The foundation of the Christian Church is about the life and teachings of the Christ. The importance of these teachings is reflected in their impact upon billions of people worldwide for many centuries now. One of the core elements is of course the crucifixion itself, and there are many interpretations as to the meaning and significance of this event outside Christian theology. Within all the denominations of Christianity, there has unfortunately been too much emphasis placed on the death aspect of the crucifixion rather than the life aspect of the Christ himself, his teachings, and what his resurrection was intended to represent for us. For those of us who have attended any church service, we are reminded of the Christ’s death with the image of the Christ and the crucifix right in front of us. The problem with this type of presentation is not so much about a constant need to remember his death, but what the teachers in the Church intended us to understand about it. In other words, what have the leaders wanted us to focus on in terms of its meaning? Let’s consider a couple of points here:
The Significance of the Death of Christ
Because of the inappropriate emphasis being placed on the death aspect of the crucifixion, it has created within us a very unfortunate experience of incredible guilt. Most of us may not be totally conscious of this reality, but it is there and most certainly affects our thinking and behavior. This has created within us a belief system that is subtle but very powerful, you see. It concerns the whole idea that the purpose of the Christ was to die for our sins. This perspective that the Church has acquired and then presented to us is quite limited and not very helpful. This belief, created by the Church, has allowed us to feel that we’re “sinners” and are therefore “bad”. We’re in fact so bad that it required a great spiritual teacher to come and show us, through a horrible death, that it was necessary for him to take care of things for us. This has created a feeling within us that we are somehow responsible for this event and that we created the terrible suffering the Christ experienced. This is a serious misunderstanding of the Christ’s purpose. Unfortunately, the Church has established itself as a way to remind us that we’re guilty and must therefore follow certain practices, that only they can provide, such as penance and prayer. This is certainly not the only purpose of the Church, but it has come time for them to clarify the teachings to be more reflective of the life and teachings of the Christ. Prayer is very powerful and positive, but not within the context of the Church’s current presentation. How ironic that the foundation of the Church is based on the Christ dying for our sins, but we still have to punish ourselves anyway. It is clear that what has been created by the Church is a prison, of which there is apparently no escape. This belief system certainly benefits the Church and what it needs, but has clearly had some harmful effects on us, for sure. Thankfully, life can indeed be experienced in a much different way by understanding the universal meaning of the Christ’s resurrection.
The Significance of the Life Aspect of Christ
Within the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, which we can understand to be a more universal approach to spirituality, it is the life aspect of Christ that is relevant through the resurrection. One of the more significant aspects of the Christ’s purpose in his resurrection was that, although the physical body will most assuredly die at some point, the soul continues to live on. From an esoteric or universal perspective, our “consciousness” or “soul” will move on. Our soul has been created from the life of God, and once created, can never be destroyed. In this sense, the Christ came here to show us that the idea of death is a myth and nothing more. In other words, our physical body is but a temporary vehicle of the larger expression and experience of our soul. This is very important for us to understand because it provides for us a real sense of freedom and ease within our experience here. It may be true that our irrational fear of death is due to the “illusion” of physical reality and a physical form being a permanent state of affairs if you will, but this is not accurate from the viewpoint of a God or Universal perspective. The experience of ourselves as a soul is far more limitless than the teachings of the Church indicate. I’m afraid the Church has done a poor job at explaining what our true spiritual reality actually is. The perpetuation of “heaven and hell” has placed unnecessary controls and limitations within our minds about our experience and belief systems in general, and has created a very limited, fear-based perception of our lives thereby. As unfortunate as this may seem, there is a way out. An expansion of our minds and the beliefs they contain may provide us with the answers we are seeking. The events of the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of the Christ were in fact a symbolic representation of the continuation of our life and consciousness. Let’s take a closer look.
