Some two or so years ago I downloaded a paper from a site that asked if I wanted to receive other papers or articles on the same subject. I accidentally selected the yes button (something I never do). Now, every morning I receive an email with a link to a new paper or book or lengthy article that is related to Thomas, Jesus, Gnostic, Early Christian, or other same such topics. Frankly, many of the papers could benefit (as could my own writing) from perusal by an editor or, for that matter, a senior HS student with a few spare minutes and a red pen.
The paper that arrived this AM is titled : YOU ARE GODS: AT THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY by Vincenzo Belmonte.
One of the interesting currents in this read is the idea that Jesus not only took on the physical appearance of man, but also the intellectual qualities of man. A pretty radical thought in my mind. Here is a short extract that is not so much about Jesus as it is about ‘interpretations’.
Jesus’ self-awareness was born fundamentally from his personal relationship with the Father, but it got hold of documentary support in the Tanakh, which was creatively interpreted. From this we may infer a principle of general validity: the ‘truth’ of the sacred scriptures of any religion resides not so much in their historical and scientific reliability as in the effectiveness of their emotional and moral grasp in view of the experience of God based on openness to the infinite.
They are but fruitful instruments for setting up and implementing the personal project of perfecting one’s own humanity. As such, they involve the interpretative intervention of those who ad modum recipientis*, that is, in keeping with individual needs, expectations and limitations, draw from them.
Jesus (as a man) and the apostles discovered new meanings in the Hebrew Scriptures, on the grounds that, since they were already bearers of a more radical existential project, they could only read them with new eyes.
Regardless of the authors’ intent, in them they sought and found themselves, their own personal aspirations dictated by the Spirit.
*The Latin maxim is ‘quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur’ — literally, “what is received is received according to the mode [or manner, or condition] of the receiver.” Less literally, the maxim holds that our predispositions (our mental filters) color our perceptions.