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Templer Reflections September 2017

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OUR MOTTOSet your mind on God’s kingdom and his justice before everything else and all the rest will come to you as well (Matt 6:33)

Templer Reflections

formerly Templer Record

September 2017

The Temple Society Australia is an independent faith community, free of fixed statements of belief. Jesus’ core message—to love God and to love your neighbour as yourself—underpins our religious purpose and the individual’s spiritual journey, guided by their conscience. The Temple Society Australia is based on shared aims and ideals, valuing compassion, cooperation and diversity. Trust, acceptance and respect are the cornerstones of our community.

Issue 775

Published by Temple Society Australia, 152 Tucker Road, Bentleigh Vic 3204

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License © 2017 Temple Society Australia. The information, views and opinions expressed in Templer Reflections are those of the respective authors and contributors and are not necessarily shared by the publisher or its staff.

Jesus: An ExplorationEDITORS

Renate Beilharz and Herta Uhlherr

ContentsFrom the Editors........................................................................................From the Regional Head............................................................................How have people’s ideas about Jesus come about?................................ Herta UhlherrThe authentic Jesus................................................................................... Renate BeilharzFaces of Jesus...........................................................................................Jesus of Nazareth...................................................................................... Hermann R.UhlherrDid Jesus consider himself to be the Messiah?........................................ Walter BurkhardtBe alert!...................................................................................................... Otto LöbertA “whole” person can heal......................................................................... Dietrich P. RuffThe healing miracles.................................................................................. Peter UhlherrSo what does Jesus mean to you?............................................................ Herta UhlherrHeritage PagesTempler burials and memorials in Australia................................................ Doris Frank

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Templer Reflections September 2017 Jesus

O ur aim in this issue is to explore some of the diverse ideas about Jesus and his relevance to us today. The articles present a variety of voices, using different linguistic styles. We delve into the origins of

the Jesus traditions and question the authenticity of some of the viewpoints. The voices of some past and present Templer Elders are represented with extracts of condensed services.

A focal point of this issue is a visual composition depicting how different concepts of Jesus exist in much of our world. We thank Ingrid Hoffmann for sourcing for us images from diverse traditions, cultures and social contexts. Someone loves or worships each Jesus image, and we may become aware of our own preferences and prejudices as we look at this visual story. The artists’ time and locality have influenced their depictions, so as to “speak to” their particular audience.

The issue concludes with the Heritage Pages providing assistance on how to find Templer headstones and memorials in Australia. We hope this edition encourages you to think about, and perhaps discuss with others, what Jesus means for you.

RENATE BEILHARZ AND HERTA UHLHERR

From theEditors

Templer Reflections September 2017 An Exploration

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MARK HERRMANN

Jesus. Has there been a figure in history about whom so much has been argued, written and speculated? And, remarkably, his active ministry spanned a mere three years; yet, almost 2000 years later, his

message and teachings, his status (man, divinely inspired, son of God or ?) and his influence on mankind are being considered and debated to this day.

How much of what was written and translated to produce the Bible’s New Testament actually did take place? Remember that the gospels were written many years after Jesus’ death, most researchers placing that date at Passover time around the year 30.

Although some scholars disagree, the vast majority believe that Mark was the first Gospel to be written, sometime around the year 70. This scholarly consensus holds that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke were composed,

From theRegional

Head

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independently of one another, sometime in the 80s or 90s. Both used a written form of Mark as source material for their own narratives. The Gospel of John emerges from an independent literary tradition that is not directly connected to the Synoptic tradition (which describes the first three Gospels, telling the story of Jesus’ life and ministry from a similar point of view and which are therefore similar in structure). The Johannine narrative is indebted to oral, and possibly written, traditions transmitted from earlier decades.1

The Temple Society publication Religious Perspective portrays Jesus as “a human being, divinely inspired and as close to God as very few others, if any, have been. He taught us and showed us by his example the essential guidelines we should use for our lives.”2

Does Jesus’ divinity influence his message? There are many men and women in history we admire and can strive to emulate in thought, word and deed: Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, Martin (born Michael) Luther King Jr, Rolihlahla (Nelson) Mandela, Florence Nightingale, Plato, Mother Teresa and Queen Elizabeth II being but a few possibilities to consider. One a Roman Catholic nun, another an American Baptist minister – were they divinely inspired? Does that matter?

A recent seminar we conducted explored the question “Is a humanist Christianity possible and, if so, what would it look like from a TSA perspective?” Firstly, some definitions:

Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance that affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. Humanism stands for the building of a more humane society […]

1 Boston College (2016), The dating of the Gospels, Retrieved from http://www.bc.edu/schools/stm/crossroads/resources/birthofjesus/intro/the_dating_of_thegospels.html2 Temple Society (2000), Religious perspectives, Bentleigh, Vic. : Temple Society Australia.


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in a spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. Humanism is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.3

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, rational inquiry and a commitment to the values taught by Jesus as a guide to the ethical life are not only compatible with Christianity, they are fundamental to a proper understanding and interpretation of Christian belief. Being a Christian means at the least feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, healing the sick, supporting the poor, comforting the lonely, seeking peace and standing with the powerless against the mighty… a form of Christianity that does not depend on God. Christian humanism is religionless Christianity that begins and ends with the teachings of Jesus as a guide to ethical behaviour.4

But is Christian humanism (a humanism that is Christian in nature) the same as a humanist Christianity (a Christianity that is humanist in nature) or am I splitting hairs?

3 International Humanist and Ethical Union (n.d.), What is humanism?, Retrieved from http://iheu.org/humanism/what-is-humanism/4 Broadhurst, A.G. (n.d.), Christianity without God, Retrieved from http://www.christianhumanist.net/

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Again, from Religious Perspective, the Temple Society sees God as “the source of life and centre of all being, acting within and beyond this world. We are conscious that the true nature of God is beyond human comprehension, and we acknowledge the limitations of statements about God.”5

However, whichever way you look at it, the Temple Society is a Christian faith community and therefore depends on Jesus. I believe that is certainly a solid foundation on which to build, both individually and in community.

