Chiseling the Christian Arrogance

The Contemporary English Version of the Bible gives the title, “Jesus is Greater than Moses” for the passage in Hebrew 3:1-6. The Good News Bible too took that line. The more popular New International Version is no different. This, for me, betrays the present Christian perception of Judaism. Not every Christian, I have reasons to believe, would subscribe to this erroneous belief that only reveals Christian arrogance and ignorance of other religious faiths.

The Ecumenical Tamil translation is still worse. This speaks of “Jesus is Greater than Moses and Joshua”. Joshua is not even mentioned in that passage. Some may differ. Considering Joshua’s part of Moses’ team that directed the people of God, they will argue, the Tamil is precise!

Bible nowhere mentions that Jesus is greater than Buddha or Muhammad. Yet, many Christians conclude this way. For them, Christian faith is not possible, not relevant, without that conclusion.

I find this way of talking about Jesus as “greater” than Moses, Joshua, Buddha, Confucius, or Muhammad is not very conducive in the contemporary global village. For me it is a sign of ignorance and spiritual immaturity. This is true in the context of the growing awareness of “religious pluralism” and the increasing alertness with regard to the “serious content of people’s faith”.

Judaism is a living religion practiced by millions in Israel and elsewhere. My student Rivka, probably in her early twenties, takes pride in her Jewish Faith that celebrates Moses as the greatest of all the prophets and the most faithful of all the servants of God! Can I tell her that my Jesus is greater than her Moses? Can I consider such a telling part of Christian love?

These questions may lead to further unsettling questions that may have to be taken seriously before I settle down in my “faith” promoted in the book of Hebrews, a letter written by a Christian of the first century in the Common Era. To the exploring of such questions I will add the need to listen to Rivka, and her friends, of what they are learning about the Christian missionary activities in places such as Kenya.

I am aware of others who may encourage dismissing such questions and concerns as evil thoughts, promoting of doubts, or as attempts “to scratch the itches of our culture”. I am aware of their good intent. Their concern often is that such questioning lead to “stubbornness”, “hardening of heart” that happened to the crowd that followed Moses thirty five hundred years ago.

I am one of those – to put the record straight – who has no time to scratch the itches of the contemporary consumer culture. I proudly announce my inclination for being and becoming counter cultural. I believe the present world needs many more to resist the dominant culture and its value systems.

But I do not apologize for questioning the folly of Christian arrogance. My critique of Christian superiority emerges from my desire to provide a healthy soul to the global village. The values of that man from Nazareth two millenniums ago, I firmly believe, still can provide inspiration.

In the context of these concerns and questions someone may be “inspired” to re-write the text. Else, the text will be rejected as irrelevant to my times, twenty first century. The other alternative is to “re-interpret” this first century text to make it relevant to my times.

There is one thing for sure. I cannot use the first century language, or logic, to speak of Jesus Christ in the twenty first century. I need a new language and a new logic that will emerge only from a serious discontent with the old meaning.

The purpose of the writer, particularly in chapter three, as I see, is not to establish the superiority of Jesus over Moses. But he is speaking of a “new grace (from God)”. For him there is a new moment in the Jesus event. He is struggling to communicate this to the Hebrew people steeped in Moses tradition.

The writer is aware that all humans whether they lived during the time of Moses, or in his own time – to this I will add my own present time, the twenty first century – are prone to “stubbornness”, hardening of heart, when the call to “change”, or a new way of living is offered.

People, I have seen it many times, settle down in set patterns of living. It is not that easy to get them out of that settled life! These days I see this in the stores in the mall. At present only a few uses the new self-checkout electronic equipments in Super Store and Wal-Mart. These self-checkout stations save time providing “potentials for greater life”.

I am not talking about the benefits of electronics, or technology. But people have difficulty in making a shift. That was the problem during the time of Moses. And it was the same with the first century audience of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews. It is the same problem with people of my time. They are settled not to ask serious questions regarding spirituality. But these questions are urgent for retaining faith in the context of the rapidly emerging contemporary religious pluralism.

Losing and Finding

I have lost two things: self and direction! But that loss comes so late in my life!

On the other hand, I have also discovered a priceless gem and acquired, adequately, I believe, a skill that is so rare in North America. Jesus, with his stance to ‘non-conformity’ is, then, that ‘pearl of great value’. And the art of ‘swimming upstream’ like the salmon of the Pacific Rockies is that proficiency that came to me after a great, great deal of practice and many failures!

Crown of gold, earlier, was my goal! In school, and later in my search for, and sustenance of, a career, I was taught to work hard towards the crowning moments and direction for success, learning the skill of careful communication with those crown princes who enable an easy climb on the social ladder and control multitude of other affairs!

But too early in my life – may be I was around twenty years – I met the crucified one! And soon my eyes became familiar with that bright light that shone from his loincloth, who had earlier proclaimed that foxes have holes and the birds have nests while he, this man from Nazareth had no place to lay his head! This in a very subtle way suggested also my path!

I have never seen such brightness elsewhere. All that immaculate liturgical colours in the wall hangings in the cathedrals, churches and the clergy vestments appeared so dull for me compared to that ‘rag’ he was wearing! As for me, I concluded the Kings and Queens of today, or of those ancient days, are not adorned with such brightness!

Hence I did not delight in the crafting of those crafts beyond that Great Friday! Friday, I learnt from another Middle Eastern Source, also was the day when the invisible purusa, the primordial consciousness gave shape and form to the chaotic prakrit, primeval substance. That is the order, I soon became convinced, the self, willing to be crucified will eventually evolve, consciously create! For me, therefore, that persistent lie of the Sunday morning is the comical tragedy, which not only alienates the humanity from the power of powerlessness but also poisons the culture of the cosmos that is created to conserve compassion!

Losing self did not come that easily! For that self in me frequently went after power seeking magic that had many different names in the modern world. And the artful magicians knew how to transform the crucifixion of my Master for the conquering of the world! So I, prompted by the self’s desire for a satisfactory survival, joined the crew. Rather I drifted into that space of comfort, celebrating at every altar belonging to Baal! Serving Baal, served my self much better, I thought at that moment; in the sense it provided a quicker bloating into a bigger self.

Losing self happened only after I discovered that selfless-self Jesus lived. It promoted not a superficial sentimentalism but a probing of difficult questions. This man Jesus, who said to me it is all right to lose that self, had fire in his eyes. Wherever he went, whichever pulpit he climbed on to, he quickly set the place on fire challenging conformity to the rot in the then religious community!