Source:
www.nytimes.com
"JERUSALEM — A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus is
causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles, especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the dead after three
days."
I see an interpretation that does not conflict with either Judaism or Christianity. I was wondering if any of you saw it, too.
The Gnostic, apocryphal expression of Christianity does not depict the Resurrection as literal but instead an experience of "Gnosis" that results in
a spiritual rebirth. The "person" of Jesus died but not his flesh.
In 2001, I had a profound mystical experience that lasted for about three and a half days. It was rapturous, it opened my eyes to the oneness of us
all, and revealed to me that there is a unified consciousness distributed among us all that is both personal and impersonal, that "I" cannot die,
and it enhanced my creative and cognitive faculties tremendously. It also gave me quite a headache, but it was worth it. The course of my life changed
entirely after this experience. I had "risen", in effect a new man.
I realized that what the Jesus of the Gnostic tradition was teaching is that this experience is possible; that we can all strive for and reach this
experience and be like him. For years after this experience, I felt that the Church, which had rejected the Gnostic version of Christ, had suppressed
this wonderful news in an effort to control others. What the Church preached was the story of Jesus rather than the teachings of Jesus. I thought this
was boneheaded.
But recently my feelings have changed. You see, if Jesus' truth is really our truth, then what he said may not be as important as what happened to
him. If we can understand how he reached that experience, then we can find out for ourselves what Jesus knew and his understanding of the ultimate
nature of the divine will carry no more weight than our own.
So, there is a path that leads to this experience. Yes, it is found in Jewish mysticism but it is also found elsewhere - in kundalini, for example. No
religion owns this "technology" and some religions do not even seem to know of it. This experience is a human birthright, though few seem to know of
its existence.
Just as Jesus said he did not come to change the law but to fulfill it, mightn't it be that all of the world's great religions were carrying the
same truth but in different clothes? The resurrection of Osiris comes to mind. Giambattista Vico's idea of the four Ages of civilization comes to
mind also, and it might imply that this knowledge resurfaces at intervals when the species is ready for regeneration.
Thoughts?
[edit on 6-7-2008 by applebiter]