Source: “Hidden Wisdom: Secrets Of The Western Esoteric Tradition”, By Tim Wallace-Murphy, The Disinformation Company Ltd., 2010.
Messiah Fact And Faith And The Rise Of a Repressive Society.wav
This podcast explores the conflict between early Christian fact and later Church faith, suggesting a significant deviation from the original teachings and followers of Jesus. It highlights the suppressed role of James the Just, Jesus's brother and likely true successor, and argues that the Church, heavily influenced by Pauline theology, shifted towards doctrines like the divinity of Jesus and original sin, which were alien to initial followers who were strict Jews. The text posits that this doctrinal evolution, cemented by figures like Augustine and the Council of Nicaea, led to the Church's repressive nature and its efforts to control knowledge and suppress rival beliefs, particularly those of the Gnostics and Essenes, who the author claims held the true, original teachings.
Topic 1 The text details a significant conflict rooted in two different accounts of the life, teaching, and death of Jesus of Nazareth. This conflict began with vitriolic intolerance and escalated into persecution and suppression by the Roman Church against its rivals, particularly the Gnostics. The Church claimed to follow the teachings of a "Prince of Peace" and "Divine Redeemer," yet it deemed the sins of the Gnostics unforgivable and engaged in centuries of repression, torture, burning, and genocide against them. The source suggests that the Church's hostile attitude stemmed from the Gnostics possessing direct knowledge that fundamentally refuted the stories and beliefs upon which the Church based its system of dogma and control. This Gnostic knowledge was perceived as a threat that could potentially undermine the Christian Church and destroy its hold over its congregation.
Topic 2 A major theme is the central role and significance of James the Just, identified as the brother of Jesus, within the early community of Jesus' followers in Jerusalem. The source indicates that after the crucifixion, James, aided by Peter and John, was indisputably the leader of this new sect. This leadership structure, a triumvirate, is compared to the ruling trio of the Essene community from which they originated. James, Peter, and John were even referred to as the "pillars" by Paul. According to the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus appointed James as his heir to the leadership, and the New Testament itself confirms James was the first "bishop" of Jerusalem. This leadership position for James directly challenges the Church's later doctrine that Peter was the foundation upon which Jesus built his Church, casting serious doubt on the papacy's claim to authentic scriptural authority. The text suggests that James exerted great power and authority for many years after the crucifixion and was acknowledged by all the apostles, including Paul, as a far more significant figure than later Christian Churches have admitted. His importance has been distorted and minimized by the Church, often by describing him as James the Less, despite his clear pre-eminence. James is also described as having taken on the role of the Priestly Messiah, a role previously held by John the Baptist. Evidence suggests he was of Davidic lineage and officiated in the manner of the ancient priesthood, even being permitted once a year to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The source notes that historical documents and the writings of early Church fathers refer to James' pre-eminence many times.
Topic 3 The theology and role of St. Paul are presented as being in significant contrast and conflict with the original teachings of Jesus and the beliefs of his immediate followers, particularly James and the Jerusalem community. The source highlights that Paul, who never met the living Jesus, was the first to preach the doctrine that Jesus was divine, a concept considered blasphemous by Jesus and his disciples, who were strict, devout Jews. Paul is also credited with the doctrine of communion wine representing the "blood of Jesus," which would have been an abomination to the original followers due to the absolute prohibition against ingesting blood in Jewish Law. Another major divergence is Paul's concept that "Christ died for us," presenting a vicarious human sacrifice, which the source notes would be viewed as outright blasphemy by devout Jews but would be accepted by the Greeks and Romans Paul was preaching to. The text suggests that many modern scholars view Paul as potentially the "Wicked Priest" or "Liar" mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Kerygmata Petrou, an Ebionite document. This document, originating from the sect Jesus came from, unequivocally calls Paul the "Liar" and the "hostile man who falsified the true ideas of Jesus." Paul's epistles reveal his awareness of these criticisms and his defensiveness regarding his apostleship and accusations of financial gain. Disputes between Paul and evangelists accredited by James led Paul to lose ground, as James had issued letters of accreditation for preaching the true teachings, which Paul lacked. The source even includes a passage attributed to Peter warning followers to shun any apostle or teacher whose teaching does not align with James's. The text speculates that Paul's relationship to the Herodian family and Roman citizenship, combined with his inversion of Jesus' teachings, raise strong grounds for suspecting he was an agent provocateur who infiltrated the group led by James.
