Mystery Cult

TO SEMNET

I think it’s time we admit we’re part of a mystery cult.  

We didn’t choose it; we were born into it.

But that’s good. Because up until now, I was thinking I was born into a Church.

Which has some real drawbacks.

The good thing about a mystery cult is that you know you’re dealing with mysteries.

The problem with a church is that you’re supposed to be sure.

Did Jesus really exist as a guy in Palestine?  It’s a mystery.  We don’t really know.

But it’s a mystery, so “knowing” doesn’t matter.  What matters is the myth.

And what’s a “myth?”      Something that never was, but always is.  

(I didn’t make that definition up.  It came from a book recommended by Dave Stronk, R’51  It’s called  The Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur, and it’s really good.   It’s written by an ex Anglican priest who taught scripture in a seminary, until, with the help of his students, he started questioning the whole enterprise.)

Okay, I’ve lost at least half of you.  I’m being esoteric.

But here it is:

The whole thing has always been about the divine entering the human

That’s just part of evolution

And there are a lot of stories about it -  gripping Netflix stories tailored to every generation and culture, for thousands of years.

They’re all variations on the same theme.

As long as a story inspires us to accept the divine into our human,

it’s our story.

And our mystery.