5 Temple Society (2000), Religious perspectives. Bentleigh, Vic. : Temple Society Australia.


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Religion is an important factor in millions of people’s lives. It affects how they perceive reality, how they think, feel and behave and whom they marry, as well as other things important to their identity. No

wonder many cling to their beliefs and prejudices, including their ideas about Jesus. But where did these come from?

The Jesus Seminar1 found there is little we definitely know about Jesus and his teaching. This leaves much room for unfounded ideas about “the single most important figure in the story of Western civilisation” and the origin of its worldview (Prof. Bart D. Ehrman). Revered or worshipped by over 1½ billion people around the globe, Jesus remains enigmatic.

HERTA UHLHERR

How have ideas about Jesus come

about?

1 See the article The authentic Jesus on page 15

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If people’s beliefs help them to live with love and joy, we don’t want to undermine them. But if organisations insist on beliefs that cause guilt and fear, then it is legitimate to question the motives of those who promote those beliefs.

Lost early Christianities2

Christian writings before 4th century A.D. are amazingly diverse and each group or sect believed its own scriptures were the “right” ones. The New Testament (N.T.) did not exist yet. There were four kinds of writings, all claiming to be authoritative:

genuine – actually written by an apostle, including some of Paul’s letters

anonymous – later attributed to an apostle to lend them more authority, e.g. the four N.T. gospels

homonymous – by someone with the same name as an apostle

pseudonymous – fabricated in the name of apostles, e.g. 2 Peter, the Gospel of Peter, the Apocalypse of Peter

All four kinds were in wide circulation during the early centuries of the Christian era.

Some of the early scriptures came from groups like: the Ebonites who thought Jesus was human, adopted by God at his baptism; they favoured the Gospel of Matthew. The Marcionites thought Jesus was completely God and only seemed human (docetic); they used Luke. The Gnostics believed Jesus was a man, but Christ was a God (separationist); they used Mark. Remnants of these beliefs remain in some present denominations.

2 Much of what follows is based on: Ehrman, B.D. (2002), Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication, New York : Oxford University Press.


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The long struggle for power and authority involved forged documents, altered translations and a biased “history” (in ten volumes) by Eusebius, validating the victorious. It is striking that out of such a diverse field, only one group emerged a winner. It fell to them to establish the “true” nature of Christianity – orthodoxy (right belief or opinion) – and they virtually eliminated all their rivals together with their revered scriptures as heresy (false belief). (Some of these lost early scriptures, like the controversial Coptic Gospel of Thomas, have re-surfaced in the Nag Hammadi “library”, found in Egypt in 1945.)

From the 4th century on, it was the Roman Catholic Church that determined the course of Christianity for many centuries.

Even when the N.T. canon (the 27 books that were accepted as ancient, apostolic and orthodox) was finally agreed upon by 6th century A.D., different versions existed. They were necessarily copied by hand, mistakes were made, some scribes deliberately altered texts or mistranslated them to suit vested interests. Who was to know? There were no printed books, no internet, not much oversight and not many people were able to read. Yet some today believe in the literal truth of the Bible – on what grounds, one wonders?

There were versions in Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Old Georgian, Armenian... Except for small fragments, no two copies were exactly alike. No wonder the dominant group struggling to establish orthodoxy had to decide which books (the canon), who should be in charge (the clergy and hierarchy), and what must be believed (the creeds). The creeds are still said in many churches, although they were formulated against particular “heresies”

If the winners write history, how can we ever be sure about what happened in the past?

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during the power plays of the 4th and 5th centuries. They were necessarily paradoxical: is Jesus God or man? Both. If Jesus is God and his father is God, are there two Gods? No, one, etc. Not surprisingly, many theologians have always insisted that the ultimate truths of faith are to be understood as divine mysteries.

Christianity is unique in that it is as focussed on correct belief as it is on action. It also holds that it is the only true belief, yet we have seen there were many fervent beliefs about Jesus that could well have “won”. What might Christianity look like if the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, or the Apocalypse of Peter had made it into the Bible, or if the Marcionites had made more converts than the proto-orthodox? If someone else had decided what was to be taken figuratively and what literally?

There is still wild diversity – mind-boggling differences exist between Pentecostals and Greek Orthodox, Mormons and Southern Baptists, Roman Catholics and Plymouth Brethren – yet they all emerged from the triumph of orthodox Christianity in the 4th century. How can all the different views claim to represent the original teaching of Jesus and consider themselves to be the only ones “right”?

What if, in spite of much reflection and research by good men, the power plays and egos of the orthodox Christian group blinded it to what Jesus was actually trying to tell humanity?

As Templers, most of us don’t subscribe to mainstream Christianity’s creeds and doctrines. But are we perhaps missing something, too? We prize our freedom to think for ourselves – are we using it to grow spiritually and to contribute to the greater good? Are we open to new insights? I think many of us are.


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3 Spong, J.S. (2013), The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic, New York : HarperCollins.

The progressive bishop, John Shelby Spong3, was first repelled by, but then intensively studied the Gospel of John. He holds that, with “eyes to see”, the constant theme of John’s Gospel is the oneness of the human with the divine – the same life essence flows through “the vine and its branches”. He sees God not as an external being, but as the essence of life; and he sees Jesus as calling us to take an evolutionary step forward into a new understanding of what it means to be human, full of the essence of life and therefore connected to what is ultimately real and whole. We are not miserable sinners who need to be saved. John never implies Jesus had to “die for our sins”.

At a Templer Easter service, I noted the words of a Lutheran visitor: “That’s the first time I’ve heard from the pulpit that Jesus’ life was more important than his death.”

Spong thinks that Jesus, speaking as God’s messenger, calls us not to become religious or to achieve moral purity, not to gain doctrinal orthodoxy, but to live a full and expanded life, conscious that we can share in limitless love and that we are rooted in the Ground of Being, in mystical unity with the Divine.

