SM Stirling's Rudi Mackenzie expounds a doctrine common to Catholicism and Wicca: "'...from sacrifice springs great power...'" (The Given Sacrifice, Chapter Twenty-Two, p. 455), three examples being Christ, Odin and the seasonal God who dies and returns each year so that the people may live.
Rudi refers to the myth of Christ. My interpretation of the history is as follows:
Jesus belonged to a class of first century Palestinian Jewish preacher-healers;
his teaching was the same as the Baptist's, the imminence of God's rule, "kingdom," on Earth and the need to prepare for it;
his prophetic teaching and powerful healing attracted a large following;
this large following made him wonder about his own role in the kingdom;
he asked Peter, "Who do men say that I am?," then "Who do you say that I am?";
Peter was impulsive and always spoke in the most exaggerated terms;
of course, Peter told Jesus that he was the Messiah;
accepting Peter's statement as a divine revelation, Jesus urged caution and secrecy on his immediate followers while he considered how to fulfil his Messiahship;
rejecting a Davidic military role, Jesus instead identified himself with the Suffering Servant of prophetic texts;
believing that his own vicarious suffering would initiate the kingdom, he deliberately provoked the authorities by entering Jerusalem at the head of a procession proclaiming him as the Messiah;
he was executed and died realising that this approach had failed;
it may be argued that spiritual power passed to his disciples, who preached and healed in his name.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Where a Christian would disagree with you is that Christ IS the Messiah. And that it was by His own consent, as part of the plan of God, for Him to die on the Cross. And, of course, that HE actually rose from the dead, and commissioned the Apostles to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, etc.
Sean
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