Episode 202 - The Origins of Jesus - Myth and Man

“What if the gospel writers intended it not to be historical fact? What if it was meant to be a story?” These are the questions posed by author Geoff Roberts (now deceased) in his book, The True Origins of Jesus: The Myth Behind the Man. In this episode Rev. Carol talks about these ideas with her guests, Colm Holland and Dean Wilkinson. Colm was featured in The Spiritual Forum podcast episodes 121 & 122. He is the publisher of the global bestseller The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and the author of the Amazon #1 bestseller The Secret of the Alchemist. On matters of faith and religion, Colm takes a Jungian view where the power lies in myth and the many ways unconditional love effects change for good. He identifies as an “alchemistic Christian.” Dean Wilkinson is an industry disrupter and lifelong learner. He is trained in spiritual direction, leadership, and business. Having spent much of his life in all levels of church service and leadership, Dean experienced a completely new and different Bible when he read it “for the first time” without the lens of prior teaching. He now encourages people to be open to all that Christ can be and to not abandon their faith because they think they need to take the bible literally. Colm is the editor of the book, The True Origins of Jesus: The Myth Behind the Man, and Dean wrote the forward. This was a lively conversation and these are some of the topics we discussed: We read the Bible as if we already know, not with fresh eyes There are hidden truths in the Bible that we don’t see when we look at it literally There were multiple competing religions during the emergence of Christianity Gnosticism was a dominant faith in the early Christian years; the Gnostics view was divinity was not about believing in an external deity, but finding the God within Myth gives shape to chaos - the human psyche concretizes myth There is a similarity between Beatitudes, gospel stories and Buddhist teachings – content, verse and pentameter Carl Jung was concerned about Christianity being about sinlessness and not the full spectrum of humanity What is the definition of Christianity? There is a diaspora of agony for those who have rejected the literal but also the divine You have to go to the darkest places to find God – not just the light Religion is meant to bind us together Unity churches emphasize the inner Christ/Divine spark, do not interpret the Bible literally and welcome everyone! Book link: https://www.amazon.com/True-Origins-Jesus-myth-behind/dp/1789049040 ©️ the spiritual forum 2023