Biblical orthodoxy
In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus reportedly said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
“Love God, and Love the Other.” Very basic rules for living in a unity reality. Yet today some preach that you must be “God-fearing” to be a good Christian, and armed men chant “death to Democrats” in church parking lots. How did we get here? This is the difference between the spirit of Christianity and the religions that grew up around that spirit.
In our Bible, Christ's words are printed in red, making up only 17 percent of the New Testament. After crucifixion, the story of Christ was passed along orally for decades, as few people were literate, and Christians were persecuted by the state religious orders. What became known as the Gospels were mostly hearsay, written between 10 and 80 years after the crucifixion. They were written in Aramaic, the common language in the area, and eventually translated into Greek, subject to interpretation.
In 313AD, freedom of religion was granted within the Roman Empire, and Christianity became the state religion. By this time there were hundreds of documents associated with the story of Christ, and the Council of Nicaea (325AD) and First Council of Constantinople (381AD) decided what should be included in the Bible, editing out what was considered “unfit.”
We have some idea of what was excluded as a result of the 1945 discovery of the Gnostic Gospels in Egypt. Written in 2nd century AD, they provide alternate versions of some of the known books, and include many others, one by Mary. They were hidden to preserve them from destruction, and are still discredited and considered heretical by orthodox Christianity.
What we now know as the Bible was formalized by committee, translated yet again into Latin, and became widespread by 400AD. But whatever the spiritual value, this document, edited exclusively by men, was designed to serve the Roman Empire, an economic and political system of domination, misogyny, and exclusive gain. This affected the structure of the Church as well. Long after the Roman Empire collapsed, the Church controlled increasing economic and political power.
Literacy was relatively rare, and even fewer people could read Latin. Thus, the Church dominated the interpretation of Christ's message for the mass of believers, acting as a middle man between the individual and the Divine. To maintain control, translation of the Bible into local languages was prohibited. Translators were prosecuted and killed, and translations were collected and burned. As late as 1897, all translations had to be approved by the Holy See.
As the age of European exploration began, the Church asserted control for its political and economic benefit. In 1494, the Pope divided the world between Spain and Portugal, blessing their right to colonize, convert, enslave, or kill all native people, in exchange for financial tribute.
The growing corruption of this religious Christianity produced a reaction from members of spiritual Christianity. In 1517 Martin Luther protested Church excesses such as selling indulgences, or remissions from sin, for personal profit. Additionally, Luther was dissatisfied with the hierarchy of the church and the monastic routines of exterior worship and ceremony, which he considered to be excessive and unnecessary for salvation. This Protestant challenge to Church authority initiated a civil war, with Christians killing Christians for almost 500 years.
The prioritization of the religious corporation over the spirit of the founder continues to this day. The Catholic Church still hides their persistent pedophile priest problem to protect the brand, but are about to see another wave of expensive lawsuits. This is not just a Catholic problem. Last month Southern Baptists faced revelations they hid over 700 sexual predators to protect the corporation. The Methodists recently spit over whether to allow women to preach.
We must distinguish between individuals living the spirit of Christ's message and the leaders of the religious structures that have been distracted by increasing economic and political power.
It is time for all Christians in spirit to demand their respective religious organizations “Love God and Love the Other”. No more fear mongering! No more targeted hatred! In unity reality we all share the same fate.