A New Age of Vision

Writing a book about Jesus Christ and His message is indeed fraught with many perils. However, I do feel there is a great need for us to re-examine the message of Jesus Christ in our current times. If we open our eyes and take a penetrating look at our world, we will immediately discern the importance of understanding the Christ message. We live in a world beset by many problems, and these problems are of our own creation. The Christ message offers us the solution we need for improving our human condition, and it does this by providing us with the instructions for the spiritual growth of man. But if we are to understand what Jesus Christ was, and is, teaching us, we will need to take a new and courageous look at what His message really means for us today. In our renewed pursuit to understand His message, we must strive to extricate our thinking from the orthodoxy which permeates conventional thinking about the message of Jesus Christ. Before men created the religious creeds and doctrines of the early church, there was Jesus of Nazareth living amongst the people of His day. His mission was to teach a ministry of love. We will not find any examples of Jesus Christ defining creeds or doctrines within any of the gospels. The message of Jesus Christ is about love. This is the love that God has for man, and this love was made manifest by the appearance of the Christ Spirit in our human world.

I would hasten to add that my understanding of the Christ message, as expressed in this book, is not a new understanding. The Christ message was a new gospel for humanity at the time when Jesus Christ expressed it two thousand years ago. Since the time of Jesus Christ, there have been various individuals who have made progress in understanding the Christ message, and it is this understanding that forms the basis for my book. Unfortunately, their voices have been unable to rise above the din of orthodoxy. I am not quite sure why I think this current work will fare any better but, with the coming of a New Age of Vision, I feel the time is now right for us to re-visit the message that Jesus Christ brought to earth. I also believe that my extensive research into the history of Christianity and my background in the formal studies of psychology and philosophy provide me with the unique ability to offer a comparative view of Christian theology. I have spent a number of years in the pursuit of understanding the history and development of Christian theology, and I have studied the various philosophical schools that have exerted their influence on the development of Christianity.

The Christ message offers us the truth that we need for our tumultuous times. If we are to pursue our spiritual development, our materialistic pursuits must eventually be supplanted by spiritual learning, and the message of Jesus Christ will provide us with the instructions for our spiritual growth. While our technological gadgets provide us with a false sense of security, our souls languish in a place of spiritual desolation. And with our technology about to overtake our humanity, we must at last return to our true purpose: the care and growth of our spiritual being. My sincere desire is for this book to be of assistance to all seekers who are interested in finding the spiritual path to truth. I wrote this book so that we could search for the truth as we journey together. In the final analysis, only the person who is willing to take this journey will be able to render their judgment on how helpful it was for seeking the truth in their life.

On our journey, I will explore the history of the Christian religion, and offer specific examples of how Christian doctrines were developed. With this information, we may better understand why the Christian religion has failed us. I will accomplish this investigation by referring to the canonical gospels found in our current Bible. And I will also explore the missing gospel books, which were excluded from the New Testament Bible Canon. While these excluded gospels were extremely popular amongst the early Christians, they were excluded from the Bible canon largely due to the politics of the early church. These non-canonical Christian gospels were discovered at an Egyptian site near the village of Nag Hammadi in 1945. I will also rely on ancient texts that would have been known to, and read by, the people who lived during the time when men were creating the Christian religion. Some of these ancient texts will come from a body of literature known as the “Corpus Hermeticum.” I shall also utilize concepts from Classical Literature, as well as ideas from science and philosophy. In so doing, I hope to reveal an exciting exposition of what Jesus Christ was teaching us. We will travel together on what I hope is a spirited journey, a journey that is both personal and meaningful for all who undertake this journey. Although it is necessary to include a brief discussion about early Christian history, this book is not intended to be an academic history book of Christianity. There are many such books of this type available for anyone seeking a scholastic study of Christianity. Some of these academic studies of Christianity are very good, and some are a bit arid and tedious. However, it is my intention to take us on a personal journey of discovery. This is a journey of discovery for finding the purpose behind the appearance of Jesus Christ in our physical world. It is also a journey about us, both as individuals and as a society. It is a journey into the nature of truth: truth about the reason for our existence. In consideration of the extremely daunting obstacles that are inherent in such a project, I do humbly hope that I have achieved some of my goals. In my mind, I cannot envision any valid reasons for why the greatest message ever given to humanity should be lacking in excitement and joy. In fact, it is this joy of life that is the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Any discussion about finding a path to peace, love and joy is certainly a discussion of the greatest importance for us in our time or at any time. And the path we seek is nothing less than a path to Heaven. By “Heaven,” I mean, as Jesus Christ meant, a spiritual paradise here on earth and beyond. My sincere hope is to explore the message of Christ by having a lively, provocative and enthralling discussion about the most important truth ever to be revealed to humanity. Jesus Christ taught us that our human spirit is a divine spark from God, and this is our true self. Jesus Christ expressed this reality when stating that “God is within us.” Because we are so preoccupied with the demands of a modern materialistic world, most of us have neglected or have been unable to learn about the true purpose for our existence. Our true purpose for descending into the physical world is for the spiritual growth of our human spirit. This is our “raison d’ etre.” Our journey in this book will be our exploration into the spiritual realm of the human spirit, and we will base our conclusions upon the wisdom of Christ, as shared by Jesus Christ Himself, the real Founder of Christianity.