The Myth of the Crucifixion

Taking a cue from Gill Edwards (in her essay on Soul Death) I am struck by the symbolism of the `mythical sacrifice’. In Christian culture, this sacrifice is expressed through the story of the Crucifixion of Christ.

Paradoxically, we have been taught that this sacrifice was the greatest act for the redemption of mankind’s sinful ways. Though I would always have had a sense that there was far more to the meaning of this sacrifice than what has been handed down through religious doctrine, it’s curious to find myself noting that I allowed that vague meaning to remain as an explanation of the story until something better came along. How much unexamined meaning do we hold as a default `explanation of reality’ until some better theory turns up?

This is why we’re constantly counseled by the mystics to question everything on which we base our reality. For without this questioning attitude, we exist within our own `false assumptions of reality’; which effectively means we exist within the non-existential; our understanding of life (and our place within it), is thus reduced to the level of pure illusion.

As to the `received wisdom’ of the meaning of the Crucifixion story, this particular `bubble’ was pricked for me by Timothy Freke’s suggestion that the crucifixion probably never happened, that the whole story is simply a deep and penetrating myth that was re-introduced (for it is a myth that pre-dates the Christ story) by the Essenes to act as a tool for awakening consciousness.

Whether this suggestion is true or not, the essential ingredient in the `Christ’ story is the myth itself. In other words, the archetype of `death and resurrection’ speaks to our souls; whether Osiris (Egypt) or Christ (Judea) actually existed and underwent this process is not as important as what is being communicated to our psyche through the telling of the story.

So how does the `myth’ of a sacrifice provoke awakening?

Christ symbolizes the ecstasy of awakened consciousness. His story is the story of this consciousness in relation to our world of judgement and limitation. He is unaffected by the negative thought patterns of others and carries no negative thought patterns himself, he is a walking miracle, capable of absolute freedom from the limitations of our self-imposed laws (both physical and societal). The message that he `is’ relates to our consciousness which is no different from his, we are being given a glimpse of what we are, not what we should worship.

As an aside, it is also interesting to note that the Christianised church `myth’ centres around the male with the female playing a subservient role. In the Egyptian tradition of this myth (Isis and Osiris) the relationship between the male and the female is the essential component; neither gender is lifted above the other, it is their love for each other expressed through sexuality that facilitates the liberation from earthly limitation. In the original Christ story this relationship is also essential, Mary Magdalene carries  the female consciousness, but her role has been effectively edited out and twisted by church censorship.

As to the essential symbolism of the story, its basic tenet is that our birthright is to experience joy, bliss and ecstasy here on earth. As the myth progresses into the horror of the torture, humiliation and excruciating death of this `Christ/Osiris’ consciousness, it is perhaps vital that we unlearn the idea that this death is in some way a payment of debt. So long as we hold that belief we commit ourselves to playing out this sacrifice. For we have been taught (contrary to the teachings of Christ), that to assume we have the same consciousness as Christ is to be guilty of blasphemy – just as Christ was accused of blasphemy for identifying his consciousness with God’s. Thus, if Christ died to pay the debt (of our sins), then what chance do we have of escaping this debt and its ultimate payment? We are caught in a well prepared theological trap.

This is a classic example of how a myth that is designed to awaken us has been twisted into a tool to repress our nature. (All tools are double edged this way; a hammer can be used to build a house as much as it can to demolish it. The tools’ work is determined by the user’s intention.) For, as long as we hold the belief that we have some debt that needs to be paid for by sacrifice, we will remain fast asleep to our potential.

This is because to awaken our consciousness to life, we must embrace pure joy, and pure joy is free of burden. So long as we labour under the weight of some `unperceived debt’ we cannot experience this blissful state; we’re too busy sacrificing our `soul bliss’ to pay the dues of `original sin’. And we cannot simply throw off this yoke of servitude for two reasons; first, the `yoke’ is lodged deep within our sub-conscious and most of us, most of the time, do not even realise we’re operating from a consciousness of `debt enslavement’. But more potent than this even, is the fact that original sin is so intrinsically linked to our sexuality! In this, we can see the diabolical manipulation of our psyche that has taken place; for our `doorway’ to liberation is through our sexuality, the myth of Isis and Osiris, for one, makes this very clear. We cannot experience the blissful state of pure joy if we cannot access our sexuality; but those who are locked into performing `soul sacrifice’ in order to pay the debt of original sin/sexuality, are actually committed to a battle in which they must deny the very pathway that would lead them to their own liberation. And because the soul knows this, there is no escape from our need to express ourselves sexually; our very nature drives us to explore our sexuality, whilst the myth we live by renounces it. This creates obsession within us (with sex), and through obsession (being an unnatural manifestation of the needs of the psyche) we can confirm to ourselves that sex is sinful. What a Catch 22!

The `death of Christ’ has nothing to do with debt payment; it is a metaphor for our own continued `soul suicide’. Using as our scourge the inner judge, we torture and mutilate our `soul expression’ every day. Eventually, if we remain asleep to this self-imposed humiliation, we will experience `soul death’ ourselves, but not before we have gone through our own `agony in the garden’ and crucifixion.

Fortunately the soul consciousness is regenerative and is capable of resurrection through the expression of divine love, unfettered by sexual repression. In the Isis/Osiris legend, this divine love is carried in the consciousness of Isis who goes to extreme measures to bring the love of her husband back to life. Thus, in the end, soul will finally `clap its hands and sing’, but until that moment we can be chronically living out the myth of the crucifixion of our Christ/soul consciousness.

The purpose of this ancient wisdom myth of death and resurrection, is to provoke us to open to its true meaning, encouraging a shift in our perception which, through the absorption of the story, breathes into our lives the infinite joy of our soul.

Jonathan