Jesus and The Religious Order

(Granger): The term, "Religious Order" suggests the human tendency to create beliefs, rules, and orders that require obedience of the herd. Acceptance of established religious beliefs by masses of people, each of whom must accept the condition of becoming an integer, a number, within the herd is a means to animalistic order. Ultimately the human mind must break out of any such cloistered society or religion. Humans cannot forever be confined by any order as a religious animal without freedom to seek one's own personal goals in life.

Here we encounter the human dilemma. Man as the religious animal is highly motivated to control, to decree, and to legalize the very beliefs of a religious order for his fellow man; no freedom of choice here. Having once established his religious order, with all its yeas and nays for eternal life, man must then set out to capture and confine all those of his fellow man available to be enclosed within his order. And those who choose to remain outside are branded as sinners, lost souls, or renegades.

When Jesus lived in Palestine it was a time far removed and utterly different from the world in which you live today. It was a world in which demons and spirits roamed and people were possessed with demons; astronomy as you understand it was incomprehensible; and objective science as you accept it did not exist. Religion existed in a state of organized laws; it had become a heel under which man's head was being ground in the dust. Religious worship was relegated to an unbearable burden of regulations that made freedom of thought incomprehensible. When Jesus entered the religious/political world of Palestine it was all but impossible for the living spirit of consciousness, the Christ spirit if you wish, to move through the minds of men and women of that time.

The teachings of Jesus reflect the environment, the background, the religious and political concepts of the people out of which his teachings evolved. However, the thrust for universal freedom of thought and freedom of spirit was present in his teachings. Those who followed after Jesus paid too much attention to the husking that surrounds the corn, the shell that holds the flavour of the nut, the peel that contains the fruit.

Why does it matter, for example, if The Sermon On The Mount was presented all in one scene on one day or if it is a collection of the essence of the thought and spirit of the teachings of Jesus, presented in one summary? When you debate the husking of how and where the thoughts were presented you are likely to miss the whole thrust and purpose of that which is presented. What benefit results in your believing every jot and tittle as written if you fail to grasp with insight the spirit of the thought given? Who cares, or benefits, from your higher criticism of the gospel, presented with fine academic turn of phrase, if you fall flat on your academic face when it comes to grasping the essential nucleus of the thought contained therein? These outer husking and shells become the ingredients that form the next religious order or the next stage of political thought.

What is the significance of what Jesus taught and why he taught it? The answer is found in the spirit of the teaching, more so than in some particular translation, or the discovery of some apocalyptic or hidden writing. Do not seek forever that new or hidden translation of some secret dialogue that will give sudden and new illumination to that which has been given already. The Gospels were not written to be biographies; they were not intended to be historical documents; they were not presented as records of that time and place. They were the writings of spiritually minded men who desired to record the spirit, the thought, the essence of freedom for all men everywhere as presented through the teachings of Jesus. The thrust of new insights into life, the power of the mind, the healing of the spirit, the freedom of the soul; these were the elements desirous of presenting in the Gospels.

There are many reasons, no doubt, why the thrust of freedom for the minds of men and women entered the scene in Palestine at that particular time. The presentation for freedom was made earlier, in the time of the philosophers in Greece, beginning with Socrates. Much benefit could come out of a close study of the approach, the style of teaching and even, for that matter, the reason for each death, of Jesus as compared with Socrates. The teachings of Plato, the writings of Aristotle, these should be examined together, in the bid each made for freedom of the human mind.

The man Jesus was a divine personality, of that there should be no question. What is not comprehended is that all men are of divine origins also. Where does the spirit of man come from? Does each human being have, or not have, a soul? If each one has a soul, how and when, and from where did he get it? If each man/woman has, or is, a soul we must look at the sources out of which this personal soul originates. If as some say ...many say, man is simply an evolved animal with his sources originating entirely out of physical evolution, then it is not conceivable that he is also a spiritual being. If man's sources reside entirely in the animal of physical evolution then we cannot claim that he is a living soul, unless somehow each and every form of life in physical existence is a living soul.

