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ChristsWords.com The original Greek words and sysmbols |
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The Teaching of Christ and The Teaching of ChristiansThe purpose of this page is not to argue that any common Christian teachings are incorrect, but simply to highlight what Christ taught in the Gospels from what Christians focus on today. The teachings of the Christian Church are based on many sources other than Christ's words. Christ's actions acted as a powerful example for his followers, affecting their thinking. And his followers were themselves inspired by the Holy Ghost to extend the ideas that Christ taught directly. One example is the Trinity, the idea three persons in one God. While Christ's statements can be used to support the Trinity, Christ never taught the idea directly. At best, these ideas are inferred from Christ's statements. Many of these Christian teachings came from the Epistles, rather than the Gospels, most commonly from those of Paul. In all cases, these Christian teachings are easier to understand than what Christ taught. In other words, Christian teachings are human, written for human understanding. Christ's teachings are beyond human understanding though not beyond human contemplation. Our sense is that the more we look at Christ's words, the more we discover. We show these key teachings in the order they appear in the Gospels. Christ's Teachings1. Accept the world, for it is the path to completion and perfection not a battle between good and evil. This teaching starts with Christ's first words in the Gospel. Unlike later Christian teachings which see the world as evil, Christ sees it differently, as a testing place, where evil must exist if we are to perfect ourselves. Indeed, Christ says that we cannot become perfect until we learn to love what we naturally hate. The idea that we are incomplete in this life, even as Christians, is the foundation on which Christ teaches about the nature of reality. Christ doesn't use the language of Christians regarding being "saved" and thereby different than non-Christians. For Christians and non-Christians, the path is the same. The beatitudes, a central point of his teaching, can easily be read to describe, not different groups of people, but a spiritual journey that a person takes toward perfection, from someone "lacking the spirit" to a "son of God." The Greek term used to describe human nature in the Bible is not kakia, which means a malicious form of evil but poneros, which mean burdened and handicapped. The word that Christ uses for "good" is agathos, which means "sound," and "capable," as well as "morally good." Much more about this idea here. 2. The spiritual is as real and natural as the the temporal world. Christ begins this idea with his first test. Though Christ describes the spiritual and temporal worlds as different realms, he doesn't separate the spiritual and temporal as people do today, with one life here on earth and a different life in heaven. In his first test, his symbol for physical life is bread (more about that here), but the spirit is mixed in with the dough to make it better. Christ continually describes the spiritual and physical as emanating equally from God. The only difference is that the physical is temporary, while the spiritual is lasting. The spiritual seems more important because of its persistence while physical things are always evolving. The spiritual is being while the physical is becoming, so the physical is often harder for Christ to describe. However, unlike many Christians, Christ does not see the physical as bad and the spiritual as good. This was originally a Greek idea. Indeed, his good news was that life was a celebration of the wedding of the temporal and eternal. 3. You cannot test God or take any knowledge of God's will as certain. This is another recurring theme in Christ's teaching starting with his second test. Indeed, from reading Christ's words, I often get the sense that the whole point of the physical world is to make the test of faith possible because it is necessary. The processes of believing what is uncertain is itself part of the transforming power of the world and Christ in our lives. In this process we accept that we cannot understand or explain the divine in any real sense. We have to be humble about the fact the we can never know for certain what God wants from us personally. Christians who teach that they know the absolute truth of God are missing the point of much of what Christ taught and certainly his whole mode of teaching, which is often intentionally ambiguous. Indeed, Christ teaches that it is our uncertainty that is a necessary part of our path to completion. Both are faith and the uncertainty of that faith are important in this process. God is hidden live the universe or heaven as hidden. Christ usually describes Him as "our Universal Father" or what we translate as "Heavenly Father," but he also describes him as our Hidden Father (Mat 6:6, Mat 6:18). However, God will make everything that is hidden known (Luk 12:2). 4. Human society is something separate from the natural world. This lesson starts with Christ's third test. While some Christian tend to see the spiritual as good and the physical as evil, Christ draws the line differently. He sees the physical world as God's creation, every bit as good and natural as the spiritual. The only different is the the spiritual is lasting and the physical is transitory. A big part of human life is human relationships, the source of emotion. Human society is different; it can be the source of evil and mankind's burdens. It is human society, not the natural world, that Christ came to earth to reform. When Christ talks about "coming of the kingdom of God," he doesn't seem to be talking only about the afterlife but reforming human society, bringing the universal rule of God to the way we live together, not in a state, but as individuals dealing with each other as children of God. Christ also teaches that the rules for human society are different than the rules for individuals. Individuals are perfectible and the source of a good society, but human society will never be perfect and always the source of temptation. 5. Optimism about being rewarded for our good works. While Christians talk only about our heavenly rewards, Christ describes our payment for good works in the same terms as you would use for getting paid for doing a job. It is not clear whether or not that this payment is material or spiritual, but my guess is that our payment takes the form of moving us closer to that perfect state that is the goal of our lives on earth. In Greek, Christ uses many "economic" terms to describe human interactions that have been lost by the more spiritual interpretations of his followers. The terms we translated as "good news" or "gospel" is from a Greek word that means "the reward for bringing good news." It was the "tip" you gave a messenger for bringing good news. In the first verse of Mark that quotes Christ, Christ describes his mission as getting people turn around and to believe that they will be rewarded for bringing good news to others. In a sense, Christ sought to replace an pessimistic mindset about the nature of life with a positive one that not only encompassed our temporal life but our eternal one. 6. The "Kingdom of Heaven" that Christ described seems to be the whole universal order, not just the afterlife or the Christian community. Christ's entire mission revolved around describing "the kingdom of heaven" and its progress on earth. The nearness of the kingdom was among his first messages and his first instructions on preaching to his apostles. We say that "the kingdom of heaven is coming" in the sense that it is not here, but Christ said that "the universal rule is under way," that life works according to the rules of heaven and that it was time for humanity to recognize that. Most Christians take his statements are referring either to the afterlife, the world after the last judgment, or the community of Christians, but if you look at what Christ said in detail about the kingdom, there is too much that doesn't make sense in that interpretation. 7. The physical, mental, and emotional parts of our lives life must be brought into balance and one complement the other. Christ is constantly referring to these three aspects of life both directly and symbolically. To a large degree, his teaching was aimed at reforming how we view each of these parts of our lives. Physical bodies are not meant to be tortured, especially not for the glory of God. He wanted us to celebrate because he brought the good news of eternal life. The mental life is meant to grow, holding knowledge as a cup holds wine, both old knowledge and new, but new knowledge must be tested. We are not meant for ignorance. Though knowledge is hidden, it will be revealed if we repeatedly ask our father. Finally, the emotional life of our relationships is not a social reward, but rather they are real private commitments of friendship, marriage, and parenthood. Those who seek gratification in public praise and public acclaim are missing the point of life. Human society is a necessary evil, not the epitome of human ambition.
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