The Gospel Crux

The Gospel Crux is a fresh look at the teachings of Jesus in the context of their Hebrew origins.

The current versions, on which Christianity and Western Spirituality are based, are not working. If they were, the world around us would not keep going to pieces every now and then. Lost in translation, disoriented through cultural appropriation and transmitted across millennia, the versions handed down to us are both enhanced and redacted, far removed from its original context and blurred by the passage of time. Interpretations of the Torah, the Law of Moses, the sayings of the Prophets and the Gospel of John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ are as numerous as the stars of the sky but humankind is no closer to spiritual awakening, enlightenment, righteousness and peace on earth than it was before the dawn of civilization.

Hebrew is a language rich in metaphors and literary devices like synonymous parallelism and hyperbole that serve to emphasize and reinforce key messages in the Jewish Scriptures and Gospels. It does not easily lend itself to translation into Greek, Latin or English. The Gospel Crux re-interprets Hebrew words and metaphors used by Jesus to explore what his teachings would have meant to those hearing him firsthand. Words like Messiah, Gospel, Redemption, Repentance, Salvation, Heaven, Hell and Soul, phrases like Holy Spirit, Born Again, Kingdom of God and Eternal Life, segments like the Beatitudes and the Parables and even entire sections like the Sermon on the Mount take on new meanings when viewed from this frame of reference. The concept of "who you are" as against "who you need to be" undergoes a startling transfiguration when re-examined in the context of Jesus' words, his culture and language.

A key example is the command to love your neighbor as yourself. The Hebrew word "Ahavah" does indeed mean love. But when asked “who is my neighbor”, Jesus relates the parable of the Good Samaritan. All the characters are strangers to each other. Love does not show up in this parable. Acts of service and of going the extra mile for a stranger are our takeaways. Jesus tops it up with the instruction to go and do likewise.

This brings us to the concept of self. “Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me.” This is our understanding of what Jesus had said. “Deny yourself” is not two words. “Deny your Self” has three words. And the cross is the execution stake of self-negation; a metaphor for the arduous, if not excruciating, task of giving up your identity. When all of this is read and understood together it reveals a well-kept secret of Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Lao Tzu’s philosophies. A secret that continues to hide in plain sight despite religion and neuroscience agreeing on it. That our “I” is a story we tell ourselves.

Through this alternate rendering of the words of Jesus, The Gospel Crux explores how we can find the peace of God that surpasses all understanding in our lives; the truth that has the potential to set your “I”