The Purpose Of Life: Exoteric Versus Esoteric Christianity

In various parts of the world, scholars, philosophers, and religious leaders have tried to convey the purpose of life. Their teachings were in a certain space and time for targeted groups. They expressed the same thing but in different ways to meet various needs. Their diversity is not to cast doubt on the subject matter but to show that it has many sides.

In spite of advancement in knowledge and technology the world over, there are many unhappy people. They have no job or money. They live in poor habitation and do not know where their next livelihood will be. Daily struggles seem to be their lot, and often they blame their predicament on external forces. There are however, others who have so much wealth and crave more. If possible, they would have varied the twenty-four hours a day, for additional comfort and happiness. They live lives of luxury and lionize themselves. So, as one thinks life is hellish, the other thinks it is blissful, living heaven here on Earth. What are the reasons for these differences?

To begin with, let us try to explain the meaning of Life and its Purpose.

i. Life is about existence or living. To say that something exists is ordinarily determined/ perceived through the five senses of touch, smell, feeling, seeing, and taste. There are, however, other senses which are yet to be developed by humanity in general. These senses enable the possessor to see things beyond the physical. For example, etheric vision will enable a person to see through physical objects as the x-ray machine does. In modern days, scientists talk about ether, plasma, x-rays, microwaves, et cetera, which our ordinary senses cannot perceive, yet we do not doubt their existence just because we do not see them. In brief, life is about Spirit, functional in manifestation at all levels, visible and invisible in endless space.

ii. Purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Dictionary.com says it is the reason for which something exists or is done, made, or used.

a. The Ordinary Person
The ordinary person sees life in a very simplistic form and hardly bothers about things beyond what the moment provides. He is ignorant about issues beyond his ken and would consider himself better off if not brought to his attention. He goes about daily physiological routines and feels good or bad depending on their outcomes and the impacts on him. He may live his life according to societal norms. For him, what is, is what there is; tomorrow will fend for itself.

b. The Materialist
The materialist restricts his understanding of life to the five senses without any care about things beyond the physical. His routines are around the things that afford him physical satisfaction, and he will do the utmost to secure them. His thoughts and desires are on satisfying immediate needs such as physiological well-being, security, love, power, fame, and wealth. His routines are about comfort, easy life, good food, quality drinks, good company, lands and buildings, cars, businesses, money, and more money. He often disregards the methods used to attain them and revels in the fleeting pleasures of the moment. For him, life is all about happiness, and anything that offsets it is untoward.

So, instead of confronting the vicissitudes of life with appreciation, the materialist goes into denial, displacement, and frustration. He limits his understanding of natural phenomena to material things and will deny the supernormal. To such a person, life is all about the 'here and now' because tomorrow, we are no longer on Earth. He may strive to leave a legacy in the form of property, security, marriage, and raising children to perpetuate his name. Whether he has lived according to the purpose of being on Earth or what happens after is not an issue worth his attention.

c. The Moralists
The Moralists believe in good values and morals without linking such sublime attributes to the supernatural or God. They are humanists who appreciate and hold on to their conviction that humanity must be kinder and friendlier to one another. They see one Earth upon which human beings dwell as denizens. They abhor discrimination in any form, hate to hurt anyone, and will not hesitate to lay down their lives for the good of others.

In addition, they are ever ready to lend a hand of support as the occasion demands and the means permit. Their motivation is the belief that it is well to do “good for the sake of doing good.” This conviction may make them look religious outwardly. Nonetheless, their understanding of life has little to do with why we are here, what we are to do, or where we go after here. For them: “life is as it is, so live well”.

d. Exoteric Christians
Exoteric Christians (Orthodox or Popular Christianity) believe that there is a supreme power behind creation. They consider Life as coming from and given by the Creator. The source of this knowledge about the existence of things beyond the five senses is that they belong to a Christian denomination. The purpose of Life is through the Creation Story, which says there was a beginning to creation. God made man in His image and likeness and gave him dominion over all things.

Exoteric Christians are taught the following:

1. To recognize God as the Creator, from whom man came and to whom he shall return, and that his deeds and days on Earth are known. The qualities that align man with his Maker are holiness, truthfulness, sincerity, humility, obedience, and hard work.
2. That everybody is answerable for his actions on Earth, and the last day shall be judged, either qualify for heaven or hell.
3. Furthermore, he is to live a worthy life spelled out in edicts, dogmas, traditions, and religious teachings to find favor with God.
4. That law, ethics, and value systems exist to guide man’s day-to-day activities and dealings with others. He is required to be kind and helpful to others.
5. Importantly, man should look at his relationship with the Creator and examine his actions in the community. There are communal laws and standards that believers must observe.
6. Aside from recognizing God, man should venerate Him with all his mind, body, and soul. He must endeavor to pray and give praises in all things to attune himself to His Maker, who will reward him abundantly for his obedience and unceasing glorification of Him.
7. That God has given man dominion over all things on Earth confirms that he was to be happy but not otherwise. Happiness is guaranteed so long as he lives a godly life. The opposite is to be sad, suffer and experience pain in violation of God’s laws. Since the pain was not part of the divine plan, salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ came so that whosoever believes in Him would be saved and enter everlasting happiness. To worship God involves dedicated time, day, season, period, and place in direct service to Him. There are holy places such as temples, churches, and cathedrals for regular services, fasting, prayers, festivals, et cetera. In worship, individuals re-attune themselves, and those who obey Him are said to graduate to a heavenly home of bliss after death, while the disobedient ones will be cast into an everlasting lake of fire called hell, where there will be much pain and gnashing of teeth.

