THE GREAT PARADIGM SHIFT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD A paradigm shift occurred in the first century that

later became the foundation stone for the development of western civilization. Twenty centuries of impacting history allows us to rightfully call it a paradigm shift that has truly rocked the world. Central in the historical events of this great shift was a person named Jesus, who came out of the Jewish region of Galilee. I have written a play called The Galilean that shows how Jesus, through his ministry, introduced this incredible paradigm shift, a shift of ideas about God. Jesus was the greatest disclosure of God the world has ever seen. His work had lasting impact on people. And the impact of his brief mission carried on after his sudden death. He introduced a new set of truths, a new way, a new paradigm. I believe it was the paradigms of Jesus that were responsible for the world being rocked. But, do we remember? Centuries of tradition have given incredible power to the doctrines and dogmas surrounding this pivotal moment of history. These explanations and interpretations of the life and ministry of Jesus have themselves become the major paradigm of the Christian faith. But were they part of what I call a great paradigm shift that rocked the world? Were these definitions the life-changing paradigm shift of the first century? People tried to make sense out of what they had witnessed and experienced. And these ancient ideas of the early leaders of this new faith that would evolve into Christianity did come together to make a set of beliefs that defined truth. Or, another way of putting it, they defined the walls of where your thinking can go. They became the paradigm to be believed and accepted. And more than that,

in the minds of some, they have became the absolute, totally correct, literal and forever unchangeable and unchallengeable truths to be accepted without thinking, and which define your status before God? I believe that understanding the concept of paradigms at work and what happens when a major shift occurs is a powerful way to catch a glimpse of history in an insightful new way. And the question being addressed is whether the paradigm that came into existence as the definition of Christianity, is actually what was responsible for rocking the world. Or was it something that Jesus introduced? If a paradigm shift was given to us by the One who is defined as the Divine Son of God, and the Living Christ, should we not seek to see it, or at least, catch a glimpse of what he took so seriously? First, what about paradigms? The events of the first century were not viewed as a paradigm shift at the time, for the very defining and the birth of the concept of paradigms was not until the 1960s. Many people today still don't know much about paradigms and paradigm shifts. And the religious events of the birth of Christianity have not been understood often using the lens of understanding new paradigms and a major paradigm shift. Nonetheless, it is an enlightening tool to use to begin to look again at the impact of the early events. It was a time for a major shift in understanding truth. What were those new truths and how did they come about? Is it possible with this paradigm perspective tool that we might discover some astonishingly new glimpses? A paradigm shift is a new perspective of truth. A paradigm shift brings on a new way of seeing reality that changes the barriers and fences that were previously marking the perimeters of our thinking. This expansion in new directions of the presuppositions and assumptions of truth brought change and transformation to those who experienced its introduction first-hand in the first century. And the results produced over time,

down through many years, had a profound effect upon culture and society, upon people and governments, upon laws and personal morality, and upon our very identity as human beings. When new paradigms are of such importance and power that they shake up the world, the shift that they produce is almost hard to accept or really understand. For example, it still appears to us that the sun goes across the sky daily above our stationary flat position, but only a fool hasn't progressed to the common knowledge that we are on a revolving planet, circling around the sun. When a major shift occurs, it creates a new playing field, and the powerful participants of the old paradigm are forced to start over. And when something causes such revolutionary shifts that it would have great impact upon those in power and authority, there is often a high degree of opposition by those who do not want change. In the first century, the major paradigm shift involved Jesus of Nazareth. He brought a ministry of truths into his society that by implication were a challenge to the status quo. The religious authorities so opposed this challenge to what they understood as truth that they arranged for Jesus' arrest by the Romans for charges that they knew would lead to a certain death. They were trying to stop his new truth. They were trying to rid the world and themselves of the challenge presented by what he had brought forth in his ministry. Jesus had introduced an experience to people that he called The Way. It was making a difference. It was producing transformations. But the authorities thought he was wrong, and dangerous to the religious structure currently in place in society. They struck with the ultimate blow. Death and eradication, in the most disgraceful manner possible, as a political traitor to Rome, crucified naked and left to rot on a Roman cross. This was to show what happens to those who question the authority in place and attempt to cause disruption. But it didn't end. It didn't get rid of Jesus. What went on from this had a major impact on western civilization, and still continues today.

