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Possibly Esoteric Christianity

Q: Have you no sense for that esoteric Christianity that Yogananda talks of?

ESOTERIC Christianity of the Bible stands for "lifting up the son of man" and also enter the narrow gate, while adjusting sagely to sets of moral commands and the like. "Son of man" is a figurative expression, and needs to be specified to be of any practical value. The son of man is then taken to be the everyday, functioning human governed by habits and worldly outlooks, as the case may be, and then realise "I am a god" and better. "Don't you know you are gods?" asked Jesus to Jews that would stone him. In so doing he was quoting Psalm 82:6. [John 10:34]
      According to George Lamsa, "son of man" in Aramaic is barnasha, and has four meanings. One of them has been discussed above (Net xxiv). To lift up the son of man is to raise one's consciousness, according to this outlook. The big question is, again, how to do it and do it well enough. The gospels give some suggestions, but they are seldom more than that, as Jesus did not divulge the secrets of heaven to non-disciples, he says in Matthew 13:11. He spoke differently to the High Counsil, though. But before that he had charged the authorities,

FACE "You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [Matthew 23:13]. And to Peter he said, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be [ Or have been] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be [ Or have been] loosed in heaven." [Matthew 16:19]
What happened to those keys, and who knows? The methods of Christian monasticism are later-arrivers - they stem from Egypt. So it is not them that Jesus talks of.
      "Work and pray," says the Catholic Church. "Faith alone," says Lutherans, and gurus like Paramahansa Yogananda "seems to teach the Pelagian heresy of salvation by human effort alone," according to Father Matheo, a Catholic professor. [LINK]
      "Son of man" is a term that is used eighty times in the gospels. In almost all cases it refers to Jesus himself and perhaps only himself, although that could depend a bit on translators. Jesus says,
FACE No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man [or: Man, who is in heaven]. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life [or: believes may have eternal life in him]. [John 3:13-15]

When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. [John 8:28]

Hence, the "son of man" seems solidly related to Jesus only in very many cases.

AND THEN another question stands out: Were there any insider teachings in the first flock? Yes, according to Matthew 13:11-17 and other passages. No, according to John 18:19-21. Jesus communicates two different things about it:

FACE The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. [non-disciples] (11) [Further see Matthew 13:11-17]

I have spoken openly to the world," [said Jesus to the high priest]. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. [John 18:19-21]

THESE are two contrasting sayings. A repeat:
FACE During his hearing before the high priest, Jesus says, "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing" (John 18:20 (NKJ)). But . . . Jesus did not always teach in synagogues and in the temple. He taught on a mountain (Matthew 5:1-2), on a boat (Matthew 13:1-35), on a plain (Luke 6:17-49), and in houses too (Luke 5:17-19). - Brian Stanley
A search through the gospels reveals, further, that Jesus often talks of the kingdom of heaven (within you), a gate, a narrow path, an Eye, the kingdom of light, and so on. Even though he said to his disciples that they were given the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, it also shows they often did not have a clue anyway. In one instance Jesus says they know the way, but . . .:
FACE You know the way to the place where I am going."
      Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" [John 14:4-5]
- and so on. There seems to have been something missing in his instructions to them, then, or maybe it was them, not his instructions. However, in the Boy Scout movement and Army an able leader is to ensure that his most significant instructions are understood, he does not just make do with saying something and then figure it is understood. He has learnt to demand satisfactory feedback to make sure. That is a valuable lesson for "all of us".
      Further, what the ministry of Jesus led up to, at long last, was the tongues of fire and baptism by the Holy Spirit after the death of Jesus. It showed up to be "for all" in the long run - the Holy Spirit fell on them, and others, and so on. What happened, was different from the "way to heaven", it was rather the Kingdom that came a-visiting at large.
      A third source of old Christianity is the Gospel of Thomas. That gospel's teachings are getting more accepted now, but stand outside the canon used for common Church services still, all in all. A little survey of sayings from the gospel is presented on another page. The sayings do not describe any esoteric methods (ways) - or maybe they do to some, through special interpretations? [LINK]
      The Gospel of Thomas begins on a note that much depends on interpretation, and hermeneutics tries to discern things so well that something of worth may come out of the activities.

THEN you may ask, the monastic traditions of Christianity, aren't they a sign of esoteric Christianity as taught by Jesus?
      Well, monasticism in Christianity stems from Egypt, and came later than apostles in Christianity. Christian monasticism began in the deserts of Egypt and later in Palestine and Syria in the 300s AD. [A] Its contemplative activities are sort of legitimated by selected Bible passages that run like, "Abide in me, and I in you, and you shall bear much fruit." "Those that wait upon the Lord -" "Be still and know I am God." "Pray without ceasing (Paul)." "Ye are gods? (see above)"
      However, perhaps no esoteric practices of the Christianity of Jesus have come down to us from antiquity.

AND THEN there is a question about the term "Christ-consciousness", that gurus like Paramahansa Yogananda uses to get his way. First, Jesus did not say 'Christ', it is a later addition, and stems from the Jewish 'Messiah', the 'oil-anointed'. Every bible scholar knows that. So "Messiah-consciousness" would be a better term for those who hail "original Christianity". But Messiah among ancient Jews did not carry all the divine-made meanings that 'Christ' got after the death of Jesus, as evidenced in the letter to Hebrews. Originally Messiah meant "oil-anointed", and referred to a practice started by Samuel when he anointed some kings of Israel by pouring oil over their heads.

Conclusion

  1. "Original Christianity" or esoteric Christianity is a tricky and deep subject: Because there are fractions here and there in the gospels that suggest it, it is open to interpretation. However, the esoterism of Jesus must be largely forgotten - and it was not even understood by his disciples, the gospel tells.
  2. The contemplative aspects of Christianity came centuries later, and is not of any original gospel teachings.
  3. The "real deal" turned out to be the Holy Spirit and its many-faceted gifts anyway - not esoteric, but for all.
To address another topic: "Esoteric Buddhism and Hinduism": Esoteric Buddhism and Hinduism are described in Tantra works.

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Literature SECTION First Page E-MAIL

      Ak: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Man's Eternal Quest. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1975.
      Ap: Mieder, Wolfgang (main editor), Stewart A. Kingsbury, and Kelsie E. Harder: A Dictionary of American Proverbs. (Paperback) New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
      Ay: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 1st ed. New York: Theosophical, 1946. Online. [oaks.nvg.org/pv6bk12.html]
      Ebu: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006.
      Net: Lamsa, George, tr. The New Testament. Philadelphia: Holman Bible Publishers, 1968.
      Op: Simpson, John, and Jennifer Speake. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
      Pa: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 11th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1971.
      Say: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Sayings of Yogananda. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1958.
     
   CLICK on 'Literature' for the references of about 2000 works.
    ANNOTATIONS: Code letters (acronyms and initial words) in square brackets in the text refer to works. Click on 'Literature' to see examples. Page references are put right after code letters. And the abbreviation cf. means "compare". [MORE].
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    © 2004–2006, Tormod Kinnes. All rights reserved — August 2006.