The Unwritten Messiah: A Bible Ablaze with Secular Mystery
Imagine, for a moment, the seismic shift in perspective if the central figure of Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, were revealed to be a composite, a myth woven from the rich quilt of first-century Judean culture. Suddenly, the Bible, a text revered by billions as divine revelation, transforms into something altogether different: not a testament of God incarnate, but arguably the greatest, most intricate intellectual puzzle ever assembled – ultimately Jesus dies, it becomes a murder mystery (or perhaps a suicide of an idea) on a cosmic scale. Did God "kill" himself? Cue Nietzsche!
This hypothetical absence of a historical Jesus wouldn't diminish the Bible's significance; it would, paradoxically, ignite an unprecedented intellectual fervor, particularly amongst those who currently stand outside the realm of faith. And they would do so just to peak into the bedrock of Jewish mysticism, knock on the door of Freemasonry, or to hedge bets on who will be the next Pope. Atheists might sense the biblical DNA is evidence something massive lurks beyond the dusty façade of the King James Version we've all been sold.
For atheists, the Bible, stripped of its divine claim, would become a fertile ground for serious intrepid investigation, atheist chatrooms would go dynamically "anti-religiously" crazy as facts were exposed, proofs were debunked, and new translations expounded. If you can't allow yourself or your opponent to rely on "faith", then everything between you needs a deep philosophical, linguistical, or historical reference point. The very elements often dismissed as miraculous or theological dogma – the Jewish mysticism, the echoes of Kabbalistic thought, the potential allusions to secret religious practices and even proto-Masonic concepts – would spring to life as crucial clues.
The genealogies, those seemingly tedious lists of names, would no longer be mere lineage but potential evidence, tracing the development of the messianic idea, the societal pressures, and the intellectual currents that coalesced to create the Jesus narrative. Every verse, every seemingly fantastical tale, from Jonah's improbable survival within a great fish to the parting of the Red Sea, would cease to be a matter of faith and instead become critical pieces of the puzzle, a potential lead in the ultimate quest to understand how this extraordinary narrative arose.
The resurrection, the cornerstone of Christian belief, would then become the ultimate enigma, the "murder" or "suicide" at the heart of this grand intellectual whodunit. Atheists, armed with the tools of historical analysis, textual criticism, and sociological understanding, would flock to the Bible not to debunk faith, but to unravel the mystery of its genesis. The question wouldn't be "Did it happen?" but "How did this belief so powerfully take hold and shape Western civilization?" What are the mysteries that lurk beyond our King James' Bibles? Secular studies of Koine Greek and biblical Hebrew would erupt worldwide and whole communities of thought would form as people were driven to deeper and deeper, closer and closer, ideas.
If the Bible was an impossible perpetual-motion-machine, yet it displayed all the mechanics of eternal energy for a sustained period of time, say 2000 years, it would, by its nature, draw skepticism then interest then inquiry then critique–because it cannot be that which is impossible. I would say this biblical machine claims to be self-sustaining, and has by all accounts–dragged itself weary into the 21st century, still ticking. It's time for the hounds of human secularism to do their due diligence in finding out which engineering feat it has triumphed over, and which proverbial laws of physics it is violating.
Consider the words of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, a staunch critic of Christianity, who nevertheless recognized the profound and enduring impact of the figure of Jesus, even if he viewed him through a secular lens. In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, he famously declared "God is dead," but his work is deeply engaged with the moral and philosophical implications of Christianity's rise and potential fall. For Nietzsche, understanding the origins and power of this belief system was a crucial intellectual endeavor, regardless of its divine validity. Sir Isaac Newton was perhaps the greatest scientist ever. He believed that the Bible contained hidden codes and prophecies, and he dedicated significant time to deciphering what he thought were divine messages embedded within scripture. Newton’s fascination with biblical prophecy was driven by his desire to uncover the divine order behind the universe, certain science and faith were interconnected. While his scientific legacy is unmatched, his biblical pursuits reveal a curious mind seeking to understand the divine blueprint of creation. Why would any human of less consequence NOT feel compelled to see what he was going on about? It should be a compulsion for everyone who ever failed math!
If Jesus were a construct, the Bible would offer an unparalleled opportunity to dissect the birth of a powerful ideology. Scholars from various disciplines – history, sociology, anthropology, literary criticism, psychology – would collaborate to unearth the "substrata", the underlying social, political, and religious conditions that allowed such a narrative to emerge and flourish. The rewards along this path wouldn't be spiritual salvation in the traditional sense, but the profound enlightenment that comes from understanding the complex interplay of human belief, storytelling, and societal transformation.
