INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD RELIGION

LESSON 3
D. Prominent features of a Mystery Religion
1. A Mystery Religion was a religion of symbolism
a. Through the use of myth and allegory, iconic representations,
blazing lights and dense darness, liturgies and sacramental acts, as
well as suggestion, the intuitions of the heart of the initiate were
!uicened until s"he was pro#oed into a mystical e$perience.
%1& This e$perience led to a feeling of regeneration, which
was the ob'ect of e#ery initiation.
(. A Mystery Religion was a religion of Redemption.
a. )t professed to remo#e the estrangement between man and *od,
to procure forgi#eness of sins, and to furnish mediation.
%1& Means of purification and the formulae of access to the
*od, and acclamations of confidence and #ictory were part of the
apparatus of e#ery Mystery.
+. The Mystery Religions were systems of *nosis.
a. The Mysteries brought men into contact with that *od ,who
wishes to be nown and is nown to his own.,
%1& They offered an esoteric e!uipment by which the initiate
might ward off the attacs of demons, thwart the menace of -ate, and
after death reach the abodes of the blessed mysteries.
%a& There was something, whether doctrine, symbol, or
di#ine drama, which could not be imparted e$cept by initiation to
those duly !ualified to recei#e it, a supernatural re#elation which
ga#e the recipient a new outloo on life, the world and the deity, and
security that was denied to the uninitiated.
%b& The .mystery. consisted of an ob'ecti#e presentation of
the history of the cult Deity, in his or her struggles, sorrows, and
triumphs, repeated sub'ecti#ely by the initiate in sacramental acts,
together with prayers and liturgic formulae.
/. A Mystery Religion was a 0acramental Drama.
a. The 0acramental Drama appealing primarily to the emotions,
aimed at producing psychic and mystic effects. Thus the neophyte
e$perienced the e$altation of a new life.
1. The mysteries were eschatological religions, ha#ing to do with
the interests and issues of life and death.
a. -or the multitudes, it was the mysteries which illuminated
the hereafter.
2. A mystery religion was a personal religion, to which membership
was open, not by accident of birth into any particular class, but by a
religious rebirth.
3. A mystery religion, as a personal religion, presents another
side, which is the necessary compliment of an indi#idualistic
religion4 that is, it taes on the character of a cosmic religion.
a. The ancients li#ed in a world in which the primiti#e
association of man.s life with the earth and plant and animal life was
a$iomatic, in which the 5ni#erse itself was a rational li#ing being,
in which man by his good deeds might be ele#ated on the path of the
di#ine.
)). A 6R)7- 897R9)7: 8- T;7 MA<8R M=0T7R= R7>)*)8?0
A. -undamental -orce 6ehind De#elopment
1. 8nce, there was no purely .nati#e. or .hermetic. tradition4
only a uni#ersal response by the -irstborn to the 7arth@lore and the
0tar@magic of their shamanic priests.
a. >ater, as the single religious impulse of the -oretime split
into separate cults, these two approaches, which we may thin of as
earthly %or chthonic& and stellar, grew further apart, until the
beginnings of the ;ermetic traditions were seeded in 7gypt and the
;ellenic world, while in 7urope the ?ati#e traditions remained more or
less grounded in the magic of the earth.
%1& This is not to say that *reece and 7gypt did not ha#e
their own nati#e traditions, or that de#elopment of religion and magic
in the Aeltic :est was so primiti#e and slow that it re!uired cross@
fertilization with other sources to pull it into subtle realms of
e$perience.
6. The Ma'or Mystery Religions.
1. )t has often been said the the 7gyptian mysteries are the true
foundation upon which the :estern ;ermetic systems are built.
a. This is due in part to the early identification of the
7gyptian *od Thoth, scribe and guardian of mysteries, with ;ermes
Trimegistos, the supposed founder of :estern occult practice.
%1& 7gypt had many mysteries, none more important that those
of )sis.
%a& ;er name is said to mean .throne., .wisdom., or
.sa#ior., though she possessed many other titles which testify to the
uni#ersality of her cult.
%(& The deepest mysteries of )sis, and her consort@ brother
8siris, the *od of the 0un, re#ol#e around his death at the hands of
his brother 0et, who cut 8siris. body into 1/ parts and scattered them
through the world.
%a& )sis undertoo a terrible 'ourney, suffering great
hardship, seeing out the broen body of her lord and reassembling the
parts.
