50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know: Religion by Daniele Bolelli
Authors: Daniele Bolelli
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of a following as to give birth to his own branch of Christianity. His ideas were just a tad on the wild side. Jesus—Carpocrates argued—was as human as anyone else. He was a visionary whose brilliance and wisdom put him in touch with God, but was not God himself. This didn't diminish Jesus's status in Carpocrates's eyes, since it set him up as a model of behavior that regular human beings could hope to emulate. The whole story of the virgin birth made Carpocrates laugh. In his view, good old Jesus was conceived in the old fashioned way: through sweaty sex. The depth of Jesus's wisdom was enough for Carpocrates to admire and love him, so he felt no need for any supernatural special effects.Since this beginning was apparently not controversial enough, Carpocrates promptly taught his followers to reject Mosaic Law as well as the prevailing morality of his times as mere human opinions, not divine commandments. A goodie-goodie morality was according to Carpocrates nothing but a cage built by those who were too scared by life's intensity. The soul could only achieve freedom and fulfillment by experiencing all of life, without discriminating too much. Only in this way, it would free itself from the cycle of reincarnation …
Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention that? Carpocrates's followers—like the members of many other early Christian sects—fully believed in reincarnation. And just like several tantric schools found in the history of both Hinduism and Buddhism, they also believed that human beings should explore every emotion without holding back. Sensual pleasure in their eyes was not any less sacred than the most spiritual practices, so good food, sex and every other earthly joy was embraced as a stepping stone toward liberation.
This determination to live life to the fullest went hand in hand with another radical notion. Carp considered differences in wealth and social class as unnatural perversions. Since everyone is born naked and equal in front of God, human attempts to gain status at the expense of others were misguided and ultimately against God's plan. The cure for the very human tendency toward ego aggrandizing was to discourage the evil of private property. Instead,everything—from material possessions to sexual partners—was to be held in common. Coupled with Carp's insistence on indulging in sensual pleasures, this idea led his followers to regularly stage sexual orgies as part of their spiritual practices … which makes you wonder: just how different would the world be had mainstream forms of Christianity decided to embrace Carpocrates rather than stern moralists like Saint Paul and Saint Augustine? I think it's a safe bet that church attendance would be much higher.
18 BEING A JEWISH MESSIAH IS NOT AS FUN AS ADVERTISED
Every so often throughout the history of Judaism somebody will steal the spotlight by claiming to be the redeemer that Jewish people have been waiting for. Typically, he gains scores of followers but before long he also meets an early, bloody death. In the course of many centuries, dozens of people have rushed with masochistic enthusiasm to fill the shoes of the expected Messiah. Maybe they really believed they were on a mission from God. Or maybe they just liked the attention. In either case, the point is that there has never been a shortage of volunteers for the job.
Despite dying in the usual gruesome fashion (for the joy of Mel Gibson and S & M fans everywhere), Jesus clearly won the contest for the most famousamong the contenders for the Messiah title. What few people know, however, is that Jesus had a serious challenge in the 1600s—a man who set Jewish messianic expectations on fire and looked like he had all the cards to start another new religion that could give Christianity a run for its money. The reason why he didn't is because … well, let's not rush to the end of our story yet.
The man was Sabbatai Zevi, a Kabbalah enthusiast who grew up in the area of
Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention that? Carpocrates's followers—like the members of many other early Christian sects—fully believed in reincarnation. And just like several tantric schools found in the history of both Hinduism and Buddhism, they also believed that human beings should explore every emotion without holding back. Sensual pleasure in their eyes was not any less sacred than the most spiritual practices, so good food, sex and every other earthly joy was embraced as a stepping stone toward liberation.
This determination to live life to the fullest went hand in hand with another radical notion. Carp considered differences in wealth and social class as unnatural perversions. Since everyone is born naked and equal in front of God, human attempts to gain status at the expense of others were misguided and ultimately against God's plan. The cure for the very human tendency toward ego aggrandizing was to discourage the evil of private property. Instead,everything—from material possessions to sexual partners—was to be held in common. Coupled with Carp's insistence on indulging in sensual pleasures, this idea led his followers to regularly stage sexual orgies as part of their spiritual practices … which makes you wonder: just how different would the world be had mainstream forms of Christianity decided to embrace Carpocrates rather than stern moralists like Saint Paul and Saint Augustine? I think it's a safe bet that church attendance would be much higher.
18 BEING A JEWISH MESSIAH IS NOT AS FUN AS ADVERTISED
Every so often throughout the history of Judaism somebody will steal the spotlight by claiming to be the redeemer that Jewish people have been waiting for. Typically, he gains scores of followers but before long he also meets an early, bloody death. In the course of many centuries, dozens of people have rushed with masochistic enthusiasm to fill the shoes of the expected Messiah. Maybe they really believed they were on a mission from God. Or maybe they just liked the attention. In either case, the point is that there has never been a shortage of volunteers for the job.
Despite dying in the usual gruesome fashion (for the joy of Mel Gibson and S & M fans everywhere), Jesus clearly won the contest for the most famousamong the contenders for the Messiah title. What few people know, however, is that Jesus had a serious challenge in the 1600s—a man who set Jewish messianic expectations on fire and looked like he had all the cards to start another new religion that could give Christianity a run for its money. The reason why he didn't is because … well, let's not rush to the end of our story yet.
The man was Sabbatai Zevi, a Kabbalah enthusiast who grew up in the area of
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