Was Jesus Divine?

  Lesson title -

Was Jesus More Divine Than Other People?

Of course, as Catholics, our Sacred Traditions and culture dictate that we believe in Christ's divinity.  We are fortunate that way.

The big question that then follows is, "Was Jesus Christ more divine than everyone else?"

Both traditional Gospels and especially the Nag Hammadi Gospels both seem to leave this critical question unanswered.  Nowhere does Jesus say, "I'm better than you are."  Oh, he claimed divinity 100% and often - but he then seemed to proffer this same divinity to all mankind.

His path of discipleship to Apostleship is thick with references to them acquiring His divine powers.  He specifically granted miracle-working authority to his Apostles after his resurrection. 

Church Theology Thought Stream

The Theology and Foundational principals of the Reform Catholic Church:

We are relatively new.  The Church was initially formed in 2014.  Currently our faith has two deacons (a word we teach is synonymous with 'Rabbi'), and two or three active members.

We make a dedicated and active effort to follow Christ's call to Apostleship.  We study and choose to follow the known works and words of Jesus Christ - but we study and interpret the Bible and Sacred Texts in private, and only speak of them from memory and in an oral tradition.

We believe the Gospel is only the living word of God if it is expressed orally in parable and as a sacred tradition.

We believe Jesus called all of his students to be Apostles, and actively invited all mankind to join him as a Savior.  He conferred upon all active Apostles the gift of miracle working - a gift which we all share as our heritage in faith.

We believe that fully realized Apostles a sprinkled through history and live among us.  The common label within Catholicism for these miraculous people is "Saints".

We accept Christ's mandate in the Nag Hammadi Gospels to not build churches, but instead to hold sacred every dwelling, no matter how humble or grand.  "Every table an altar, every meal a Sacrament, every word of truth, love and kindness a part of God's infinite purpose.

We believe in one God Almighty in honor of the Sacred Traditions of our families and culture.  We believe in God Almighty, in the Holy Spirit within all creation, and in the words, actions and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth - the prophesied Savior promised in Old Testament (Torah) ancient Judaic texts.

We believe Jesus was a practicing Rabbi, and thus study and embrace the theology of first century Judaism.  The Pirke Avot (Wisdom of the Jewish Sages) is our primary historic source for this knowledge.

We are Pantheistic - We believe that if God is infinite than every single thing in reality is part of the infinite revealed in countless parts.  The separateness of one from another is an illusion - through our own personal Holy Spirit we all contain the infinite within ourselves.

We believe that the word "God" and the word "Reality" are the same word.

We believe every table is an altar, every home is a church, and every gathering is sacred.  We express our faith through words and actions.

We are establishing an oral tradition - we do not use the written word to create and share God's gospels and our faith.

We incorporate the contemporary Bible into our historical foundations, but we believe the word of God is woven into our daily lives, and that living word is the law and the truth as espoused by Jesus.

We fully incorporate the Nag Hammadi Gospels and modern sources like Gandhi and Martin Luther King into what we preach - which is the 3rd testament, a testament that is both taught and spoken but not recorded in text form.  We are still undecided about whether our oral traditions should be recorded and saved - but for now we are purely a faith of oral Gospel, apostleship and action.

A First Century Church in the Twenty-First Century

Jesus Christ never desired a written history, he called on his followers to 'carry' his message, not to write everything down and make a book out of it.

If you recall, in one of Christ's Gospels he said out loud he was here to void the old laws.  The Reform Catholic Church interprets Christ's words literally and interprets this statement as an admonition against the use of written texts to carry the Gospel and history of God's words.
Instead the congregation and ministry of the Reform Church carries the word as an oral tradition - freely interpreting both the historical texts and modern sources as the revealed Word of God.

We then carry the word in Apostleship and Faith, as Christ commanded.  In speech and in action, we follow the path of Christ.

What is Charisma?

Background:

Charisma is the least understood verified human behavioral phenomena.


Charismatic people exist in all cultures, and this rare quality often leads to world-changing experiences that affect the arc of human history.    Charismatics engage other people at a layer of the human psyche that has very little in common with the real world.

I have learned that charisma is a relatively rare human trait.  It appears to be an inborn quality, and it is not easily taught or learned.  It is virtually unknown to science what causes this strange human attraction that seems to radiate from some people.

Some charismatics can control and focus this effect.  Derren Brown is a famous British "magician" who does no traditional magic at all - but he can buy expensive things with blank sheets of paper, and he can pick up a random ticket from the floor of a horse racing track and present it for hundreds of dollars of winnings.  His personality is simply that powerful.  Here is a link:  Derren Brown buying things with blank paper.

"There was a Master come unto the Earth.  Born in the Holy Land of Indiana, raised in the mystical hills East of Fort Wayne."  Richard Bach, 'Illusions'.

What is known about charisma?

I have studied charisma and mass human influence for over 40 years.  I have discovered that charisma is what we call someone who has the power to completely focus 100% of their attention on the people they are interacting with.  Often they do this without thought or apparent effort - it is woven into the fabric of who they are at the deepest level.  

This ability to fully focus attention appears to trigger an immediate and unexplained response within almost every person with whom they interact.  Very few people are recorded as immune to charisma.

Human beings respond dramatically to charismatics in person, in print, on TV and on the radio - and charismatics create and influence mass movements, create huge cultural and economic shifts, and quite simply change the lives of millions of human beings almost without effort.

Charisma has always been the great unknown.  Doctors, philosophers, scientists… not even psychiatrists and sociologists can explain charisma.  What human quality creates a Hitler, a Bill Clinton, a Che Guevarra or a Donald Trump?

Good people have it, like Ghandi... terrible people can have it too - like Hitler.  Who and what are these people?  Since charisma is very similar to hypnosis, it is important to learn what charisma is and how it works.

In other words, "What is charisma?" 

Let's look it up:

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cha·ris·ma                                                     From:  Wikipedia online

kəˈrizmə/

noun

                           1.  compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.

                   "she enchanted guests with her charisma"

                2. a divinely conferred power or talent. 

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That's it - two extremely vague statements that might as well read "We know it is real, but we have no idea at all what it is and what causes this universal phenomenon."

Interesting facts about charisma:  

The Bible is full of charismatics.  So is every other major religious text or oral tradition.  We need not argue whether Jesus or Buddha or Gandhi were divine - we are drawn to their words like moths to a flame.

There is a strong possibility charisma can outlive the life of the charismatic person.

Powerful charismatics can make almost anyone see, hear and experience things that are not real.  There is some evidence that points to either genuine paranormal (miracle) events or mass hallucination on an incredible scale.

Many charismatics live very ordinary lives - think of your favorite teacher, your favorite Aunt or special person.  It is quite possible they have significant charismatic qualities.