God Beyond Religion: How Jesus was Misunderstood by His Gehenna References

 The doctrine of eternal conscious torture is really unnecessary in Christian doctrine. It stems from a misunderstanding of Jesus references to Gehenna. It is my opinion that all of Jesus references to Gehenna refers to the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. First of all, the idea of Gehenna as a punishment for not adhering to the Torah and Tanakh is fairly recent and was not in the Old Testament writings. According to Ariela Pelaia, Gehenna - Jewish Views of the Afterlife (learnreligions.com) It did not appear in any Jewish writings before the sixth century BCE. She went on to explain that in rabbinic teaching the punishment of Genhinnom lasted for 12 months. It was assigned to those who willfully disobeyed the Torah.

It seems obvious to me that Jesus used the term metaphorically and when he said it was eternal was actually making fun of the fact that it was only for twelve months. What he was really doing with the reference was referring to the impending destruction of the temple by Rome that would result from their erroneous view of the Messiah and his mission. It is very clear in the reference from Mark’s gospel. “And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.” (Mar 9:47-48) This is a Midrashic reference to Isaiah 66:24 and the entire chapter is about the temple, how it will be destroyed in anticipation of the New Jerusalem. It is not about an event future to the first century and it is a gross error in interpretation to believe it is. The word translated hell is Gehenna and is the main referent word that Jesus used in all of his hell proclamations. They were all meant for the first century occasion.  This is for all those who believe as orthodoxy that the scripture is the inerrant, infallible word of God. It is certainly not if one cannot properly understand and interpret it. Jesus’ reference would have had meaning to the first century Jewish people, and after all, it was to them he said it.

There is absolutely no mention of Gehenna in John’s gospel. Why you may ask? Well, if it was written at the late date, it would likely be because the occasion had already occurred, and if John was written before the destruction of the temple as some believe, it would be because, John’s gospel explained to the Gentile believers where the Jews missed Jesus universal message. I should add here that Paul did not mention Gehenna/hell at all in any of his writings. It is obvious to me that this points out how extremely erroneous orthodoxy’s take was on understanding the Christian scripture.

Let’s look at the facts. It was not written in the Torah at all. It was not mentioned in the rest of the old testament writings. It was developed after the Jews went into Babylonian captivity. It was mentioned ten times in the synoptic gospels, mostly in Matthew written to Jews and one time each in James and 2 Peter, both letters written to a strictly Jewish audience. It was not mentioned in John, any of Paul’s writings, nor Hebrews. And yet, orthodoxy and subsequently protestant evangelical orthodoxy made it the main thrust of the Christian message. The preponderance of evidence shows that orthodoxy and evangelical orthodoxy are completely wrong, and if wrong on this, how much more are they wrong on other things?

 

God Beyond Religion: A Healthier View of Scripture.

 

It is my view that the most toxic of all aspects of Christian dogma, especially evangelical dogma, is the doctrine of scripture. Orthodoxy completely hijacked the message that Jesus was trying to deliver. So, to begin with, what was Jesus intended message? Jesus had a two-part message. One part was to tell people what it means to love one another and the importance of loving. The other was that humanity is indeed divine, indwelt by the consciousness of God. In this, he taught that his message was the sole purpose of their scripture, the Torah and Tanakh. He was the key to unlock the mystical message of the Law and the Prophets. In fact, he stated that the Law and Prophets were the accuser of the brothers and sisters.

When Jesus claimed that God was his father, and that he was the son of God, the Jews called him a blasphemer and wanted to stone him. This is recorded in the fifth chapter of John’s gospel. I want to examine a small portion of that chapter here to make the point. "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope.”   (Joh 5:39-45) They were putting their hope in the Law and the Prophets and in reality it was their accuser. Isn’t it interesting that in the book of revelation the accuser of the brethren was Satan? In the synoptic gospels, Jesus called the Pharisees and the Sadducees a brood of vipers, or the seed of snakes. This is a direct reference to the serpent in the Garden and Genesis 3:15. The seed of the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of humanity, but, the seed of humanity would crush the head of the serpent. Sadly however, when Christianity began to gain control of people, orthodoxy adopted the exact same view of scripture that the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees had.