Rebirth
The concept of reincarnation or multiple lives is not given due consideration in much of western culture. It’s certainly not discussed within Christian theology in any meaningful way, which is a major cause of it being considered “unacceptable” in western thinking. It is however a core principle within eastern religions and philosophies. If we consider the world population at large, the idea, or concept, of rebirth is believed by more of humanity than not. This of course does not necessarily mean that it is correct, but it may be worth looking into. Within the “Ageless Wisdom Teachings”, which is my area of study and experience, it is also a well-accepted core principle and a basis or foundation to esoteric thought. These teachings can be considered as a bridge between the ancient eastern spiritual philosophies and the development of western Christianity and the western rational type of mind. Our goal is to always gain a more universal and inclusive understanding of our spirituality. As a beginning to the process, we can accept an idea or concept as a premise and then see where it leads us. From a practical perspective, we simply want to feel better about ourselves and the world in which we live. We most certainly want to have some sense of a spiritual purpose as well. If we desire this enough, we’ll pursue a path to achieve a sense of well-being by taking a little more risk in our thinking and what it is we want to believe. Because I was raised as a Christian, it was very difficult and scary to go against the teachings of the Church in my pursuit of spiritual understanding. It took a long time to sort out my feelings, experience the fear and go ahead anyway. I can assure you that there has been no retribution or punishment by the Church, God, or otherwise. I intended for my life to make sense. The study of various philosophies has allowed me an opportunity to adopt a system of beliefs where the world makes a lot more sense, and it has most definitely made me feel better about myself and the world in general. The idea of rebirth changed the entire dynamic of how I view reality. I can tell you that this concept is well-founded in the scriptures as well, although much of this important information has been removed or twisted to suit the needs of the Church. It’s important to understand, however, that the idea of rebirth is somewhat veiled in a symbolic approach, and this may require more research and study on our part. If we want to understand, we must do the work ourselves. It’s important to remember that a healthy dose of skepticism is not only OK but necessary in our pursuits, as we cannot accept the words of others without finding their validity within our own experience. Consider the following points as a way to begin the expansion of your own thought processes, as they have certainly benefited me in my experience:
Level of Intelligence
As we view humanity, we notice vast differences in the knowledge, experience, and capacity for understanding within each individual. This can be confusing if we accept the premise that we all come from the same source and have basically the same purpose of existence. Within the context of rebirth, we understand that all souls did not enter this earthly experience at the same time. Among us walk very new souls and very old souls. The Christ, the Buddha, and other great spiritual teachers are “old souls” for sure! They are not better or special in the sense that our religions suggest, they just have a lot more experience than most of us. We can appreciate the fact that these souls are able to teach us the way.
Poverty
As we look around our world, we notice how some people have so much and some have so little. Although human greed is clearly one cause, it is not the only one. The earlier part of the soul’s journey here tends to involve this kind of struggle as a part of its experience. This is not always the case, however. The implication is that poverty is something we have some control over and can do something about. We have an opportunity to improve the life conditions of our younger brothers and sisters by learning to share. Poverty can be a little more understandable if we place it in the context of rebirth or the increasing experience of ourselves as a soul. As the soul gains experience and knowledge over many incarnations, these conditions will naturally improve.
Suffering
The purpose of our suffering remains a mystery to most of us. Why would a loving God allow this to occur? The only thing I can say from my experience is that suffering is alleviated through many cycles of incarnation. This is the real purpose of the resurrection of the Christ. By showing us that we continue to live, we are shown that our suffering will be overcome with a renewed opportunity to improve our own condition. The Christ says, “Hey, don’t worry. Things will get better. I have been where you are. I have experienced what you are experiencing. I am proof that you have eternal life!”
Education and Experience
When you really think about it, there is no way a person could gain the necessary knowledge and experience to become whole in 80 years or so. One has to only look at the wide diversity within humanity to discover this. The idea of multiple lives gives rise to plenty of opportunities to learn everything we need to. It’s also comforting to know that we all have this great opportunity. The world makes more sense, you see. It’s also important to realize that karma is a fact within this greater universal reality. We work out the necessary corrections and modifications in ourselves right here. There is never a need to worry about making mistakes or doing something wrong that cannot be changed. The concept of punishment as presented by the Christian Church through a “heaven and hell” becomes irrelevant and unnecessary within the context of this understanding. We’re going to grow and learn. We’re going to be OK. The Christ made us aware of our spiritual reality with the words “You will become like me and much more”. These are of course words we would currently use, just to make his words a little more understandable!
Our Current Focus
Whether reincarnation is a reality or not is somewhat irrelevant and unimportant. The most important thing for us to keep in mind is that we are focused, with our soul, right here and right now. What we need to learn, and experience, exists in this present moment of our awareness. Although conscious recollection of previous lives is possible and does happen, it’s usually not very helpful to the average person, as we’ve been given plenty to work on already. Focus on what is happening in your experience right now and do the best you can. This is all that’s required of us. We’ll get there!
The Wheel of Rebirth
For those of you wanting to gain a little more perspective and information about the principle of rebirth, take a look at The Astrology Perspective Page. We’ll also be discussing these concepts in greater detail in the Ageless Wisdom Category.
*The Astrology Pages are not available right now, my friends. I will be working on them and introducing them again at some point in the near future.
All my love and support, stay safe and be well