What About Yahweh?
8/21/2023
We've been getting into how New Ecclesiastes is doing Christianity in a way more similar to how it was practiced by Jesus and his original band of merry men. Or the earliest form of the church, before it got transformed into the beast of legalisms that Paul bequeathed us. This has been done over the course of many years to both focus on Jesus teachings, and to minimize the inconsistencies found between Jesus teachings, church doctrine and the Bible.
Most of those inconsistencies involve the teachings of Jesus that God is a loving father, and that Yahweh, as portrayed in the bible, is a thug. C'mon, be honest - he is. No sense of humor, making people flawed in his otherwise perfect system, and promoting war crimes in Israel's conquest of other nations.
The entire idea of an all-powerful God, damning the majority of his prized creation to eternal torture unless he comes down to earth, teaches us directly for a few years and then volunteers to be murdered in the most violent way possible, to be dead for a weekend, so that he can forgive everyone, but only if they believe the story - that's a tough sell. I have been fighting this mental gymnastics marathon for nearly my entire life. It remains an ongoing battle, but a battle that promises a better solution.
The easiest solution is to separate Jesus from the inconsistencies found in the religion that sprang up in his name. Over a lifetime of wrestling with this problem, that is what I am doing.
The last few articles I have explained my reasons for not using Paul as a general teaching reference for the laity of the church. In those articles you will find the basis for the arguments that Paul, in however his brain went at this, chose numbers of Christians over quality of Christians, and made his priority building a church rather than spreading Jesus word & lifestyle. A nice, regimented, ceremony-filled religion for people to gather around and think they are doing God's will. Something that would eventually turn into the mess we have now. A church of appearances based on Christians not giving cause for the authorities to persecute them.
So, since Paul's focus was on church building and discipline, I only use Paul as an administrative tool. It is my practice to look to Paul when I need advice on a particular practical problem facing the congregation, or a particular question dealing with a specific member disrupting the spirit of community within a congregation. That does not eliminate problems within the New Testament, but it brings them down to a manageable number.
I have mentioned that I do not use the Old Testament except for the Wisdom writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) and the book of Genesis as a metaphor in regard to mankind's earliest musings as to how all of what we experience came about. Every Christian church teaches that by his sacrifice, Jesus fulfilled and completed Mosaic law. It no longer applies. What has replaced it is Jesus' own definition of his mission, my touchstone:
More arguments commence: But it's the Old Testament! The inerrant word of God!! The story of how God saved his chosen!!! But, what if it isn't?
Huh?????
I've been looking into Marcion a lot lately. Marcion (85-160 CE) was one of the first Christian theologians. He was from Sinope in modern Turkey, and was a huge fan of Paul. He proposed the first listing of scripture for the New Testament and was instrumental in forming some of the pillars of Christian theology.
He also wrestled with the dichotomy of the loving father of Jesus vs. the mad-dog crazy Yahweh. He concluded that Jesus was talking about an over-arching God, superior to Yahweh. He dismissed Yahweh as some lesser tribal God for the Israelites, but not having the authority of the God of Jesus over the rest of the world. He denied the connection of Christianity to Judaism, even though Jesus was raised Jewish and often quoted Jewish scripture. He, also, discounted any use of the Old Testament with regard to the practice of Christianity. He was excommunicated for these views. Apparently, Yahweh, IS a jealous god.
In some ways, I am picking up on his views. Marcion accepts the Gnostic view of Jesus, that he was only divine, and never inhabited a real human body. This is my main disagreement to Marcion. By my research, Jesus definitely had a human body, which was broken and bloodied during his execution. He was able to manifest "divine" powers through that human body.
In the 1800 some odd years since Marcion left the planet, we have much more information, both on Marcion, and on the process of how Christianity came to be in it's current form. We have theology that embraces the backing of science to inform it on matters of archaeology, anthropology, ancient history and use of credible sources to fill in the blanks left by scripture.
Here's a "f'rinstance" - Everyone knows the story of Jesus being left at the Temple as a boy after being separated from his family. He was found teaching the priests and scribes at the age of 12. His life then goes blank until the start of his ministry at age 30 - where did he go?