B1C 0he found and reassembled all but one part, the
phallus, which was thrown into the ?ile and consumed by a fish.
b. Despite this, such was the creati#e power of )sis that she
was able to concei#e by means of an artificial phallus, and bore the
child ;orus who a#enged his father by illing 0et.
%1& This is an archetypical mystery@telling, introducing
themes found later in the teachings of the ;ellenistic schools and in
the wor of modern esoteric orders.
%a& )t prefigures the death and rising of many gods and
show forth the power of the Areati#e Principle.
%b& )t also establishes )sis as Dueen of ;ea#en, more
powerful in the eyes of many than e#en the great god Ra himself, whose
representati#e upon earth was the Pharaoh.
+. )n Mithraism, which descended from the Persian Mysteries,
Mithra stands as a mediator between light and dar, a position adopted
by his followers.
a. )n humanity, the battle for the soul is fought out in the
territory of the flesh. Mithra, entering there, eeps all in balance.
%1& Mithraism was the -reemasonry of the Roman world.
%a& >ie the other cults of 8riental origin, it mo#ed with
the #ast commerce in human beings that was such a notable feature of
the ancient world.
%b& The cult of Mithra is one that tra#eled well, from
0yria to 0cotland.
%c& The Mithraic community was all menE women gra#itated
to the parallel cult of Aybele or the e$clusi#ely female one of 6ona
Dea.
%d& The congregations were small4 no sur#i#ing Mithraeum
could house more than a hundred, but of course bigger lodges may ha#e
formed, and dissol#ed, at army camps, because Mithraism was e$tremely
popular among the Roman >egions.
%e& There were no social barriers, so that sla#es and
pri#ates could become high initiates. The ceremonies were solemnly
enacted and the initiations were !uite awe@inspiring.
b. Mithra was born on the (1th of December, called the ,6irthday
of the 5ncon!uered 0un.,
%1& This date was not taen o#er by the Ahristians for the
birth of their 0a#ior until the /th century 6A7.
c. 0ome said that Mithra sprang from the union of sun god and
his own mother.
%1& 0ome claimed his mother to be a mortal #irgin.
%a& 8thers said Mithra had no mother, but was miraculously
born of a female Roc, the petra genetri$, fertilized by the ;ea#enly
-ather.s phallic lightning.
(. )n the many histories of the ancient world, only one figure is
described as being of greater importance than ;ermes. This is the
Persian mage Foroaster, who may actually ha#e li#ed around 1GGG 6A7.,
or e#en earlier, but who clearly did not predate the foundation of the
7gyptian mysteries from which he drew hea#ily for his own system.
a. )t is from the Persian mysteries that we deri#e the dualistic
spectre which has haunted esoteric philosophy and teaching e#er since.
%1& )n the Foroastrian pantheon these opposing forces are
8rmuzd and Ahriman, who deri#e ultimately from Ahura Mazda, the di#ine
principle.
%a& Hnown as the ;oly )mmortals, or Amesha 0pentas, they
correspond to the le#els of creation, clearly foreshadowing the
teaching of later mystery schools such as those of 8rpheus and Mithra.
%b& Against the 0pentas are arrayed the De#as, the
companions of the 7#il 8ne, who are seen as ruling o#er the earth.
B1C The position of Persian dualism is confused by a
Foroastrian heresy called Fur#anism, which is often mistaen for
mainstream Foroastrianism.
BaC )n Foroastrianism proper, Ahura Mazda is supremely
godE his 0pentas are not on the same footing.
BbC )n Fur#anism, howe#er, Ahura Mazda is made into a
lesser creator or demiurge, hence the cosmic struggle of good against
e#il which taes place in the world of matter.
%(& )n Foroastrian teaching, a sa#ior or saoshyant was to be
born, who would combat e#il and bring the struggle to an end once and
for all, thus betoening the -rasoereti, the maing perfect at the
end of time.
%a& )n this we see an echo of the 7gyptian mysteries, and a
prefiguring of the gnostic position, as well as the appearance of a
third figure which becomes a re!uirement of all dualistic thining
sooner or later. This third figure who will balance out the struggle
is a Messiah.
%b& Mithra.s birth was witnessed by shepherd and Magi, who
brought gifts to his sacred birth@ca#e of the Roc.
d. Mithra performed the usual assortment of miracles @ raising
the dead, healing the sic, maing the blind to see and the lame to
wal, casting out de#ils.
%1& As a .Peter., son of petra, he carried the eys of the
ingdom of hea#en.
e. ;is triumph and ascension to hea#en were celebrated at the
spring e!uino$, when the sun rises toward its apogee.
