The idea that Jesus' death was a universally effective blood sacrifice (now either magically re-enacted in the "Mass" or otherwise memorialized in the Eucharistic ritual of bread/body and wine/blood) depends upon ideas that belong to the ancient "primitive" and popular culture of ritual magic (commonly referred to as "shamanism") and its traditional ritual blood sacrifice of animals (and even human beings). In shamanistic cultures (and all the cultures of ritual sacrifice, all of which developed from the "primitive" base that we may, for the sake of simplicity, refer to by the general term "shamanism"), prayers are offered Up (either to God or to various deities in the "air", or in the space between "Heaven" and Earth). The participants in such cultures believe that prayers cannot ascend unless they are carried up by "mana", or the life-force of freshly sacrificed animals (or even humans). That is to say, from such a point of view, every time a prayer (or request) is offered Up, it must be "delivered" by the released (and naturally ascending) energy of a blood sacrifice, or else it will not "arrive". Likewise, the "mana". (or blood-energy) sent Up with a prayer functions as a kind of "self-addressed envelope", to convey the resultant blessing (or the prayer's "answer") back to the sender.

Such ideas were common to both the old ritual religion of Israel and the popular Hellenistic religions that existed at the time of Jesus and early Christianity. Therefore, the death (and the apparently miraculous, or magical, "disappearance") of Jesus, coupled with all kinds of "reports" and visions and dreams and hopes, eventually became an "official" interpretation of Jesus' death as a blood sacrifice, not only effective, but universally effective (such that "faith" in the Spiritual Power, or Great "Mana", released by Jesus' death, "Resurrection", and "Ascension" would, in any and every moment, grant any worshipper direct access to God in "Heaven", above, without the necessity to go through any other rituals of purification or blood sacrifice).

Thus, Jesus was "officially" interpreted to be a human sacrifice that grants everyone the "Mana", for effective prayer (or direct access to the "Heavenly" Blessings of God). It is obvious that most people living in modern post-industrial societies would not claim it is necessary to kill animals (or humans) in order to provide an energy-vehicle (to and from God) for prayer-requests. Therefore, it must be asked, in a non-shamanistic culture (or a culture that has lost all sense of either the necessity or the meaning of the process of ritual sacrifice), what is the "meaning" of the death of Jesus? Without the shamanistic mind, or the ritual "idea", the death of Jesus can no longer be understood as a sacrifice at all (whether effective or ineffective), and his death is, therefore, simply a death.

However, modern societies have also traveled a long distance in the direction of Spiritual blindness (or the simultaneous abandonment of both Spiritual Enlightenment and archaic, or otherwise "superstitious", beliefs and techniques) in the quest for ordinary knowledge and both mental and technical (or physical) superiority and power over the natural world. Therefore, a little recovery of real Spiritual understanding will also necessarily re-Awaken something of the higher dimension of the human faculties that were (or are) activated by the ancient and traditional shamanistic mind.

Indeed, Jesus himself Taught a Way that represents both a higher evolution of the shamanistic point of view and a denial of both the validity and the necessity of any kind of blood sacrifice. As reported in the fourth chapter of the "Gospel" of "John", Jesus said: "The time is coming, indeed, it is already here, when all true worshippers will worship the Father (or God) In Spirit (or Spiritually) and In Truth (or without falsehood and deception), for such are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God Is Spirit, and, therefore, those who worship the Father must do so In Spirit and In Truth (or As Truth requires).''! Jesus Taught that God Is Spirit (or "Mana") and that true worship of God is identical to prayer (and, specifically, prayer In Spirit). That is to say, true worship is always associated with the prayer of Divine Communion (or Communion with God In Spirit), and such prayer is necessarily a Spiritual exercise.

The ancient word for "spirit" (in the common Greek language of Jesus' day) is "pneuma", which means "breath". Therefore, in true prayer, the Divine Spirit ("Pneuma., or "Mana") is breathed (and, ultimately, identified with) by the individual, and if there is correct Spirit-breathing (or psycho-physical identification with the Divine Power), prayer is inherently effective.

Jesus certainly Taught inherently effective (or Spiritual) prayer. He apparently Taught higher esoteric prayer (or the fourth to fifth stage prayer of mystical ascent) as well as the basic esoteric prayer of heart-reception of the descending Spirit-Power, "Mana", or Blessing of God). And such prayer is the sign of a cultural point of view based on Spirit religion (or advanced, or esoteric, shamanism, rather than lower shamanistic, or exoteric and even "pagan", blood sacrifices). Therefore, Jesus himself Taught a Way that specifically denies both the necessity and the value of blood sacrifices.

How, then, can a church be rightly established (in the name of Jesus) that bases itself on the idea that Jesus is the ultimate blood sacrifice? Jesus Taught a Way that has not been understood by his own (exoteric) church (just as exoteric Christianity has not understood, or has forgotten, the significance of its "Resurrection" and "Ascension" myths).

Jesus proclaimed a Way for all that required no blood sacrifice (not even his own), but only the true "Mana" of Spiritually Inspired prayer (or devotional and mystical Communion with the All-Pervading and Eternally Living Divine Spirit). Jesus' death by crucifixion was either murder or misfortune, but it was not a Cosmically Significant ritual blood sacrifice. Indeed, the only reason Christianity ever became associated with the myth (or tradition) of blood sacrifice was that the stark "reality" (and circumstance) of Jesus' death required some kind of archetypal (or psychically significant) justification. However, by his own Teaching during life, Jesus effectively denied such Significance to his death. Therefore, he stands together with all other True Spirit-Masters, affirming that it is not the death-sacrifice of any Spirit-Master that is needed by (or is in any sense useful to) mankind.

The only useful (and needed, or necesary) "sacrifice" of a Spirit-Master is his or her Love-Surrender to the Spiritual (and, ultimately, Transcendental) Divine, and his or her subsequent Love-Gift (of Teaching, Spiritual Demonstration, and Spirit-Quickening Blessing) to devotees (and the total world). Therefore, it is a Spirit-Master's Spiritual Realization and subsequent Teaching Work and Spiritual Work (rather than his or her mere death) that are needed (and must be used) by mankind. And all true Spirit-Masters, in all times and places, have made this "sacrifice" and performed this Service for their devotees and the total world.
 

(Return to Christianity)

(Return to DAbase Main Page)