The word primal, as I use it in this book, simply means “original.”The word originates from the Latin word primus, which simply means “first.”For some, the word connotes something primitive. I don’t mean to imply that here. Writing about Primal Christianity, I seek to illuminate the original truth that Jesus of Nazareth brought to the world.

Do you think the presentation of Jesus and his message by Christianity through the ages has been perfect? I guess that no one reading this book would think that. If the current Pope would divulge his answer to this question, my guess is that it would be no, even if we limited the question to Catholicism. After all, the Catholic Church has changed its own doctrine over the years for a reason.

Even though people might have different opinions on why Christianity has not been perfect, I can’t imagine anyone claiming that it has been.

What is the result of any misrepresentations of Jesus and his message? Unless a person can distinguish between the misrepresentations and the original truth, they are left with two bad choices: a) to embrace the misrepresentation as true, or b) to reject the misrepresentation and, in the process, unwittingly reject the truth of who Jesus was and the message he brought.

It is as if we are looking at Jesus through a lens. But that lens has distortions in it. As the Apostle Paul spoke of, we see through a glass, darkly. And because the lens has distortions, the image of Jesus in our mind and heart can be likewise distorted.

That brings me to the premise of this book:

If distortions to the representation of Jesus are removed, we uncover a clear, authentic, intuitive awareness of him. It opens an opportunity for a firsthand encounter with his original teachings.

The purpose of this book is to open up that awareness. Along the way, the reader will have the opportunity to understand Christian history and Jesus’ message. I will share significant facts of this history and an understanding of those facts. This history not only shaped Christianity itself. It shaped Western Civilization and world culture.

By the very nature of this book, it is an overview. I aim to assist the reader to have a big-picture view of the matters involved in a simple form to read and understand. To accomplish this, I will sacrifice a presentation of extensive detail on many of the subjects I address. There are many publicly available sources for the details, and I am grateful for the good work done by so many people who have made them available. It all fascinates me. And I know that details can be a bottomless pit. We can go down the rabbit hole and miss the larger perspective. If we have a larger perspective, we can test the details we find and see if they confirm the larger perspective we have gained or contradict it.

I’ve quoted extensively from the Bible, mostly the New Testament. As much as reasonably possible, I wanted the text to speak for itself, mostly through Jesus’ words. I’ve selected text I thought would illuminate the key points of the story. The entire story in the gospels is intriguing, inspiring, and informative. So, I would encourage anyone to read all of it.

There are certainly sources outside the Bible that claim to represent Jesus’ life and teaching. What interests me the most is the profound truth hidden in plain sight in the gospels. It is remarkable how ignored it has been by Christianity through the ages.

Any exploration of truth requires a penetrating gaze at the facts. And in this case, some of the facts we are looking at are misunderstandings, misrepresentations, and even personal failures. This book addresses the most core matters of human experience—faith, belief, worldview, and spirituality. So I know we are in highly sensitive territory—critically addressing human error regarding the most pivotal factors in life experience.

I offer these assurances on this journey. I have great honor and respect for the characters in this history of Christianity. So many of them were people of great devotion and earnest, passionate, and committed. Seeing the apparent limitation of their actions doesn’t change that. Perhaps you will join me in viewing the people involved with compassion and understanding while we take a cold, hard look at what happened.

With honor and respect comes an appreciation for the fact that what Jesus offered the world has been sustained through history, however imperfectly, through Christianity. Sometimes I wonder, What would be better? For the awareness of Jesus’ gift to the world to be carried forward imperfectly or not at all? I think I am on the side of it being carried forward as it has been, however flawed—at least until a time of total spiritual transparency that the Apostle John foretold:

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Revelation 21:3

The second assurance is that the gold standard I will use for Christian teaching is the actual message of Jesus himself—most especially the record of his words and actions in the gospels of the New Testament. I do this, understanding that there are a limited number of discrepancies in the gospels that readers have to resolve for themselves.

At the outset, I want to appreciate the millions of people of faith through the ages who have, in whatever context, carried forward the Christ Spirit. To fulfill the purpose of this book, I take a clear-eyed look at what happened to Christianity. Yet still, I am grateful for Peter’s eager spirit. It is easy to imagine how Jesus must have loved this big-hearted man. I appreciate the fire and light that Paul brought to the world. The devotion of the early Christians amazes me. And there have been Catholics down through the ages who have radiated the great love Jesus brought to the world—St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Theresa, Julian of Norwich, and Pope Francis, among many others.

