Thanks for this, David. I largely agree with your observations about idolatry and, in contrast, the better way which is to live the values in one’s everyday affairs.
"Union with God' is not a Jewish aspiration as this Jew understands it. The Zaddikim spoke of "turning to God' or "clinging to God" and the older Biblical notion is "searching for God" or "returning to God." Man cannot merge with God as in the Vedic realization of Atman, or if he can, it's not a realistic goal for 99.99 percent of us. What we can reasonably do is to seek the presence or holiness of God sincerely. Above all through prayer, but also in many other ways including deeds of compassion and charity. God wants us to be people, good people. Not to be God Himself.
We become good people by striving to be more like God through worshipping Him. A key Jewish concept which has influenced me is the idea that the effect of idolatry is that we become like what we worship. Whichever God one chooses to worship, one will take on the qualifies of it. And so the same with the God of the Bible.
And mysticism is essentially a form of worship, just to a much more intense degree. As one gets close to God through compassion, charity, prayer, one also does so through mystical rituals capable of producing mystical experiences. And note that "union with God" is not the same thing as "becoming God." Growing very close to someone and becoming more like them is not the same as becoming them.
Jokes aside , whatever we know of that time, definitely defines J as a Jew
But as you say and I agree , Christianity is not about Jesus, not even about Jesus worship
But, if I remember correctly, J many times proclaimed himself as a son of God, and thus removes himself from the tradition
So Judeo/Christian is not judaism, basic violations of important principles makes it a different religion, something that assumes idolatry natively - I mean how do you not idolize a son of god!
While your article makes several very good points, I would like to clarify some points from a historical perspective. Some of these points are technical and long winding so I will try to just list some basic bullet points.
1. Rabbinic Judaism is not a direct continuation from Pharisaic Judaism, rather it is based on traditions from both the Pharisees and the essenes. Granted, the legal traditions were more strongly influenced by the Pharisees while the theological traditions were more strongly influenced by the essenes, however it is not correct to categorize rabbinic Judaism as coming from specifically the Pharisees.
2. Jesus himself likely had little exposure to the Essenes, as during his lifetime they remained very solitary and did not interact with general population. His disciples however, did seem to adapt a lot of Essene theology, which likely occurred after the Essenes rejoined the general Jewish population after the destruction of the Temple.
3. Essene theology can largely be categorized as mystical, with a heavy focus on apocalyptic theology and eschatology. From what we know about Jesus he did not seem to have been engaged in this much. Rather he seem to have been a ethical and moral teacher. It is likely a reaction by his disciples after his death and alleged Resurrection that they began to understand him as a Messianic figure and reinterpreted the Messianic redemption to be spiritual in face of his death, which was done through borrowing from Essene mysticism. This influence is seen very strongly in early Christianity, while later theologians tended to focus more on ethical monotheism which is more the character of Jesus himself.
4. The historical Jesus seem to have been strongly associated with the Pharisees, although it is debated if he saw himself as a Pharisee. However, he seemed to observe many Pharisaic traditions, and even spoke positively of the legal authority of the Pharisees, although he criticized that their philosophy and their personal integrity.
5. Although Christian theology borrows heavily from Essene traditions, there were two major departures they made wish I would argue do not allow us to define Christianity as a continuation of Essene traditions. The first is supersessionism, where they replaced the covenant with the house of Israel with the institution of the church. The entire Hebrew Bible is focused around a covenant between the Jewish people and the god of Israel, while the Christians transformed the message into a universalist religion of ethical monotheism. The second is antinomianism, where they abrogated the laws of the Old testament. This was a central feature of Essene Judaism, and there are even many halachic (Jewish legal) texts extant from the Qumran sect. This is also connected to the departure from covenant theology where rituals are parts, of our obligation towards God, to preaching ethics and love where faith takes precedence over acts.
Epistemological Metaphysics is an interesting branch of philosophy. Never heard Pauline-Christian Paganism. Is this metaphysical branch inclusive of Replacement Theology. Human sacrifice. Kill the Jews to take their places to G-d. Seems a parallel to me but what do you think?
The label that I have applied to it is admittedly my own somewhat polemical and poetic descriptor.
But yes, your description is accurate to the general trend I'm discussing, though my framing of it could be understood to go broader than just that variety of cruelty masquerading as Christianity.
Point Taken. Besides Christo-Mohammadean are there other either Religious or Secular societies your research in Pauline-Christian Paganism has uncovered?
Thanks for this, David. I largely agree with your observations about idolatry and, in contrast, the better way which is to live the values in one’s everyday affairs.