“The Christian view is that there cannot be one single view... Jesus was constantly discerning new patterns of God’s love that challenged and crossed traditional boundaries.” So wrote the Rev Lisa Stewart in The Age (13.8.2017), pointing out that opposing same-sex marriage is a “traditional” view, not “the Christian view”. Because Christians have always had diverse views, as we have seen.

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I think that, in spite of the difficulties, we can get a sense of what Jesus wanted to convey, and we note how relevant his issues still are today. May pondering his teachings help us to grow more whole.

Interested in more?

The Progressive Christian Network of Victoria is hosting an international speaker in October. Dr Hal Taussig will share the growing knowledge and fresh understanding of the diverse and vital beginnings of what became Christianity. See www.pcnvictoria.org.au

A Progressive Christian Voice (Australia) is now an alternative voice to that of the conservative Australian Christian Lobby, whom the media go to for comments on contentious issues. The APCVA’s thinking is more in line with those of the Temple Society. See www.progressivechristians.org.au

Chinese Jesus, Beijing China, 1879en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus#/media/File:ChineseJesus.jpg

http://www.pcnvictoria.org.au

http://www.progressivechristians.org.au


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Eighty-two percent of the words ascribed to Jesus in the gospels were not actually spoken by him, according to the Jesus Seminar”1.

The Jesus Seminar was a group of over 150 Biblical scholars who undertook the quest to identify the historical Jesus, initially focussing on the recorded sayings and deeds of Jesus.

The group was very diverse, coming from different religious traditions and scholarly backgrounds. They used understandings from the study of social anthropology, history and textual analysis to inform their debate. The “Fellows” of the Jesus Seminar met biannually to debate papers that were circulated in advance and then voted on particular sayings and deeds attributed to Jesus in the gospels.

The

authenticJesus

Conclusions of the Jesus Seminar

RENATE BEILHARZ

1 Funk, R. W., Hoover, R. W., & The Jesus Seminar (1993), The five gospels : what did Jesus really say?, Framington, MN: Polebridge Press.

“

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The Jesus Seminar’s goal was to publish the results of their research to the general public, not just for specialist researchers. Summaries of the results of their debates can be found on the Jesus Seminar website www.westarinstitute.org/projects/the-jesus-seminar/, with the details published in a series of texts including The five gospels: what did Jesus really say?2 and The acts of Jesus: what did Jesus really do?3 Below is a brief overview of their key findings.

Sayings of Jesus4

18% of the sayings attributed to Jesus in the gospels are authentic. The sayings voted as most likely to be authentic were:

1. “If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other side.” Luke 6:29a, Matt. 5:39

2. “If anyone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well.” Luke 6:29b. Matt. 5:40

3. “Blessed are you in need: the kingdom of God is yours.” Luke 6:20b

4. “If someone in authority presses you into service for one mile, go with him two.” Matt. 5:41

5. “Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you.” Luke 6:27b

6. “Pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and God what belongs to God.” Mark 12:17b

7. “Give to anyone who asks.” Matt. 5:42a

8. “Blessed are you who now go hungry; you will be satisfied.” Luke 6:12b

2 As previous3 Funk, R. W., & Seminar, T. J. (1998), The acts of Jesus: what did Jesus really do?, Framington, MN: Polebridge Press.4 From Revised English Bible

http://www.westarinstitute.org/projects/the-jesus-seminar/

http://www.westarinstitute.org/projects/the-jesus-seminar/


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Parables of Jesus5

Parables most likely to be authentic, as voted by members of the Jesus Seminar:

1. Leaven

“To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast which a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour till it was all leavened.” Luke 13:20-21

2. Good Samaritan

“A man was on his way to Jericho when he was set upon by robbers … A Samaritan who was going that way came upon him and when he saw him he was moved to pity. He went up and bandaged his wounds … brought him to an inn, and looked after him.” Luke 10:30-35

3. Dishonest Steward

“There was a rich man who had a steward, and he received complaints that this man was squandering the property … The steward said to himself, “What am I going to do now … I know what I must do to make sure that, when I am dismissed, there will be people who take me into their homes.” [The steward reduces the amount his master’s debtors owed.] And the master applauded the dishonest steward for acting so astutely.” Luke 16:1-8a

4. Vineyard Labourers

“The kingdom of heaven is like this. There was once a land owner who went out early one morning to hire labourers for his vineyard … [The owner continued to hire labourers throughout the day. At the end of the day he

5 From Revised English Bible

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paid all workers the same amount, whether they came early or late in the day.] The owner turned to one of them [who had worked all day] and said, ‘My friend, I am not being unfair to you. You agreed on the usual pay for the day, did you not? … I choose to give the last man the same as you. Surely I am free to do what I like with my own money? Why be jealous because I am generous?’” Matt. 20:1-15

5. Mustard Seed

“It [the kingdom of God] is like a mustard seed; when it is sown in the ground it is smaller than any other seed, but once sown it springs up and grows taller than any other plant, and forms branches so large that birds can roost in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32

Deeds of Jesus

According to the Jesus Seminar, the following can be authentically stated about Jesus’ life6:

• Jesus of Nazareth was born during the reign of Herod the Great.

• His mother’s name was Mary, and he had a human father whose name may not have been Joseph.

• Jesus was born in Nazareth, not in Bethlehem.

• Jesus was an itinerant sage who shared meals with social outcasts.

• Jesus practised faith healing without the use of ancient medicine or magic, relieving afflictions we now consider psychosomatic.

• He did not walk on water, feed the multitude with loaves and fishes, change water into wine or raise Lazarus from the dead.

6 Funk, R. W., & Seminar, T. J. (1998), The acts of Jesus: what did Jesus really do?, Framington, MN: Polebridge


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• Jesus was arrested in Jerusalem and crucified by the Romans.

• He was executed as a public nuisance, not for claiming to be the Son of God.

• The empty tomb is a fiction – Jesus was not raised bodily from the dead.

• Belief in the resurrection is based on the visionary experiences of Paul, Peter and Mary Magdalene.