%1& 6efore returning to hea#en, Mithra celebrated a >ast
0upper with his 1( disciples, who represented the signs of the zodiac.
%a& )n memory of this, his worshippers partoo of a
sacramental bread mared with a cross.
B1C This was one of the se#en Mithraic sacraments. )t
was called mizd, in latin@missa, in english@ mass.
%(& Mithra.s image was buried in a roc tomb, the same sacred
ca#e that represented his Mothers. womb.
%a& ;is image was later withdrawn from the ca#e and was
said to li#e again.
f. :hat began in water would end in fire, according to Mithraic
beliefs.
%1& The great battle between the forces of light and darness
in the >ast Days would destroy the earth with its uphea#als and
burnings.
%a& 9irtuous ones who followed the teachings of the
Mithraic priesthood would 'oin the spirits of light and be sa#ed.
%b& 0inful ones who followed other teachings would be cast
into hell with Ahriman and the fallen angels.
g. Mithra.s ca#e@temple on the 9atican ;ill was seized by the
Ahristians in +32 A7.
%1& Ahristian 6ishops of Rome pre@empted the Mithraic high
priest.s title of Pater Patrum, which became Papa, or Pope.
/. :hile the Mithraic mysteries succeeded those of Foroaster, they
followed those of Dionysus, through which the core of ;ellenic mystery
teaching found its way into the :estern Mystery Tradition.
a. Two streams of consciousness are discerable within the
Alassical mysteries, which might be called Dionysian and Apollonian.
%1& The Apollonian mysteries related to reason, to the hea#ens
and to order4 this is in contradistinction to the chaotic mysteries of
Dionysus.
%a& The priests of Apollo were more interested in wresting
the political power away from the earlier *oddess worshipping peoples
who held sway as the 8racle at Delphi, and so their mysteries were not
so widely spread because they were tied to a specific location and
shrine.
%(& The Mysteries of Dionysus were those of the sacrificial
ingE they pertain to the underworld side of things, the chthonic and
ecstatic cult of maenads and bacchantes.
%a& 8f all the mystery *ods, it is Dionysus whose character
has become most firmly fi$ed in the collecti#e imagination. ;is
worship spells orgies and drunenness4 he personifies the irrational
and uncontrolable urges of manind and beasts4 he dri#es to frenzy
the maenads and the poets.
B1C The myth of Dionysus. origins tells that he was
first born from the union of Feus with Persephone.
BaC Feus designated this .Fagreus. as his heir, but
the 'ealous Titans lured him away while he was yet a child, illed,
dismembered him and de#oured all the pieces e$cept for the heart,
which Athena rescued and preser#ed.
BbC Feus, in anger, reduced the Titans to ashes, from
which the new race of humanity was fashioned. Thus each person
contains a fragment of Dionysus within their .Titanic. earthly body.
BcC -rom the heart of the god was brewed a lo#e@
potion, which was gi#en to 0emele, a mortal, who then forced her
lo#er @Feus again@ into re#ealing himself to her in his primal form.
This un#eiling was so o#erwhelming as to annihilate her, but the child
she was carrying was sa#ed by Feus enclosing it in his loins until
the time came for its birth as the second Dionysus.
B(C The young god grew up in Thrace, sucled by goats and
raised by satyrs and sileni. :hen he reached maturity, he descended
through the Alcyonian >ae to rescue the shade of his mother 0emele
from ;ades and then raised her to 8lympus.
BaC Afterward, accompanied by a motley train of semi@
human beings, maenads and panthers, he set off on wanderings
throughout the world, from >ibya to Arabia to )ndia and thus bac to
his homeland.
B+C 7#erywhere he went he brought humanity nowledge of
agriculture, arts and crafts, and most especially the culti#ation of
the #ine and wine@maing.
BaC 8n the )sle of ?a$os he disco#ered the Aretan
Princess Ariadne, abandoned there by Theseus, and 'oined with her as
her husband. Together they ascended to the hea#ens, whence he offers a
similar blissful reward to his de#otees, temporarily in this life and
permanently after death.
1. There had been an initiatic institution in *reece at 7leusis at
least since the Ith century 6A7, with both *reater and >esser
Mysteries.
a. The function of all lesser mysteries, and e!ually of the
lower grades of initiation was to impart information on the nature of
higher worlds.
%1& The 7leusinian symbolism of corn, pomegranites and poppies
refers to the unseen forces which affect humanity #ia the #egetable
ingdom, building the body and informing the mind.
