<St Paul>

The idea that a man could rise from the dead is of course preposterous. Those of us who have been raised in the Christian tradition could not, in the 21st century accept it for a minute, if our senses had not been dulled by its utter familiarity and the mystique with which the churches surround it. We only have to imagine what we would think if someone today claimed that a famous film star or other public figure had so risen. Most of us would dismiss this as the ideas of a crank.

So how did this come about in the case of Jesus? How did the myth arise?

And another thing that, to me, needs explaining is the conversion of St Paul. How is it that Saul of Tarsus changed his mind about persecuting the early church, and instead became an active worker (perhaps in the beginning the main worker) for its propagation? Of course the Church has its own (miraculous) answer for this.

It is very difficult (maybe impossible) for us today to try to get into the mind set of the first century inhabitants of the Roman Empire. We have to imagine a world where there was little formal education, which did not have the benefits of anaesthetics, modern medicine, dentistry or public health. Where the darkness of the nights was little pierced by the crude oil lamps (even for those who could afford them), and where superstition and belief in magic were rife. A world where a star could hover over a stable in Bethlehem, because nobody knew how far away the stars really were. A world where the sun could be a god, where the earth was not just the centre of the universe but where the flat earth was the whole universe (with perhaps hell below and heaven above).

Ten or so years ago I wrote a little short story to try to explain to myself, if not how it happened, at least perhaps one way in which it might have happened. In 2006 I placed this on the "BBC Collective" web site, and got a few favourable responses and indeed a few quite angry responses. After BBC Collective was discontinued I put my story away.

I've just (August 2011) been reading Philip Pullman's excellent book "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ". Pullman does a great job of exposing the way that the Church has manipulated "truth" over the years, though personally I still find that he takes the gospel stories rather too literally (perhaps he's just being tactful). Because once you acknowledge that there has been manipulation, then why should anyone believe any of it? There is of course no evidence outside of the New Testament even for the existence of Jesus. (People sometimes quote a very small handful of other sources, of which perhaps the most famous is the letter written by Pliny the younger to Trajan, which they say are such evidence. In fact these are, without exception, merely evidence for the existence of the early church, and only hearsay for the existence of Jesus).

Even so, I do personally take the view that Jesus existed, or at least that much of what he is reported to have said is worth preserving. I have no doubt that Pullman is right in saying that what the Church has made of his story has been well manipulated in the gospels, though not as literally of course as the idea in his book of a shadowy brother puts it. The manipulation was by the early (and later) church, and the gospels are in reality propaganda documents to support the growth of the church.

My own little story is not historical either. I'm not a historian, and do not claim necessarily to be historically accurate. I'm trying to imagine possible motivations and ideas.

I've headed up my little story by a quote from the famous poem by Robbie Burns, about the mouse whose nest was destroyed by a plough. Because, whatever Paul's motives for helping to spread Christianity to the gentiles, there can be no doubt that he helped to create a religion which over the years would turn around to unmercifully bite back at the Jews who had started it all off in the first place.

Christianity is of course full of contradictions, but to say that God sent Jesus to die for our sins, and then to turn around to criticise the Jews as "god killers" must be one of the more stupid of these.

Pullman ends his book by pointing out that, without Jesus' death and perceived resurrection, then Christianity would not have survived. In the end his whole book is about the necessity for Christianity to have come into the Roman world as a mystery religion in order for its survival.

I have no doubt that he's right. And in the 21st century it's time we moved on from this. We need to throw out the stupid dogma, while retaining the morality and the message of love. An organisation devoted to morality is important for our society, but I believe the present organisation will increasingly fail unless it gets its intellectual house in order.

 

The Birth of a Myth?

 

"The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men, Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief and pain, For promis'd joy!"

Robbie Burns

 

The Roman Empire is at peace. It will not always be so. Currently the Imperial family is torn by internal strife, and further afield the Imperial armies are involved in some border skirmish or other; even bigger battles on occasion. But at the grass roots of life the Pax Romana reigns supreme.

There are horrors of course. A man may be flogged or gruesomely killed at the whim of any number of his betters or commanders. But how else do you keep a grip on such diverse, primitive and often barbaric peoples?