Martin Luther’s sheer bravery and honesty amaze me. William Tyndale is a personal hero. And the devotion of the Pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock inspires me.

But ultimately, this book is not attempting to evaluate the goodness or the error of the Christian church in terms of its social impact through history or to evaluate the goodness of the people involved. It simply looks at the original teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and what happened to that teaching in the evolution of the Christian church.

I value the insights of Christians throughout history, including those whose words are recorded in the New Testament. It is entirely logical to place the greatest trust in the message of the founder of any faith as to the foundational teachings of that faith. Furthermore, the truthfulness of Jesus’ teaching is beyond compare, and the spirit that shines through his message and his life reveals the Living Christ.

Some might question the veracity of the record in the gospels. My experience is that the spirit of the man speaks loudly, clearly, and profoundly through that record, especially through the red-letter text of the New Testament—the words attributed to Jesus himself. The record is not perfect. Occasionally, it contradicts itself. Nonetheless, there is enough there to tell the discerning reader who Jesus was and what he taught.

Unless noted otherwise, I will quote from the King James Version of the Bible. I love the poetry of the language and the plain-speaking way it tells the story. I also take joy in honoring the work of William Tyndale, whose translation comprises most of the text of it. The translation is mostly accurate as best we can tell. But sometimes it isn’t. And sometimes, its meaning isn’t clear to us as 21st-century speakers of the English language. So, in some cases, I’ve used other translations and noted it when I have.

For some, there is unquestioning belief in the truthfulness of the New Testament. Others question the historical integrity of it and even question whether Jesus was a real person. More recently, researchers have taken a studied, scientific approach to analyzing the New Testament. Among them is J. Warner Wallace, a former California homicide detective who took his investigative techniques to the study of the New Testament. Wallace documented his research in the book Cold-Case Christianity, in which he affirms the authenticity of the story. He makes this claim regarding the gospels based on his investigation:

We’ve examined the four important areas jurors must consider when determining the reliability of eyewitnesses. The most reasonable inference is the gospel writers were present, corroborated, accurate, and unbiased. If this is the case, we can conclude with confidence their testimony is reliable. We’ve done the heavy lifting needed to determine the reliability of these accounts; we’ve been diligent and faithful as jurors and have considered the evidence.

The Bible as a whole is a very human story. Nonetheless, it contains within it a story of a higher reality speaking to human experience. That is a way to describe the record in the Old and New Testaments alike. The Bible is a story of the Lord God visiting Abraham and speaking to Moses. It is a story of the Father speaking to Jesus and speaking and acting through him in the world. But it is also our story—the story of us as human beings and what we have done. It is the story of how Abraham and his family responded to the call from Spirit and how the Children of Israel responded to what the Lord God gave to them through Moses. It is the story of people who were confronted by the unspeakable love that Jesus brought to the world. It is a story of what those people said and did and why.

The story told by the Bible fascinates me on many levels. It intrigues me as a portrayal of human history and the origins of human civilization. I am captivated by the view it offers not only of the Hebrew people but, looking through their eyes, the cultures of the ancient world—Sumeria, Egypt, Canaan, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

At the center of the story is a transforming encounter with the Divine. And that is what fascinates me most of all. It is the story of that encounter. But more than that, it is an invitation to experience it for oneself.

My hope is that this book will lead you to an experience of that encounter portrayed in the New Testament—that stripped of the interpretations of those who came after him, you will see Jesus for who he was, as if you were a disciple listening to the beatitudes:

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Matthew 6:8,9

Or next to him as he taught you to pray:

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:6

I will take a studious approach to distinguish who he was and what he taught from what people and institutions have imposed upon him. Stripped bare of those impositions, you will have an opportunity to meet him for who he was and to appreciate the immediate practical relevance of his teaching. You will have a deeper understanding and experience of Primal Christianity and what happened to it as the Christian church evolved.

The Ship of Christ

Imagine that Christianity is a sailing ship. It had an original course set for the fulfillment of its destiny. There was all the excitement of its christening and launch.

In this book, you will meet the original navigator and steersman. His hopes, dreams, and visions fill these pages. You will watch the ship set sail with an inexperienced crew, meet terrible storms, and be invaded by a foreign empire. You will see what happened to the ship as it sailed the seven seas, with all the challenges it encountered. You will see how the devoted crew struggled and often failed to bring the Ship of Christ back to the original course set by its original captain.

Perhaps most of all, you will understand how and why the Ship of Christ came to where it is today. And perhaps you will appreciate that even though the ship sailed off course, the inspiring spirit of the original navigator is still alive today.