The conclusions of the Jesus Seminar have come under considerable criticism. It has been criticised for its research methodology, membership and assumptions. Its method of voting on a given point using ratings of “likely authentic”, “somewhat likely”, “somewhat unlikely” and “unlikely to be authentic” also came under censure. The Jesus Seminar argued that using these ratings made it easier to report its results clearly to the general public, without having to provide extended and detailed arguments. The justification for using the voting processes concludes with the disclaimer “Voting does not, of course, determine the truth - it only indicates what the best judgment is of a significant number of scholars sitting around the table”7.

Even for a panel of scholars, determining the truth about Jesus still comes down to personal judgement.

7Jesus Seminar (n.d.), Voting, Retrieved from http://www.westarinstitute.org/projects/the-je-sus-seminar/voting/


Faces of Jesus

Black Jesus. Rome, 530 AD www.rejesus.co.uk/site/module/faces_of_jesus/P2/

Middle Eastern Jesus, Syriac manuscript, 13th Century‘Jesus and the apostles’ in National Geographic Magazine 2014, p. 57

Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, 20th Century Photo: Elizabeth Callahan. Flickr Commons public domain

Jesus the Good Shepherd. Ashfield, N.S.W., 20th Centuryhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=St+John+the+Baptist%E2%80%99s+Anglican+Church&title=Special:Search&go=Go&searchToken=belm5iqm4ooytu2lzapjl3ou2#/media/File:StJohnsAshfield_StainedGlass_GoodShepherd_Portrait.jpg


Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, 20th Century Photo: Elizabeth Callahan. Flickr Commons public domain

Serene Jesus, Titian, circa 1530https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titian.Christ_with_globe01.jpg

Embracing Jesus, Buckfast Abbey, Devonhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vitro_buckfast.jpg

Radiant Christ the King, Temple Church , LondonPhoto: Herta Uhlherr

Suffering Jesus, Lucas Cranach, circa 1510 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucas_Cranach_d._%C3%84._-_Head_of_Christ_Crowned_with_Thorns_-_WGA05658.jpg

Happy Jesus, London Gay Pride March, 2014 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gay_pride_-_Jesus_image_(14348384080).jpg

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Without Jesus of Nazareth (regardless of whether he was a historical or a mythological figure), the Bible would consist of only the Old Testament, i.e. Jewish history and religion. There would be no

New Testament or gospels, and no worldwide Christianity. For me, Jesus and particularly his teachings are central to the Temple Society’s existence and faith, which are, or can be, a significant part of our lives.

All four gospels in the New Testament introduce Jesus of Nazareth in almost identical fashion, with John the Baptist baptising Jesus and proclaiming him as a spirit-filled man and teacher sent by God (Matt. 3, Mark 1, Luke 2, John 1).

It is appropriate to keep in mind that Jesus, a Jewish rabbi or religious teacher, addressed mainly Jewish audiences, reminding them of the spirit

Jesus of Nazareth

HERMANN R. UHLHERR


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of the Jewish law and a God of Love. His “good news” – of recognising within every human being the divine, that of God, which prompts and empowers each person to seek direct connection with their own divine part by practising love of God, and of one’s neighbour as oneself – was unique and revolutionary.

The gospel stories about Jesus revolve around his teaching and demonstrating this throughout his life. Jesus’ death triggered a crisis which led to a spiritual awakening among his followers. In time, some of them recorded what they had heard. In the fourth century, “Christianity” was adopted as the official religion by the Roman Emperor Constantine, and the Roman Catholic Church was born. Over the centuries, the simple, clear teachings of Jesus were overlaid by doctrines about Jesus, and political power and influence played an important part in the growth of the Christian Church.

The founders of the Temple Society refocussed on the original message of Jesus embedded in the gospels. They identified and disregarded passages that had been added to fulfil the Old Testament prophecies and theological constructs that seemed to them to misinterpret what Jesus intended. They were left with relevant teachings applicable to modern life:

• New faith in the potential divinity of man (God within us)

• Greater harmony between human beings (loving one’s neighbour as oneself, applying the Golden Rule)

• And, as a result, working together towards the greater good of all humanity (striving for the kingdom of God on earth).

These elements can significantly influence our behaviour and our lives. Our thinking, our assumptions and attitudes may occasionally be challenged

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by new “facts” or speculations about Jesus (for instance, did he die on the cross, did he go to live in India, was he married?). We may never know.

I think that some mystery about Jesus does not detract from the man’s inspiring message.

I recommend the 2013 TSA publication, A Collection of Understandings from a Religious Perspective, which gives an overview of Templer thinking about Jesus and associated topics.

From Templer Talk, February 2014

Japanese Holy Family, 20th centuryFord, D. (1999), Theology : a very short introduction. Oxford : Oxford University Press.


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Jesus was walking through the land teaching and working miracles. One day he asked his disciples, “Who do the people say that I am?” They answered, “Some think you are John the Baptist, others say

Elijah, or some other prophet.” Jesus asked, “And you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. (Mark 8:31-35)

Why this prohibition? The Jewish people – and other religious groups of this period – were expecting the Messiah, or a divine Messenger. And Jesus shared this general expectation. No wonder preachers were secretly asking themselves, “Is it perhaps my mission?”

It was a very important question; any serious human being would be sufficiently aware of his own shortcomings and would not claim the role for himself without deep reflection. Jesus, too, would have thought about

Did Jesus consider himself

to be the Messiah?

WALTER BURKHARDT

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the purpose of his life; that’s why he asked who people thought he was. Peter, answering for the disciples, said, “You are the Messiah.” However, such a question cannot really be answered by others – the answer must come from within one’s own self. That’s why I think it is understandable that Jesus did not want it talked about before he was sure himself. It is also significant that Peter’s reply is immediately followed by Jesus foretelling that he would suffer and die.

Jesus’ response contrasts radically with what was generally expected of the Messiah. Peter takes Jesus aside at once to talk him out of the crazy idea of suffering and death. Jesus rejects him with unusual severity. If Jesus felt that he was assigned the divine mission, he also felt that it meant something other than what his contemporaries understood by it.

What finds poignant expression in this and many similar passages is Jesus’ awful spiritual loneliness. He was supported by sincere disciples and had many followers, but they understood him only in the context of the general expectations of the time.

