Time for a Newer Testament
Journey to the end of religion and back
I got sick recently and spent some days stuck in bed. As you can imagine, that gave me a lot of time to think and contemplate my life, but truth be told, I simply spent most of it on TikTok.
Except discovering everything about Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber drama, learning about a guy that had a live stream of his doll lover giving birth, enjoying videos of a nice guy that rates food and helps local restaurants get more customers (shout out to Keith Lee 💚), I also got lost in a rabbit hole of creators that believe that we’re approaching the end of the world and that it’s the last moment for humans to repent our sins and commit our souls to God and Jesus.
I was raised Catholic, not very strictly, but I regularly went to church and attended lessons on religion, so I’m quite familiar with the Bible and its concepts. I’m also aware that false prophets preaching the end of the world were always there, so I’m more worried about climate change, but I have to admit, watching all their videos got me thinking.
In Bible, there are two Testaments. Old one and a New one.
The Old one portrays God as a strict father that is not afraid to punish you if you deserve it, or even if you don’t deserve it, just to check your loyalty (book of Job).
The New one is about Jesus, and according to it, God is loving, forgiving, and we should try to be like him.
The concepts of God aren’t consistent, and I remember it was bugging me a lot. When I asked my teachers about it, they would say that the concept evolved because humans evolved and were ready to know more and improve.
So here we are, 2000 years later. We have technology and issues that are very different from the ones we had before the internet.
Our lives look very different, our mental health problems are different, our challenges are different, but our religion stays the same.
I’d say we’ve evolved sufficiently to have a Newer Testament. And we really need it.
The New Age has become popular and could be a good candidate for the Newer Testament. It introduces a new concept of God and stresses the connection with nature, oneself, and others. Basically, the ideology of Jesus sparkled with some herbs, psychedelics, and mantras. Which is also nothing new; it’s a pick and choose from indigenous beliefs.
The most significant difference from a systemic perspective is that there is no need for a structure in the New Age. There is no need for priests or big churches because everyone can be in direct contact with God whenever need. Everyone is a God’s (or cosmic) child, just like Jesus said.
It is a very contemporary approach when you think of it.
God is there whenever you need. Direct access. 24/7. No one forces you to go to some weird ceremonies, no one makes you learn the same old prayers; instead, you get experiences. You can do mushrooms and connect with the universe. Or do yoga and meditate and feel unity through calmness.
Experience > Preachings
what’s more contemporary than that?
Obviously, the Church hates New Age. They claim it’s the work of Satan. The truth is that it is dangerous because it attacks their livelihood. If it was, in fact, an evolution of God, their empire would fall.
Millions of people still trust priests to know what’s good for them, trust the Bible and the old concept of God. No matter how many atrocities come up about pedophilia and corruption, the Catholic Church still is worth 30 bln dollars or more, so even if Jesus came back to earth, and told them to take mushrooms and chill, I don’t believe it would change a thing.
Luckily for them, there are no proofs in belief systems anyway.