The position which I will support is that man is truly of both the physical resources developed through physical evolution and at the same time of the spiritual essence of personality. Man is a spiritual being living in a physical body. As to the sources of the spiritual personality of the individual man or woman, it seems somewhat unreasonable that the very centre fold of God consciousness is creating and sending forth these personalities on a one-for-one basis. And this, I (Granger) say does not happen. I cannot prove it on an eye-witness basis so long as you remain in the physical body, but were you here ...or when you come here to this plane of awareness, following earth-life, the evidence will be self-revealing.

The spirit of man evolves out of the consciousness of God; that is a true statement. The spirit of man or woman is formed out of High-souls that have their sources of being in God-consciousness. Each and every man, woman and child in the earth is created, or conceived, in the spiritual reality out of a High-soul. Each and every person has a purpose, a reason for life, a goal to be sought, and a pathway to follow, given out to that very unique and individual personality from its own High-soul. The old and universal (so it seems) question is, can we have a lost soul? And if so, what does that being lost mean? First let us state that which it does not mean. It does not, and never can mean that the soul of the person is separated from the High-soul out of which it emanates. (We prefer to use the word personality rather than soul to avoid confusion with the High-soul.). No personality can ever be separated, not ever under any condition, from its own High-soul. A lost soul can and may exist, however, in very real terms but for different reasons. Let us examine the conditions referred to as that of a lost soul. Remember that no where, at any time, is the personality ever lost from its sources in its High-soul. The personality is given full entitlement to freedom of choice in that the purpose of the High-soul may or may not be sought out and followed.

Many personalities while in the earth-life may choose, for whatever reasons, to abandon the pathway assigned by the High-soul. Such a personality may choose to go its own way in the earth. It may choose to substitute any goals it desires to pursue and deviate periodically, or completely, from the goals of the High-soul. It may in fact continue to abandon the patterns and goals of the High-soul long, long after physical death. It may seek out a forum of influence in this plane of consciousness, or it may, indeed, seek to return through like minded personalities in the physical earth to gain influence there. Perhaps the saddest of all, is the state of those who long after physical death, continue to cling to the physical life and its purposes. These personalities inflict no special harm upon those in the earth, but remain as though transfixed, or in some state of hypnotic trance, gazing into the physical dimensions on earth. Many are in this state, a sad state indeed, but one from which we on this side have no power to give relief. We cannot gain recognition; we are not seen by the one in this state. Indeed, this could almost be thought of as an in-between state ...transients waiting for a train that will never come, a flight that will never fly, a ship that will never sail. But eventually each must return to the path given out by its High-soul at the time it was formed out of the High-soul.

No two personalities are alike; neither are any two goal- patterns alike. Each will eventually turn to seek its own way. When it does so, the High-soul will be there and present, ready to proceed. In the interim, in the present state of non-awareness of its true reality, its living purpose and its source of being, this personality could indeed be thought of as a lost soul. How very sad, and how unnecessary. The freedom to choose one's way, to seek out the patterns of one's thoughts and to follow one's own goals in life are never removed however, not at any cost or under any condition.

In setting the scene with that little background, we included some of the information given in earlier sections of the book, but we believe it was worth while in order to complete the scene here. With this background we will describe the thrust and purpose of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Many will not accept any statement concerning the nature and purpose of Jesus of Nazareth except that which is part of their current set of beliefs. To them we extend our blessing and have no reason to urge them to believe other than that which they so desire out of a free mind. Some may wish for fresh thinking concerning the nature of the mission of Jesus. Of them we ask only fair minded and open consideration. Take that of what we present only to the extent that you can find it to be harmonious with your own beliefs. Finally, I suppose, many seek a solid ground for belief, a landfall toward which they may set sail, a meaning and a purpose for life. We think each one has a reason to seek out life as an adventure, to thrust into its purpose with energy, and to experience the joy to be found in a lifetime of effort and of struggle. Life is not to be considered a jar of goodies simply to be lifted off the shelf. With all due respect, we do not support the concept of Jesus that says you believe in him and simply retire from all personal effort and struggle. Life is a struggle; it is intended to be a struggle. Life has a purpose; it is intended to have a purpose. Life is a never-ending joy of participation; it was intended to be joyous and never-ending. It comprises a self-aware effort to achieve purpose and to grow; it was intended to be of such a nature.

