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Around June 23, 6 B.C.E. (comp. Luke 2:1,2) a baby boy was conceived by an unmarried Jewish girl named Miriam. She was in her early to mid teens. Her child, concieved outside of holy wedlock and born in a barn, was named Joshua or Y'shua in Hebrew (Isous is the Greek form), a name which means that the Hebrew Deity "YaHVeH saves" (DRP352). His name was not Jesus. As he grew into manhood Y'shua's life and ministry proclaimed that the God of Israel is the only hope of the world. Under normal circumstances, his conception would have resulted in the shunning of his mother (if not her stoning) and possibly her entire family. Conceived from such a socially and scripturally condemned union, Y'shua would have been branded a bastard and would have had little if any chance of leading a meaningful life (Isa. 57:3). This time it was different however, for you see, this child, according to millions of people around the world, this Isous, whom the English-speaking world knows of as Jesus, was none other than the Christ, the Son of the Living God; the Messiah of the Jews and origin of us all according to the world's largest religion. (John 1:1,2) Of him it is said: "He is the most well-known historical figure in of all human history. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, have not affected the life of humankind upon this earth as much as this "One Solitary Life."
Perhaps even more astonishing, it is said that his mother was a virgin whom HaShem, the God of Israel Himself impregnated by His Holy Spirit. It should be mentioned in passing that in the Bible the doctrine of the virgin birth is not clearly established as the Greek word employed, parthenos means "maiden" not virgin (GD 3933) and the Matthew quote cited as support has nothing to do with the Moshiach nor a virgin birth. Presumably, of course, a godly maiden, a parthenos, would also be a virgin, but the word itself does not mean this ( note 1 ). For the vast majority of Christians, be they Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, etc. Jesus' virgin birth remains an essential religious tenant, an article of faith as confirmed in the Apostles' Creed and throughout greater Christendom (BC 15; KWB 47; IBJ 197). Since the days of Rome's usurpation/transformation of Christianity, the West has focused on and debated the fundamental nature of Jesus' birth and the proper human response to it. Religious debate, revivals and awakenings have occurred throughout the diverse Christian traditions to the point that the doctrines of Master Y'shua have been largely obscured if not forgotten. Even in the East, the influence of Christianity and its debates has been felt. For instance, there can be little doubt that the popularity of bhakti-yoga, the Hindu Path of Devotion, Pure Land Buddhism, the devotionalism of Guru Nanak, and other teachings became more popular because of the Christian Faith. This is not to say they began there, but such teachings have been inspired by Christian devotionalism. "Without devotion to the Name Divine is birth in the world gone waste. Such consume poison, poisonous their utterance; Without devotion to the Name, without gain they die, and after death in transmigration wander." (Guru Nanak, Raga Bhairon) Once Roman Universalism (Catholicism) was established, very little dialogue occurred between Christian and non-Christian philosophers or religionists. The non-Christian world was condemned as "heathen" and largely forgotten and discounted as sources of truth and enlightenment.  One thing that makes the current Fourth Great Awakening unique is the degree of non-Christian participation (CE 3) and the decline of Christian relevance. Indeed it can argued that the emergence of Islam as a major Western religion is now setting the agenda of this Awakening. Christianity is still the world's largely religion but this is changing. If things continue as they are Islam will become the largest religion on earth soon. Hinduism, the oldest still existing religion, remain in third place but its philosophical influence is growing and taking root in western consciousness. During the Third Great Awakening, as will be discussed below, Eastern traditions entered the dialogue of western thought, but it was not until our period that they have begun to exorcised any real influence. Concepts such as karma, transmigration, ahimsa, yoga, dhyana meditation and the like are all basic Eastern ideas that have been broadly incorporated into western culture and religion ( note 2 ). Today the designations of east and west are far more arbitrary than many would care to believe (MiD 199). Throughout recorded history, explorers and other travelers have circumambulated the globe in search of the exotic. These people discovered regions with little or no outside contact with the West, however these were in the minority (S 13,14). Sikhism would be an example of such once non-western religions that are now commonplace in the West. Europe and America always had some communication with the East, and as a result, its ideas and insights have influenced us more than we tend to realize. At least as far back as the Persian ruler Darius I (c.500 B.C.E.), the West has had first hand knowledge of basic Eastern concepts ( note 3 ). By the time Alexander the Great conquered Darius III (Codomannus) at the Battle of Issus in 333 B.C.E. Western influence was permanently established in India (HA 6,7). Even the Buddhist architecture of Ashoka, with its pillars and winged lions owed much to western influence (S 13,14). Indeed, the link between India and the West, in architecture, language, economics, religion, and philosophy is of great antiquity. After the Vatican subjugation of Europe however, the exchange of ideas between what the Christian Church viewed as the heathen East and the godly West was largely halted. As Rick Fields points out, in the West the Buddhists, regardless of how pure their ideals or sound their ethics were condemned as unrepentant heathens destined for eternal torment. Hence, Eastern thought was generally rejected in the West and most communication ceased (S 20). It is incorrect to say however that during the Church's theocratic stranglehold on the West only its missionaries confronted Eastern religionists. While contact was minimal, it did occur. For instance, there were the travels of explorers such as Marco Polo (1254-1324). La Loubere, Louis the XIV's envoy to the king of Siam (1678-1679), discussed the difficult concept of nirvana in detail in his Description du Royaume de Siam (S 24). Likewise, in 1727 Englebert Kampfer, with his History of Japan Together with a Description of the Kingdom of Siam published the first English book on Zen Buddhism and introduced zazen, satori and Koans (S 24,25) ( note 4 ). Due to the religious intolerance that typified Medieval Christianity, meaningful dialogue between East and West remained quite limited until the Third Great Awakening in the late nineteenth century however. What came to be known as Christianity began in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4; 2:1). Shortly after the Day of Pentecost, through the efforts of the Twelve Disciples (especially Peter and Paul), it quickly spread throughout Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Greece, modern Turkey, North Africa, Italy and Spain. Within three hundred years of its inception, Roman Christianity became the dominant religious and political force of the Roman Empire in the lands that bordered on the Mediterranean Sea. In the next six hundred years, it spread throughout Europe and beyond. With the rise of Islam however, the Church faced stiff competition. Shortly after the death of Prophet Muhammad (June 8, 632), on August 26, 636 Byzantine fell before the Muslim armies at the battle of Yarmouk and all of Syria was taken over to the Taurus. In February 637, the Persian army was devastated at Qadasiya, just south of Hira. All of Iraq was occupied by the Muslim armies, including Ctesiphon, its capital (just south of Baghdad). In 640 Egypt was occupied by the Islamic Ummah; that same year the Persian Empire ceased to exist (IWH 377-398). In what remained of the Roman Christian Empire the Church was divided into two main bodies. The Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church was centered in Constantinople (now Istanbul in northwest Turkey), and the Roman Orthodox Catholic Church, remained centered in Rome (RNA 54). Both of these religious bodies, the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Churches can trace their origins to Emperor Constantine by whose authority modern Christianity and its essential doctrines were established. Between 661 and 750 CE the armies of the Islamic Ummah conquered a large portion of the known world, China excepted. Determined that Allah's Shariah ( note 5 ) or laws were to be observed everywhere on earth, the forces of Islam flowed into Europe with seemingly unstoppable force. The Merovingian House |
The Next to the Last Great Awakening
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