In the time of Jesus Christ, a significant factor remains important about the scriptures: they are not historical documents that detailed the accuracy of events. They were written more like a self-help manual for people to get along with each other, or more bluntly, to not kill each other. SJA Administrator Peter Eichten(right) led "The Story of Scripture," the final workshop of the Lifelong Learning series "Spiritual Resources of the Catholic Tradition" February 2nd in SJA's Hospitality Hall.

Eichten began by reading from mystic Andrew Harvey's writing "Son of Man, the Mystical Path" which suggests that if Jesus Christ were a guru, he would have been left alone, not killed and totally forgotten. The son of God was the most dangerous kind of rebel because he challenged the status quo and could not be swerved from his purpose for anything.

Twelve people attended this invigorating lecture that Eichten facilitated with a sense of insightful purpose. With his free easy going style, Eichten encouraged a question and answer approach from the attendants as he dissected the process involved in the writing of the scriptures. Passionate responses and thought provoking questions fueled enriching discussion: Eight distinctive questions were proposed:

1. Religious fundamentalists propose a literal translation of the bible. What do you say?
2. What's up with Bill Moyers' recent article "The Rapture?" View text of his article
3. If our faith is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, how do we believe in it?
4. If we take the bible as a road map, how do we wrestle with our own interpretation?
5. If the gospel is the Testament why emphasize an old testament justification for war?
6. Did Jesus found a church? Eichten answered immediately, "No, his followers did."
7. How do scholars know this stuff?
8. How do you distinguish the gospel quotes from the disciples versus Jesus Christ?

The Gospels were not written in classical Greek style but rather colloquial Greek, the language of everyday people. The earliest writings were Paul's letters written around 50 AD. "Pseudo Paul" letters soon followed. Then the gospel of Mark appeared around 66-70 AD, Luke and Matthew's came around 80-90 AD and John's gospel, around 100 AD, offered Eichten. "The Gospels were written for formation to help form a community, not for information," believes Eichten, "and they were not written to form a history, but rather, a handbook for living."

What Jesus was about was bringing in those who were cast out. He had a holistic view of reality that spoke and drew the poorest of people towards him. "You could not be a Roman citizen unless you were a landowner, basically five percent of the population," assessed Eichten. People then weren't just poor; they were destitute.

There exists in the bible a strange duality of the message of Jesus Christ. When the Gospels were written, the message of Jesus was compromised because the scholars kept comparing the writing and picking and choosing what was relevant. We are fed the idea that God is all righteous and judgmental, yet forgiving and merciful. Eichten said, "The God that Jesus understands is totally merciful with unconditional love. That is who Jesus was and what he taught, not the God of righteousness and damnation. We lose a lot in our understanding of Jesus if we lose the understanding of the God of non-violence."

"The Rapture" comes from the book of Revelations written by John around 100 AD., an intense time of Christian persecution. This apocalyptic literature that depicts God as violent was actually written in a coded language where the oppressor who read it could not identify himself in the writing of how cruelly an empire could squash its very own people.

In the context of scripture, Christian, Hebrew and Islamic fundamentalism is relatively new, only about 100 years old. It comes out of fear of modernism. The modern world scares people because they fear the loss of all that's good. Eichten theorized, "Because we consume so much, there is a deep rooted fear in us that it's wrong. We [feel] guilty."

A new paradigm is emerging in Christianity about a God within, not up there in heaven. A belief that the divinity of Jesus is available in every human being. At St. Joan's we understand this as a low Christology approach to ministry. The old paradigm, or high Christology approach, suggests a literal interpretation of the scriptures where God comes to the earth and saves us from our sins. This emerging of Christianity and science provides new insights into creation and this scares traditionalists because its deemed contrary to old religious beliefs. Bill Moyers' piece on "The Rapture" holds on to an old world view.

Eichten is sanguine about the future because he believes the bible should be interpreted metaphorically and statistically so does much of the world. He cites, "in 1963, 65% of Americans believed in biblical literalism. In 2001, that figure reduced to 27%. In Europe 80% are not churched even though they believe in God. American Catholicism is far more rigid than the European Catholicism."

A startling example of the differences of literal and metaphor comes into play when one looks at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Metaphorically, we would say Christ's spirit rose from the dead in an incredibly profound way. Literally, one would believe that his body rose. The stories of how Christ healed the sick would allow that it's the social healing, not the physical healing. Turning one loaf of bread into food for 500 people is about the power of what people can do when they come together as community. When we share our resources, we feed and take care of one another. Eichten offers that it's the greatness of the story that inspires us about the greatness of Jesus. When people get together in faith, hope and love, we experience something far greater than the sum of our parts.

Fear is so prevalent in today's world. If we really embrace the idea that God is about mercy and love, we can dispel our human fears of insecurity, death and often, the unknown. To live in confidence that what ever happens will be good is a concept of Jesus Christ that relates to the fundamental theory of Buddha, "all is good." Eichten concurred that the very essence of all religions is about compassion and love.

If it wasn't for the Religious orders, Christianity would really be different today. These orders kept Jesus' message of compassion and love alive for over 2000 years. Eichten concluded, "We need to understand that we are the Church. We have as much power and authority, no matter what [an establishment says]." We make our power known when we see injustices in the world and we raise our voices and speak about it. Jesus taught this message and he taught his followers to do the same. We don't combat an argument by trying to convince someone we're right. That's reactive and merely confrontational. We make our point known in the way we live our life. By living out what you believe in, practice what you preach, you pro-actively make your point known.

Michael Reinbold, a continuing web reporter, freelances as a writer and banquet caterer. A passionate believer in SJA's mission of social justice and collaborative ministry, Michael is an SJA Choir member, mass reader, Team Oz AIDS rider and Grace House volunteer cook. With an extensive background in theater, photography and fundraising, he relishes all aspects of the arts, staying fit and inspiring and working with people.

Eichten closed the evening by examining Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Paul dealt with the problems of folks coming together to celebrate the Eucharist of Christ. He translated Paul's words, "Some of you have ignored the poor in the community and now they suffer. How can you come here to eat when you haven't taken care of one another?" Eichten queried, what does the 'this' in "do this in memory of me" refer to in meaning? Eichten suggests that Paul uses "this" in reference to the community. Come together and be community. Take care of one another by not ignoring those who have not.