THE AQUARIAN GOSPEL OF
JESUS THE CHRIST
Another major source for the
New Age Jesus is The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ,
written by Civil War army chaplain Levi Dowling (1844-1911). The
title page of this "gospel" bears the words: "Transcribed
from the Book of God's Remembrances, known as the Akashic Records."
(Occultists believe the physical earth is surrounded by an immense
spiritual field known as "Akasha" in which is impressed
every impulse of human thought, will, and emotion. It is therefore
believed to constitute a complete record of human history.) Hence,
unlike Notovitch whose conclusions were based on an alleged objective
ancient document, Levi's book is based on an occult form of subjective
(nonverifiable) illumination.
The bulk of Levi's gospel,
first published in 1911, focuses on the education and travels
of Jesus. After studying with Rabbi Hillel (a Jewish scholar),
Jesus allegedly traveled to India where he spent years studying
among the Brahmins and Buddhists.
Jesus supposedly became interested
in studying in the East after Joseph (Jesus' father) hosted Prince
Ravanna from India. During his visit, Ravanna asked "that
he might be the patron of the child; might take him to the East
where he could learn the wisdom of the Brahms. And Jesus longed
to go that he might learn: and after many days his parents gave
consent." So "Jesus was accepted as a pupil in the temple
Jagannath; and here he learned the Vedas and the Manic laws."[23]
Jesus then visited the city
of Benares of the Ganges. While there, "Jesus sought to learn
the Hindu art of healing, and became the pupil of Udraka, greatest
of the Hindu healers."[24] And Jesus "remained with
Udraka until he had learned from him all there was to be learned
of the Hindu art of healing."[25]
Levi proceeds to chronicle
a visit to Tibet, where Jesus allegedly met Meng-ste, the greatest
sage of the East: "And Jesus had access to all the sacred
manuscripts, and, with the help of Meng-ste, read them all."[26]
Jesus eventually arrived in
Egypt, and -- in what must be considered a climax of this account
of the "lost years" -- he joined the "Sacred Brotherhood"
at Heliopolis. While there, he passed through seven degrees of
initiation -- Sincerity, Justice, Faith, Philanthropy, Heroism,
Love Divine, and THE CHRIST. The Aquarian Gospel records
the bestowal of this highest degree: "The hierophant arose
and said...upon your brow I place this diadem, and in the Great
Lodge of the heavens and earth you are THE CHRIST....You are a
neophyte no more; but God himself will speak, and will confirm
your title and degree....And then a voice that shook the very
temple said, THIS IS THE CHRIST; and every living creature said,
AMEN."[27]
Later, following his three-year
ministry as THE CHRIST and his subsequent death, Jesus' resurrection
is described by Levi in terms of a "transmutation" which
all men may accomplish. He made many appearances to people all
over the world to substantiate this transmutation. For example,
he appeared to the "Silent Brotherhood" in Greece and
said: "What I can do all men can do. Go preach the gospel
of the omnipotence of man."[28]
THE READINGS OF EDGAR CAYCE
Like Levi, Edgar Cayce claimed
the ability to read the Akashic Record while in a trance. During
his life, he gave over 16,000 readings, 5,000 of which deal with
religious matters. It was from the Akashic Record that Cayce set
forth an elaborate explanation of the early years of Jesus.
The person we know as Jesus,
Cayce tells us, had 29 previous incarnations: "These included
an early sun worshipper, the author of the Book of the Dead,
and Hermes, who was supposedly the architect of the Great Pyramid.
Jesus was also Zend (the father of Zoroaster), Amilius (an Atlantean)
and other figures of ancient history."[29] Other incarnations
include Adam, Joseph, Joshua, Enoch, and Melchizedek.
This particular soul did not
become "the Christ" until the thirtieth incarnation
-- as Jesus of Nazareth. The reason Jesus had to go through so
many incarnations is that he -- like all other human beings --
had "karmic debt" (sin) to work off.
Jesus received a comprehensive
education. Prior to his twelfth year, he attained a thorough knowledge
of the Jewish law. "From his twelfth to his fifteenth or
sixteenth year he was taught the prophecies by Judy [an Essene
teacher] in her home at Carmel. Then began his education abroad.
He was sent first again into Egypt for only a short period, then
into India for three years, then into that later called Persia....From
Persia he was called to Judea at the death of Joseph, then went
into Egypt for the completion of his preparation as a teacher."[30]
During his alleged studies abroad, Jesus studied under many teachers
(including Kahjian in India, Junner in Persia, and Zar in Egypt),
and learned healing, weather control, telepathy, astrology, and
other psychic arts. When his education was complete, he went back
to his homeland where he performed "miracles" and taught
the multitudes for three years.
