Saturday, May 05, 2018

Born again

In the Netflix series Troy, S1:E6, Aphrodite explains to Paris that the curse has been broken.

What was the curse...?  The first of several archetypes we'll examine here:  The choice of sexual love and beauty over all else.

"A: Do you remember choosing me?  P: Yes.  A: If we replayed that day a thousand times again, you'd choose me a thousand times more.  P: Yes.  A: Yes."

Paris died in the river, and was resurrected by the Amazon warrior women; he died, was washed clean, and was born again.  The archetype for the metaphor that is Christian baptism.  He starts afresh, a second chance.  For what?

"A chance for fathers to grow old with their children... and their brothers."

This story of death and resurrection is timeless.  Surely, it must point to deep truths of the nature of our existence.

We are born into this world cursed.  Christianity tells this same story in Genesis.  And, throughout the New Testament, Jesus teaches that we must be born again: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by [my way of being]." - John 14:6

The reality of God is formless, a Unity beyond time and space, energy and matter, beyond our conceptions of truth, and in fact, entirely beyond our comprehension.  But God is visible to us in every form that we're willing to accept... in Nature, through the Spirits of our Ancestors, through the Gods, through the teachings of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, through Love, and through Ourselves.

"Know Thyself."

The Christians captured the archetype for our relationship with God in a way that is extraordinarily beautiful, and obvious, and yet has been misunderstood for two thousand years by nearly everyone who has heard the words:

God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus proclaimed a truth: "I and the Father are one." - John 10:30

If we, for a moment, can accept the historicity of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, then we can accept a second truth: that Jesus was a man.  This is the archetype for our human existence in this physical reality.

Through his crucifixion and resurrection, a third truth is proclaimed:  Jesus Christ is unlimited by his human form.  This, then, is the essence of the Holy Spirit.  This is the archetype for our Spirit, our ultimate nature, and the argument for our existence outside of time and space, beyond this physical reality.

As stated above, the reality of God is beyond our comprehension.  It is sufficient to say only: God is.  And then nothing more may be said without diminishing that Truth.

It follows that if we, like Jesus, are human and yet have a Spirit that transcends this reality, and we, like Jesus, are one with God,  then, while seemly separate in this realm, the truth of our ultimate reality is that we are each One with God ...we are God.  You are God.

So, here's the problem: To claim that you don't believe in God is, implicitly, to say that you don't believe in Yourself.

Consider, for a moment, an alternative... don't worry about God.  Instead, to start, just believe in yourself.  Know thyself.  Search for purpose in your life, and the meaning of your life through effort, and service to others.

Discover love...

Discover the meaning of intimacy...

Have fun!

The rest will take care of itself.