He alone felt the gravity of his task to be the suffering Messiah, a concept so powerful that he could not even talk about it with his disciples without meeting incomprehension. How hard it must have been for Jesus to call on his followers, whose idea of the Messiah was so different from his own, to take up the cross in self-denial as the only way to eternal life.

It is no coincidence that the disciples’ affirmation “You are the Messiah” and Jesus foretelling that he would suffer, follow one another. Peter, having just exclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, immediately tries to apply human standards to his mission. That is why the text continues with the profound statement that, where the salvation of the soul is concerned, human standards are of secondary importance: “For what does it profit a


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man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? It profits him nothing at all.” (Mark 8:36)

That is why we Templers attach such importance to our motto, which provides an answer to that question: Seek first the kingdom of God and its justice, and all the rest will come to you as well.

From a service in the Templer Home for the Aged on 12.3.1987. Translated and condensed by H.U.

Russian Jesus, 19th Centuryen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus#/media/File:Christ,_the_Pantocrator.jpg

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But about that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, not even the Son; only the Father. Be alert, be wakeful. You do not know when the moment comes. It is

like a man going away from home: he has put his servants in charge, each with his own work to do, and he has ordered the door-keeper to keep watch. Stay awake, then, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming back. If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep. And what I say to you, I say to everyone: keep watch. (Mark 13:32-37)

This conversation between Jesus and his disciples is placed shortly before he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. They are talking about the end of the world and the subsequent arrival of the Messiah. Our text says this end of the world will:

come soon, come unexpectedly at any moment, come suddenly.

Be alert!

OTTO LÖBERT


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How soon? The present generation will live to see it all (v. 30). When and how suddenly will it come? Here he answers in a parable, namely, as unpredictably and quickly as a man who has gone away comes back home.

Such concepts as the end of the world in conjunction with cataclysmic events like earthquakes and falling stars (i.e. meteors) crop up in many mythologies and are reported in many different parts of the world. I find it surprising that Jesus predicted the end of the world with such apparent confidence and certainty. It did not eventuate in his lifetime. A sort of “end of the world” for Jews alone came some forty years later with the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and Herod’s palace in 70 A.D., followed by the expulsion of the Jews from much of Palestine. Jesus had warned of the destruction of the Temple.

Identifying such fire and brimstone events as punishment of the sinning populace by God is also an ancient viewpoint. Here Jesus apparently embraces this view, but elsewhere he is reported to have argued against it, namely that God does not punish man.

Did he occasionally use such threatening language in order to urge his contemporaries to “change their ways” and become better persons? Apart from his disciples, there were few who thought they understood him. We have to discount the masses who hailed “Hosanna” when he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, because they thought he was speaking about political action to liberate the Jews from Roman occupation.

In his lifetime, Jesus’ efforts amongst his compatriots were largely unsuccessful – because he was misunderstood. But he had sown a few seeds which germinated after his death. In Peter the new growth was formed after the Jewish tradition; and in Paul after the Greek philosophies that were the core of his education. Fortunately, a verbalised memory of encounters with Jesus was eventually put to paper – with additions and

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embellishments – which partially makes good the sad fact that Jesus left no written records of any kind. The situation is probably not as drastic as it sounds. If Jesus had written down some sayings or teachings, then there would probably be as much argument about their interpretation as there is today about the records of the gospel writers and the various letters of the apostles.

I think it is correct to say that Christoph Hoffmann’s main endeavour in the bible studies of his later years was to find out what Jesus’s authentic teachings were and how much of the New Testament comes under the category of “additions and embellishments”. Many modern scholars are working on the Bible in a similar manner and much has already been achieved.

An obvious question arises: Does one need to believe anything over and above what Jesus believed? Or conversely: Is there an advantage or superior wisdom – in our eyes or in God’s eyes – if one believes additional things, aspects and relationships which Jesus did not believe? These questions should be asked – and everyone should attempt an answer. A critical (i.e. examining, searching) approach towards belief was strongly recommended by the founder of our Society.

The core message of our text is a warning:

Be alert! Be wakeful! Keep watch!

In my opinion, these words are meant to direct us to the embedded parable about the man away from home who arranged that all those left behind have their own work to do. I think it means this: we are all responsible to God, the Master, for how we live our own life, for our actions and omissions. We must be alert in this, not allowing ourselves to become neglectful in our task of “seeking the kingdom of God and its justice before everything else”. In this, our guiding principles are always the two commandments:


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Love God and love your neighbour as yourself. When we err, we must be alert and let our conscience decide to repent, and plan not to repeat the same error. If, in such a frame of mind, we “forgive those who err against us, then we will be forgiven by God” as reported in Matthew in the verse after the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:14).

From a service in Bentleigh on 25.3.1990. Condensed by H.U.

Early Jesus, Rome, 3rd Centuryen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus#/media/File:Good_shepherd_02b_close.jpg

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B y ordinary standards, Jesus had an almost boundless love for his fellow human beings. He possessed high spiritual gifts, wisdom and powers that, to us, seem supernatural. He healed many affected by

physical and mental illnesses. He engaged with the most highly educated figures of his country, the scribes and Pharisees, and proved himself superior to them.

Why did he not make full use of this superiority? Why did he not exploit it in the usual ways to get to the top, consolidate his power and demonstrate his exceptional gifts and abilities? Why did he fall out with the leading levels of society, instead of making use of their help to ascend the royal throne? The people were desperately waiting for the new King of Israel. Why did he not grasp this opportunity? He did have the intellectual and spiritual equipment needed for the task!

A “whole” person

can heal

DIETRICH P. RUFF


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When a disciple asked why Jesus revealed himself to them but not to the world, Jesus’ answer is as simple as it is profound. And it is short: his words do not express his own view, he is simply proclaiming God’s revelation.

It is worth noting that the idea of God’s revelation being brought by His Son, or His human messenger, is not confined to the Christian religion. It is also found in other faith movements. And this makes sense, for one learns most easily and quickly from one’s own people in one’s own language. Humanity as a whole will need to keep learning God’s message for a long time yet.