JESUS THE CHRIST AND HIS
TEACHINGS
There are many differing views
regarding how Jesus attained "Christhood." As we have
seen, Levi said Jesus went through seven degrees of initiation,
the seventh being THE CHRIST. Cayce said Jesus became "the
Christ" in the thirtieth incarnation. Many modern New Agers
say the human Jesus merely "attuned" to the cosmic
Christ, or achieved at-one-ment with the Christ by raising
his own "Christ-consciousness." But however Jesus attained
"Christhood," New Agers agree that he was a teacher
par excellence of New Age "truths."
New Agers generally do one
of two things with the teachings of Jesus. Some merely reinterpret
the gospel sayings of Jesus to make it appear that Jesus
was actually teaching New Age "truth." Others add that
long-lost (New Age) sayings of Jesus have been rediscovered.
These "rediscovered" sayings can have one of two sources:
reputed ancient extracanonical writings (like the "Gnostic
gospels" which were allegedly suppressed by the early church
and rediscovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945) and the Akashic Record.
Let us now consider samplings of each of these.
The Gospel Sayings of Jesus.
According to New Agers, we must all seek first the kingdom of
heaven (Matt. 6:33), recognizing that the "kingdom"
has reference to our inner divinity.[31] For indeed, Jesus said
"Ye are gods" (John 10:34). The parable about those
who foolishly build a house on sand (Matt. 7:24-27) teaches us
that those who fail to recognize their divinity will not be able
to stand against the storms of life.[32] But if we come unto Jesus,
we will find rest, for his yoke (i.e., yoga) is easy and
his burden is light (Matt. 11:28-30).[33]
"Newly Discovered"
Sayings from Extracanonical Sources. Jesus
taught a form of pantheism according to The Life of Saint Issa,
for he said that "the Eternal Spirit [God] is the soul of
all that is animate."[34] He also taught that all humans
have unlimited potential: "I came to show human possibilities....that
which I am, all men will be."[35] And, according to the Gnostic
gospels, Jesus spoke of "illusion and enlightenment, not
of sin and repentance."[36] Indeed, man can save himself:
"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth
will save you."[37]
"Newly Discovered"
Sayings from the Akashic Record. According
to Levi's Aquarian Gospel, Jesus was just a way-shower:
"And all the people were entranced, and would have worshipped
Jesus as God; but Jesus said, I am your brother man just come
to show the way to God; you shall not worship man."[38] Jesus
also taught pantheism and monism: "The universal
God is one, yet he is more than one [i.e., he takes many forms];
all things are God; all things are one."[39] Jesus also tells
us that "the nations of the earth see God from different
points of view, and so he does not seem the same to every one."[40]
THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN
RESPONSE
A Christian response to the
New Age rendition of Jesus may begin with the observation that
the accounts of Jesus going East have irreconcilable contradictions.
This fact alone should make any objective investigator suspicious
of the reliability of these documents.
Each of the accounts differ,
for example, regarding the beginning of Jesus' trek. The Life
of Saint Issa portrays Jesus departing secretly from his parent's
house with some merchants on their way to India so he could perfect
himself by studying the laws of the great Buddhas. Levi's Aquarian
Gospel depicts Prince Ravanna from India asking Jesus' parents
if he can escort Jesus to India where he can learn Indian wisdom.
Cayce's reading of the Akashic Record has an Essene teacher sending
Jesus to India to study astrology and other psychic disciplines.
What is particularly revealing
is that both Cayce and Levi allegedly obtained their "revelations"
by reading the Akashic Record, yet their readings blatantly contradict
each other. Since both Cayce and Levi are highly respected in
New Age circles, how do New Agers account for the obvious failure
of at least one of them to properly "read" the Akashic
Record? Furthermore, if one of these top-rated New Age seers cannot
be trusted, which one can be?
Not only do the accounts disagree
with each other, they all disagree with the gospel accounts
in the New Testament. And the New Testament has solid, irrefutable
manuscript evidence -- something that should be considered by
those wanting to replace it so easily with Gnostic gospels or
alleged ancient manuscripts claiming that Jesus went East.
The New Testament gospels
are based on eyewitness testimony. Moreover, they were written
very close to the time of the events which they report. It is
crucial to recognize that the four canonical gospels are all dated
much earlier than the Gnostic gospels. The earliest Gnostic
gospels date from A.D. 150 to 200. The New Testament gospels date
from A.D. 60 to 100 -- approximately one century earlier. Clearly,
the New Testament gospels are the authentic and reliable
source for information on the life and teachings of Jesus.
On the other hand, all
of the "Jesus goes East" accounts contain historical
inaccuracies, several of which have already been mentioned.