That is the very epitome of the definition of a major paradigm shift. Truth changed. And changed truth brought forth impact. That impact has grown and grown over centuries of time. But what was it that produced that impact? What were the paradigms that came into play? What were (and still important, what are) the very truths that were introduced that made such a shift take place? At first glance, this seems like an easy question to answer. It seems like asking what is the Christian Faith? What are the basic Christian tenets of belief? Is the answer John 3:16? For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. I have said that this great paradigm shift of the first century centres around Jesus. For most of those who understand the definitions of Christianity, they have a basic perspective that Jesus is a divine figure, whose purpose was to die for the sins of the world and bring reconciliation between God and humanity. His wondrous birth, celebrated at Christmastime, calls attention to his divine identity, and at Easter there is the focus of his triumph over death and the promise of eternal life for those who believe. Is this image of Jesus as the divine saviour and Lord the powerful paradigm shift of the first century? It is the common and popular image that has dominated in Western Civilization art, worship, thought, and much of the devotion since the Middle Ages, and still is the predominant image today. But how is this understanding of who Jesus was and what his purpose was involved in bringing about a radical change in the religious thought of the first century? What part of it was in Jesus' own ministry and how did it bring about change and transformation? And why did it arouse fierce opposition? Did Jesus, as John suggests in his gospel,

proclaim openly who he was, and the response was to kill him? Or did Jesus not talk openly of who he was, as the three synoptic gospels seem to indicate. I don't think it was the proclaimed identity of Jesus or the proclaimed purpose of his sacrificial death that was the central part of his teaching in his ministry. I don't think either of these two concepts are the paradigms of Jesus, and thus, they are not the paradigms responsible for bringing about transformations among those to whom Jesus ministered, and nor are they the paradigms that are responsible for bringing forth a great paradigm shift in the world of religion and civilization. At least, not exactly. The paradigms of the divinity of Jesus and his role as saviour of the world are the great paradigms of the early church. A lot of people would say Paul has a lot of responsibility for them. The gospels, written 40-70 years after the events, proclaim these paradigms, just differing on how much Jesus talked about them himself. And being the proclamations of the early church, and a central focus of the gospels, these are paradigms that helped build the church, the faith, and the religion that impacted the world for centuries. So, it would seem that these paradigms of the early church would be responsible for all that has happened since. Well, again, not exactly. What do I mean, not exactly? I mean there are possibly other different paradigms proclaimed by Jesus that are responsible for the transformations in his ministry, and ultimately for the major paradigm shift that the world has seen in the Christian Faith. Think of that possibility for a second. What I am suggesting is the possibility

that Jesus was proclaiming major paradigms other than his identity as the Son of God and other than somehow proclaiming his role as saviour of the world through a sacrificial death. What if that were a real possibility? Can we imagine hearing what Jesus would say? What would Jesus, in his ministry, take seriously? So, what is the real possibility of paradigms existing that Jesus might have introduced that were so powerful in producing a new direction of thought, that transformation of lives was an immediate result and philosophical change of direction for religious thinking was the lasting result? In other words, what about the possibility that Jesus taught truths introducing new paradigms that completely turned around the old paradigms of his own culture of that day, helping people to see that wrong ideas and wrong thinking had created a false scenario for their lives, and Jesus was introducing a paradigm shift that could dramatically change their lives. He showed a new way. It was a new way of thinking. It was a new perspective of truth. It was a new paradigm, different than the old paradigm that created insurmountable barriers. What is the possibility that Jesus was what we now would call an intuitive genius, who looked at the problems in his society, and could see the changes that needed to be made, how accepted traditions of truth needed to be challenged, and new assertions of truth about God needed to be made. What if Jesus' new paradigms were the stuff to bring about a radical paradigm shift, and should be called the greatest disclosure of the truths of God ever made? If such paradigms existed, they would have been a part of the Jesus Experience! They would have been a part

of the teaching ministry of Jesus to show a new truth, a new awareness, and a new possibility of how life could be understood in a new light! I believe the concept of paradigms is an exciting new tool of perception that can help us to catch a glimpse of the Jesus Experience that was the privilege of those who participated on the receiving end of the ministry of Jesus. What was that Jesus Experience? Jesus approached the participants with a message. It was one that he was very serious about. He would later take a stand for his truths that would cost him his life. That's taking something very seriously! Something in his message was a change from what was accepted truth or tradition. This was the introduction of a new paradigm thought or thoughts. Some of the participants after listening had incredible things happen. They must have heard and believed what Jesus was saying. And Jesus' message suddenly began to be like magic for those who made up the crowd. And Scriptures tell us that these were not the pillars of society, but mostly outcasts. Most religious people of that day would have said Jesus was wrong for having anything to do with these outsiders, but, the heart of Jesus' message was that such an assumption of God's disfavour of people was totally wrong. It was seeing the problem in society, and proclaiming a truth from God about God. It was one case of a new paradigm countering an old paradigm. Jesus was about new paradigms... When he spoke to the outcasts... these are the kinds of new paradigms he introduced.

