A Pagan Cross Or A Sacrificial Lamb
Christianity needs to get its priorities in correct order of
priority: the godly and humble Francis Of Assisi needs to be of more
influence than the proud and ‘scholastic’ Thomas Aquinas who denied a
soul to all but man! And the emphasis on Jesus being worshipped in the
form of a sacrificed herbivorous gentle creature – a lamb – may well
need more prominence than that of a ‘God Man’ nailed to the wood of a
tree’, especially when one cannot be sure as to the actual form it took!
Enlightened biblical theology will appreciate that whereas Jesus took
upon Himself manhood for our salvation, that at the last He appears in
the form of a loving, gentle animal. Yes, and in this latter figurative
form we find our blest Redeemer worshipped by the four representatives
of the animal kingdom: These latter - leading the Sanctus (holy, holy,
holy!) before the throne in Heaven – are then followed by twenty-four
human representatives: the elders who possibly represent both the Old
Testament patriarchs and the New Testament apostles. (See Revelation
chapters 4 & 5) - It’s truly a book shrouded by allegory; and is open to
varied interpretations!
Indeed, that a chauvinistically motivated early church father –
Iraneous of Lyons – should have misinterpreted part of the above
passages of holy writ so as to pander to the vanity of a fallen humanity
was quite unforgivable. He quite wrongly – and in opposition to others
of his day - referred to the four animals of this Apocalypse as
figurative of the four gospel accounts and, in so doing, revealed that a
text taken out of context can end up as a pretext! But then Iraneous -
followed by some later theologians - was hardly any less guilty than
were much later interpreters of the Bible in Britain. Indeed, I refer to
those recent scholars of the latter part of our past century! In the
Book of Revelation the four animals already touched upon are clearly
misinterpreted by them as ‘four living creatures’.
But thankfully, I come across one notable exception. It is the modern
Catholic version known as: the Jerusalem Bible; and to my mind it
outshines all the others. For it not only consistently interprets the
Greek word ‘zoon’ for animal - rather than imply a fierce beast
‘therion’ as does the King James - or indeed as a ‘living creature’ as
do the contemporary Protestant versions, but its literary style is quite
beautiful.
However, I appear to have got sidetracked! What ever our preference,
we also need to see the Saviour not only portrayed in the depiction of a
man nailed to a cross of one form or another, but at least, equally so
as a sacrificed herbivorous animal. For Christ’s mission was, and is, to
redeem the whole creation; and to have interpreted His redemptive work
as confined to a Puritan style elect of humanity – all else to be damned
– is, to my mind, a blasphemous distortion of the Gospel we’re called to
‘proclaim to every creature under the heavens’..
The Wesley brothers of the Methodist 17th century Spiritual Awakening
were encircled by drab, legalistic expressions of ‘Reformed’ Puritan
theology, which made the self assumed elect feel smug, and left all
others untouched and mostly uncared for. Yes, it was in such a
spiritually dry and dead state that Methodism began to shine as a
heavenly beacon. The Wesley brothers of Epworth believed in and preached
a far more embracing message to the masses. Indeed, they even expressed
it in song: ‘For all, for all, my Saviour died. For all, for all, was
crucified!’ Their gospel referred to more than humanity’s plight, and
their hymns repeatedly exalted ‘the Lamb who was slain’. Little wonder,
then, that some branches of Methodism – along with John Wesley himself –
began taking up a vegetarian life style. Yes, and long before it became
the respectable food option it now holds in people’s lives today!
Go on to Next Topic
Return to Spring 2008 Issue
Return to
Newsletters
Animal Padre's
