Parallel lives

"The Mystical Life of Jesus" by H. Spencer Lewis was originally published in 1929. The author was the leader of AMORC, the most successful claimant to the Rosicrucian mantle. The group still exists, and even has an international presence.

The author claims that Jesus was an initiate into a venerable secret society, the GWB or Great White Brotherhood. Formed by Pharaoh Akhenaten (who counted Moses among his confidants), the GWB was based in Egypt, but had branches in Palestine, the main one at Mount Carmel. They were the famed Essenes. Jesus travelled to India, Tibet, Persia, Assyria and Greece, where he was instructed by (presumably GWB-related) sages. During a final trip to Egypt, Jesus was initiated into the Brotherhood itself through rituals which sound strikingly Masonic in character. Jesus then formed a secret society of his own, survived the crucifixion and lived as a monk at Carmel, where his real tomb was preserved for centuries by the Brotherhood. Spencer Lewis further claims that both Jesus and his parents were Aryans, and so were the rest of the Essenes. However, he is quick to exonerate the Jews from any collective responsibility for the crucifixion. Only Caiaphas and a few corrupt Jewish leaders were involved, probably bribed by the Romans, who were the real culprits. Somewhat contradictorily, Lewis also implies that Pilate was innocent.

I admit that I didn't like the book. To be blunt, it's pure poppycock! Spencer Lewis may not have liked the official view of Jesus (or "Jesus the Christ"), but his alternative is a virtual counter-mythology with even less textual support. No evidences for the startling claims in this book are ever presented. Spencer Lewis claims to have access to "Rosicrucian records", but these have never been published, nor can outsiders check the original manuscripts. The Vatican archives supposedly contain startling documents proving the Rosicrucian version, but these are (of course) secret. Some parts of "The Mystical Life of Jesus" are taken from Levi Dowling's book "The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ", but without mentioning the source. This omission is probably deliberate, since Levi's text is channelled, not the result of diligent searches in ancient archives. On some points, Spencer Lewis has taken the liberty of changing or embellishing Levi's version, but the underlying source is still glaringly visible to everyone who is familiar with the latter.

To an outsider, "The Mystical Life of Jesus" is strangely contradictory. Thus, the author affirms the virgin birth, one of the traditional dogmas most difficult for moderns to believe. More people believe in the resurrection than the virgin birth! He also affirms Jesus' miracles, and those of his apostles, attributing them to previously unknown paranormal forces in the cosmos. Initiates of the AMORC can presumably learn to master these forces. Yet, Spencer Lewis stops short at the resurrection. *That* never happened. Jesus only swooned at the cross, was nurtured back to life by the Essenes, and projected his seemingly physical form at a distance through a kind of telepathy, thereby creating the impression that he had been bodily resurrected. The ascension didn't happen either.

Why doesn't the AMORC accept the resurrection, when they can accept the seemingly more improbable virgin birth? The reason is presumably their view that spirit trumps matter. A descent of spirit into matter during a miraculous birth is therefore easier to accept than a bodily resurrection. Spirit must eventually leave matter, not stay behind to resurrect material bodies. Of course, another possibility is that none of Lewis' claims should be taken literally. Perhaps there is an even more esoteric message, saying that *all* stories of Jesus are myths? Somehow, such a position would be more honest than the invention of a "true story" even less plausible than the gospel versions...