Jesus was a man of the physical earth and a personality who lived in history. The nature of his beliefs and teachings are reflected in the Gospels of the New Testament. Even though they were written years later, a lifetime later, the gospels are rich in the concepts of Jesus' teachings. The writings of Paul, the apostle, in the New Testament, were in general written earlier than those of the Gospels. Paul, however, was of a different mind than that of the Disciples of Jesus, who assisted in the writing of the Gospels. Paul was a man of virtue and almost overpowering devotion to the purposes of his life. He intensified his concepts of Jesus, to some extent, to the point that something of the flavour, the easy rollinq philosophy of Jesus is not found in the writings of Paul. In his writings, Paul reflects the intensity of a frustrated, modern business man. If alive today, we can imagine that Paul would hire a private jet and, with great intensity, try to convert the entire earth to his beliefs.

Jesus didn't thrust the intensity of Paul's personality into life. He didn't stay up nights to write his beliefs, his teachings, his purposes. He did not write letters to this group or to those followers. He did not rush from ship to shore, and on to the next town for a meeting at sunrise or at sunset. Here we find the easier pace of one who has arrived, who is centred in his time and place, who loves the cool of the evening, the stars of the night, and the sunrise of an early morning. This man, I can assure you, stopped by the wayside to talk to the very elements of nature. Not for some mystic, far-out reason, but because there was that certain, easy harmony, that unity of purpose, that one-in-all sense of energy that flows through the very plants and animals who are part of the living fibre of life

Does this mean that Paul, the fiery little evangelist, had the wrong attitude? No indeed! He was not at the centre; he was out on the outer fringes of the storm, trying to direct the energy back to the centre. Paul would be understood very well today. A business tycoon could support his efforts. A modern statesman could receive him with ease. But the nature of Jesus would be as incomprehensible to those of state and industry as it would be to the modern churchman. Little wonder that he was not comprehended by leaders of his day.

Here we encounter the conventions of the Religious Animal in history. Human convention does not conceive of the human spirit as being of divine nature, out of the very presence of the spirit of God consciousness. We of religious convention like to say, love to say, that Jesus was at the same time human and divine. And there is no fault to be found in that statement in itself. It is, in fact, perfectly true. The conflict arises out of the inference that is not stated, namely that other men and women are not divine, but physical only, of a lesser birthright than that which could be thought of as divine. Such a statement, that men and women are at the same time human and divine, is in fact so foreign to thought within the structured church that it would be, and will be labelled as heresy. Truth must be examined, however, in the light of reality. Truths that are not true by nature cannot be made true through convention, or by decrees, or by history.

All men, all women, all people everywhere, in the personality are created out of the High-souls of a higher consciousness. There is no man or woman in the entire earth anywhere, who in essence of living reality does not comprise a soul-given personality sent out from some Higher-soul. No matter what the state or condition of that person may be, or may seem to be, the condition in no way removes the reality of a soul- given personality. The personality, given out through the intent and purpose of a High-soul is divine, out of direct lineage from the Source of All Sources. Let us leave no misunderstanding here. The divine spark includes the life that is the very being of each person who may walk the earth in a physical body. The personality of each one is of divine origin. No person exists that is not of divine origin and of divine nature in the essence of that personality.

Those who decree that any man or woman is not of divine nature require a completion of the concept. From what source or nature, of what origin, do these personalities, these souls-of-men/women derive? The question must be answered. Those who are born this day, this hour, out of what source other than that of God Consciousness do they emanate? For what reason should an intelligent Source continue to allow fallen, lost, or second-rate souls to be sent out into the earth? If, per chance, you choose to rest your convictions in the security of belief that all persons, like all other animals, originate out of the natural process of physical, live with no other sources or resources necessary, even so, why should these natural physical beings require salvation or newness of life? How could this physical-animal man make the transition to that of a spiritual man?