We do not know how much deprivation, self-discipline and willpower it cost Jesus to become the man and saviour whose message we are learning from to this day – but we may perhaps sense it if we try to imagine being in his position.

From inner compulsion and conviction, Jesus chose the harder of two paths. It was the path that led to an early, agonising and lonely end. But it was also the way by which his spirit and his legacy have stayed alive in countless people over many centuries. He showed by his example what can be achieved by a complete and harmonious person’s commitment, and what forces can be liberated by such focussed, goal-oriented effort. The leaders of other faith movements, such as Mohammed, demonstrated this as well.

Complete, whole, “together”, harmonious human beings are people in whom the Divine lives and loves – they live according to the word of God. One could also simply say people who listen to and follow the voice of their conscience.

The New Testament contains many reports about Jesus, as a person in harmony with himself and with God, healing the sick. Healing may also be interpreted as Jesus helping the afflicted to restore order in their lives

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through harmony and peace of heart and soul. This engendered a new faith in life, new hope and especially the strong will to be well, which worked wonders, overcoming illness by the focussed application of a person’s own newly-awakened powers. We humans function when our bodies work together with our inner being, which we call spirit, heart or soul. The better this collaboration functions, the healthier we are.

I think we can understand the so-called miracles in this way; they thereby lose nothing of their wonder. Jesus accomplished them not as a great man of medicine, but because he had, in extraordinary measure, the rare gift of granting people peace with God, and peace with themselves and the world, by restoring their inner balance, which made it easier for them to concentrate their will and their energies on their recovery.

In our day it is just as important to not lose one’s inner balance; and not only our personal balance, but also the harmonious coexistence of communities and nations.

We modern inhabitants of this earth build huge power stations; we split atoms and turn night into day. We fathom the depths of the oceans, explore the interior of the earth, fly through the air, land on the moon and send rockets to the far planets of our solar system. These are no mean feats. They demonstrate human intelligence and capacities on the material plain. These achievements open doors to new, unheard-of possibilities of relieving human starvation and suffering.

But for all these wonderful possibilities there is a huge requirement – insight and wisdom must grow and keep step. For what would it profit us if we gained the whole world, but suffered damage to our souls?


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It is urgently necessary for us to see humanity’s enormous achievements in the proper perspective. We must be mature enough for the sudden widening of our horizons, so that our enthusiasm does not degenerate into hubris.

Maturity can be gained by well-founded faith, by unwavering respect for the greatness of creation, by awe for the omnipresence of the Divine. This maturity empowers us to maintain our inner balance in the daily reality of life with all its surprises. The miracle of creation is within us, it is visible in the healing of the sick, it reveals itself in a bud unfolding in the sunlight, and it is alive in the smallest and in the greatest of things.

May faith in this eternal miracle be preserved in us, become our firm foundation and point us in the right direction. May we find balance for our souls, and the peace for which every human heart yearns.

From a service in the Templer Home for the Aged on 22.1.1978.Translated and condensed by H.U.

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W hen dealing with miracle texts, our Templer Elders have usually explained them either completely rationally – they put the apparently miraculous elements into the context of everyday

natural experience, and so the event was made acceptable, but also less powerful. Or they explained them as purely symbolic, with no physical reality. Both explanations say no miracle ever occurred!

I want to discuss the miraculous in the miracle stories, not only because I am convinced that they should be interpreted as miraculous, but because this view has so far not been represented. I do not mean that the whole of each miracle story needs to be accepted (some details are there for teaching purposes or to emphasise a point). Each story then has one central and essential miraculous event. For instance, in the story of the Gerasene madman (Luke 8:26-39), if we disregard the demons, the herd of swine

The healing miracles

PETER UHLHERR


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and their drowning as peripheral, fantastic material, we are left with the important core – the complete healing of a deranged mind. I want to focus on such miraculous aspects.

What is the function of the miracle stories in the New Testament (N.T.)? To me, the most plausible explanation is that Jesus’ miracles are not meant to prove that Jesus possessed supernatural power, nor that faith healing is central to his teaching. His miracles are portrayed as signs that he is the Messiah. They are to be understood as indicating the arrival of God’s kingdom.

These stories are told in Old Testament terms, often quoting almost literally from the O.T. prophets. Jesus’ Jewish listeners were all steeped in the prophetic tradition of their scriptures (our Old Testament). They could see the connection between, say, the prophecies of Isaiah (read Is. 26:19, Is. 35:4) and the gospel miracles, which include stories from all categories mentioned in Isaiah, to underline the exact parallel between the prophesied Messiah’s course and that taken by Jesus.

When John the Baptist’s disciples ask Jesus whether he is the one to come, his answer virtually quotes Isaiah: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind recover their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor are hearing the good news – and blessed is anyone who does not find me a stumbling block.” This last phrase is the crux of the message of the N.T. miracle stories. Each person is given the chance to “turn around”, to change their life. Each is free to accept or reject the message after he has seen the evidence, namely the signs, i.e. Jesus’ miracles. Each person has been given free will to accept or reject God’s kingdom.

You can read a whole string of miracle stories like that in Luke 4-8.

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Jesus’ miracles are a non-verbal statement that he is here to open people’s eyes. The witnesses can see the connection with Isaiah and so symbolically have their “eyes opened”. The action of the physical healing miracle is real; its meaning is symbolic. The two are inseparable.

Those who allow only a symbolic meaning and reject the physical miracle destroy the mechanism by which the symbolic message is transmitted to the crowd. The miracle then has meaning only for the one person symbolically healed, e.g. given sight, insight into Jesus’ message. There is nothing at all for the bystanders.

Those who explain miracles rationally – in terms of natural phenomena within our own experience (e.g. as exaggeration or oriental flowery language) in effect deny the symbolism and the connection with the O.T. prophecies. They reduce the miracles to ordinary events and so also reduce their significance.