%a& The intuiti#e grasp of this relationship, in all its
wonder and comple$ity, was summarized in the famous clima$ od the
Mystery, so disappointing to non@initiates, the displaying of an ear
of wheat.
%(& Aertain information was also gi#en at 7leusis by word of
mouth, including the .password to the Paradise of Demeter. to be used
after death.
%a& )n the >esser Mysteries of other gods, it is suggested
that the fact of heliocentricity was re#ealed.
B1C <ewish esotericism includes the teaching of
reincarnation.
BaC 0o >esser Mysteries gi#e the initiates theoretical
nowledge which changes their whole #iew of humanity and the cosmos,
and stands them in better stead when they ha#e to lea#e this world for
the unnown.
b. The Mysteries of Demeter were celebrated e#ery fi#e years at
7leusis.
%1& The candidate of the >esser Mysteries underwent a symbolic
'ourney in which the !uest of Demeter for her lost daughter Persephone
in ;ades was reenacted with the would@be candidate in the role of
Demeter.
%a& The 'ourney within was that of the darened soulE the
candidate passed through a door into total darnessE if they sur#i#ed
the e$periences met within they passed through a second door into
brilliant light @ symbolizing rebirth into the hea#enly sphere. ;ere
they actually meet the gods, e$periencing Demeter.s 'ourney as their
own reco#ery of lost enlightenment.
c. The function of the *reater Mysteries of 7leusis was to bring
about direct contact with the beings who inhabit the higher worlds.
%1& The higher grades of initiation were conducted
indi#idually rather than collecti#ely as in the >esser Mysteries.
%a& The )nitiation of )sis were gi#en to those selected by
the *oddess through ha#ing had significant dreams, whether they were
laity, priests or priestesses.
%b& )n the inner truth of the 7leusinian mysteries, the
birth of the soul into matter is seen as death4 only through
participation in the mysteries can the initiate rise to a timeless
reality where he is utterly free and ali#e.
B1C The soul sleeps in the body for most of the time,
awaening only when it has been transformed by ritual and the use of
an initiatory drin.
BaC To die without this e$perience is to sleep
fore#er or to wander houseless in the ca#erns of ;ades.
%(& The primary ob'ecti#e in these initiations was to tae
the candidate through the gates of death.
%a& As in shamanic, Masonic, and other later initiations,
the candidate was placed in a trance, the consciousness taen out of
the body, and in this state to e$perience higher states of being and
meet some of the denizens of the in#isible worlds.
B1C Through direct e$perience the candidates would
learn that they could li#e freely without their physical bodies, and
that the gods they worshipped were perfectly real.
BaC Then they would return to earth fully con#inced
of their own immortality and prepared to meet death fearlessly,
nowing it is the gate to freedom and the soul.s true home.
2. As a descendant of Dionysus, 8rpheus is the intellectual image
of a demi@god, raised to deity by his sufferings in the underworldE a
perfect symbol for all who follow the paths of the mysteries.
a. The mo#ement from the cult of Dionysus and Apollo to 8rphism,
mars a change from a more primiti#e religious response towards an
ethically@based philosophy and mysticism which included belief in the
transmigration of souls, reincarnation and the final assumption into
godhead.
%1& 8rpheus has the lyre and the gift of music from Apollo,
yet ends lie Dionysus, torn apart by Thracian bacchantes.
%a& The shamanic practices of the ?ati#e Tradition
o#erlapping the priestly function of the mystery school.
B1C The suffering of 8rpheus, who loses 7uridice
%through fear, the first pitfall of all mystery nowledge& and is then
dismembered by the Maenads, is a paradigm of the suffering and rebirth
of the sleeping soul.
b. The 8rphic mysteries are comple$ in the e$treme.
%1& The most important aspect of the 8rphic Mysteries was that
humanity and the gods are related.
%a& At a most subtle and sensiti#e le#el a blurring of the
edges occurs, an o#erlapping of human consciousness and di#ine
awareness.
B1C ,7#erything that li#es is ;oly, becomes a reality in
the interaction of the di#ine and the mundane.
%(& The hierarchy of spiritual creation is supremely comple$,
but the gods are lie a ladder, a system of related possibilities, the
potentiality of which is seeded within the whole of creation.
%a& :e are all related, not 'ust in a familial sense but
also to e#erything elseE earth and water, sy and stone4 not only
because all of creation is made up of different combinations of
molecules, but because we are all a part of the di#ine hierarchy.