Yes, it's true. Never before has the world been so civilised.

In one of the eastern provinces a man is walking up a street in a small town. He's rather well dressed, and for those in the know he's a prominent figure of the Jewish community. To be precise he's a Pharisee. He's well educated and well versed in the ways of Yahweh. Unlike some of his colleagues of other persuasions he believes in life after death. Some of the others - the Sadducees for example - don't. But Paul does. And he's on a mission.

He's got an assignation with a handful of country folk who are in lodgings somewhere around here.

What has he, a Pharisee, got to do with them? He wonders this himself. "What a seedy part of Jerusalem I'm getting into here", he's thinking. "Am I going to get mugged for my clothes?" Not that he's put on his best robes to come down here of course. But still; be on guard.

The houses get closer together as the street narrows, and become more and more decrepit. The street is filthy. And the stench! "Well you've got expect these smells almost anywhere in the hot season", he supposes. "The way some people have to live though. Pity these poor who let themselves live like this."

The truth is: this man has a problem. He's got this vision. It's a vision that he thinks could extend the Jewish faith throughout the known world. Just think of that! What victory for the Jews! What power to the Sanhedrin! What power to the Pharisees! And maybe even for himself!

And yet these stubborn peasants can't see it. Or they don't want it. Or maybe they don't even care. They can't see further than their next plate of bread. He nearly said "and bottle of wine", but frankly he doubts if they'd get a sip of clean water down here, let alone wine. But he can't just ignore them. They're the core of the whole matter. He's got to have some sort of sanction from them. He needs them on side. It's humiliating! He, a Pharisee, grovelling to these unwashed and ignorant people; these country bumpkins.

"Well, this looks as though it's the place. And this girl opening the door is easy on the eye anyway. Must have been quite a beauty once."

"Are you Mary?"

"Yes."

"And I'm Paul. There's no need for all the bowing and eye-averting. Just introduce me to your friends".

Mary has suffered. This is the Mary who had to endure the agonies of watching while her Love was being tortured to death. She'd loved Him so much. Her heart had been torn out of her during His agony. These Romans. They just don't understand human feelings. It's this military training of theirs. Their hearts are entirely stone by the time the army's done with them.

But her own people had wanted it too. What was it about blasphemy that so affected her people? Self-preservation of the priesthood, she supposed - partly anyway. Priests like this one who'd just turned up on her own doorstep.

And then she'd been so sure that she'd seen Him again, walking in the garden that fine and beautiful morning after the Passover feast. Of course she realised now that she was mistaken. It was pure wishful thinking. Why on earth had she told James and the rest of them? She'd thought they'd just smile and comfort her. And now they were all so fired up with it. Stupid!

And what is this Pharisee doing here? He, who had actually stoned some of her friends to death for what they'd called blasphemy. Blasphemy! They hadn't said anything that anybody throughout the Empire wouldn't have said. Why were the Jews always so hard on their own? And what is this man saying to Peter and James?

"Don't come the Gallilean with me, James. I'm a sophisticated man, not a peasant. Do you think I don't know the difference between fact and superstition? That's not the point. The whole thing is this. We have a chance to spread our Jewish religion the length of the Empire. Just think what it might mean for us Jews. And for the power of Yahweh. I tell you, I tried it on some people back home and they gobbled it up. This generation is hungry, hungry, hungry in spirit. Have you not heard that some men of means are even bathing themselves in bull's blood because - poor fools - they think it can give them everlasting life. Mithraists I think they call themselves.

"You won't spread our faith by trying to bind people with Jewish ritual. They don't want to know. But tell them they can have eternal life, then you're on a real winner. It's not dishonest. As a Pharisee I'm sure of eternal life anyway. These gentiles around the Empire just need a hook to hang it on.

"This is the message. 'He rose from the dead'. You - Peter and James - believe that anyway, don't you? Of course you do. Didn't Mary see Him? Well then. It's like this: 'Become His follower, and this raising from the dead can be yours as well'. I tell you; it's a winning formula.

"James, I know He was your brother. It's difficult for you to see Him as a god. But can't you really see it? Yahweh could conquer the world. Maybe one day we might even see your brother as a sort of Messiah for our people!