To understand the message of the gospels, we are expected to accept the core of the miracles as miraculous. By definition, a miracle is outside our experience and therefore cannot be unambiguously explained in terms of our experience. So we have to choose between a generally dissatisfying explanation and accepting an unexplained and extraordinary event.

Are miracles necessarily outside the natural laws of our experience? If not, the miraculous could perhaps be accepted more easily. A well-known, fundamental law of nature is the second law of thermodynamics, which describes the behaviour of spontaneous natural processes, like heat flow. Heat always flows spontaneously from a hot object to a cold object, never from a cold to a hot one. Everyone has experienced that on a cold winter’s night.

This law applies not only to heat but to all forms of energy. Take water – it naturally flows from hilltops down to valleys. The second law of


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thermodynamics also deals with processes that never occur by themselves in nature. But they can be made to reverse their natural direction. Water can be pumped uphill. Heat is taken out from freezers into the hotter kitchen. This requires power or energy from an outside source.

Many miracles which appear to contradict the laws of nature can be regarded as spontaneous processes that have been reversed and made to go in an unnatural direction and this needs outside energy. Science, i.e. our experience, recognises a very long list of different forms of energy, many of them well-known, like heat, work, light, magnetic energy, etc. But is this accepted list complete? Why should there not be as yet unrecognised forms of energy?

That some form of energy is involved in miracles is hinted at in the New Testament. When the woman, ill for twelve years, touched Jesus’ cloak in the jostling crowd, she was cured at once. Jesus says, “Someone did touch me, for I felt that power had gone out of me.” See also: “All in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.” (Luke 8:43f and Luke 6:19 respectively)

I said our list of forms of energy may be incomplete. Incompleteness of knowledge is a real stumbling block. To a student wishing to study physics in the 1890s, a famous scientist said: don’t bother, because all the important discoveries have already been made. A few years later, atomic structure was discovered, the atom was split, quantum mechanics and relativity were discovered, i.e. the entire branch of modern physics was born. What an extraordinary lack of humility, lack of acceptance of nature outside his own experience, on the part of the great rational scientist!

I conclude that we need to steer a course between the ultra-rational (which does not allow anything outside its own experience to exist), and the

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ultra-emotional (which can lead to superstition and blind belief). Both are self-limiting. I think we should let miracles exist as miracles.

Ideas that challenge our faith and our understanding, that force us out of our comfort zone, are an opportunity to think more deeply. Allowing the miraculous to exist will keep prompting us to ponder, and so keep open the possibility of inner growth, of maturing spiritually.

Based on a Service in Bentleigh on 28.9.1977.

A unique healing miracle story

I believe that the gospel writers carefully weighed every word in their stories for maximum impact and information content. We can therefore draw conclusions from what is in the gospels, but also from what is left out. This is important for the miraculous healing of a centurion’s servant, which is strikingly different from others – mainly because of what is NOT stated. It’s in Luke 7:1-10. This healing occurred at a distance – Jesus never saw the sick servant nor the centurion requesting his help. The text mentions no laying on of hands, no touching of Jesus’ cloak, no incantation to drive out an evil spirit, no “rise, walk” – nothing! No one could know if anything was happening, nor ever found out. For most other miracles, the crowd’s reaction is important – awe and turning to follow Jesus. Here no one praised God, and the words “God” and “father” do not appear anywhere.

The request for healing came by proxy – Jewish elders on behalf of a centurion on behalf of a servant. The centurion, an imperial Roman military officer, was a pagan, ritually unclean by Jewish law. When Jesus says “Nowhere, even in Israel, have I found faith like this”, he is unambiguously talking about the pagan centurion’s attitude, and he responded to his faith. The miraculous healing seems just a pretext to discuss the nature and


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extent of faith. Since all the usual trappings of miracle stories are left out, I conclude they must be unimportant.

So what did Jesus admire in this centurion? The story tells us about his actions and hence his attributes: he was socially open-minded and tolerant; he knew how to foster peace and stability in non-violent ways; he was sensitive to repercussions for Jesus if he healed in a “ritually unclean” house; he had compassion for his servant and was not too proud to seek help – he did not see this as a weakness; he was under no delusion about his own authority or powers and their limits.

He clearly believed there was some power external to himself and to his own culture that could help and that Jesus could summon that power. And, importantly, he never doubted that this help would be provided simply because it was needed. This centurion seems as close as anyone could get to discovering the true intent of Jesus’ teaching, hence Jesus’ admiration. This Roman centurion appears to be close to establishing the “kingdom of God” within – and he didn’t even believe in God! He was close to “holy living”, yet not at all holy but “unclean” by Jewish law. Nor was he holy in the Church’s sense of devotion to God.

Jesus clearly considered him holy in the sense of high moral and spiritual excellence. Jesus, the social reformer, was very inclusive and fought for recognition that holy living is inherent in the law quite independently of ritual. The important thing is regard for the spirit of the law – moral and spiritual excellence in everyday life – not regard for the letter of the law in ritual observance in an exclusive place.

I am struck by the bitter irony of how Jesus’s attempts to broaden access to God would, quite soon after his death, lead to ritual, dogmatic worship in his name that is just as exclusive as the Jewish practice that he gave his life for in trying to reform.

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In Luke’s miracle story we see what Jesus deemed essential to holy living – the attitude, actions and faith needed to access the power of God. Remarkably and paradoxically, a belief in the biblical God is not mentioned – it does not appear to be an essential part of that faith. The text shows the distinction between faith in a power and belief in a particular God. The implications are extraordinary!

Condensed from a service in Bentleigh on 22.3.2009 and TR August 2009.

A last comment: Jesus’ miracles always helped, never harmed people. His disciples’ miracles sometimes had fatal consequences, when done in judgemental anger and not with compassion.


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Brought up in a Templer family, I have never been comfortable with worshipping or adoring a heavenly Jesus Christ. But I do respect and admire the wise and compassionate teacher from Nazareth who

was so in touch with the Divine.

When a female minister declared “Jesus is not my boyfriend”, that resonated with me. She was speaking in response to a modern Christian popular movement declaring the opposite. But I would never suggest that the ecstatic, almost erotic relationships that some saints, mystics and present-day charismatics have with Jesus-God is not life-sustaining for them. We each have different needs and issues that matter to us as we go through stages in our inner growth.