The above passage from John chapter five demonstrates that not all scripture is of equal value. It is only valuable when it points to Jesus and his two-fold mission that I mentioned in the beginning. It is only beneficial when it explains what it means to love and when it explains that all humanity participates in the divine nature. All humanity are the children of God who is the Father of many sons and daughters. At least three thousand years before Abraham, mystical revelation had come to Hermes Trismegistus, that explained that God was a father and that his word, his consciousness was his son. We, being created in God’s image, that is, being created with consciousness were the offspring of God. This is the message that the scripture has to offer, and it was Jesus most important message. He said that we had the anointing (the Christ) in us that would teach all truth. He said that he and the father were one, that he was in the father and the father was in him, and subsequently we too were in the father and the father is in us.

The fact is that if one allows the indwelling logos to inform one’s discernment, one can easily determine what in the scripture follows this message and mission and what in scripture is simply chronicling the history of the development of humanity during the time it was written. It was written within a culture, to that culture. Certainly not all the messages and stories are infallible, inerrant truth from the creative source. However, there is inerrant infallible truth within the scripture. We are children of God. God is love. We each possess the divine nature. We are one with the father. One of the most encouraging revelations is that as Jesus was in the world, so are we.

God Beyond Religion: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and the New Humanity

Ephesians 2:13-15 NRSV  "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  (14)  For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.  (15)  He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace," 

Can we pause for a minute and rid ourselves of religiosity? I realize that the above passage has religious connotation, especially for recovering evangelicals. Can we pause from the toxic idea that Christianity and the Christian message is exclusive/? Can we pause for a moment and accept the idea that eclectic spirituality is the reality, and that there is within the Christian message mystical revelation that is beneficial to all people? Can we pause from evangelizing to gain adherents for our group, and our correct way of thinking and believing? Can we pause, take a deep breath, change our minds about the necessity of division and right beliefs? Can we pause and see that "the Christ" is for all people? Can we pause, and contemplate what it means to say and think God is love? Can we pause and see the logical truth that we are all a part of one singular sisterhood and brotherhood of humanity? Yes, ALL means ALL!!! The claim made by many evangelicals that one is not a child of God unless converted to Christianity is absolutely, patently absurd!

Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” is integral in the development of the new humanity. Below is a chart that shows the five levels that Maslow identified.

Self-Actualization	Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts
Esteem	Self-esteem, confidence, respect of others, respect from others, achievement
Love/belonging	Friendship, family, sexual intimacy
Safety	Security of body, of employment, of resources, of family, of health, of health, of property, of morality
Physiological	Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion

While the hierarchy of needs  While Maslow's hierarchy of needs is usually shown graphically as a pyramid, this table serves the purpose as well. The connection with the “new humanity” is self-actualization. I think one could add to the self-actualization category, spiritual enlightenment which would include many things. The chief concept would be to self-actualize our divine nature.

When one looks at the upward spiral of humanity over the millennia, it is obvious to me, that in spite of the fact that there is a lot of evil in the world, and that humanity has moved forward in enlightenment and also lost ground and moved backward, that the trajectory is an upward spiral. It takes all of the needs below self-actualization to be met for the final step to happen. However, when a large amount of the human population reaches that point, it will be possible for a leap in enlightenment.

This should result in a kinder and gentler humanity that looks out for the other and the material world around about including plants, animals, the environment, and the societal structure. Being on the cusp of the new age, the age of Aquarius provides the perfect timing and impetus for this leap to come to fruition. This will allow the further development of the second tier in spiral dynamics. The future can be very bright based on this analysis.

Second tier spiral dynamics is shown by two different color levels. There is the yellow level and the turquois level. In the yellow tier, there is the ability to leave the model of concern over scarcity in the material world and begin to see the potential as abundance. It begins to look at the world and all in it as integral. It stresses flexibility, knowledge, and intuition. The turquoise tier focuses on the holistic aspect of the world. It combines the material with the spiritual and sees the universe as a singular conscious entity. I find it interesting that cognitive science and physics is reaching similar conclusions.

God Beyond Religion: Eclectic Spirituality, Theodicy, and Cognitive Science

One of the benefits of social media is that one can easily get a glimpse of how people think about certain things. I participate in several Facebook groups that draw people who are deconstructing their Christianity. A topic that often comes up is theodicy, the problem with evil. In embracing eclectic spirituality, and exploring cognitive science and consciousness, I find that the problem of evil and vindication of the creative source, proposes challenges. What I mean is there is a variety of things that need to be taken into consideration when thinking about the existence of evil. My point of departure for entering into the discussion is that there is a collective consciousness, or a mind at large at work in what we call material reality. I have come to view it as the universal field of divine consciousness. I believe it to be the source of all matter and substance in the material plane which of course includes we humans. Some call it the Akashic Field, the quantum field but what ever the name it is but one primal source of the universe.

