Resurrection
- Before Death
(expose - abstract)
For a
majority of us the Christian way of life seems to have lost its meaning. We no
longer look to the Bible for solutions, and a great treasure is going to waste.
This book, therefore, attempts to provide a new approach to this old source of
human transformation. This new approach is not based on the acceptance of any
absurd beliefs nor on a blind euphoric hallelujah spirit; it is instead built
upon the complete acceptance of the here and now. Toward this end, it offers
the reader not only a new interpretation of the New Testament accounts of
resurrection, but also their very practical implications, enhanced by a whole
series of meditations and exercises throughout the text.
The book
begins with a brief introduction to the symbolism of the biblical narrations.
Using two examples from the Old Testament, I demonstrate that the stories
contained in the Bible are never intended to be understood literally as factual
reports or newspaper articles. The authors of the Bible have woven the
historical characters and events into archetypal images. These images reach
into the deepest regions of the soul and can transform each of us into a new
person if only we are prepared to accept the transformation.
The Bible
has in essence only one theme from the very first page to the last, and it
doesn't matter whether one calls it transformation, "rebirth" or even
"resurrection". In the New Testament, this central topic is portrayed
through the image of the resurrection of Jesus. And here it is particularly
important to understand that this key image cannot be interpreted literally.
In the
first large section of my book I therefore place the New Testament accounts of
resurrection in a new light, allowing the reader to "see" the
resurrection from the point of view of our time and culture. The reader is
presented the resurrection directly so that he/she can understand it on the
basis of his/her own personal experiences. How did the apostles see Jesus in
their historical context? On what basis did they experience the
"resurrection"? How were they transformed? The crucifixion of their
Master leaves them in a state of shock and their world view cannot deal with
this catastrophe; as their value system crumbles and they stand before the
void, a new soul awakes within them and takes control of their lives. It is
their own inner being, and that they see - at this moment - as the "son of
man." Each of their lives is placed upon a new foundation from which they
then perceive Jesus in a totally new manner as one among the living. They then
need only a little time to completely transcend their old world. By Pentecost,
they are ready to receive the spirit that had also determined the life of their
Master. This transformation of Pentecost is, however, not a unique Christian
phenomenon, but can be found in all cultures.
The next
section of the book demonstrates how Jesus Himself describes this archetypal
process of becoming. His sermon on the end of the world and the last judgment
already anticipates the transformation of the apostles: "this" world
crumbles and then the "son of man" appears. Jesus explicitly points
out that this is not an event of the distant future: he stresses that several
of his listeners will experience this process of transformation before their
physical death. For these few, the end of the world and the last judgment have
thus already occurred. They are, therefore, not events in the external world,
but rather part of the process of becoming which we all go through. The true
individual in each of us appears only after the demise of our personal world
view. The entire world is then transformed.
In light
of the above, we can answer the questions about the empty grave and the appearance
of the resurrected Jesus in a new manner. It is then clear that it is
unimportant whether the grave was materially empty, but that it is bereft of
the essence, the being of Jesus which has been resurrected - in the apostles.
This resurrection had such a tremendous sense of reality that the later authors
Luke and John described it even in physical terms, even though there is no
evidence of this in the older accounts.
When we
consider how Jesus himself discussed the topic of resurrection, it becomes
clear that He did not stress a personal life after death. The same attitude we
find in Paul. Although he repeatedly speaks of the fate of those who pass away,
he emphasizes the transformation of the living and says that only
"fools" believe that existence simply continues after death. Paul is
also the person who equates the historical Jesus with the archetypal
"Christ," the savior. Here, as in the previous sections, I provide
exercises and meditations to animate the reader to experience
"Christ" and to see that it is his/her own human essence and, in so
doing, understand why Jesus referred to himself as the "son of man."
The
salvation springs anew from the inner soul of each of us and is therefore to be
found in all cultures throughout the history of man. This I demonstrate using
the epistle to the Hebrews in which the death of Jesus is referred to as the
"sacrifice for the new covenant" without viewing this death as a
magical transaction or promising salvation only to those who accept the historical
Jesus as their Savior.
In the
second part of the book, I turn to the real power of redemption present in
Jesus and discuss how it has often been misinterpreted through the ages. I
criticize, for instance, those interpreters who claim that the Christian
doctrine is the "only source of salvation" and that all who do not
follow it are damned. The history of man is itself a continual wave of demise
and resurrection, and even the Christian religion is no exception. Every
attempt to codify the new covenant with God in an orthodox gospel leads only to
another "old covenant" no longer appropriate to the present time. The
Christians are infamous for such attempts. This is the reason behind the
repeated attempts to interpret all of Jesus' comments on the end of time in a
one-sided material manner. The Christians have constructed an entire system of
beliefs on "life after death" and have hardly considered the
transformation of the living. Moreover, our understanding of the beliefs and
teachings of Jesus, which in themselves emanate directly from the experience of
the resurrection, have been formed in part by individuals who have not been
transformed. False interpretations offered by men who have no conception of
transformation have cost many a prophet his/her life, and indeed they lead to
the execution of Jesus and to many other atrocities committed in His name, such
as, the crusades, the inquisition and the burning of witches.
In the
next section of my book, I return to the topic of resurrection and rebirth and
present it as the awakening of the Eternal One in man. The meditation on this
topic allows the reader to experience how, on
Jesus
experienced this rebirth long before His death. His whole life is already
"Eternal Life." But how can we understand Eternal Life? Jesus Himself
says that it is not governed by human perceptions, but rather by "the
Father." Those who enter this realm no longer live for themselves. They
are in direct contact with their origin and therefore feel immediately what
they and those around them need, and they do what is necessary.
In the
conclusion of the book, I discuss the effects of salvation on life. After our
transformation, we accept the Logos, for beyond the world of our own judgments
we become conscious of that loving intelligence that created man from mere
dust. This intelligence is always present, but it will unfold only in those
individuals who trust in its existence and give up their own calculating
rationality. Witness Gideon in the Old Testament who, upon receiving this
spirit, was able to sleigh an army of thirty-thousand men without taking
losses.
All this
is experienced directly by the reader and he/she realizes: we lost