In search of a ‘new truth’?

According to the ubiquitous stories published or aired about the release of “The Da Vinci Code,” people are fascinated by the possibility of different truths coming out about Jesus. Of course, experts have debunked all the “shocking truths” in Dan Brown’s novel. Drawing on this interest, if one “new truth” about your faith were to be uncovered, what would you want it to be?

We discover new truth all the time. For many years, the lack of archeological evidence for the existence of Pontius Pilate was used as proof that the Gospels were inaccurate. Lo and behold, a large stone was discovered with his name dedicating a building to Caesar. I saw it two months ago when I was in Israel.

Currently, there is a debate in the Muslim world and among some historians about whether the Temple Mount really was a Jewish sanctuary. Archeologists found a huge stone with Hebrew lettering mentioning the place of the trumpet-blowing that marked special occasions. Hard to deny that.

For more than a century, the Bible has been criticized as an inaccurate copy of a copy of a copy. It was viewed as a textual version of the “gossip” game where the result looks nothing like its original intent. Then a Bedouin shepherd finds the Dead Sea scrolls. Many hoped this would prove the theory of the inaccuracy of the Scriptures ? after all the oldest copy available prior to their discovery was nearly 1,000 years older than the scrolls. Lo and behold, the Dead Sea Scrolls show us that the Bibles we carry today are virtually identical to the ones found in Qumran, with very few errors. The errors that were found were largely typographical or grammatical. Nothing of substance. That’s a “new truth” when the popular mindset claims them to be inaccurate.

King David of Israel’s golden age had been considered a myth used to bring a nation together by many historians until recently. Not one, but two references to him and his dynasty were found, not in Israel, but in countries bordering Israel.

I know this is not the kind of “truth” that the question asks, but Christianity is not a secret religion. We don’t have secret ceremonies or use magical incantations. What we believe has been handed down from generation to generation, and reformed on occasion to conform to the original practices and beliefs. Though sects claiming to be Christian have secret ceremonies, orthodox Christ followers are about following Jesus. A belief that is so simple that Jesus said we must become children to accept it.

The belief in secret or hidden knowledge is what defines the Gnostics. They were the ones who wrote the Gospel of Judas and Thomas and the others that are made famous by “The Da Vinci Code” and other publications. These are part of a completely different faith system that just happened to latch on to the teachings of Jesus as valuable, in the same way that Muhammad used the Hebrew and Christian teachings to found Islam. The books produced by these other religions do not represent new “truth” about Christianity but are pictures of their view of the world using Christian terminology. This does not make them Christian anymore than it makes a Muslim Christian.

The search for new truth is vanity if we are to believe King Solomon the wise, who said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Give up your pride and accept the truth that has already been laid out before you.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE

PASTOR RIC OLSEN

Harbor Trinity

Costa Mesa

The one new truth I would welcome is confirmation that there is no new truth. We apparently are already in possession of more truth than we can live up to. God revealed his ultimate word, and additional “truths” would impugn his revelation as imperfect.

People ask: Why are there no prophets today as in Biblical times?

I answer that the messages of numerous prophets are enshrined in Scripture. Why should God send more such messengers when we have not yet heeded the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos?

God gave Moses a Torah replete with 613 commandments, but why did he wait until Moses’ time to convey his many commandments? Why didn’t he give them to the first man, Adam, at the dawn of human history? The answer: Adam could not even keep one commandment, so how could he be expected to follow more than 600 others! He didn’t need more truths. He needed to do better with the one he received!

The truths of old are not esteemed in today’s culture. Rather, we are discomfited by them. We seek new truths, not for the sake of truth but to validate our desires.

“What will be your sermon topic this evening?” a congregant asked his rabbi.

The rabbi replied he intended to preach about Sabbath observance.

“The congregant retorted, “But it would be impolitic to offend those who do not keep the Sabbath.”

“Perhaps I will speak about respecting parents, not committing adultery and the importance of the family in our tradition.”

“But, Rabbi,” the congregant remonstrated, “the family life of many members leaves much to be desired.”

“Then,” said the rabbi, “I’ll address the subject of morality.”

“Surely,” the congregant objected, “you don’t want to embarrass those members who are known to have had their ethical lapses.”

“Perhaps, then, I will speak about social justice.”

“Impossible, Rabbi, we don’t want to make waves over controversial issues.”

Exasperated, the rabbi said, “Would you be so kind as to suggest a topic for my sermon?”

“That’s simple, Rabbi. Why don’t you just preach about the Ten Commandments?”

Churchill said: “Men occasionally stumble on the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”

We are in possession of truth, yet we would rather not confront it. We ask for new truths that are more palatable and convenient.

As Aldous Huxley paraphrased the Gospel of John: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.”

Many new discoveries in the physical world await the application of man’s ingenuity. But nothing is left to be learned about man’s nature and character. All spiritual truths have been told, and many times at that. God, therefore, could well chastise man: “You claim you love truth, but in reality you believe that what you love is true.”

Ecclesiastes had the truth just about right: “There is nothing new under the sun.” Give me that old-time religion!

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Temple Bat Yahm

Newport Beach

Christians are celebrating the risen Christ this Easter season, as always.

