December 30, 2015
Post #5 of 365 posts
We are dedicated to co-equality and balance between men and women! Our premise is that God created us this way to be whole, complete, unified – as One, through one another, masculine and feminine. We are discussing how the Word of God as taught by Jesus of Nazareth was willfully or inadvertently misrepresented or misunderstood such that men came to believe they were somehow more equal.
This weblog, our pamphlets, study guides and other materials are inspired by Miguel’s book, The Word 2.0, a new biography of Jesus of Nazareth in his own words, based upon a single, unified timeline.
Find us at Amazon.com or our website: www.whatifjesuswasawoman.com
Whether or not you agree please “share” us with your friends, and be our “friend”!
You are reading one in a year-long series on the “Feminine-ist” teaching of Jesus of Nazareth.
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In the context of events which took place in Israel before Jesus was born, I found the Seleucid Greek invasion particularly important because the Greek belief system we call “Hellenism” was introduced at that time. It caused a division among the people of Israel not only along the lines of those who became “Hellenists” and those who remained “Traditionalists”, but also, apparently, between men and women. I have briefly touched upon some basic principles of Jesus of Nazareth’s life and ministry, as they are revealed in my book “The Word 2.0”:
1. Jesus was a “Traditional” Hebrew-Jewish teacher and Rabbi – to say the least!
2. Jesus was not a “Hellenist” in any sense of our understanding the word.
3. Jesus espoused and promoted that our One True God – the God of Israel, is both masculine and feminine, as is reflected in all Creation.
4. Jesus said that we must love the Lord our God first and foremost, and then love one another as we love ourselves.
5. Jesus taught that love, beginning with God’s “Ruach HaKodesh” – the Breath of Life and Holy Spirit, as aspects of God’s Divine Feminine, is the only way that men can experience the Kingdom of God.
6. Jesus rejected the kind of egocentric, selfish, self-centered thinking and behavior of men that characterizes “Hellenism”.
We will discuss each of these points in much greater detail, and look for my set of 10 study guides they will soon also be available!
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References are to pages in the book.
We were discussing the events that occurred during the public ministry of Jesus when he came into contact with Greek people, or some experience directly related to the Greek culture. Whether or not we all agree, it seemed as though Jesus was not specifically opposed to all things Greek. On the one hand he was willing to help a Greek woman whose faith was great. But then again he refused to even hear Greek men who sought him.
Then sometime following the events surrounding the feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits in Jerusalem (Pages 333 – 390.) however, Saul of Tarsus, himself a Greek-speaking Jewish Hellenist who had been persecuting Jesus’ followers, records his own “white-light” vision on the road to Damascus. It is only natural that Saul would have persecuted Jesus’ followers – the Nazarenes, as they represented a legacy of “Traditionalist” Hebrew-Jewish view – in opposition to his brand of Hellenism. And of course that he would disbelieve the teaching of Jesus himself. (Pages 399-400.)
But our goal here is to compare and contrast two kinds of men. One, Jesus, who seemed always to have reflected a great degree of masculine-feminine co-equal balance. And two, Saul, who seemed possessed by masculine ego and self-will. When Jesus received God’s Ruach HaKodesh – Holy Spirit, he came to symbolize the kind of harmony, the wholeness, unity, and oneness that only comes from love for others. A oneness that all men can achieve in co-equal balance with the feminine. Saul however struggled virtually everyday of his life with the bondage of his masculine flesh – his ego, his self-will, his male tendencies, his self-love. If you will, his Hellenism.
For Paul Hellenism was like an affliction that hobbled or even disabled his faith in God. However conflicted Saul was, his struggle with Hellenism is apparent as we follow him from place to place. Sometimes lucid and passionate, others times cold and confused. Juxtaposed to what, where and when Jesus taught, Saul ended up preaching outside Israel in primarily Greek speaking regions pagan or gentile areas. (Page 401.) While he sought to teach the word of God as Jesus did, he simply was unable to transcend his masculine, Hellenist worldview that men were more equal than women.
Outside the ‘New Testament’ it is clear from the record that it was Saul/Paul’s unique version of Greek Hellenism Rome adopted when it made “Christianity” the official religion of the empire. While the focus has remained on empire building and male dominance, perhaps such men are not yet even fully aware of what Saul’s experience means? Well for one thing, what kind of man are you?
Make it a wonderful day!
Miguel