Topic 4 A central point of contention discussed is the nature of Jesus, specifically the difference between viewing him as a man versus viewing him as divine. The source argues that the idea of Jesus' teachings being the foundation for a new, distinct religion was foreign to his family and original followers. They remained strict, devout Jews who saw Jesus as the fulfillment of Jewish religious thought and belief, the Kingly Messiah. The so-called divine origin and nature of Jesus, which later became a divisive issue, was not a problem among those who knew him. The source states that nowhere is it written, in the Gospels or elsewhere, that Jesus claimed to be divine. His family and disciples knew from first-hand experience that he was simply a man spiritually inspired by God. They did not view the crucifixion as a means of salvation. In contrast, Paul's theology, which became the foundation of the emergent Church, preached the doctrine that Jesus was divine. The source highlights the theological convolutions this created, citing Irenaeus of Lyon, who condemned the Ebionites (the original followers of Jesus who believed he was a man) as heretics. Irenaeus, a Pauline theologian, believed Jesus was divine, yet claimed that Jesus had erred by practicing the "wrong religion" (Judaism) while on Earth, a contradiction given the belief in Jesus' divinity. The source also discusses the Jewish understanding of "Son of God," which applied to many figures like Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David, and was attainable through following Jesus' teaching and gaining initiation, a meaning very different from the later Christian understanding of divinity.
Topic 5 The source emphasizes the deep connection between Jesus, his family, and his immediate followers with Judaism, particularly the Essene sect. It states that Jesus the Nazarene was the leader of the Nazorean or Nazarene sect of the Essenes. His family and followers were, and always remained, strict, devout, fundamentalist, and nationalistic Jews. After Jesus' execution, they continued daily in the Temple, which the source finds strange behavior for those supposedly starting a new religion, indicating they saw themselves within Judaism. Their distinction was their adherence to Jesus' interpretation of the Law and their faith in his Messianic role, not a breach with traditional Judaism. Conflicts arose with priestly and Sadducee factions who felt Jesus' teachings threatened their authority and the Roman occupation. The source explicitly states that Jesus and his close followers were Essenes and that many practices later adopted by the Christian community, such as communal meetings on the first day of the week and structures of governance involving a triumvirate, bishops, and deacons, had a well-tried and tested model available in existing Essene organization and practices. Even Pentecost is noted as not a new event but the Jewish festival of Shavu'ot, which the Essenes celebrated as the "Convention of the Community." The early Jerusalem community's worship is described as fundamentally more monotheistic than even that of other Jews. Jesus' brother, James the Just, is mentioned as a high priest who entered the Holy of Holies, and both Jesus and James are identified as Levites through their mother's family line. The Ebionites, or Nazoreans, from which Jesus came, are described as the sect with the deepest understanding of his teaching, following the original "Way" originating from James and the early church in Jerusalem.
Topic 6 The influence of the Roman Empire, particularly Emperor Constantine, on the Christian Church is highlighted as a pivotal moment that dramatically changed its nature. The source states that the mother church of Western Christianity inherited the Roman Empire with the Edict of Milan in 312. Constantine, a follower of the pagan cult of Sol Invictus, convened the Council of Nicaea to resolve the bitter theological disputes plaguing the Church, which threatened the social unity of his realm. The source characterizes this as a political solution forcibly imposed by Constantine, who used his authority and even bribery to influence the outcomes. One significant theological result of this political interference was the Nicene Creed, which introduced the concept of the "Holy Trinity" as a doctrinal definition to address the debates over Jesus' nature and relationship to the Father. This idea, though seemingly new to Christian doctrine, is traced back to the ideas of Akhenaten, another Sun worshipper like Constantine, who described the Aten as a Trinity. The text also points out a direct consequence of the alliance between the pagan emperor and the Christian Church: the Church's validation and sanctification of war, an activity the source claims contradicted the teachings of Jesus. Constantine is presented as the first "Holy Roman Emperor" whose motive was to use Christianity to unify the Roman state and perpetuate its martial aims, transforming a religion of love and passive resistance into a form of militant imperialism.
