Exoteric Tell Me Child -

Are You A Christian?

Esoteric

In a song called Walking in Memphis by Mark Cohn the lyrics go as follows:

Now Muriel plays piano

Every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would --
Do a little number
And I sang with all my might
And she said --
"Tell me are you a Christian child?"
And I said "Ma'am I am tonight"

Some of my friends are like Muriel in the song and they are asking me if I see myself as a
Christian anymore. To answer that, we would need to define the word Christian.

Would I be a Christian if I don’t believe that the Bible is inerrant or infallible? What if I did-
n’t believe in the Trinity or the virgin birth? What if I believed that Jesus wasn’t God but
was 100 percent human? What if I believed in reincarnation?

Can I be a Christian if I don’t believe in some place of eternal torment? Can I be a Chris-
tian if I believe that Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, New Agers, agnostics and even
atheists will all be “saved?” (Note: my definition of salvation is much different than that
which is promoted by 21st century fundamental Christianity.) What if I believe that not one
single, solitary human being can ever be separated from God? And here is a big one -
Would I be a Christian if I didn’t believe that Jesus’ death was an atonement for my sins?

For many people, to be a Christian would require me to believe in at least some of the
“doctrines” that I have mentioned and especially the last one. What if, however, we define
a Christian as follows.

1
 A Christian is….
One who follows the teachings of Jesus as
understood by that individual

What a dangerous concept! To the “orthodox Christian Church” this would be chaos so it is
totally unacceptable. Of course, the issue of who has the authority to establish orthodoxy
is chaotic and has been fought over for 1700+ years.

Some time ago, I read a book by a Jewish rabbi in which he related a 1-4 –95 rule. He
stated that 1% of people think, 4% of people think they think and 95% of people would
rather die than think.

1% of people think
4% of people think they think
95% of people would rather die than think

Initially I found the quote humorous but the more I thought about it, the more truth I saw
in the words. For instance, most people have never thought about the following “facts.” In
the first 300 or so years of Christianity, there were Christian sects who believed both sides
of every doctrine that I mentioned. If you doubt that, look up the Pelagians, Nestorians,
Montanists, Monarchians, Marcionites, Essenes, Ebionites, Basidilians and Carpocrations,
just to name a few sects who often held totally opposite beliefs regarding many of the
“doctrines” I mentioned. However, they had to tolerate each other since no group pos-
sessed the power to eliminate all the other “heretics.”

In the 4th century A.D. things changed. One version of Christianity, by way of Constantine,
became the official religion of the Roman Empire and with that came the authority and ulti-
mately the power of the sword to “eliminate” the “heretics.” To claim to be the Christian
church and kill people who don’t believe as you do seems so wrong to me but then again,
as sacrilegious as it may sound, fundamental Christianity sees God doing the same thing
so how “wrong” could it be.

If, to be a Christian, I must adhere to many of the “orthodox” doctrines I mentioned, then
no, I am not a Christian. Take a look at the chart on the next page. Whereas I would have
been far more “exoteric” in the past, today, I am much more esoteric. Am I a Christian?
Many within fundamental Christianity would say no, but if you asked me, in many ways, I
would say “Yes, more than ever!”

2
Attribute Esoteric Christianity (Inner Teaching)
A personal, experiential awareness of the in-
View of God
dwelling spirit of God, (the Christ within - God
immanent) is sought. God transcendent
(outside of ourselves) is considered, but not as
emphasized.
Exoteric Christianity (Outer Teaching)
Both God within and outside of ourselves
(immanent and transcendent) are acknowl-
edged, but there is usually less emphasis on
the God-within.

Jesus and the Christ are seen as two separate

entities. The Christ refers to the living flame of
Jesus Christ is seen as one person, the only
View of Jesus and Christ love that guides all life and evolution on our
son of God, born as a God-human. Jesus is
planet. Jesus was a man who was able to per-
seen more as a "personal savior" for the race
fect himself enough to hold the high energy of
than a pattern for the race.
the Christ, and thus become Jesus, the Christ.

Further, Jesus is seen as an initiate; one able

to hold high consciousness and
"master" (become Master of) the inner teach-
ings. He modeled a pattern for humanity,
showing that what he did, humanity is to do
also. All can become sons / daughters of God
through the process of initiation. All can,
through initiation, become "Christed" by being
vessels for the love of the Christ.

Jesus is believed to have traveled to Egypt,

View of early years of Jesus India, Persia, Greece, and various mystery Little is said or acknowledged of Jesus life be-
(pre-ministry) schools, perfecting the inner teachings and tween his approximate ages of 12 - 30.
initiations of those traditions.

There is greater emphasis on resurrection

rather than crucifixion, not just of the physical
body, but of self to Self. Jesus didn't save us Greater emphasis is on crucifixion. God "gave
Emphasis on crucifixion and
from our sins (die for our sins) because our his only son to die for us" - death being the
resurrection
sins are for us to deal with ourselves. He measure of God's love for us. Jesus "died for
showed us how we can become our own sav- our sins," and is thus our savior.
iors - by raising our consciousness through
love and the path of initiation. All people have
the capability to become fully human / fully
divine.

Belief in reincarnation is accepted (not re-

quired) since the arduous path of initiation
from human to God-hood would take more
Belief in reincarnation than one life-time. It is thought that Jesus
likely reincarnated many times to be able to
hold the Christ energy, and thus become Jesus,
the Christ.
Usually reincarnation is not discussed, and of-
ten not accepted. Each of us lives one life
which earns its reward (heaven) or punish-
ment (hell).

Meditation as a spiritual discipline (being in the

silence) is practiced as a way to contact God-
Meditation and Prayer
within, along with prayer (asking, telling,
thanking).
Prayer is more commonly practiced than medi-
tation among congregants. Meditation is ac-
cepted and practiced, more among those living
in religious community.

Any and all texts that contain wisdom are ac- The Holy Bible, both Old and New Testa-
Authoritative Texts and Holy cepted and studied, including The Holy Bible ment, is seen as the primary holy book and
Books and ageless wisdom teachings. authoritative text.

Dogma and Conscience Conscience, the truth found in one's heart and
mind ("thinketh in the heart") is favored above Wide variation. Church dogma is more often
dogma as the final authority. the primary authority, although conscience is
considered important as well.

The fundamental unity of all spiritual paths Wide variation from "Christianity is the one
Convergence of Spiritual
that express love is seen and honored. "No true religion," to acceptance of varied paths.
Paths
matter where they walk, it leads to
Me." (Baghavad Gita)

Chart comes from Spirit United Church http://www.spiritunited.com/articles/exotericesoteric.htm—It

3 is not meant to be definitive.