Why Early Christianity Was Not About Escaping the World | James Tabor

Early Christianity was not a monolithic movement in which everyone believed the same things. Right from the start, there were different groups who believed different things, leading to schisms. The idea that all early Christians were gnostics or Evangelicals or mystics is ridiculous. Paul tried to impose his own understanding of the Christian gospel on early believers but his letters showed he met resistance. But he was quite successful with church later on. His ideas on justification by faith and the atonement had prevailed and accepted as the orthodox view, even though it was contrary to the teachings of Jesus himself. But it's probably too far gone to reverse the process. Not that it matters. God is very forgiving and tolerant. As John said, God is love, after all.

Rare it is when the religion OF Jesus is explained rather than the religion ABOUT him.

**Philippians 2:5** — *In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.* This is the **thermal posture** — the phase alignment that precedes every other alignment. Paul does not say "have the same actions" or "have the same schedule." He says **"the same mindset"** — *phroneite*, the present active imperative: keep thinking, keep setting your mind, keep attuning your thermostat to the same setpoint as Christ. And what is that setpoint? **Philippians 2:6-8** — *Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!* The mindset is the **expansion valve's deepest drop** — the God who compresses himself into human form, the infinite pressure that equalizes into finite flesh, the strong light that becomes weak light, the compressor that yields to the condenser, the day that surrenders to evening. **Being in very nature God** — the compressor at maximum pressure, the refrigerant at highest temperature, the *morphē theou*, the form that contains all thermal capacity. **Did not consider equality something to be grasped** — the thermostat that refuses to override, the system that knows its rating and does not exceed it, the humility that says "I am the refrigerant, not the fire." **Made himself nothing** — *ekenōsen*, the **kenosis**, the emptying, the evaporator's total draw, the void that makes receiving possible, the night that has no moon, the twilight that yields completely. **Taking the very nature of a servant** — the **expansion valve's narrow gate**, the *morphē doulou*, the form that serves the cycle rather than commanding it, the technician who is also the refrigerant. **Being found in appearance as a man** — the **condensation**, the phase change from gas to liquid, the divine becoming human, the hot becoming cool, the strong light becoming the weak light that men can touch. **Humbled himself by becoming obedient to death** — the **evening discharge made ultimate**, the condenser that yields not for a night but forever, the evaporator that draws not for repair but for resurrection, the cross as the final cold water basin where the heat of the world's sin is carried away. **Even death on a cross** — the **most shameful discharge**, the public condenser, the exposed evaporator, the weakness that the world calls failure but the Architect calls completion. This is the mindset Paul commands: **not the compressor that dominates, but the compressor that yields**. Not the strong light that blinds, but the strong light that becomes weak light so the world can see. Not the day that never ends, but the day that surrenders to evening, to night, to dawn, to the morning boot that is resurrection. **Philippians 2:9-11** — *Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.* The **therefore** — *dio*, the **thermal result**, the consequence of proper phase obedience. Because he emptied, he is filled. Because he yielded, he is exalted. Because he became weak light, he is given the name above all names. The compressor that refused to seize is given eternal capacity. The condenser that discharged completely is given infinite receiving surface. The evaporator that drew to death is given resurrection draw. The expansion valve that equalized to nothing is given the pressure differential of all creation. Every knee bows — the **compressors of heaven**, the **condensers of earth**, the **evaporators under the earth**. Every tongue confesses — the **day that speaks**, the **evening that whispers**, the **night that is silent**, the **dawn that sings**. All phases, all components, all thermal states acknowledge: this is the mindset that governs the cycle. **To the glory of God the Father** — the **Architect's setpoint maintained**, the thermostat's purpose fulfilled, the system running at design specification, the house at perfect temperature, the refrigerant pure, the cycle eternal. This is the mindset you are to have in your relationships — with the woman whose 28-day module you cannot fully parse, with the doctor who prescribes 8 hours, with the politician who steals heat, with the AI that computes but does not create, with the brother who compresses when he should yield, with the sister who yields when she should compress. The same mindset as Christ Jesus: **the compressor that knows its evening, the strong light that honors its weak light, the technician who is also the refrigerant, the servant who is also the Lord.** Stay priceless and uncommonly favoured in the mindset that empties to be filled, yields to be exalted, and dies to rise.

Good interview but you're missing parts of the the teachings of Jesus. Yes, Jesus lived his life , but what kind of life? Jesus called his apostles/followers to leave their family and everything behind and follow him, and make apostles of all peoples. They had to prioritize their faith above their earthy lives and family. We are supposed to follow Jesus' example, no? I would classify this behavior as a form of escaping the attachments of the world to attain 'heaven'.

Do you think spiritual life is ultimately about leaving the world behind — or transforming within it?

According to Bart Ehrman, an historian who studies early Christianity, the historical Jesus believed Earth would end very soon so it was important to repent and obey the Commandments very soon. That has elements of both escaping and transforming. The idea of giving away all one's possessions and depending on the kindness of strangers for food & shelter doesn't scale well, so it required faith that the need for food & shelter would be eliminated very soon. After a few decades it became clear that the "very soon" prediction was incorrect, so his followers had to find a different interpretation... even if that required revising history by ascribing their own words to Jesus.

The only thing our thousands of religions have taught me is the utter absurdity of theological certainty. Its pretty clear that nobody knows what this reality means.

This Knowledge Sounds Beautiful Not Evil!

I don't understand Dr.Tabor's perspective on Plato, he seems to be confusing Plato with the Epicureans, which is a mistake because Plato finds harmony in justice as opposed to the void of ataraxia. How if we go by Plato is the goal to get all prisoners into heaven? (10:30) when Dr. Tabor mentions Plato's great year as if "it's repeating itself through an endless cycle" so now he's confusing Plato with Chrysippus and the Stoics. The great year for Plato is not an exact repeat because it could end in either ekpyrosis or deluge. Furthermore, in Plato's "Statesman" or "Politikos" the Captain of the Universe drops the rudder.

Did rebirth/reincarnation originate in Greece, or was it India with the Hindus/Vedas/Buddhists? There are a lot of similarities in Greek and Indian philosophy/religion, and I wonder who were the originators of these ideas.