B1C This is the true meaning of the mystery teaching
concerning the di#ine spar4 the god lie potential of humanity is far
better e$pressed by this means.
BaC The di#ine fragment is that part of us which is
always seeing reunion, a reassembly of separated parts into the whole
from which they were created4 a return to the paradisial state.
c. The 8rphic school was, abo#e all, syncretic.
%1& 8rpheus is credited with the dissemination of the
mysteries, with passing on rather than in#enting much that became the
basis of subse!uent *reco@Roman theosophy.
%a& Pythagoras followed many of the 8rphic teachings and
made 8rpheus the central deity of his own esoteric system,
establishing a canon of 8rphic ;yms.
%(& 6etween the 8rphic mysteries and their partial re#i#al in
the Rennaisance, there is a long gap not only in time but in
understanding.
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A. The -oundation of Ahristianity
1. Most people thin of Ahristianity as if it were a single
specific thing, a coherent, homogeneous, and unified entity.
a. Ahristianity is nothing of the sort.
%1& There are numerous forms of Ahristianity
%a& Roman Aatholic
%b& Russian 8rthodo$
%c& *ree 8rthodo$
%d& Ahurch of 7ngland %Anglican&, formed by Hing ;enry the 9)))
%e& 9arious other forms of Protestantism
B1C -rom the original >utheranism and Aal#inism of the
12th century to such relati#ely recent de#elopments as 5nitarianism.
%f& There are multitudinous ,fringe, or ,e#angelical,
congregations.
B1C 0uch as the 0e#enth Day Ad#entists, the <eho#ah.s
:itnesses and the Assembly of *od.
%g& And there are assorted contemporary sects and cults.
B1C >ie the Ahildren of *od and the 5nification Ahurch
of Re#erend Moon.
b. )f one sur#eys this bewildering spectrum of beliefs @ from
the rigidly dogmatic and conser#ati#e to the radical and ecstatic@ it
is difficult to determine what e$actly constitutes Ahristianity.
(. )f there is a single factor that does permit one to spea of
Ahristianity, a single factor that does lin the otherwise di#erse and
di#ergent Ahristian creeds, it is the ?ew Testament and more
particularly the uni!ue status ascribed by the ?ew Testament to <esus,
his Arucifi$ion and Resurrection.
a. 7#en if one does not subscribe to the literal or historical
truth of those e#ents, acceptance of their symbolic significance
generally suffices for one to be considered a christian.
+. )f there is any unity then, in the diffuse phenomenon called
Ahristianity, it resides in the ?ew Testament @ and more specifically,
in the accounts of <esus nown as the four *ospels.
a. These accounts are popularly regarded as the most
authoritati#e on record.
%1& And for many Ahristians they are assumed to be both
coherent and unimpeachable.
b. -rom childhood one is led to belie#e that the story of <esus,
as it is preser#ed in the -our *ospels, is if not *od@inspired, at
least definiti#e.
%1& The -our 7#angelists, supposed authors of the *ospels, are
deemed to be unimpeachable witnesses who consistantly reinforce and
confirm each other.s testimony.
c. 8f the people who today call themsel#es Ahristians,
relati#ely few are aware of the fact that the four *ospels not only
contradict each other in more than one way, but at times they
#iolently disagree.
6. The 8rigin and 6irth of <esus
1. 0o far as popular tradition is concerned, the origin and birth
of <esus are well enough nown.
a. )n reality, the *ospels, on which that tradition is based,
are considerably more #ague on the matter.
%1& 8nly two of the *ospels @ Matthew and >ue @ say anything
at all about <esus. origins and birth4 and they are flagrantly at odds
with each other.
%a& According to Matthew, <esus was an aristocrat, if not a
rightful and legitimate ing @ descended from Da#id #ia 0olomon.
%b& According to >ue, on the other hand, <esus. family,
though descended from the house of Da#id, was of somewhat less e$alted
stoc.
%c& And it is on the basis of Mar.s account that the
legend of the ,poor carpenter, came into being.
%(& )n short, the two genealogies are so striingly discordant
that they might well be referring to !uite different indi#iduals.
(. The discrepencies between the *ospels are not confined to the
!uestion of <esus. ancestry and genealogy.
a. According to >ue, <esus, on his birth, was #isited by
shepherds.
%1& 6ut according to Matthew, he was #isited by ings, the
Magi.
b. According to >ue, <esus. family li#ed in ?azareth.