As the historian Yuval Noah Harari argues in Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, the power of shared myths and narratives is central to human cooperation and the formation of large-scale societies. Whether or not Jesus was a historical individual, the story of Jesus and the subsequent narrative of Christianity undeniably became one of the most influential myths in human history, neigh–"the" most influential single-person movement the world has ever seen. Understanding its origins, even from a purely secular perspective, offers invaluable insights into the very nature of human belief and its capacity to shape the world. Everyone would find this trail of bread crumbs fascinating and anyone who wasn't involved in the biblical discovery, any atheist worth his spit who wasn't in a "secular" Bible-study group, would be what is–today's ambivelent, passive, and boring agnostic position. Because it is the easiest and safest way to go; Pascal's Wager on the nickel slot machines. Win or lose, it doesn't really matter in the big scheme of things.
The absence of a historical Jesus wouldn't diminish the power of the biblical texts; it would recontextualize it. The poetry of the Psalms, the wisdom of Proverbs, the dramatic narratives of the Old Testament – all would become pieces of a larger puzzle, contributing to the understanding of the cultural and intellectual landscape from which the Jesus story eventually sprang. Even the seemingly "laughable" aspects, like Jonah and the whale, would become intriguing clues, potentially reflecting existing myths, ancient symbology, allegorical storytelling, or even early forms of cryptic language that contributed to the later narrative. You can explore the Torah as a novice and never come up for air. Kabbalah's mystical and esoteric teachings are intoxicating. The Freemasons Scottish Rite's 32nd degree final conclusion is draped in this prophetic phrase, "Behold, the Grand Architect of the Universe is here." Who cannot look at these examples and not get pulled in by their gravity?
If the Bible was a "myth", an unparalled ambitious project, it would suddenly catapult history into the intellectual stratosphere. The empty churches of today would be overflowing with curious onlookers from now on. It would be like Dan Browne on steroids. Jews would have atheists begging to do their taxes for them, or drive them to doctors appointments–anything just to spend some time prying them for information; specific, intimate information on their hasidic lifestyles; things that to that Jew never, ever, envisioned, like a trancedent audit from God Himself. Suddenly their 4000 year old traditions get stuck under the secular microscope out of curiosity and humble respect. For an atheist, meeting an Orthodox Jew would be like meeting their rock star idol! Judaism would hold the keys to deeper and deeper truths from the depths of the Abrahamic religions and all-things-Kabbalah.
I'm reminded of how I approached Dungeons & Dragons when I was in my teens. Once I understood a few rules and had engaged with the game as it relates to exploring these other worlds within my imagination, I was unstoppable. I spent all my allowances on books and magazines. I bought everything that had the Dungeons & Dragons logo on it. I got a job to fuel more D&D merchandise! I soon had a larger group of friends, all like-minded, and that became a community. This is the manic ferver you could expect would erupt–IF the Bible was all about solving its foundations BUT with the knowledge that no one alive has yet uncovered its "ultimate truths."
Consider the Qur'an, each and every word in it is structured to produce the "19-code" hidden within its text. This code is based on specific initials that appear in various chapters. Rashad Khalifa suggests the Quran's divine origin is mathematically proven by this hidden code. While no such structure has been found in the Bible yet, many books claim to reveal a BIBLE CODE and each is an interesting rabbit hole to be explored. There are mathematical symmetries and a huge investement into throwing Pi (3.14) and Phi (1.618) around the biblical corpus as Dr. Jordan Peterson is fond of saying. Pi is in 1 Kings 7:23 (which is in itself pi=22/7) as, "he made a molten sea..." (Pi was solved to the second decimal by Archimedes in 250 BC. You cannot square a circle... Plato observed that no perfect circle exists in nature, as a perfect circle is a geometrical idealization. Enter mysticism stage left.) Phi(φ) or the Golden Ratio, was used in the construction of Solomon's Temple. It might take an atheist to do solve the last few yards, do the heavy lifting at this "end zone" of religious studies, and peer, unconstrained–without the shackles of religious convictions, back in time. Back to Genesis 1:1.
In this scenario, the Bible transforms from a book of divine commandments into an unparalleled case study in the creation and propagation of a world-altering idea. Atheists, far from dismissing it, would find themselves drawn into its labyrinthine depths, seeking the secular enlightenment that comes from understanding the human story behind the divine claim. The challenge would be immense, the puzzle nearly unsolvable, but the rewards – a deeper understanding of human psychology, societal dynamics, and the very nature of belief – would be immeasurable.