Topic 7 The source discusses the development and imposition of Church doctrine and the New Testament canon as a process driven by the need to establish authority and combat heresy, particularly against rival teachings like those of the Ebionites and Gnostics. The early Church, initially a collection of heterodoxies stemming from various missionary efforts based on disparate oral traditions, faced challenges from a "documentary profusion" of contradictory texts. The text introduces Marcion of Pontus, described as a forerunner of comparative scholarship, who attempted to prune the existing texts based on rational and critical analysis, stripping the New Testament down to its Pauline core and rejecting the Old Testament. While Marcion was denounced as a heretic, his idea of a canon of approved literature was eventually adopted by the Western Church. The source states that an accepted canon of New Testament writings only began to emerge during the second century, partly in reaction to Marcion's doctrines, leading to a distinct widening of the canon to strengthen the hand of ecclesiastical leaders against heresy and appeal to a wider audience. Documents of controversial origin, such as many Essene, initiatory, and Gnostic texts, were later declared "non-canonical" and suppressed. Eusebius is identified as primarily responsible for the movement towards the gradual evolution and tightening of the canon, aiming to demonstrate that the written documents were the true credentials for the Church's teaching, thus reinforcing a move towards an institutionalized Church with enforceable authority. This process, along with the institution of bishops and the creation of a solely Christian theory of knowledge by Origen, reinforced the Church's claim to be the fount and guardian of all knowledge. The Church's "living teaching office" claimed the sole authority for giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God.
Topic 8 The profound and devastating influence of St. Augustine of Hippo on Christian doctrine is highlighted, particularly his contributions regarding Original Sin, the Just War, and the justification of persecution. Augustine is described as a patriarchal and dualistic theologian who put forward a theology that legitimized the conscription of Christians into the military, "just wars" in the name of Christ, coercion of minority groups, and the rendering of women into "shadows and scapegoats," claiming only man (not woman) was made in God's image and likeness. He is presented as the first theologian to claim that membership in the Church was an absolute prerequisite for salvation. Augustine's doctrine of Original Sin, which the source states has no biblical justification in Judaism or the Eastern Churches and is not mentioned in the Old Testament, is seen as a particularly influential contribution. According to Augustine, original sin was passed on through the sexual act, making every person (except Jesus) sinful from birth and dependent on the Church for salvation. This doctrine is described as guilt-inducing and a distortion that alienated man from nature. The source suggests that this belief has encouraged passive acceptance of social evils and contributed to religious atrocities. Augustine also provided the theological foundation for centuries of repression and the Inquisition by using a dubious scriptural basis ("Compel them to come in") to justify physical coercion of non-believers on a massive scale. Furthermore, his doctrine of the Just War was used by nearly every belligerent from his time onwards. The source describes him as a brilliant but aberrant intellectual bigot and the main theorist of persecution, proposing not just searching out actual heresy but also incipient heresy.
Topic 9 The source describes the Christian Church's deliberate actions to suppress knowledge, spiritual insight, and education as a means to maintain absolute power and control. Fearing any access to sacred or secular knowledge that they did not monopolize, the Church restricted education primarily to the clergy, making holy orders an essential prerequisite for basic literacy. This policy kept the laity, including kings and commoners, illiterate and ignorant, making them spiritual serfs of the hierarchy. By restricting access to books, education, and the world of the spirit, the Church aimed for total power over rulers, territories, peoples, and individuals, as well as control over salvation. The source contrasts this attitude with the respect for learning that existed in pagan Rome, noting that the Christian religion's function was not conducive to intellectual adventure. The Church also sought to legislate away knowledge of the spiritual world, persecuting and terrorizing those who possessed it, and claiming sole monopoly over spiritual powers and access to them. This policy, however, did not entirely succeed, as spiritual reality and knowledge persisted through folk memory, the spirituality of newly Christianized tribes, and hidden streams of spirituality preserved through secret initiation rites and movements like the followers of the Holy Grail.
Topic 10 The source details the Church's systematic use of fear, coercion, and persecution as tools for maintaining its power, suppressing rivals, and enforcing obedience to its doctrine. The repressive society that arose was supported by doctrines formulated by figures like Augustine. Augustine's theology justified the coercion of minority groups and provided the theological foundation for the brutal persecution of heretics and the obscenity of the Inquisition, using the phrase "Compel them to come in" to justify massive physical coercion. He also advocated for searching out not only actual heresy but also "incipient heresy," establishing a precedent for abuse of civil rights. The doctrine of original sin, described as guilt-inducing and a tool of spiritual blackmail, allowed the hierarchy to claim the Church was the sole means of salvation for souls born into sin. The Church's definition of "revealed truth" as "What the church itself had declared to be revealed truth" created a circular argument granting it total power. Armed with these doctrines, the Church partnered with the state in the ruthless suppression of all forms of dissent, developing Christian states of Europe according to these "divinely blessed" rules. The source attributes centuries of persecution, religious war, the Index of Prohibited Books, the Inquisition, and burning at the stake to this foundation of repression, which stemmed from the Church's need to survive and eliminate rivals, coupled with a fear-based theology depicting God as distant, strict, and vengeful.