Read the Introduction (“Ye Have Heard That Christ Said“) here.
The leap from reading Christ’s words as human speech to reading them as Universal Truth changes everything.
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To state that Christ’s Message as transmitted through the Gospels is spiritually comprehensive, as a certain highly-regarded author1 has done, is a radical claim.
It is radical in light of many of the “new” challenges we face in modern life (e.g. relating to technology, gender roles and identity, economic and political systems, etc.) that do not appear to have been resolved by Christ.
It is also radical in the light of the many issues and concepts presented in other spiritual works (e.g. those of Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, etc.) that appear to have been ignored by the Gospels.
Nonetheless, after revisiting The Word with redoubled interest, this writer began to realize the truth of this assertion.
Arriving at this perspective involved the recognition of certain aspects of our human psyche that impede correct interpretation of The Word.
The Human Perspective
Being human, we evaluate all words as if they came from another human being. The habit is natural and unconscious, and therefore difficult to consciously engage with.
If Christ is the Son of God, His viewpoint is not human. His Words contain comprehensive, all-encompassing, and eternal meaning.
Heaven and earth shall pass away,
— KJV, Matt 24:35
but my words shall not pass away.
Christ spoke “from Above to Below“. Therefore understanding The Word would involve a “forced” reorientation of the mind to each word. This does not simply happen without a special and humble effort.
Humbly starting with the assumption that one does not understand Christ’s Words turns out to be a good basis for deeper interpretation. It provides an open-mindedness that allows for new insights.
Our “natural” (i.e. effortless, human) approach leads to superficial interpretations.
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An Example
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
–John 8:58
When a human being says “I am“, the meaning is obvious. Whatever is being said pertains to the current state of the speaker.
Applying that “natural” thinking to the Word of Christ doesn’t work.
Everything that is created is an expression of the Will of the Creator.
Therefore our world, our reality, is an expression of the Will of the Creator.
If Christ is One with the Creator, then He is One with His Will, on which our entire reality depends.
Therefore an “I Am” statement from Christ contains something about the World, about the Laws of Creation, about Eternal Truth, about the reality that surrounds us.
It should not only be interpreted as a statement about some person (Himself in a human body) as it would be if the words were uttered by a human being.
In other words: we must take a more impersonal view of the Word of Christ if we are to understand it, if Christ is not a mere person.
Today’s Resolution
- We shall seek to “de-personalize” our attitude to the Word.
- We shall seek to comprehend The Word as coming from a height infinitely far above us, and we shall humbly seek understanding without making presumptions and assumptions.
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