How Christian Psychology Attempts to Transform the Mind I find it much more believable that a first century Jesus thought he was the Jews Messiah, read the prophecies about someone special needing to become a sacrifice so his nation could move past its repetitive and banal, i.e. busy-work, animal sacrifice system via that one consummate replacement sacrifice, provided a small group could get others to view their deceased leaders death as that sacrifice. That means I find it more believable that the New Testaments Jesus character was based on a real historical person, whose story could be modified in any way that seemed necessary to some who were shaping it a little later, instead of Jesus just being entirely made up some Jewish authors attempting to plagiarize other cultures. Furthermore, there is certainly a vein that runs through not all, nevertheless exists in a certain number of Jewish messianic prophecies—a thread or secondary theme which did suggest that their animal sacrifice system would be replaced by a better system when a special person, who was destined to this, became a sacrifice himself. Jesus, it seems, must have decided those very few yet salient prophecies, in Isaiah and Jeremiah, applied to him. To cause his own death, so that it could be viewed as such a sacrifice—one which would link to those type prophecies—did require some ingenuity and creative planning on Jesus part. He must have thought that if he did, in fact, rise from the dead after being executed for sedition—sedition by representing another kingdom supervised by the Jews deity instead of Romes—then the religion of his people would prove both true and meaningful after all. But if not, then Jesus knew (I think) that he would simply be dead, which appears to be the risk he decided to take in order to find out. But then how can a person find out something they are a bit unsure about after they are dead, if their brain isnt maintained therefore as a person they are no more? It is reasonable then that Jesus did see himself as the Jews Messiah and went on to die on a Roman cross as well. Yet look at the predicament all of that would have placed any who were loyally following him in—when from his perspective, whether he would rise from the dead perhaps, or perhaps he would not. For if he did rise from the dead then everything about this would have have been planned, just as how he thought or wished to think, while positive outcomes for everyone near to him would have been assured. But being inspired by him as how followers must have been, would have almost forced them to pretend that he did rise from the dead, even when he hadnt, so they could continue as the moral activists they had become. To arrive at that conclusion, all you need to ponder is: What would have been his disciples option for any sort of respectful bowing out from what had been a very intense endeavor? For their friends and family members would have all known too well the life course they had taken by following Jesus, so there would have been no good way to avoid injury when bowing out by then. While everything sensational, maybe even a little crazy at times, that was contained in Jewish “historical” writings would have infected their minds irreversibly by that time as well. But even if not, who can resist a chance to some fame through the prospect of having a good number of people following and supporting you? So the truth was, they didnt want to return to the obscurity of being mere fishermen. In most of the preaching about Jesus sacrifice on a cross thats been propagated since the first century, it is believed that those who accept his resurrection as factual, they will suddenly begin to sprout or develop deep empathy for other people. Here is why acceptance of that potential historical factoid leads to such an expectation: Those listening Christian preaching will see an innocent person, in Jesus, being executed unjustly, which alarming miscarriage of justice draws their focus in causing them to begin empathizing with him. Typically they will begin to cultivate special feelings only reserved for him because of that horribly ironic scene. It gets their attention while they are told next that Jesus did this because he loved (and still loves) people who deserve bodily death by being under a curse, which curse includes a second type of death in an afterlife—a curse from God caused by so many humans being evil and committing sins, which sinfulness is very unlike Jesus... All of which this Jewish creator deity allowed to happen, even planned it, to get their attention and win them over from being far too hardened due to recurring abusive human behavior, as well as behaviorally win them from being so naturally self-absorbed. So this irony of Jesus dying for them was planned, they are essentially told, as a way to wake up peoples sensitivity to others (tender feelings for others usually coming through a brand new sensitivity aroused in them toward this deity) which is meant to cause, from that time forward, disturbing thoughts about the seriousness of them sinning—including them not harming, and much more earnestly upholding the well-being of, all other people. That is whats being presented by Christianity as the psychological cure for all human behavioral ills in a nutshell. So once a person says he or she accepts Jesus, his or her mind is supposed to begin following all of these patterns intended to turn on sensitivity in some hearts where there could have been little more than coldness before, and to turn on empathy in others where there may have been nothing but callousness before. In more than a few people that has been fairly effective. One problem, however, is that first of all Jesus didnt rise from the dead. But to give the impression that he did, while ultimately and quixotically hoping to authorize what appears to be a prophetically endorsed theological package, lots of psychologically harmful material about the end of the world was unfortunately needing to be added, even as extremely grim depictions of the future were required so that illusion of his resurrection might seem to be real. For that additional baggage was needed to show what Jesus was doing—i.e., what he was up to, including whatever else he might one day need to do—after he rose from the dead nevertheless curiously disappeared from the stage (curious, that is, only to those who wish to believe that he rose). For all of that was meant to explain why, after his death, he was no longer available and couldnt be found, all while going away would be the natural net result of him actually being deceased. -DL
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 01:16:51 +0000