Other examples include: (1) Levi's Aquarian Gospel said
Herod Antipas was ruler in Jerusalem. Antipas, however, never
ruled in Jerusalem but in Galilee. Dowling meant to say Herod
the Great. This is especially significant since Levi's transcriptions
are claimed to be "true to the letter" in the introduction
of his Aquarian Gospel![41] (2) Levi's reference to Jesus
visiting with Meng-ste was probably meant to be the great Chinese
sage, Meng-tse (tse, not ste). Dowling apparently didn't realized,
however, that Meng-tse died in 289 B.C.
The deeper one probes, the
clearer it becomes that the Jesus of the New Age movement lacks
any basis in history. To many, The Life of Saint Issa appeared
to provide this. However, the world still awaits bona fide
hard evidence that can be physically examined by all interested
parties. Even a photograph would be helpful. But as Notovitch
lamented: "During my journey I took a considerable number
of very curious photographs, but when on arrival at Bombay I examined
the negatives, I found they had all become obliterated."[42]
I don't want to be cynical, but....
In order to find a New Age
Jesus in authentic documents, New Agers are forced to deal
with the language of the New Testament in a manipulative fashion.
Tal Brooke comments: "It is a little like the problem of
the Marxist who wishes to change the common understanding of the
United States Constitution so that a gradualist skewing of word
meaning can enable a socialistic interpretation of words whose
intended meanings in the original were clearly different."[43]
Though the New Testament does
not directly address this issue, there are strong indirect
evidences that Jesus never traveled East for eighteen years.
First, Jesus was well-known as a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and
as a carpenter's son (Matt. 13:55). That His carpentry played
a large role in His life up to the time of His ministry is clear
from the fact that some of His parables and teachings drew upon
His experience as a carpenter (e.g., building a house on
rock as opposed to sand, Matt. 7:24-27).
Moreover, the people in and
around Nazareth displayed familiarity with Jesus, as if they had
had regular contact with Him for a prolonged time. At the beginning
of His three-year ministry, Jesus "went to Nazareth, where
he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the
synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read"
(Luke 4:16). After He finished reading, "all spoke well of
him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.
'Isn't this Joseph's son?' they asked" (Luke 4:22). This
implies that those in the synagogue regarded Jesus as a local
resident.
It is important to note that
when Jesus stood up to read, He did so from the Old Testament
Scriptures. And the Old Testament -- for which Jesus often
displayed reverence (cf. Matt. 5:18) -- (1) contains numerous
warnings and admonitions about staying away from false gods and
false religious systems (cf. Exod. 20:2; 34:14; Deut. 6:14; 13:10;
2 Kings 17:35); (2) clearly distinguishes between the creation
and the Creator, unlike Eastern thought; and (3) taught the need
for redemption, not gnosis (knowledge). It is no
coincidence that Jesus is often seen quoting from the Old Testament
in the gospels, but not once does He quote from (or even
mention) the Vedas!
While some in Nazareth were
impressed at the graciousness of Jesus' words, others were offended
that He was attracting so much attention. They seemed to be treating
Him with a contempt born of familiarity. We read in Matthew 13:54-57:
"Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in
their synagogue, and they were amazed....'Isn't this the carpenter's
son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James,
Joseph, Simon and Judas?...Where then did this man get all these
things?' And they took offense at him."
Among those that became angriest
at Jesus were the Jewish leaders. They accused Him of many offenses,
including breaking the Sabbath (Matt. 12:1-14), blasphemy (John
8:58-59; 10:31-33), and doing miracles in Satan's power (Matt.
12:24). But they never accused Him of teaching or practicing
anything learned in the East. The Jews considered such teachings
and practices to be idolatry and sorcery. Had Jesus actually
gone to the East to study under "the great Buddhas,"
this would have been excellent grounds for discrediting and disqualifying
Him regarding His claim to be the promised Jewish Messiah.
It is noteworthy that the
self-concept of the New Age Jesus is that he is just a man
who became enlightened in the East, eventually achieving Christhood.
The self-concept of the New Testament Jesus, however, is one in
which He singles Himself out as God (cf. John 8:58).
It is understandable why the
"Jesus who went East" refused to accept worship (cf.
Dowling). The New Testament Jesus, by contrast, accepted worship
on numerous occasions because He knew Himself to be the one and
only God (note especially Matthew 28:17). Of course, only God
can be worshiped (cf. Ex. 20:4-5; Deut. 6:4-5, 13). It is
thus significant that even when Jesus was just a babe, the Magi
(from the East) "fell down and worshiped Him" (Matt.
2:11).
The final word on this matter
must belong to God the Father, for there is no higher authority
in the universe. He Himself is quoted as saying to Jesus: "Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever" (Heb.