No one is outside the reach of the love of God, not gentiles, not slaves, not women, not sinners, not the poor, not the ill, not the diseased, not the physically malformed, God's love is deeper, wider, greater than we have ever even imagined. God's love, God's presence, God's spirit, God's reality is available and accessible to all and WITHOUT BROKERAGE of any kind. There is a new way. It is The Way... living with a God-centeredness , living with a God-focus, and living with a sense of being God-filled. Jesus was the example. He lived this out in front of his disciples and his followers. It was obvious he was close to GOD. (which, itself, was a new paradigm of possibility in a world that thought no one could be close to God.) And those who believed his new teachings, his words, his truths proclaimed, suddenly felt closer to God themselves, because of this one, this man, Jesus, this man with the new message, who was so obviously close to God. This was the Jesus Experience...

being closer to God, by being close to someone who was so obviously close to God.
I don't think this would have happened if Jesus had whispered into the blind man's ear, these words... I know you can't understand now, but later it will make sense... I am really God, well, God's Son, and I am going to die like a sacrificial lamb, and if you believe in my blood washing away your sins, you can go to heaven and have eternal life!

...even though we know the current truths of the day say .you have absolutely no hope ever of finding God's favour, and your blindness is caused by God and is because of your disfavour, so you will never see again What was the paradigm shift that rocked the world? What major paradigm was given by Jesus to those unto whom he ministered? What new paradigm transformed the lives of those who came into contact with Jesus? And would that be a paradigm that would still change the world today? The paradigm that was the centrepiece of the Jesus Experience was a major paradigm shift from God-estrangement to God-closeness. Jesus modelled The Way by leading a life of God-centeredness, and by showing how to be God-filled, and God-focused, letting love and truth and faith produce peace and goodwill amidst the chaos of life. A small band of disciples, a large group of devoted followers, and a much larger group that had witnessed the impact of the Jesus Experience, all had seen this major paradigm shift happen in front of their eyes. Then, in a flash, with the suddenness of a lightning bolt, it was seemingly over. Jesus was dead! ...killed, murdered in an awful way! ...an impossible, unexplainable, and terrorizing happening! How long did it take for reality to even approach normalcy again? But, a discovery happened in that period of forced adjustment. And that discovery was that the gift of God-closeness that had come to them in the Jesus Experience was still with them!

They had felt God-closeness when they were close to Jesus during his ministry. And with the powerful God-closeness staying with them after Jesus' death, it made the memory of his presence as real as it had been when he was alive. God-closeness, during his life of ministry, was so associated with Jesus and Jesus' life example lived forth in front of them, that the very, very real God-closeness phenomenon that they continued to experience became understood as experiencing the presence of a living (no longer dead, but raised) Jesus in their midst. This God-closeness experience was real, and how they defined it, how they interpreted it was their best explanation. They defined it with the interpretation of their experience that Jesus was alive, raised by God, because he was the divine son. Identifying Jesus as the divine Son of God became a new paradigm itself. It was an explanation, an interpretation of their experience of Jesus. It was a truth that came from their very real experiences of the presence of God. When they came to answer the question of why Jesus had died the way he did, their interpretation was based on their new understanding of Jesus' identity and God's involvement. Jesus died for the sins of the world, and through his death, like the Jewish sacrificial lamb of the temple, through his shed blood, the sins of humanity could be forgiven and reconciliation with God would become possible. Jesus, the divine Son of God was the Saviour of Humanity. What was the paradigm or paradigms

that rocked the world? My contention is that it was something that was presented by Jesus during his ministry. It was what he took seriously as his message to those in his society. It was his new way of seeing truth when presented with major problems in his culture's beliefs. He revealed new and vastly different viewpoints on God's characteristics, God's love, God's availability, and accessibility of God's presence and spirit. Into a world of constant and massive exclusion, he addressed those who had been told directly and repeatedly of God's disfavour, telling them that inclusive love, unconditional and universal, was available and would transform their lives if they would only receive it simply and openly, and there was no need of brokerage or mediators. His message to the outcasts was that you have been told your position of being estranged from God is a permanent one, one without hope of ever changing, but he was there with a different message. It was his message of a new kingdom of God, and a new way for living. It was a paradigm that was the opposites of what society was accepting as the current truth. It was a paradigm of the very real possibility of God-closeness in your life. And Jesus was the example living before them. He was their connection to the divine. And that awareness given by Jesus and received by the crowds brought changed attitudes, changed lives, transformations, and healing of minds, bodies, and spirits. The spirit and presence of God moved mightily wherever the ministry of Jesus travelled. The world began to shake. The rocking would continue for 2000 years. I believe the paradigm responsible was the introduction of God-closeness.

I believe the centrepiece of the Jesus Experience was Jesus addressing the old paradigm in place of God-estrangement, and countering it with a system of new truths that supported the paradigm of God-closeness. And he modelled its reality by living a God-focused, God-centred, God-filled life. People marvelled that he was obviously close to God. They were drawn to him that they might be closer to God themselves, and he taught them the way. Jesus taught them that they could have God-closeness in their lives, too. It was what he took seriously about his task of ministry. He brought a new message, a new paradigm...of God-closeness. And it rocked the world.
Tom Colgan 28/09/11