Being full-filled with love, wisdom, goodwill, in harmony and at one with “the All”, like Jesus was, that is something I and many others would love

Who is Jesus

for you (and me)?

HERTA UHLHERR

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to experience more often. And that keeps me open to the Divine that can be found everywhere.

One confirmand, expressing a view in class this year, felt that Jesus lived his life like a leaf floating along a river, going where the current (life) guides it, accepting obstacles and moving forward to its goal.

In a recent discussion at the Progressive Christian Network, participants were asked how their progressive view of Jesus can influence their lives. Some responses were:

• I cannot make Jesus responsible for me, but like him, I must take responsibility for how I live in community

• Allows me to view other religious systems (Muslim, Jewish, Indigenous...) as worthy of respect

• Seeing Jesus in his context can free us to focus on what matters in our context – which may have nothing to do with religion

• Jesus as the compassionate one calls into question neo-liberal politics as we work towards a compassionate society

• We all need heroes. It might as well be Jesus rather than a pop star. Jesus is the pioneer of a new way

• Jesus didn’t come to give us a list of “I believes”, but a way of love, of connecting, of including, of accepting

• I prefer to refer to myself not as a Christian, but as a follower of the Evolving Way.

So who is Jesus for you?


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One of the projects undertaken by the Heritage & Culture Focus Group is updating lists and photos of headstones and memorials to Templers and friends who have passed away in Australia.

As you might appreciate, with the team based in Melbourne, the records for the local cemeteries are more complete than those in other states. In time, and as volunteers become available, more memorials will be documented and photographed.

A reminder that the TGD has the records for the Haifa and Jerusalem cemeteries on their website under the Historische Friedhöfe webpage: www.tempelgesellschaft.de/de/geschichte/historische-friedhoefe.php

DORIS FRANK

Templer burials and memorials

in Australia

http://www.tempelgesellschaft.de/de/geschichte/historische-friedhoefe.php

http://www.tempelgesellschaft.de/de/geschichte/historische-friedhoefe.php

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Many cemeteries have online databases enabling you to search for a person’s grave or memorial details. Each cemetery has a slightly different way of documenting its graves and some websites have easier search capabilities than others. Most of them offer a photo service where they will photograph a grave for you (at a cost), but be aware of spelling errors. If you cannot find a particular person, try different spelling. One example is the entry for Fritz DOH at the Ferntree Gully cemetery. We knew he was buried there from a photo of his headstone, but his name did not appear on the cemetery list. Additional searching found him entered as Fritz DOW. Most cemetery databases have some errors which can usually only be rectified by documentation provided by family members.

In New South Wales, we have sixty-three Templer deaths recorded and photos of a good many of their headstones or memorials. Some of the websites to search for a loved one:

www.castlebrook.com.au/find-loved-ones

www.rookwoodcemetery.com.au/deceased-search-engine

woronoracemetery.org.au

We have seven memorials In Queensland, and sixty-one in South Australia.

Our team of volunteers has visited several cemeteries in Melbourne (Box Hill, Cheltenham, Ferntree Gully and Springvale) and photographed the headstones. Further afield, all the memorial plaques at the German War Cemetery at Tatura have been documented and photographed. Many more Templer cemetery records across Australia are documented on a spreadsheet and maintained by the Heritage & Culture Focus Group. Some of these have photos obtained from the Billion Graves website, billiongraves.com

http://www.castlebrook.com.au/find-loved-ones

http://www.rookwoodcemetery.com.au/deceased-search-engine

http://woronoracemetery.org.au

https://billiongraves.com/



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Box Hill Cemetery: There are 111 documented Templer graves or memorials, and each memorial has now been photographed by our team. Box Hill cemetery has a search facility at: www.boxhillcemetery.com.au which lists plot references and other details. Photos are not included on their website.

Ferntree Gully Cemetery: There are 248 documented, photographed and mapped memorials. Veronika Frank has mapped each of the Templer plots for us (from individual area maps provided by the Cemetery Trust). We hope to list those graves with photos on the Temple Society’s website soon.

Although the Ferntree Gully Cemetery Trust does not have an online search facility, the Knox City Council does publish a list of burials, updated annually. It is available at: www.knox.vic.gov.au/Files/Cemetery/2016_07_Register_as_at_1_July_2016.pdf

Cheltenham Cemetery: There are 62 Templer memorials, all documented and photographed.

The Friends of Cheltenham have an online search facility on their website, found at: www.focrc.org/locategrave.htm

Lilydale Lawn Cemetery and Lilydale Memorial Park: There are 30 documented memorials, many not yet photographed. The Greater Melbourne Cemeteries Trust has a website to search for the Lilydale records: www.gmct.com.au/deceased-search/

Springvale Botanical Cemetery: There are over 150 Templer memorials documented; only a small number of these have been photographed. The photographing of these memorials is one of the Heritage team’s current projects.

http://www.boxhillcemetery.com.au/

https://www.knox.vic.gov.au/Files/Cemetery/2016_07_Register_as_at_1_July_2016.pdf

https://www.knox.vic.gov.au/Files/Cemetery/2016_07_Register_as_at_1_July_2016.pdf

ttp://www.focrc.org/locategrave.htm

http://www.gmct.com.au/deceased-search/

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Embroidery created by Dorothea Schnerring during her time at Helwan, Egypt

If you are unsure where a loved one is buried or cremated (in Melbourne), a good starting point is to search on the Springvale Botanical Cemetery website: sbc.smct.org.au/deceasedsearch/

Some external websites, such as Billion Graves: billiongraves.com and the Find a Grave website: www.findagrave.com have global databases, many also providing photos.

Another website which provides data on ‘Germans’ buried in Australia: austcemindex.com

Ferntree Gully Cemetery Cheltenham Memorial Park

https://sbc.smct.org.au/deceasedsearch/


https://www.findagrave.com/

http://austcemindex.com

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