%1& -rom here they are said to ha#e 'ourneyed, for a census
%that history suggests ne#er in fact occurred& to 6ethlehem, where
<esus was born in the po#erty of a manger.
c. 6ut according to Matthew, his family had been fairly well to
do residents of 6ethlehem all along, and <esus himself was born in a
house.
%1& )n Matthew.s #ersion ;erod.s persecution of the innocents
prompts the family to flee into 7gypt, and only on their return do
they mae their home in ?azareth.
+. The information in each of these accounts is !uite specific and
@ assuming the census did occur @ perfectly plausible.
a. And yet, the information itself simply does not agree. The
contradiction cannot be rationalized.
%1& There is no possible means whereby the two conflicting
narrati#es can both be correct, and there is no means whereby they can
be reconciled.
%a& :hether one cares to admit it or not, the fact must be
recognized that one or both of the *ospels are wrong.
B1C )n the face of so glaring and ine#itable a
conclusion, the *ospels cannot be regarded as unimpunable.
BaC ;ow can they be unimpunable@ when they are
inconsistent with each otherJ
/. The more one studies the *ospels, the more the contradictions
between them become apparent.
a. They can not e#en agree on which day the Arucifi$ion too
place.
%1& According to <ohn, the Arucifi$ion occurred on the day
before the Passo#er.
%a& :hereas, Mar, >ue, and Matthew insist that it
occurred on the day after.
b. ?or are the *ospels in accord on the personality and
character of <esus.
%1& 7ach depicts a figure who is patently at odds with the
figure depicted by the others.
%a& A mee, lamblie 0a#ior in >ue.
%b& A powerful and ma'estic so#ereign in Matthew who comes
,not to bring peace but a sword.,
c. There is further disagreement about <esus. last words on the
cross.
%1& )n Matthew and Mar the words are, ,My *od, my *od, why
hast thou forsaen meJ,
%(& )n >ue, the words are@,-ather, into they hands ) commend
my spirit.,
%+& And in <ohn they are simply ,)t is finished.,
1. :ith these discrepancies, they can only be accepted as highly
!uestionable, and certainly not as definiti#e.
a. They do not represent the perfect word of A?= *od4 or if they
do, *od.s words ha#e been 97R= liberally edited, censored, re#ised,
glossed and rewritten by human hands.
A. <esus and the 7ssenes
1. As we ha#e seen, the <udaic religion was still a tribal
religion offering little chance for indi#idual sal#ation during a time
when people were looing for some assurance that they mattered beyond
which tribe, or city or pro#ince they came from.
a. Mystery religions were well established in the east and
maing inroads into Rome herself.
%1& )n addition to the Pharisees and 0adducees who were #ying
for control of <erusalem at the time of <esus. life, there was a sect
of ascetics nown as the 7ssenes.
%a& )t has been said that the 7ssenes were the founders of
a Mystery religion based along the lines of the sun worshipping
Persian anchorites, who in turn e#ol#ed their system from <ain yogis
professing to wor miracles by li#ing apart from the world and
practicing e$treme self denial.
B1C -rom historians and chroniclers writing at the time,
it is nown that the 7ssenes maintained communities throughout the
;oly >and.
BaC A large colony of 7ssenes occupied the Dumran
community from 11G 6A7 to the fall of <erusalem in 3G A7, with a
significant period of #acancy during the reign of ;erod, +1 6A7 @ /
A7.
(. <esus, <ohn the 6aptist, and 0imon Magus are said to ha#e been
trained in 7ssenic communities.
a. <esus. parents, <oseph and Mary, are also said to belong to
the 7ssenic mo#ement and <esus may ha#e recei#ed his rabbinical
training in their schools.
%1& <ohn the 6aptist is thought by some to ha#e been an
.ad#ance man. to prepare the way for <esus to fulfill the old
prophecies of being the Messiah.
%a& 6ut there is abundant e#idence that <esus not only new
what the prophecies were concerning the Messiah, but went to great
lengths to plan for and carry out the prophecies.
+. The 7ssenic hierarchy included a chief priest called the
Ahristos %Annointed 8ne&, ,head of the entire Aongre@ gation of
)srael.,
a. There were ordinary priests called the ,sons of Aaron,, and
another functionary nown as the Messiah of )srael.
%1& The Messiah of )srael was also called Teacher of
Righteousness.
%a& ;e suffered physical abuse in atonement for the sins of
the entire community, enduring ,#indicti#e sentences of scourging and
the terrors of painful sicnesses, and #engeance on his fleshly body.,
D. A Radical 9iew
1. The following is a scenario of what the historical <esus might
ha#e been all about based on looing at the *ospels without the
trappings added after Ahristianity was transported to Rome and changed
to bring it into alignment with competing religions.
