals put forth by a very special man is enough to sustain a spiritual belief.

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