Modern Christian baptism false - read "Embracing Jesus and the Goddess"

From:  "jagbir singh" <www.adishakti.org@gmail.com>
Date:  Fri Oct 1, 2004  7:44 am
Subject:  Modern Christian baptism false - read "Embracing Jesus and the Goddess"

 
—- In shriadishakti@yahoogroups.com, "kyvolk" <kyvolk@y...> wrote:
>
> I was just wondering. Considering the ritual of baptism in the
> catholic/christian churches is nothing more than a pointless
> ritual, what was the role of john the baptist in the bible and in
> real life at that time? Wasn't he the one who baptised jesus? If
> so, then wouldn't jesus had spoken out about the pointlessness of
> the ritual alledgedly preformed by john on jesus? Just curious why
> this is such a prevelent thing in these religions and if it isn't
> real, how did it find its way so solidly into these religionsand
> in artists depictions of these events.
>
> Thankx
>
>

Carl McColman, author of "Embracing Jesus and the Goddess"

Author's disclaimer: This does not "prove" Jesus would be a Wiccan
if he were on Earth today, anymore than it could prove he would be a
Democrat or a Republican. The ideas expressed here are intended to
get you to think for your self and draw your own conclusions—an
important thing to do, no matter what your beliefs or what
organizations you belong to. As some wiseguy once remarked, "I
think—therefore, I'm dangerous." Be dangerous: think for yourself.


1. Jesus criticized the hypocrisy and legalism of the religious
status quo, and chose to embrace an alternative spiritual path.
Matthew 23:1-36. In Jesus' day, the religious establishment included
the Pharisees and Sadducees, dominant factions in first century
Judaism. Jesus' alternative path followed the radical teachings of
his mentor, John the Baptist. Nowadays, in Europe and the Americas
the status quo is mainly Christianity; the path of the Goddess —
Wicca—is one of the most compelling of available spiritual
alternatives. Many people who embrace Wicca have the exact same
criticisms of Christianity that Jesus is said to have had about the
religious establishment in his day. Hypocrisy, legalism, blind
obedience of the rules to the point of ignoring spiritual values
like love, trust, and freedom—these are the problems Jesus
attacked in the official religion in his day, and that many Wiccans
today see in the religious status quo of our time. Perhaps Jesus,
were he here today, would join Wiccans in criticizing mainstream
religion and trying to find an alternative way.

2. Jesus was a psychic healer. Luke 6:19; John 9:1-12. Luke comments
that "all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out
from him and healed all of them." And John recounts how Jesus made a
magic healing paste by mixing his saliva with soil from our Mother,
the Earth. For Jesus, healing was a central part of his spiritual
identity. Witches, likewise, rely on herbal wisdom, natural foods,
and psychic practices like reiki to bring healing and comfort to
themselves and their loved ones. Sadly, the Christian religion
rarely encourages its followers to take responsibility for their own
healing, but rather colludes with a medical establishment that keeps
people passive in regard to their own wellness. Jesus the healer has
much more in common with Wiccan healers than with church-
going "patients."

3. Jesus acknowledged the divinity within each person. John 10:34-36.
All he was doing was quoting the Psalms, but Jesus emphasized
it: "You are gods." Throughout the Bible, Jesus uses mystical
language to illustrate the essential unity between humanity and
divinity. How sad that the church founded in his name lost that
sense of human divinity, and has instead stressed the "fallenness"
and "separation" that keeps humanity alienated from the divine.
Incidentally, this is an indirect affirmation of Goddess
spirituality, as well—for if we are gods, as Jesus quoting the
scripture insists, then both men and women partake of the godly
nature; implying therefore that God encompasses both the masculine
and feminine dimension of life. So the "God" whom Jesus worships
incorporates both the God and the Goddess as revered by Wiccans.

4. Jesus lived close to nature. Matthew 8:20; Mark 1:12-13; 3:13;
Luke 4:42; John 18:1. Jesus took a vision quest in the wilderness;
he loved to pray in the mountains, slept in gardens, and made a
point of telling his followers that he had no house to live in.
Frankly, it's hard to imagine him driving an SUV or worshiping in an
air conditioned church. If Jesus were here today, I suspect he'd
live in an ecologically sustainable intentional community, and he'd
advocate a sacred duty to the Earth with the same zeal which which
he advocated care for the poor and the downtrodden.

5. Jesus believed in magic. Matthew 7:7-11. Only he called it prayer.
"How many of you, if your child asks for a fish, will give them a
stone?" "If you ask for it in my name, it will be done." Church-goers
often see magic as different from prayer, because prayer is timid and
uncertain: "Not my will, but thine." By contrast, magic assumes that
the Divine Spirit loves us and wants to bless us in accordance with
our highest desires. When Jesus prayed, he prayed with confidence,
not timidity. And he taught his followers to do the same. Nowadays,
magic may have fancy window dressing (light this candle, recite this
incantation, etc.) but it still comes down to the same thing: making
a request for spiritual blessing. Jesus' vision of prayer is like
Wicca's vision of magic: it's based on trust and love, unlike the
prayer of church religion, which is based on fear, self-criticism
and self-doubt.

6. Jesus could command the weather. Matthew 8:23-27. Witches have a long-standing reputation for being able to conjure up storms and
otherwise control the weather. Jesus, like any accomplished
weather-witch, possessed a similar set of skills. He did this both
actively (like when he calmed the storm out in the Sea of Galilee)
and indirectly (as he was dying, he caused darkness to reign in the
middle of the day).

