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In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
INTRODUCTION
Most people growing up in the West have a pretty definite idea of who Jesus Christ was and what he taught. Jesus of Nazareth was born of a virgin, grew up in Palestine and spent the later years of his rather short life teaching of the coming of the Kingdom of God. He began a new religion which was to become one of the driving forces in Western civilization. For those who worship him, he is the son of God, part of the Godhead, or God Himself. To millions of people, this is the truth. But is it?
Well, partially. Many of the major tenets of Christianity developed centuries after the death of Christ. Some of them are contrary to his actual teachings. We will examine some of these using the Bible itself as our main reference.
Then we will look at some revolutionary new developments in scriptural study. This new information is so comprehensive and conclusive that it offers us a new yardstick for evaluating and comparing traditional Christian understanding.
This is a big claim, and will necessarily be received with healthy skepticism, as any such claim should be. As detailed in Chapters 9 and 10, this evidence is an extremely intricate, computer decoded numerical structure which was discovered pervading ancient documents. The vastness and intricacy of this numerical structure is clearly super-human.
The first known report of this comprehensive mathematical coding was presented more than 900 years ago by a Hasidic Jewish rabbi, Judah the Pious. He put forth the theory "that the words and letters of the scripture are not accidental, but their order, and especially their numbers, reflect a mystical harmony."
Recent developments expand and demonstrate his theory to the extent that many researchers consider them to be proof not only of Judah the Pious' theory, but of the existence of God as well.
The references in this book cover a wide range of documents, including the Torah, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Nag Hammadi Library, the Dead Sea Scrolls, numerous pieces of Apocryphal Christian literature, and the Quran, as well as the views of numerous Christian scholars.
Unless otherwise specified, the biblical quotes are from THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, Translated from the Original Languages with Critical Use of All the Ancient Sources, Catholic Biblical Association of America, Catholic Press, 1970. Sometimes known as the Catholic Bible, this version was chosen only because it is readily available and, unlike the King James version, it is translated from the oldest available sources rather than from previous biblical translations.
Most of the Quranic quotations are taken from QURAN: THE FINAL TESTAMENT, Authorized English Version, Translated from the Original Arabic, translated by Rashad Khalifa, Islamic Productions, 1989. Several quotations were translated by him specifically for this book before his manuscript had been published.
The truths which Jesus taught are an integral and critical part of human spiritual development, and of the development of Western civilization in general. Those who truly wish to follow the religion of this man, and wish to worship God as he taught, will find many questions raised, and, I hope, many more answered in this volume.
Lisa Spray June, 1992
FAITH IN CRISIS
The Need For Re-examination
We live in a time of great change.
Our individual lives are often in great flux. Many people find themselves changing jobs, moving from one place to another, often from one profession to another. Even the nuclear family is unstable. The divorce rate is astounding-in 1990, almost half that of new marriages. Family ties no longer have the strength of former times.
This great instability is reflected in our society. The old patterns are breaking down, and great political and social change is taking place. On the one hand, communism is rapidly dissolving in the face of growing economic and social pressure. On the other hand, democratic societies face a myriad of seemingly overwhelming problems. There is an onslaught of violent crime, growing drug problems, increasing homelessness, spiraling environmental contamination, unrest in our inner cities, and epidemics of `modern' diseases-most notably AIDS and cancer.
The depths of these problems is difficult to comprehend. In the United States alone, up to 3 million people are homeless on any given night. Unemployment among certain segments of our population is 25%. In May of 1992 our major cities erupted once again in violent response to social conditions. Sparked by the decision in the Rodney King case, the breadth and violence of the rioting and looting which took place in the next few days stunned the nation and the world.
The situation with AIDS is just as sobering. What we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg, and already by the end of 1990, in major US cities, AIDS was the main cause of death for women between the ages of 20 and 40. There are estimates of 10 to 20 million people infected with HIV, the precursor to AIDS, world wide.
These are just samples of the great problems facing our society today. We could go on reciting them for volumes. These problems, in and of themselves, force dramatic changes within the lives of individuals, and society as a whole. And that change necessitates further changes.
CHANGE WITHIN CHRISTIANITY
Churches find themselves caught in the middle of this great whirlwind of change. Uncertain how to react to the drastic modifications in needs and attitudes of their members, they themselves must respond to the issues at hand. This internal conflict is vividly expressed by L. Howard in his article in the July 15, 1991 issue of Christianity & Crisis. He had been present at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Baltimore when it voted on the report of its committee on human sexuality, which urged greater acceptance of homosexuals by the Church:
What is perhaps most clear in Baltimore was that the crisis in human sexuality in our society and our churches is not limited. As the pastoral letter says, "We are being torn apart by issues of teenage sexuality and practice, sexual violence, clergy sexual misconduct, new reproductive technologies, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and the sexual needs of gay and lesbian persons, the disabled, and older adults."
The report may not have been received officially. But the Presbyterian Church is forever changed by the debate it engendered.
Out of necessity, there is great change within most denominations. Views are changing regarding birth control, homosexuality, divorce and a myriad of other social and religious issues.
In response to all of this personal, social and religious upheaval, many people have found themselves re-evaluating their own faith. Some have come to reject the concept of a deity outright. Others now have serious doubts about some of the doctrines of their religion.
CURRENT PERCEPTIONS OF JESUS
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