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0TAT7M7?T 8- H?8:? -AAT 65T 6A07D 8? T;7 -AAT0 H?8:? A?D T;7 ;)0T8R=
8- T;7 T)M70 A?D 8T;7R R7>)*)8?0.
a. )ncluded in this scenario, but of little importance to our
discussion, is that <esus may ha#e been married and ha#e li#ing
descendants to this day. Remember that Rabbis had always been allowed
to marry.
%1& <esus was a priest@ing, an aristocrat and legitimate
claimant to the throne of Palestine, who embared on an attempt to
regain his rightful heritage.
%a& ;e was belie#ed to be a nati#e of *alilee, which was a
traditional hotbed of opposition to the Romans.
%(& ;e had numerous noble, rich and influential supporters
throughout Palestine, including the capital city of <erusalem.
%a& 8ne of these supporters, a powerful member of the
0anhedrin, may also ha#e been his in.
%+& )n the <erusalem suburb of 6ethany was possibly the home
of either his wife or his wife.s family4 and here on the e#e of his
triumphal entry into the capital, the aspiring priest@ing resided.
%a& ;ere he established the center for his mystery cult.
%b& ;ere he augmented his following by performing ritual
initiations, including that of his brother@in@law.
B1C A mystery initiation being the meaning behind the
.miracle. of raising >azarus from the dead.
%/& 0uch an aspiring priest@ing would ha#e generated powerful
opposition in certain !uarters.
%a& Amongst the Roman administration,
%b& And perhaps amongst the entrenched <udaic interests
represented by the 0adducees.
B1C 8ne or both of these interests apparently contri#ed
to thwart his bid for the throne.
BaC 6ut in their attempt to e$terminate him they were
not as successful as they had hoped to be.
%1& The priest@ing had friends in high places.
%a& These friends, woring in collusion with a corrupt,
easily bribed Roman procurator, appear to ha#e engineered a moc
crucifi$ion, on pri#ate grounds, and thus inaccessible to all but a
select few.
B1C :ith the general populace ept at a con#enient
distance, an e$ecution was then staged.
BaC )n which a substitute too the priest@ing.s
place on the cross or in which the priest@ing did not actually die.
B(C Toward dus, further impeded #isibility, the .body.
was remo#ed to an opportunely ad'acent tomb.
BaC -rom which, a day or two later, it .miraculously.
disappeared.
(. )f <esus was a legitimate claimant to the throne, it is
probable that he was supported, at least initially, by a relati#ely
small percentage of the populace.
a. ;is immediate family from *alilee, certain members of his own
aristocratic social class, and a few strategically placed
representati#es in <udaea and the capital city of <erusalem.
%1& 0uch a following, albeit distinguished, would hardly ha#e
been sufficient to ensure the realization of his ob'ecti#es or the
success of his bid for the throne.
%a& )n conse!uence, he would ha#e to recruit a more
substantial following from other classes.
B1C <esus promulgated a message that attempted to do
'ust that.
BaC A message to offer hope to the downtrodden, the
afflicted, the disenfranchised, the oppressed.
BbC )t was a message with a promise.
B(C There is no e#idence that he promulgated this
message with cynicism, for he truly acted as though he too his role
as priest to the people of )srael as seriously as he did his role as
heir@apparent.
B+C ;is message was ethical and political.
BaC )t was directed toward a particular segment of
the population in accordance with political considerations.
b. <esus. message, as it appears in the *ospels, is neither new
nor wholly uni!ue.
%1& 6ut if the message, as such, was not entirely original,
the means of transmitting it probably was.
%a& <esus himself was undoubtedly an immensely charismatic
indi#idual.
B1C ;e may well ha#e had an aptitude for healing and
other such .miracles..
BaC ;e most certainly possessed a gift for
communicating his ideas by means of e#ocati#e and #i#id parables.
BbC :hich did not re!uire any sophisticated training
for his audience, and made them accessible, in some sense, to the
populace at large.
c. Moreo#er, unlie his 7ssene teachers, <esus was not obliged
to confine himself to forecasting the ad#ent of a Messiah.
%1& ;e could claim to be that Messiah.
%a& And this, !uite naturally, imparted greater authority
and credibility to his words.
+. )t is clear that by the time of his triumphal entry into
<erusalem, <esus had recruited a following.
a. 6ut this following seems to ha#e been composed of two !uite
distinct elements4 whose interests were not precisely the same.
