Christian Transformation
Transformation is pointed to in Coincidental Joy. Transformation is not only changing individuals but dramatically changing the course of mankind. This is originalist, that the Bible must fixed to the time of the people in the Bible and Christian Transformation began at the time of Christ. This is conservative and those that hold other views are not Christian and are starting their own religion.
Do not rush into spiritual transformation.
The Jewish people and Judaism existed before Jesus. Key historical events before Jesus were the rise of Buddhism and the Greek expansion by Alexander the Great to India.
Alexander the Great expansion is not mentioned in the Bible. The Jewish people must have been conquered or accepted Alexander’s rule to have lived in Alexander’s domain.
Some of Alexander people remained in India and studied Buddhism and became accomplished practitioners and returned to Greece and the Mideast with this knowledge. This started the rise of Christianity.
India went through the same transformation as Greece and Ashoka (304-232 BC) rose as the warrior ruler of India but Ashoka became Buddhist and peaceful. The Great Teaching of Mahamudra is the most powerful tool in accomplishing this transformation.
Spirituality had become corrupted in Europe and the Mideast while Buddhism, along with the Jewish drive for independence challenged the traditional power structure in the region.
Afghanistan, at the time of Jesus was very committed to Buddhism and must have extended into what is now Iran. Even the Roman empire could not conquer into Afghanistan or they wold have.
Ancient Romans religious beliefs of rituals and sacrifice, including animal and human sacrifice, were challenged from Afghanistan starting Roman crucifixion as a way of stopping new beliefs from taking root.
The rise of Christianity changed political structures and educational systems as Jesus was a carpenter, not a political leader or a warrior.
This change laid the foundations for modern democratic societies to rise but not without continuing opposition by many wealthy and powerful.
Jewish visionaries foresaw that to survive as a cohesive minority they needed a new spiritual culture that would adapt to existing cultures but remain politically cohesive for all cultures.
The basis of this spiritual culture existed in India (and Judaism) but required changes in emphasis so that new cultures could form and rule. This was the brilliance of Jewish spiritual leaders.
This transformation of spirituality to adapt to cultures was not new but the Jewish people pushed boundaries to stop Roman and other cultures from suppressing the Jewish ideal of their own cultural independence.
Eventually, Rome suppressed Jewish rebellions and dispersed the Jews from Israel and took Jewish slaves back to Rome but these slaves helped transform Rome into a Christian state.
The problem becomes to stabilizing a spiritual culture that was designed to change cultures and yet remain spiritually sound while not being conquered by foreign powers.
Transformation on a personal level is a very advanced and profound subject and is not directly discussed here as one must concentrate on developing the ability to transform others. See for a brief discussion.
In general people trying to transform (make a difference) before they have the ability is like jumping in a river to save someone and end up drowning.
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