In the late 1800s a Russian merchant trading with China, Tibet and India ran across some Buddhists scrolls describing a "boy prophet" who came from the west, memorized the Vedas, and was recognized by both the Hindus and Buddhists as a spiritual teacher and of divine spirit. The boy lived in the same period of Jesus and was said to return home to "the west" to teach there.
There have been arguments made that this was Jesus, and though never proven, it does give rise to a world of possibilities that could have happened in those "missing years". Lot's of Jesus' most foreign ideas to Judaism have a comfortable seat in Hinduism and Buddhism. He certainly could have picked them up in Judea - the Essenes and Nazarites had similar teachings, but really no one knows.
I'm gonna make a leap here which you may or may not join me on. Yahweh has made his own personality very clear in the Old Testament. Jesus ALWAYS taught of the "loving father" above. What if Jesus was NEVER referring to Yahweh???
But Jesus was Jewish! He used Jewish scripture!!! Even A.I. draws him Jewish!!!
I have been raised immersed in Christianity. In the course of my career, I have used Old Testament, illustrations of Heaven & Hell, professed to the beliefs of those around me, and took part in all the ceremonies in several flavors of denominations. In all of it, my own ideas were forming, and my own concern at the inconsistencies between what Jesus was and who Yahweh advertises to be. Like Marcion, I needed an answer to this question. Like Marcion, I came to the conclusion that the God of Jesus and Yahweh were incompatible concepts.
Rather than being entirely divine with no human body, I believe Jesus to be entirely human, and so in tune with God that the power of God was manifested within him. This is in concert with the founders of many traditional religious belief systems. I do not see why it cannot be applied here.
The followers of every religion honor "holymen" or "shamans" or "guides" that possess abilities that go beyond the norms of what we can explain with science at this point. Quantum physics opens the door to this in the science world. It does not argue against the metaphysical aspects of Jesus, but it does explain how a master salesman like Paul could use the simple teachings of Jesus and manifest a brand new religion out of the scraps of a few old ones.
So, where we wind up now is where I am after years of work. I am focused on the teachings of Jesus about a loving God, and how to apply that in my life. I use those teachings as the basis of New Ecclesiastes. From that perspective I have then gathered and studied the existing best scholarship to make sure that I'm not totally insane. There is actually quite a bit, so if this is insanity I'm not alone.
Then, I teach what I have learned. I focus on the knowns about Jesus, things that fit both the scriptures and what we can add to with history, archaeology, anthropology and the like. It provides a practical way to honor that loving God of Jesus, by action in this world, and to remove the things none of us can know about - like what is heaven like? who goes to hell? how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Is my next door neighbor a sinner?
Those are question God does not address to us. Jesus tells us that the best way to honor God is to honor others. To treat all with kindness and respect. We are told not to judge others, but to treat them as we would want to be treated, whether they do that or not. Other people's lives are not our business. Our business, as Jesus defines us, is to make sure our own house is in order, and not to worry about anyone else's.
But what about evangelism??? In truth, it all boils down to this teaching. If you treat others with kindness and respect, others who see that and those who admire it will be drawn to you, and ask you do why you do what you do. That is your opportunity to share Jesus - not to save their soul with Paul's magic words, but to involve another person in a lifestyle that treats all with respect and kindness, and to care for those who cannot care for themselves.
That is how you help the loving God to make life down here better. We are not pets of God, to be waited on hand and foot in happiness always. We are the helpers of God, to be his hands and feet on this earth to do spiritual & physical care in what was given to us as our home. Yes, bad stuff happens. No - we don't know why. It is our job to make life better for anyone we can, not on a global scale, but to the people you come in contact with every day.
You are not born damned. You are born a human being - with the ability to choose to do good, or to do harm. Or to do nothing. It is entirely up to you. And for yourself, if you are a little bit better at it each new day, you are moving towards God's desire for all of us. Love.
In Peace, Faith and Love,
Ecc. RL Brandner, New Ecclesiastes Ministries.