%1& 8n the one hand, there seemed to be a small nucleus of
,initiates, @ immediate family, other members of the nobility, wealthy
and influential supporters.
%a& :hose primary ob'ecti#e was to see their candidate
installed on the throne.
%(& 8n the other hand, there seems to ha#e been a much larger
entourage of .common people. @ the ran and file.
%a& :hose primary ob'ecti#e was to see this message, and
the promise it contained, fulfilled.
b. )t is important to recognize the distinction between these
two factions.
%1& Their political ob'ecti#e @ to establish <esus on the
throne @ would ha#e been the same.
%a& 6ut their moti#ations were #ery different.
7. Ahristianity after <esus
1. :hen the bid to put <esus on the throne of Palestine failed,
the uneasy alliance between the two factions fell apart.
a. The strength of the message that <esus had used to gain his
following had captured the hearts and minds of the followers who were
not ,insiders, and they fought to eep the hope ali#e.
%1& >ittle is said of the followers who baced <esus in the
hopes of garnering power from ha#ing helped their friend to the throne
but it may well be imagined that they continued to fight for
independence from Rome and many may well ha#e perished at Masada.
%a& The first ma'or crisis for the early christians was
whether they could afford to be associated with the <ewish peoples,
who were becoming increasingly rebellious toward Rome.
B1C )t was clear that Rome would ha#e to tae action
against the rebels.
BaC Against this bacdrop the early christians needed
to decide whether it was necessary to first be a <ew before becoming a
christian.
K1L 0aint Paul, always adept at reading the
writing on the wall, decided it was not. )t was also Paul who decided
that the best place to tae the new religion was the heart of the
empire where there were many oppressed and downtrodden gentiles who,
#ery possibly would be recepti#e to the message of hope.
(. The new religion was oriented primarily toward a Roman or
Romanized audience.
a. Thus the role of Rome in <esus. death was of course
whitewashed, and guilt was transferred to the <ews.
%1& 6ut this was not the only liberty taen with e#ents to
render them palatable to the Roman world.
%a& -or the Roman world was accustomed to deifying its
rulers, and Aaesar had already been officially instated as a god.
B1C )n order to compete, <esus, whom nobody had
pre#iously deemed di#ine, had to be deified as well.
BaC )n Paul.s hands, he was.
+. 6efore the message could be successfully disseminated from
Palestine to 0yria, Asia Minor, *reece, 7gypt, Rome and western
7urope, the new religion had to be made acceptable to the people of
those regions.
a. And it had to be capable of holding its own against already
established creeds.
b. The new god needed to be comparable in power, ma'esty, and in
his repertoire of miracles, to those he was intending to displace.
%1& )f <esus were to gain a foothold in the Romanized world of
his time, he had to become a full@fledged god.
%a& ?ot a Messiah in the old sense of the term, not a
priest@ing, but *od )ncarnate.
B1C :ho, lie his 0yrian, Phoenician, 7gyptian, and
classical counterparts, passed through the underworld and the
harrowing of ;ell, and emerged re'u#enated, with the spring.
BaC )t was at this point that the idea of the
Resurrection first assumed such critical importance, and for a fairly
ob#ious reason, to place <esus on a par with Tammuz, Adonis, Attis,
8siris, and all the other dying and resurrected gods who populated
both the world and the consciousness of their time.
%b& -or precisely this reason the doctrine of the #irgin
birth was promulgated.
%c& And the 7aster festi#al, the festi#al of death and
resurrection, was made to coincide with the spring rites of other
contemporary cults and mystery schools.
/. *i#en the need to disseminate a god myth, the actual corporeal
family of the .god. and the political and dynastic elements in his
history would become superfluous.
a. -ettered as they were to a specific time and place, they
would ha#e detracted from his claim to uni#ersality.
%1& Thus, to further the claim of uni#ersality all political
and dynastic elements were rigorously e$cised from <esus. biography.
%a& Also all references to Fealots, for e$ample, and
7ssenes, were also discreetly remo#ed.
b. 0uch references would ha#e been embarrassing.
%1& )t would not ha#e appeared seemly for a god to be in#ol#ed
in a political and dynastic conspiracy. 7specially one that failed.
1. )n the end nothing was left but what was contained in the
*ospels.
a. An account of mythic simplicity, occurring only incidentally
in the Roman occupied Palestine of the first century, and primarily in
the eternal present of all myth.
7?D 8- >7008? +
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