I have come to this idea based upon study of several scientific and philosophical works by several different people. I also base it on the explanations of spirit and matter in all of the ancient religions and philosophies. In that, I see a common thread that has energy and thought as central. To be more specific I have included in my conclusions the work of Dr. Bernardo Kastrup, Dr. Donald Hoffman, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, and Dr. Carl Jung.  Information about each of these individuals and their contribution to cognitive science and the field of consciousness is readily available on the internet, and one can find out all one needs to know about them on YouTube. I see a common thread in all of their studies and theories. 

Adding to the above paragraph of cognitive scientists, I also include the premises of the ancient religions and philosophies. Egyptian Hermeticism, Greek Hermeticism, Greek Philosophy, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah Judaism, and Christianity. All either suggest or insist that material reality is a mental construct. My point here is that there is a mounting preponderance of evidence that the universe is indeed mental, and consciousness is the creative source. The question becomes, how does one view God, and what is the spiritual realm? This is where eclectic spirituality comes into play. In Christianity and Judaism you have a heavenly realm that is spiritual. Certainly, Taosim, Buddhism, and Hinduism speak of a spiritual realm.

Yet, the reality of evil is ever apparent in our world. It is constantly in the news. This is true of the evil that is caused by humanity against itself, and the suffering that is caused by natural events. These natural events include pandemics, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, predatory animals. While our planet is a wondrously beautiful place it is likewise extremely dangerous for some. So, the problem of evil and suffering is very real. Juxtaposed against the overriding view of most religions which in some way insist that God, the creative source, is “love” it creates the problem of suffering and evil for sure.

Christianity blames it on the fall of humanity when humans chose to have the knowledge of good and evil over innocence. But atheists and agnostics claim, and I believe rightly so, that even if humanity chose to fall, the ultimate responsibility lies with the creator and creation. While I believe that Paul received a ton of mystical revelation from Source, he missed the boat with his question does the clay have the right to question the potter? Comparing pottery to an individual soul is a lousy comparison. Especially when this same Paul received the mystical revelation that defines love and therefore defines God and insisted that one of God’s attributes was to not keep records of wrongs.

So how can we vindicate God? How can one relieve the Source from the responsibility of evil? The only way that I can see is if one begins to accept a view closer to what some of the cognitive scientists mentioned above are beginning to find in their psychological studies. Likewise, what Dr. Hoffman is discovering with his experiments with the mathematical model results of evolution as it relates to consciousness and conscious agents. When you add to this the understanding of Rupert Sheldrake in morphic resonance and the existence of morphic fields. This is piling on but necessary. Add to this the concept of Carl Jung and the collective unconsciousness, and the quantum fields of quantum mechanics and a picture emerges that the source is in fact a divine field of creative consciousness. This is the description of the spiritual world. This is what Christianity calls heavenly places. It is the realm of the Logos and the Tao.

One of the key teachings of Jesus was that we are an integral part of the divine matrix. As he was the word incarnate so are we. What else could John have meant by saying that as he is in the world so are we? What else could inspire Peter to claim that we are partakers of the divine nature? What else could Jesus mean when he stated that he was in the father and the father was in him, and subsequently we humans were in the father and in him and he and the father were in us? The point of this is that we are co-creators in this cosmic dance where the spiritual realm births the material.

Imagine if you will a field of conscious energy that is likely two dimensional and we are all points of individual expressions of divine consciousness. Dr. Bernardo Kastrup has theorized that we are dissociative personalities (split personalities) of the grand divine consciousness. Also imagine that without material reality it is a field of thought only. Imagine that with geometry the source can create more dimensions. Imagine that in creating dimensions there are interesting problems. Imagine that entropy and atrophy are an example of the many problems created. Imagine if you will the freedom that is felt from choosing to participate in this divine creative dance. However, also imagine that the nature of the divine field of consciousness is love and peace. Finally, imagine that every soul that has lived, every animal, every tree, flower, and rock is an integral part of this divine field of creative consciousness.

