The idea of parody, of spiritual inversion, to the best of our knowledge, was
first spotted by R. Guenon as being one of the main traits, not to say the very
substance, of modern spirit and of its various manifestations. It is central to
his work, to his analysis of modern decay, and, while it plays an important part
in J. Evola's, in his analysis of many historical and cultural events as well as
of the systems of thought and the teachings behind them, it has not even been
taken into account by the vast majority of other writers, not to mention
scholars, who are critical of modernity. The idea of parody "may be more
apparent or less so, but it ought never to escape the notice of observers, were
it not for the fact that natural perspicacity in that direction is abolished by
the 'suggestions' to which they are unconsciously subjected.('The Reign of
Quantity and The Sign of the Times', p.199). Although R. Guenon never explicitly
stated that parody, in that sense, is typically, exclusively, and inherently
modern, there is no indication, in his entire work, that he thought otherwise.
He still acknowledged that, as is logical, all the anti-traditional tendencies
of modern spirit can be traced to pre-modern times, when they could be found in
a more or less latent state in some individuals or groups of individuals, who
are regarded by him as, so to speak, forerunners.
We were lately advised a book called 'The Christ Conspiracy'
(
http://books.google.fr/books?id=KnIYRi3upbEC&dq=acharya%27s+christ+conspiray&pr\
intsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=fr&ei=BwYuS9XRAtXI_gaGxtCECQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&\
ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false). If its actual content
is up to the 'product description', it is definitely worth reading.
"Controversial and explosive, The Christ Conspiracy marshals an enormous amount
of startling evidence that the religion of Christianity and Jesus Christ were
created by members of various secret societies, mystery schools and religions in
order to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion! This powerful book
maintains that these groups drew upon a multitude of myths and rituals that
already existed long before the Christian era and reworked them into the story
the Christian religion presents today-known to most Westerners as the Bible.
Author Acharya makes the case that there was no actual person named Jesus, but
that several characters were rolled into one mythic being inspired by the
deities Mithras, Heracles/Hercules, Dionysus and many others of the Roman
Empire. She demonstrates that the story of Jesus, as portrayed in the Gospels,
is nearly identical in detail to those of the earlier savior-gods Krishna and
Horus, and concludes that Jesus was certainly neither original nor unique, nor
was he the divine revelation. Rather, he represents the very ancient body of
knowledge derived from celestial observation and natural forces. A book that
will initiate heated debate and inner struggle, it is intelligently written and
referenced. The only book of its kind, it is destined for controversy." We
inquired further, and found the following review of it :
http://www.tektonics.org/af/achy01.html, whose first, laconic, statement does
not make you feel like opening the book : "It is published by "Adventures
Unlimited," which also puts out material on time travel and Atlantis." The more
the review goes, the more criticism becomes corrosive ; surely, the
far-fetchness of some of Acharya S's considerations can only make a
knowledgeable reader who rightfully goes with the evidence smile, and it is
precisely those considerations, and only them, that have been carefully chosen
by the reviewer. At other times, it is the latter's statements which make that
kind of reader smile : "It is claimed that Christianity shares Gnosticism's
"disdain for the flesh and for matter in general," (60) although the cites
offered prove no such thing, especially when examined in their
literary-historical context." Early Christian sources dismissed as forgeries by
the author are apparently considered as genuine by the reviewer, without him
being able to substantiate his claims - either. In any case, the debate on the
datation of the gospels is still actual, and there is absolutely no certainty in
this field. Likewise, the question of the historicity of Jesus-Christ is still
much debated. 'The Christ Conspiracy' contains two theses, which are by no means
mutually exclusive : according to the first, which is more daring than the view,
widely held in some circles, that Christianity was a contributing factor to the
decline and the ultimate destruction of the Roman empire, Christianity was
actually a large-scale conspirationist movement led by "members of various
secret societies, mystery schools and religions" ; Christianity may have been
considered by various authors as a subversive movement, either explicitly or,
far more often, implicitly, euphemistically, as a messianic religion, the occult
roots of the Christian subversion has hardly been examined, and certainly not by
Marxist authors ; this thesis is not even hinted at by the reviewer.
The second thesis, which is shared by many scholars specialised in the history
of religions, is based on the fact that there are "material, significant, and
pervasive similarities between the Jesus Christ of the New Testament and other
Dying God-figures (and/or Savior-figures), and that these similarities are best
explained by the hypothesis that the figure of Jesus is materially derived from
(or heavily influenced by) these other Dying God/Savior-figures"
(
http://www.christian-thinktank.com/copycat.html) ; it is refuted by arguments
based on the rigorous methodological approach set up by the author of
http://www.christian-thinktank.com/copycat.html to study that question, and
which, incidentally, could shake the foundations of comparative religion. At
this point, it is time to return to our starting point, by quoting Professor M.
Hengel : "True, the Hellenistic world was familiar with the death and apotheosis
of some predominantly barbarian [as judged by the ancient authors themselves]
demigods and heroes of primeval times. Attis and Adonis were killed by a wild
boar, Osiris was torn to pieces by Typhon-Seth and Dionysus-Zagreus by the
Titans. Heracles alone of the 'Greeks' voluntarily immolated himself of Mount
Oeta. However, not only did all this take place in the darkest and most distant
past, but it was narrated in questionable [note: to the ancients] myths which
had to be interpreted either euhemeristically or at least allegorically [by the
Graeco-Romans]. By contrast, to believe that the one pre-existent Son of the one
true God, the mediator at creation and the redeemer of the world, had appeared
in very recent times in out-of-the-way Galilee as a member of the obscure people
of the Jews, and even worse, had died the death of a common criminal on the
cross, could only be regarded as a sign of madness...THE ONLY POSSIBILITY OF
SOMETHING LIKE A 'CRUCIFIED GOD' APPEARING ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
WAS IN FORM OF A MALICIOUS PARODY, intended to mock the arbitrariness and
wickedness of the father of the gods on Olympus, who had now become obsolete.
This happens in the dialogue called Prometheus, written by Lucian, the Voltaire
of antiquity."