Divinity does not mean infallibility. Divinity does not mean that infinite knowledge and wisdom exist. Divinity means that the source of the personality present in the natural physical body emanates out of the Source of Spirit. This does not say that man has any divine right to abuse or misuse other forms of life. Most of all, it gives no man license to assume control or mastery over other men, nor for that matter does it in any way assume that man, the male, has any superior status over woman, the female. Any man who, regardless of his position or role in life, decrees that man is superior to woman because "God is male" is simply playing the fool, and worthy of no further consideration.

Jesus has been so misrepresented in so many writings, preachings, and teachings that he is deprived of his person. If there is one thing that needs to be recorded about this man, Jesus, it is that he was his own man. He was not the product of some other school of thought or teaching. He observed, he compared, he studied, he worked. But the teaching he presented was the new revelation of freedom of the individual to reach out in a free and open mind to the spirit of life that flows to the inner mind. He respected the spirit of the law, but the law of the spirit was the essence of his teachings.

Jesus did not emanate as a teacher out of the thought of the Essenes; we need to make that point. A careful study of the rigorous laws of the Essenes will reveal the very opposite approach to righteousness from that of the free and open spirit of Jesus. The Teacher of Righteousness was of Jewish birth, descending from a lineage of the inner priesthood, a Jew of good report, a descendant of the order of the priestly clan of the day. To our awareness, no where is there any record of his immediate death in terms of historical accuracy. We see his records as that of one dedicated in all sincerity to the salvation of the earth through the lineage of the priesthood, and preservation of its integrity without false membership or pollution of Law. Now that does not give him the setting or background out of which Jesus of Nazareth emerged.

The concept of Jesus, the man from Nazareth, needs to be brought into focus here. He was not a disciple of the Teacher of Righteousness at all. In many ways he directly opposed the teachings of the Essenes as much as he opposed the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Essenes were, in fact, a breakaway from the teachings of the Pharisees and the translation of the Laws of Moses as interpreted and presented by the Scribes. The objective of the Essenes was to reestablish the divine order of justice and of Law into the Jewish faith. The teaching of Jesus was that the Law was not essential to man's salvation; the Law of Love was the key to the eternal life.

Writer's Comment: [The Essenes were a Jewish ascetic sect that seem to have originated in the second century B.C. Their life style was highly organized and communistic. They have been identified with the community of the Dead Sea Scrolls, following the discovery of the scrolls at Qumran in 1947. The Essenes were instructed for a period of time by The Teacher of Righteousness, who was eventually replaced by the Teacher of Lies or a Wicked Priest. Some scholars have suggested that Jesus might have spent time with the Essenes and might have been a follower of The Teacher of Righteousness. Obviously, Granger and The Starters do not agree with that suggestion.]

Imagine if you will, a tall and rugged man, large of stature, broad of shoulder, walking with a wide and abandoned gait along the dusty roads of Galilee. This Galilean workman come preacher and teacher is at ease with a group of people in any situation. He preaches with energy, he teaches with concern, and he is ready to participate in the activity surrounding him at the time. Jesus, as we see the pattern of his life, walks freely and easily along the roadway, talking to any who wish to listen to his message. There is no need here for protocol. The man brushes aside the formality of introduction and penetrates to the need of the situation as it exists. Solve the problem that exists; meet the needs of the day. Encourage the development of thought. Take "no" for an answer, but point out with thrust why the answer should be "yes" . Encounter that which is unjust. Confront that which grinds others under its cart. Accept the sincere desire of anyone who struggles to resolve the problems of his or her own life. Heal those who are sick; feed those who are hungry; sit with those who need courage, and open the mind's eye of those who grope in the darkness. That is the Jesus of the open road.

The Leader of Righteousness was a very different personality, one who studies the Law, and prepares the scene for austerity and tight, perfect living. He sees a need to obey the last letter of every law. He desires to bring about perfection through practice of the law and obedience to the will of Yahweh [God] as interpreted from the Laws of Moses. But when we visualize the appearance, the nature, the personality of Jesus, we see him as vital, alive, energetic, pressing the point, opening the mind, encouraging thought.