Each soul in the creative act realizes and knows that it is eternal and cannot be destroyed. Each soul at the basic level has no concept of time and is only and always in the present now. To that soul, the real us, there is no actual harm or pain that can affect us. After all, we are indeed eternal. However, the challenges of material reality are exciting and invigorating. The problems of this existence, no matter how difficult, are the driving force of our existential happiness and satisfaction. While it is true that solving these problems can be exhausting, we have the ability to choose when to dance, and when to rest in the dance of life. Does this resonate with your soul at all?

I am suggesting that one of the problems that we have chosen to solve is the problem with evil. However, we are all in it. We are all Hitler, and we are all Mother Theresa. This dance is not unlike a drama. The poets among us have told us that all the world is a stage. Our goal in the drama is to solve the problem of evil with love and peace. All of the mystical revelation points toward this end. This drama includes reincarnation and karma and on and on. People often ask or say, this life is so tough, why would anyone choose to do it again? The answer should be obvious. Why do we not get tired of playing games to win, and if we do get tired why do we get the urge to take the game up another day, hoping for a better result?

If this is the case, and intuitively I believe it is, then it is not incompatible with the best parts of all the great world religions. Jesus, the father, the holy spirit are all compatible with this idea. The only thing that is not compatible with it is orthodoxy in the form of unchangeable dogma. In this view, God, the source is completely vindicated!

 

God Beyond Religion: The Cattle on a Thousand Hills; Abundance Not Lack

Psalm 50:7-15 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.  (8)  Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.  (9)  I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds.  (10)  For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.  (11)  I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.  (12)  "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.  (13)  Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?  (14)  Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High.  (15)  Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

I want to begin this with the idea of thought forms or egregores. As I have written about them before they are real and have actual spiritual power. In fact, all religions are thought forms, and have a life of their own. I also want to mention the fact that in my eclectic spirituality view, I see that there is mystical revelation from Source in most religious and philosophical texts. The Judeo-Christian bible is no different. If by chance you think this is simply cherry-picking scripture passages, I have written about the absurdity of that claim in other posts and will not deal with it here. 

The above Psalm passage falls into that category in my view, because it is consistent with a loving God, and a God who sees justice and people being “just” as important. Please do not confuse this with the name it and claim it gospel, the prosperity gospel, or the "Think and Grow Rich" crowd. All of those ideas and many I have not mentioned cater to the individual. That is not the case here. I am writing this to all of us who make up the collective consciousness. Consider that there is but one creative source, and that as science is beginning to suggest, it is a field of consciousness. Within this field is unlimited creative potential. Within this field there is no lack. The possibility of lack comes with mortal material existence and the fear of not having enough to survive. Likewise, I believe that the root of greed is the survival instinct. However, if the reality is we are eternal souls and spirits within the divine universal field of consciousness, then we can safely change our thinking and thought processes. This in turn can create a thought form, egregore, that is not founded in a zero-sum game. As more and more conscious agents embrace this thought form the ability to realize and experience more abundance for all will begin to manifest in material reality.

This is different than the law of attraction, or the prosperity gospel, or think and grow rich mentality because they are basically geared toward individual accomplishment and achievement.  What I am proposing is collective. It is a way to begin to generate abundance in a much more fair and just way that will increasingly eliminate lack for more and more individuals. It has the potential to radically change humanity and I think it could be an instrumental way for people to help move the age of Aquarius forward. The way it would work is to find people committed to meditating on universal abundance and justice. Once formed and allowed to grow stronger it would change the dynamic from greed to sustainable improvement globally, and who knows, it could catch on and glide past the tipping point bringing about real change.

This concept fits nicely with some of the great religious and philosophical teachings over the centuries. It was Jesus that said, Matt 6:31-33 “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  (32)  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  (33)  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I believe he was trying to get them to change their thought construct and for a time they did. I think it is important to point out that verse thirty-three could as easily be translated but seek first his kingdom and his justice.

The Tao resembles the stretching of a bow:  it humbles the mighty, and exalts the lowly; it takes from those who have much and gives to those in need.  This is the Tao— it diminishes those who have abundance, and nourishes those who lack.  The human way is just the opposite—  creditors take from those who lack and lavishes those who already abound!  Where are the wealthy who will use their riches to serve the world?  The wise earn much, but claim it not for themselves. They accomplish much, but are not attached to their accomplishments.  They succeed abundantly,  yet make no show of their success. Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching . Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition. Here Lao Tzu is suggesting that if humans meditate on abundance for all without extravagant opulence that the Tao will provide. It is my belief that what we call the divine unified field of consciousness, he called the Tao.