7. Jesus had a profound relationship with the elements. Matthew
14:22-26; Luke 3:16; Luke 8:22-25; John 9:6. Jesus could walk on
water; he could command the wind; he baptized with fire, and he used
the soil of the Earth to make healing pastes. His spirituality was
primal and grounded in the power of the elements. Modern-day
Christianity is abstract, sterile, and anti-septic—it is a
religion of books, words, and mental concepts. But Jesus, like most
modern-day Wiccans, found vitality in the energies of the natural
world.

8. Like a shaman, Jesus could channel spirits. Mark 9:2-8. One of the
most profound stories in the Bible is that of the transfiguration,
when Jesus conjured the spirits of Moses and Elijah. To his
followers, this demonstrated Jesus' authority as a spiritual leader.
Later on, Jesus tells his followers that they will do greater works
than his (John 14:12); ironically, though, Christianity does not
permit its followers to invoke or conjure spirits. But invocation of
benevolent spirits has been a part of shamanic spirituality since
the dawn of humankind, and modern-day Witches follow in this
shamanistic tradition when they Draw Down the Moon and the Sun,
calling the spirit of Goddess and God into their Circles.

9. Jesus was comfortable with sensuality and eroticism. Luke 7:36-50.
One night, while dining at a respectable home, Jesus received a
sensuous foot washing from a woman, who used oil and her hair to
wipe the teacher's feet. The host and the other guests were
scandalized, but Jesus saw it as a perfectly lovely _expression of
affection and hospitality. In fact, when comments were made to
Jesus, he responded by saying basically, "What's your problem?"
Alas, the religion that bears his name has evolved into an
erotically-repressed spirituality, more like Jesus' uptight host
than Jesus himself. Paganism and Wicca, meanwhile, are spiritual
systems that celebrate sensuality, sexuality, and the basic goodness
of pleasure. Jesus, who got criticized for being a pleasure lover
himself (Matthew 11:19), would no doubt be at home in Wicca's
celebration of the goodness of nature and the body.

10. In his own way, Jesus practiced the Wiccan Rede. Matthew 5:21-22;
Matthew 22:33; John 8:32. The core ethical principle in Wicca is the
Rede: "If you harm none, do what you will." There's two components to
this teaching: non-harm, and freedom. It's a basic principle; you
have spiritual freedom, but not to the point of harming your self or
others. Compare this to several of Jesus' teachings. Matthew tells
us that Jesus was so committed to the principle of non-harm that he
regarded the intent to do violence as bad as violence itself.
Meanwhile, John quotes Jesus as saying "Truth sets you free." But
what is the truth that sets us free? The truth of love, trust,
healing, and divine grace; in other words, the universal truths that
can be found in any spiritual path. The opposite of harm is
love. "Harm none" is another way of saying "Love your neighbor as
yourself."

11. In his own way, Jesus advocated Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.
Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:32-36; Luke 12:22-34. John quotes Jesus as
saying "Do not let your hearts be troubled" and "love one another as
I have loved you." Throughout the Gospels, Jesus says "Do not be
afraid." He suggests his disciples "become like little children" —
in other words, be trusting and open-hearted. It's such a simple
message, and today Wicca embodies the spirit of perfect love and
trust; indeed, traditional covens require the phrase "Perfect Love
and Perfect Trust" as a password to gain entry into circle.
Christianity, meanwhile, preaches a message based on perfect anger
and perfect fear: God is wrathful, and unless a person is fearfully
obedient, he or she will be tortured for eternity. That's the
opposite of what Jesus stood for. Love and trust leads to healing
and liberation, whereas fear of judgment leads to depression and
spiritual passivity.

12. His enemies accused Jesus of being under the influence of demons.
John 8:48; John 10:20. It's an old tactic. When the people who have
religious power want to dismiss their critics, they accuse the
critics of being demonically possessed. That's what the Pharisees
said about Jesus, and nowadays that's what the religious right says
about Wicca. Jesus was someone who loved the average person on the
street, but had little patience for religious bigotry and self-
righteousness. No doubt Jesus would feel he has more in common with
Wiccans than with the fundamentalists who attack them.

13. Jesus was killed, unfairly, for his "blasphemy." Mark 14:63-64.
Thankfully, Wiccans nowadays don't get burned at the stake. But tens
of thousands of people—mostly women—did get killed in Europe
for the "crime" of Witchcraft. Even if these people weren't Witches,
the fact remains: they were brutally murdered for religious reasons.
Well—so was Jesus. Modern day Wicca looks to the victims of the
Witch burnings as heroes of the Goddess faith, just like Christians
see in Jesus their own spiritual hero. Jesus, meanwhile, was the
kind of man who would rather side against the killers and the
executioners. Given the fact that, throughout history, far more
Christians have killed Witches than vice versa, it's easy to see
Jesus embracing the Goddess, working to heal her children, and
calling those who bear his name to repent of their violence.

^^^

Copyright 2001 by Carl McColman. This document is provided to the
Internet community free of charge and for the purpose of sparking
debate, discussion, and free thought. Permission is hereby granted to
copy the material on this page, as long as the author is credited and
the URL (
http://www.wellreadwitch.com/jcwitch.htm
) is included. Thank you, and blessed be!

 



 


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