More on Keeping it Simple

In a previous post, I suggested the aphorism, "Don't make simple things complicated." I want to talk about this idea some more. Theologians write and act as if religion were complicated. What makes it complicated is the fact that so much fairy dust is attached to it. It's not enough to say that Jesus was a great man who took the wisdom of his time, both Jewish and Gentile, and taught us this wisdom in a understandable and effective manner. He used metaphor to establish his point. We call them parables, but by any name they are all metaphoric. The Shepherd who leaves his flock to find the one lost sheep. The prodigal son who is welcomed home by his father. The Samaritan who helps the wounded traveler when the high born Jews pass him by. My favorite is the bridegroom who goes to the slums to find his guests when the high born of the city refuse to attend his wedding; the picture of the prostitutes who enter the celebration first is telling. The subject matter of all of these metaphors was the coming Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus was clear that the Kingdom was at hand. He was also clear that it was for Jews only. Finally, he believed that the Kingdom had already arrived in the hearts and minds of the Jews if they would only acknowledge that fact and repent of their sins. This was the same message brought by John the Baptist. The Apostle Paul was the one who took the message outside Jerusalem to the Gentiles. It was his intent that they become Jews, but without having to be circumcised. It was on this foundation that the Church was formed. By the time of Constantine, around 315 CE, the liturgy of the church had been fully formed and was en grafted in the Nicene Creed. The Jewish nature of the message of Jesus had been removed nearly in its entirety by this time. The Jews, by now in exile from their homeland, remained committed to the old religion as it existed prior to Jesus time. I admit that this history is simplistic, but it is nonetheless true. The original message of Jesus had long since been lost by the time of Constantine. I believe that the time has come to accept Jesus as he originally was. A great man with a great message that should help us all cope with the rigors of being a human being. Because his message was metaphoric it retains its original power. We do not need to deify him to accomplish this. As I have stated before, his deification was done because that was common in the Roman Empire; it happened to the emperors when they died. Had he not been deified, no one would have taken Christianity seriously. In modern times we have progressed past that point. In Paul's metaphor, first we look through the glass darkly, and then clearly after that. It is time to look for Jesus through clear glass. Taken as it originally was, his message is simple but powerful. Taken as the Church makes him, a God rather than a man, his message is lost. The simple truth is that God has given us all that we need to save ourselves. This was the original message of Jesus, and it is still good today.