So, from several traditions you have the same concept though stated different. There is no lack in the divine unified field of consciousness, and creating that thought form will indeed help bring it into fruition. Not so that one can have opulence, but so that one can avoid lack.

 

God Beyond Religion: A New Humanity and a New Earth Where Justice Dwells

 2Pe 3:13  “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

The Greek word dikaiosune, translated as righteousness could be equally translated justice. The biblical use is justification or righteousness, but I think that being righteous is first and foremost being just. If one looks at the definition of just it is actions and treatment of others based on behaving according to what is morally right and fair. It is acting according to the golden rule. It is doing to others what one would want done to themselves.

One of the main characteristics of the “new humanity” is justice, kindness, and love. It is my belief that one of the main focus points in Jesus’ mission was justice, kindness, and love. Especially for the downtrodden and less fortunate. He told many parables and one can be found in Matthew chapter twenty-five, verses, thirty-one through forty-six. He tells a parable about a future judgment. He says that the judge, a king will tell people that they have done justice. He goes on to say, that when he was hungry, they fed him, when he was naked, they gave him clothes, when he was homeless, they gave him shelter, and when he was sick or in prison, they came to visit him and see about him. The just were confused and they asked him when they did those things? They had no awareness that they had done such for him. The judge king told them that when they did it for the least of his brothers and sisters, they did it to him.

This parable was a reaction to Isaiah chapter fifty-eight. The prophet told Israel that the fast that God desired was to feed the hungry, clothe those in need of clothing, and give shelter to the homeless. He went on to tell them that when they did such things that their light would shine abroad. Jesus went on to teach that when one does these good deeds to others that they are in reality doing it to God. That makes sense in view of the fact that all of us humans are God’s image bearers. We are all divine and participate in the divine nature.

Well above is a description of just one of the aspects of humanity in the age of Aquarius and likewise, it is a description of the traits of the new humanity that the apostle Paul spoke of. Paul did this by way of mystical revelation that he received from the source and passed it on to humanity. In view of eclectic spirituality Jesus is not the only one who emphasized these humanitarian traits as important. Here is what the Tao says about it: FALSE AND TRUE RELIGION Abandon the pretense of saintliness and asceticism, and the people will pursue virtue. Abandon ostentatious benevolence and conspicuous righteousness; then the people will return to the core virtues of love and respect. Abandon cleverness and greed; then thieves and robbers will disappear.  Here are the four fundamentals of true spirituality: recognize simplicity, cherish purity, reduce your possessions, diminish your desires. Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching . Ancient Renewal. Kindle Edition.

So many are erroneously looking for the new heaven and earth to be a future reconstruction after a fiery cataclysmic end of the world. That could not be farther from truth. Again, the apostle Paul mentions the ages to come, that is many ages (Ephesians 2:7.) It included the new age that was approaching in Paul’s day, the age of Pisces, but it likewise also includes the ages to come, and now that we are approaching or have entered the age of Aquarius, it will come to greater fruition.

The new heavens, new earth and new humanity is not something to happen after a great cataclysm but, the progressive improvement of humanity as the ages progress. The same is true of the New Jerusalem. Another of Paul’s mystical revelations in an understanding of what the New Jerusalem was. For Paul in Galatians chapter four it was the heavenly Jerusalem. That means it was the ideal Jerusalem that existed in heavenly places or in other words, in the divine field of consciousness. Gal 4:22-26  “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman.  (23)  One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise.  (24)  Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery.  (25)  Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.  (26)  But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother.” What Paul is expressing here is that the New Jerusalem is the Jerusalem made up of the new humanity that he wrote about.

So, the point of this is that the new heaven and earth, the new Jerusalem, the new humanity was Paul’s way of expressing the idea that the gospel of God’s favor and compassion, would move humanity to be more loving. This would be the result of embracing and believing that God’s favor and compassion was expressed by the mission of Jesus that proved we are all eternal and partakers of the divinity that was ours from the very beginning.

Once we embrace the idea that the source, God, is a loving, compassionate parent, who is not keeping a record of wrongs, has reconciled the entire world to him and herself, and the truth of it was proven by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. We as children of the new humanity can begin to love with all our being. We can love one another knowing that we are all a part and parcel of divinity. This produces a love and peace that supernaturally transforms humanity from one level to another on an ever upward spiral.