It was at this stage that the discussions came to an end, much to my regret. It was obvious there were going to be no more of them; so before their inspiration failed, I wrote the following essays which enquire into the thoughts Jesus may, or must, have had in his mind, before he decided on the form which his Ministry would take. And it was only gradually that I came to see that these essays substitute for the theology inspired by Plato, with its sonorous phrases, celestial concepts, and its false notion of absolute standards, an inquiry into the thoughts which were going on in Jesus’ own mind? The two approaches are mutually exclusive; if you pursue the one, you exclude yourself from pursuing the other. Not only do I think it more sympathetic to investigate his thoughts, with a view obviously to comparing them with the thoughts in our own minds; but I think it is likely to yield more helpful results. More helpful, for example, to someone caught up in the Romeo and Juliet situation!
THE THOUGHT OF JESUS.
Jesus Christ set out on his Ministry, convinced that his vocation was to save the world. The whole prophetic tradition of his people had taught men to expect the Messiah; and Jesus thought he was that man. So incidentally did others. Whether he was right or wrong, he most certainly could not afford to entertain too many doubts, once he had begun. No-one is fitted for high authority if he has too many doubts. He may have sometimes doubted what to do next; but it was not legitimate for him to doubt his vocation, until he was hanging on the cross, and it was all over for practical purposes.
It is difficult for anyone faced with this problem to know how to begin. How does one set about saving the world? The thoughts of a mere carpenter, or a mere professor, are hardly worth listening to. But the thoughts of a carpenter or a professor, who believes he has a vocation to save the world, are well worth listening to. Your thoughts are only focussed, when the prospect of having to put your thoughts and beliefs into practice is imminent. When you start to ask yourself the question, “What am I going to do about it?” then you start to think sensibly. Until then, thought is always in a measure fanciful. Someone once said, “I want young men about me, who can see visions and dream dreams; and I do not mind how wild their visions are, so long only as they have a touch of the Divine fire”. But their dreams and visions were going to be tested not only in debate, but in the workshop, the armaments factory, and in the army training area; because they were to be dreams of tank design and armoured warfare. So the dreamers could afford to be fanciful. Jesus could not. He had to do it all by himself! He had to begin with his vocation.
Few men have believed the world could be saved. Saving the world means solving the problem of evil; and then actually overcoming it. Criminologists admit that evil exists; but they avoid using the word in discussing their theories. Most people adopt the same device. But those who bypass the problem of evil, want to organize the world; not to save it. The best penal theory cannot eliminate crime; it can only contain it. War may avoid the complete triumph of evil; but it cannot overcome evil.
Even fewer have believed they could see how to do it. The Church says Jesus saved the world by dying on the cross. But how does that help? Theory is so subtle compared with experience. If we crucified him, it looks as if we are condemned, rather than saved. Or did he save us from those who did crucify him? Did he save us from the hypocrisy of Church leaders? And saved us from what? Would we have all gone to hell, if Jesus had not died? Was the Father angry with us for being what we could not help being? And did Jesus persuade him not to be angry? These questions verge on the fantastic. They tend to the conclusion that few men know what we have been saved from.