An Open Letter to Victor Alexander About the True Life of Jesus

Dear Mr. Alexander,

I read on Indigo of your intentions to film the true life of Christ. You are ambitious in a good way -- power to you, good luck and God bless. The Gospel stories are a great way to convey spiritual truths.

I am having a hard time with duality, though, the separation between God and creation. The more I learn, the less enamored I am with dualistic and literal-historic views. They seem patently NOT what the Bible is teaching.

I believe that Moses really wanted to put his most important insight out in front where it couldn't be missed. "Before (or as) a beginning" is a big emphasis: "Here's the key." As I read it, Genesis 1 says, "No division," or as Fr.Bede Griffiths explained: advaita – “not one, but not two.”

My mind cheats a bit. I have learned that Jewish mystics have a super-high regard for the Most High God. They talk about "Ein Sof," (there are various spellings) the Without-End, and hedge about a still higher view of "It," (I don't like the term It either, but what are ya’ going to do?) the Ineffable Source of Ein Sof.

There is no word for It, no description; just a slackened jaw, fear and awe, prostration.

I read scripture with the Ineffable in mind -- I insert It, because the mystics/prophets left the Ineffable unspoken!

"Before the beginning, (the Ineffable we cannot know) created God (the e'had spirit we can know), the Heavens and the Earth." Two Gods? No, just one, which is the Bible’s point.

(Before the beginning? Yes, I think so. Creation is the idea, a plan for there to be. Creation is an order form for what shall come to pass. Create in mind, and then wait through the Sabbath until manifestation. Creation is the seed. Harvest is assured. “When you pray, believe ye receive, and ye shall have.”)

Yes, preaching non-duality is risky business, but duality is ultimately untenable. Making sense of the Bible demands sensing the presence of the Highest from his activity. When I put him into the equation, there is nothing else -- He is all of everything and beyond.

Which brings me to the true life of Jesus. We can only speak of things as separate. For example, I might speak to you about my fingernail or hand, and we could get real involved about some noteworthy condition with them, but we would ultimately recognize that we were really speaking only about me. I believe that a first century mystic, perhaps an Alexandrian philosopher and/or one of the Therapeutae really familiar with Judaism and the Old Testament -- let's call him Mark -- spoke about spiritual conditions in light of the religious, social, political, philosophical tensions of the day. He may have had an actual historical, exemplary character in mind, a real Jesus or James, but he placed upon him all of his own understanding of what the scriptures meant.

He explained the scriptures’ truth using the vehicle of Jesus: the power and wisdom of YHWH; the Action/Son and Nature of the Ineffable in Proverbs 8; the creator and Savior/Provider and Light who had entered men to enlighten their souls -- who is ultimately the Ineffable. Nondualism.

This Christ who is in us is the hope of glory. My point is that we have to stop thinking of him as separate. We do not recognize Christ in us because we had to forget what we ARE (we are Him! Living branches of Life!) in order to exist as human consciousnesses. I believe we took on being "as dumb as mud" to experience this life and to lift men's souls (which we created) with us as we re-ascend, remembering what we are.

Well, you get the picture.  I am sorry to preach at you, and I hope my philosophy doesn't cause you problems, but if you are going to make a movie about the "real" Jesus, you might want to make it about Mark, James, and their socio-political and cultural context.

And would to God everyone read your translation. I really appreciate the work you are doing. Thank you.

Dan Steele