Rarely do Exoteric Christians question faith; instead, they prefer to observe the teachings, edicts, dogmas, and doctrines. They go through renewal rites and receive further information to maintain and improve their faith. Exoteric Christians are influenced by their leaders, who they hold in high esteem and accord appealing titles. They see them as the voice of God on Earth.

The Esoteric Christian
The Esoteric Christian does not restrict himself to the physical side of things but seeks clarification and answers to the hidden sides of nature, knowing that there is something invisible about visible things. He asks questions about life and risks tagging by Exoteric Christians as a non-conformist. Esoteric Christians are prone to repudiating outward religious teachings and public shows. For them, life and spirit are almost the same since life is a manifestation of the spirit, which is more apparent when the spirit expresses itself in bodily form.

They know that the origin of the spirit is the Creator. Its physical embodiment on this planet is to enable it to grow, mature and become perfect. Human beings as spirits proceeded in the One Source with potentialities to become like the Creator. But they (spirits) being young in their journey to flawlessness, require a conducive environment (visible or/and invisible) for this purpose. As such, they have various bodies (visible or/and invisible) to use in each environment, the last being the physical world.

The Esoteric Christian makes a distinction between the spirit, its bodies, and the soul. In this wise, the purpose of being on Earth is to develop the spirit from impotence to omnipotence; to a state where the young spirit will eventually demonstrate qualities of Will, Imagination, and Activity like the Creator, capable of creating living things. Therefore, earth life is a school where the spirit progressively improves through experience gathering, selfless service, unbroken consciousness, and the power to work with creation.

The Esoteric Christian agrees with many teachings that seek to make a person godly but do not seek or rely on only physical or historical explanations of spiritual things, from creation to life after death. For him, the issues of worship, glorification, possessions, happiness, and suffering, as espoused by Exoteric Christians, are peripheral or a means towards perfection but not the purpose of life.

He advances the point that each spirit in embodiment on Earth, at this moment, has ever had a previous stay and will be here again in the future in a more improved and modified form. The differences or qualities we see in people are mainly due to the activities of each spirit during a previous stay on Earth.

Although there is agreement across and on many issues, there are fundamental areas to differentiate the Exoteric Christian from the Esoteric Christian. Examples are:

i. The Exoteric Christian believes that a soul comes from God to Earth at birth and lives for a certain number of years, dies and waits in the grave till the Judgement Day when he will be resurrected and judged, and either go to heaven or hell depending on the work done. The acceptance of Jesus Christ is a cardinal requirement for receiving Saving Grace.

The Esoteric Christian sees it differently, that the spirit is differentiated in God, having all the potential to develop into perfection. It took millions of years to build its seen and unseen bodies (with external assistance) with which it is acquiring experience. The spirit matures through the development of conscience and harvesting of its works in the body, which is extracted and assimilated as the soul. At death, the spirit drops the Physical Body and uses other subtle bodies in the invisible world for many years before returning to Earth. This is known as 'rebirth' and differs from the re-incarnation concept of the East.

Rebirth indicates that the spirit which belongs to the class of human beings cannot retrogress into an animal form. Similarly, an animal, on dying, cannot transform and join the class of spirits in the human body. The differentiated Spirit of God in the human body started its journey ahead of the animal group and can function in a human body but not an animal body. So the spirit that belongs to the human class returns, periodically, into physical embodiment as a human being seeking to improve its status and experience. This frequent return to earth life enables the spirit to continue from where it left off in a previous life.

The spiral spiritual trajectory of going and coming lasts for milliards of years until at the appointed time of dissolution when everything (creation) goes back into the Creator, and the fruitage of the experience gathered by the spirits is integrated and projected towards the ‘birth’ of a new and higher cosmic scheme. By the end of this physical creation, many spirits would have become perfect and be like the Creator. Those who could not make the required grade will have to wait for a long time until another opportunity to restart. It is no fun for the individual spirit to be in such an uncomfortable state of inertia.

ii. The Exoteric Christian evokes in followers unquestionable obedience to the teachings and laws of God. Believers should live by faith and follow the religious order without questions, doubts, or neglect. By so doing, they (followers) would have merited the blessings of God.

The Esoteric Christian thrives on the intellect and reasoning first before accepting anything. Therefore, he will find it challenging to agree with Exoteric Christians on matters concerning creation and how humanity relates to it.

From the preceding analysis, it will be improper to think that spiritual truths will satisfy each of the two groups accordingly. While one relies on unquestioning faith, the other thrives on the intellect; a situation made more critical by the inability of Exoteric Christianity to rationally explain aspects of life and how they connect to the individual.

Truth is many-sided, depending on the experience of the observer. Neither reason nor faith can independently comprehend it but, if there is patience perhaps, a common ground could underlie the seeming differences.

BY SEDDOH BOKOR (email: [email protected])