1:8). It is Jesus -- the second Person of the Trinity -- that
we as Christians look forward to seeing; 'we wait for the blessed
hope -- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior,
Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). And, as Christians, we exult
in the truth that Jesus has a name that is above every name,
and that at His name, every knee will bow -- in heaven
and on earth and under the earth (Phil. 2:9-10).
A CLOSING REFLECTION
What if -- despite all
the arguments presented above -- a manuscript should one day surface
in India which speaks of Issa? Would
this prove that Jesus did in fact go East during His youth?
Christians acknowledge that
news of Jesus eventually reached India and Tibet as a result of
the missionary efforts of the early church. It is conceivable
that when devotees of other religions heard about Jesus, they
tried to modify what they heard to make it appear that Jesus and
His teachings were compatible with their own belief systems. It
is possible that -- sometime between the first and nineteenth
centuries -- these unreliable legends were recorded on scrolls
and circulated among the convents in India. This would not be
unlike the distorted versions of the life of Jesus that emerged
among the early Gnostics (and recorded in the Gnostic gospels).
But for such a manuscript
to be convincing, it would have to have the same kind of irrefutable
manuscript evidence as the New Testament, the same quality of
eyewitness testimony, and be written very close to the events
on which they report like the New Testament. Until such an authoritative
document surfaces, is it wise to base one's eternal destiny on
a manuscript that has as little evidential support as Notovich's?
Douglas Groothuis issues this
challenge: "Should any supposed record of Jesus' life come
to the fore, let it marshal its historical merits in competition
with holy writ. The competitors have an uphill battle against
the incumbent."[44]
NOTES
1 Shirley MacLaine, Out on a Limb (New York: Bantam Books, 1984), 233-34.
2 Nicolas Notovitch, The Life of Saint Issa, cited by Joseph Gaer, The Lore of the New Testament (Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1952), 118.
3 Nicolas Notovitch, cited by Per Beskow, Strange Tales About Jesus (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, n.d.), 59.
4 Nicolas Notovitch, ed. The Life of Saint Issa, in Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Lost Years of Jesus (Livingston, MT: Summit University Press, 1987), 218.
5 Ibid., 219.
6 Ibid., 222-23.
7 Ibid., 245-46.
8 Max Muller, "The Alleged Sojourn of Christ in India," The Nineteenth Century 36 (1894):515f., cited by Edgar J. Goodspeed, Modern Apocrypha (Boston: Beacon Press, 1956, 10.
9 Ibid., 11.
10 Notovitch, cited by Goodspeed, 11.
11 Ibid., 11-12.
12 Notovich, in Prophet, Lost Years, 30.
13 Ibid., 103.
14 Ibid., 103.
15 Ibid., 108.
16 J. Archibald Douglas, "The Chief Lama of Himis on the Alleged 'Unknown Life of Christ'" The Nineteenth Century (April 1896) 667-77, cited by Prophet, 36-37.
17 Goodspeed, 13.
18 Beskow, 62.
19 Goodspeed, 14 emphasis added.
20 Ibid., 5.
21 Ibid., 9.
22 Ibid.,
23 Levi, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ (London: L. N. Fowler & Co., 1947), 48.
24 Ibid., 50.
25 Levi, cited by Gaer, 134.
26 Levi, Aquarian Gospel, 66.
27 Ibid., 87.
28 Ibid., 251. 253.
29 Philip J. Swihart, Reincarnation, Edgar Cayce, and the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 18.
30 Anne Read, Edgar Cayce: On Jesus and His Church (New York: Warnera Books, 1970), 70.
31 David Spangler, The Laws of Manifestation (Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Publications, 1983), 23-24.
32 Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, (Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Publications, 1981, 61.
33 Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Lost Teachings of Jesus 3 (Livingston, MT: Summit University Press, 1988), 273[74.
34 Notovitch, in Prophet, Lost Years, 229.
35 Nicholas Roerich, Himalaya (New York: Brentano's 1926), cited by Prophet, 305.
36 Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (New York: Random House, 1979), xx.
37 Ibid., 126.
38 Levi, Aquarian Gospel, 54.
39 Ibid., 56.
40 Ibid., 56.
41 Levi, Aquarian Gospel, 12.
42 Notovitch, cited by Prophet, 120.
43 Tal Brooke, When the World Will Be as One (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1989) 118.
44 Douglas Groothuis, Confronting the New Age (Downers Groves:
InterVarsity Press, 1988),
93.
-------------
End of document, CRJ0057A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"The Jesus of the New Age Movement"
release A, April 11, 1994
R. Poll, CRI
NOTE TO THE READER:
Since he wrote this article, Ron Rhodes has published a related
book on the subject titled The Counterfeit Christ of the New Age
Movement (Baker Book House, 1990).
(A special note of thanks
to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in the preparation of this
ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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