The resurrected Christ has sustained and motivated brothers and sisters in this faith for 2,000 years. What if undeniable, incontrovertible, indubitable, sure-and-certain proof of Jesus’ resurrection were to appear?

What could that be?

Would it be dried parchment yielded by Egypt’s desert sands? Ancient linen in an air-tight gold box? Fiction of a contemporary novelist? What would it take to move beyond fair, understandable, rational perspectives: that Easter proclaims a miracle; that the resurrection is a fascinating-although-fictive tale rooted in the mysterious workings of human psychology; that Christianity witnesses to the saga of a first-century messiah through the continuing story of a body of believers; that faith promises immortality?

If we confront and confess the truth about the continuing brokenness of our lives and of this world where little is ever well and all is never well.

If we dare hope, even for a moment, that for every human “no” there is a divine “yes!”

If we risk faith that this divine “yes” that breathed life into being at the dawn of creation as God’s first word will also be God’s last word at the close of this age, bringing into being the fullness of life everlasting.

In uncovering such truth for ourselves we will find anew sure-and-certain “proof” of God’s resurrection power where some have already: in our minds and souls and hearts.

(THE VERY REV’D CANON)

PETER D. HAYNES

Saint Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Church

Corona del Mar

Zen is for everyone, not just monks, those living in monasteries, in caves or on mountaintops ? or religious superstars. This is not a “new truth” but it is a reality that is obscured, sometimes deliberately by those in authority. The historic Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was an ordinary person ? not a divinity ? and his path of discovery and awakening is available to each of us.

Zen can be practiced in Orange County just as well as in India, China, Japan or Vietnam. It is not necessary to wear flowing black, red or yellow robes, or a mala (meditation bracelet). Nor is it required to shave your head or otherwise create an appearance that calls attention to one’s spiritual path. These vestments (or costumes) suggest a special status, and I believe they do more harm than good, both for those who are wearing them ? and for those who are too easily impressed by them. I would like to have a sculpture at our Zen Center of a Buddha wearing dockers and a polo shirt instead of robes. That’s the “new truth.”

Daily activities such as earning a living, parenting, cleaning and volunteering provide excellent opportunities for meditation practice and for waking up to appreciation of our lives. Monasteries do not offer a better situation. Newcomers sometimes suggest we take a field trip to visit a “temple,” not realizing that our 1939 building in “old Costa Mesa” is it ? not a pagoda or imitative reproduction of Asian architecture. Uniquely American architecture arose when Chicago planners decided to stop copying 19th century European buildings. We have yet to see what a structure newly built for a truly American Zen Center would look like.

In many traditions, including Zen, teachers authorize new leadership much like a king dubs his knights. Often, inexperienced spiritual searchers are deceived and abused by successors who have been empowered by this inadequate or even corrupt feudal process. At our center, the “new truth” is that leadership must emerge from within the community, standards should be clear and authorizations collaborative. Credentialing must relate to the norms of our society, including screening, education, supervision, evaluation and accountability. The teachers at the Zen Center of Orange County consider themselves to be hardworking pastors of a small, neighborhood Zen center, not reincarnations of the Buddha.

The “new truth” emerging from most of the world’s religious traditions is an emphasis upon honesty and authenticity. Externals, bureaucracies, mystique, blind obedience, and bells and whistles are challenged. Zen emphasizes questioning, listening, testing for oneself, ruthless honesty, and simplicity. This “new truth,” which is also the old truth, is sometimes referred to as “no truth.” It is the direct experiencing of life as it is, apart from opinions about the truth, creeds or philosophies.

REV. DR. DEBORAH BARRETT

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

There is always a deeper truth forever revealing itself to those who listen. The newness of this truth usually shows up as a greater degree of love, confidence, and personal peace. It is universal to all religions, and no one is ever excluded from its intelligence.

The reason I am a minister is because this revelation takes me deeper and deeper into its embrace and helps me live a life steeped in freedom and compassion. The world hungers for such freedom and seeks a way to experience God. All religions provide a path, and all are genuine in their intention, effort and sincerity.

I honor all my colleagues and the work they do to bring their congregations onto the path and into the way. God bless you all and may your congregations grow, prosper, and rise to an even greater height of service, love, and peace.

And if you haven’t been to church lately, I urge you to go and strengthen your resolve to live a life that benefits all of humanity and enables you to have confidence in God’s love, forgiveness, and grace. Each of you is a “new truth” uncovering your capacity to love like you’ve never loved before. Each time you practice your faith by applying it in service to others, each of us receives the benefit and feels the goodness of your life amplifying a message that helps to heal our fears and assuage our confusion.

SENIOR PASTOR

JAMES TURRELL

Center for Spiritual Discovery

Costa Mesadpt.rick-olsen-intheory-bwPhotoInfoER1RCPL520060527hsoykikf(LA)dpt.jim-turrell-intheoryPhotoInfoER1RCP2820060527ic57v6kf(LA)dpt.peter-haynes-intheoryPhotoInfoER1RCP1A20060527hgg398kf(LA)dpt.deborah-barrett-intheoryPhotoInfoER1RCP1Q20060527icpm4ykf(LA)dpt.mug-miller,mark2006-BPhotoInfoER1RCP0N20060527ixolz8nc(LA)