"Union with God' is not a Jewish aspiration as this Jew understands it. The Zaddikim spoke of "turning to God' or "clinging to God" and the older Biblical notion is "searching for God" or "returning to God." Man cannot merge with God as in the Vedic realization of Atman, or if he can, it's not a realistic goal for 99.99 percent of us. What we can reasonably do is to seek the presence or holiness of God sincerely. Above all through prayer, but also in many other ways including deeds of compassion and charity. God wants us to be people, good people. Not to be God Himself.
We become good people by striving to be more like God through worshipping Him. A key Jewish concept which has influenced me is the idea that the effect of idolatry is that we become like what we worship. Whichever God one chooses to worship, one will take on the qualifies of it. And so the same with the God of the Bible.
And mysticism is essentially a form of worship, just to a much more intense degree. As one gets close to God through compassion, charity, prayer, one also does so through mystical rituals capable of producing mystical experiences. And note that "union with God" is not the same thing as "becoming God." Growing very close to someone and becoming more like them is not the same as becoming them.
Divine is achieved by
Fuck with a lover
Drink tasty alcohol
Smoke happy weed
Long meal with friends
Watch a movie, read a book, listen to music
Not necessarily in this order
.
.
Jokes aside , whatever we know of that time, definitely defines J as a Jew
But as you say and I agree , Christianity is not about Jesus, not even about Jesus worship
But, if I remember correctly, J many times proclaimed himself as a son of God, and thus removes himself from the tradition
So Judeo/Christian is not judaism, basic violations of important principles makes it a different religion, something that assumes idolatry natively - I mean how do you not idolize a son of god!
In my soviet youth, we would call it “personality cult “
While your article makes several very good points, I would like to clarify some points from a historical perspective. Some of these points are technical and long winding so I will try to just list some basic bullet points.
1. Rabbinic Judaism is not a direct continuation from Pharisaic Judaism, rather it is based on traditions from both the Pharisees and the essenes. Granted, the legal traditions were more strongly influenced by the Pharisees while the theological traditions were more strongly influenced by the essenes, however it is not correct to categorize rabbinic Judaism as coming from specifically the Pharisees.
2. Jesus himself likely had little exposure to the Essenes, as during his lifetime they remained very solitary and did not interact with general population. His disciples however, did seem to adapt a lot of Essene theology, which likely occurred after the Essenes rejoined the general Jewish population after the destruction of the Temple.
3. Essene theology can largely be categorized as mystical, with a heavy focus on apocalyptic theology and eschatology. From what we know about Jesus he did not seem to have been engaged in this much. Rather he seem to have been a ethical and moral teacher. It is likely a reaction by his disciples after his death and alleged Resurrection that they began to understand him as a Messianic figure and reinterpreted the Messianic redemption to be spiritual in face of his death, which was done through borrowing from Essene mysticism. This influence is seen very strongly in early Christianity, while later theologians tended to focus more on ethical monotheism which is more the character of Jesus himself.
4. The historical Jesus seem to have been strongly associated with the Pharisees, although it is debated if he saw himself as a Pharisee. However, he seemed to observe many Pharisaic traditions, and even spoke positively of the legal authority of the Pharisees, although he criticized that their philosophy and their personal integrity.
5. Although Christian theology borrows heavily from Essene traditions, there were two major departures they made wish I would argue do not allow us to define Christianity as a continuation of Essene traditions. The first is supersessionism, where they replaced the covenant with the house of Israel with the institution of the church. The entire Hebrew Bible is focused around a covenant between the Jewish people and the god of Israel, while the Christians transformed the message into a universalist religion of ethical monotheism. The second is antinomianism, where they abrogated the laws of the Old testament. This was a central feature of Essene Judaism, and there are even many halachic (Jewish legal) texts extant from the Qumran sect. This is also connected to the departure from covenant theology where rituals are parts, of our obligation towards God, to preaching ethics and love where faith takes precedence over acts.
However, the paganism you speak of is largely a Hellenistic influence and not a Jewish one.
Already enjoying myself! Thanks, Man!
Epistemological Metaphysics is an interesting branch of philosophy. Never heard Pauline-Christian Paganism. Is this metaphysical branch inclusive of Replacement Theology. Human sacrifice. Kill the Jews to take their places to G-d. Seems a parallel to me but what do you think?
The label that I have applied to it is admittedly my own somewhat polemical and poetic descriptor.
But yes, your description is accurate to the general trend I'm discussing, though my framing of it could be understood to go broader than just that variety of cruelty masquerading as Christianity.
Point Taken. Besides Christo-Mohammadean are there other either Religious or Secular societies your research in Pauline-Christian Paganism has uncovered?
I suspect you might find on interest some of the pieces in these series I did:
https://www.godofthedesert.org/p/the-90-installments-in-my-3-essay
And this 2-part series might further reveal the roots of my oddball approaches to these subjects:
https://www.godofthedesert.org/p/the-40-counterculture-writers-who
https://www.godofthedesert.org/p/the-40-counterculture-writers-who-83d