Richard Smoley

Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition

(Boston: Shambhala, 2002, 292pp.) (Book)
At this time of transition from the Piscean Period to the Age of Aquarius, there is an
evaluation going on within all systems of belief to sort out those aspects of value for the New
Age and to let dry up those thought forms and processes which were appropriate only for the
passing period. Such an evaluation is particularly complex in Christianity which has been the
dominant faith of the Piscean Period. The Piscean Periods start was marked by the birth of
Jesus and the coming of the Magi from Persia as a sign of recognition of the birth of the
Piscean Period. The heartland of the Piscean Period is the Mediterranean world, a crossroads
of ideas Zoroastrian teachings from Persia, Hindu and Buddhist ideas from India, the Jewish
legal and mystical traditions, Hermetic texts from Hellenistic Egypt, and Greek philosophy.
The Mediterranean area was home to a flow of ideas, influencing and being influenced in
their turn.
Christianity took on the dominant forms of the Mediterranean world, especially the
Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, always menaced on its frontiers, became the image of
the world, always in danger of disintegrating. Originally, the teaching of Jesus was that the
framework of the world was one of order, balance, beauty, and synergy with all things
working together for the common good. However, the individual is always in need of
restoration so that the person can manifest order, balance, beauty, and synergy. In the face of
constant dangers the Christian doctrine became harsher. Man was in need not of restoration
but of a more radical salvation, and the myth of the Fall of Adam came to dominate as the
official doctrine. It is true that for the Gnostics of the time, what was most important was not
deliverance from sin but an awakening to the hidden wisdom. However, the Gnostic view
of the world was also largely negative.
With time, the Christian faith moved north to the rest of Europe and east to Russia, but
the Mediterranean remained the heartland, and the Pope in Rome was a symbol of the
continuing legacy of the Roman Empire, St Peters in Rome being the key example of the
power and glory of the Church. The Piscean Period was one which stressed outer growth, the
taming of nature, and the building of cities. The Piscean Period began with Rome as the
master Empire and ended with the USA as the only remaining Superpower. From Roman
roads to American communications, the Piscean Period has been one of external growth and
of linking the world through outer structures. Christianity, in order to reflect and to be
meaningful to the Piscean Period also stressed growth winning the whole world for Christ
the control of nature by humans, and the strength of external symbols such as the great
cathedrals of Europe.
Now, the energy which was contained in the visible Church is diminishing because the
agent for spiritual growth moves from the institution to individual practice. The mark of the
new Aquarian Age is that of synthesis or integration within each person of the body, the
psyche, and the spirit. Integration can only be done by each person for himself. A group can
be helpful, but a group is no substitute for work upon oneself. The Kingdom of God is
within.
Richard Smoley, an editor of the former Gnosis magazine, traces the teaching of Jesus
concerning inner growth and integration. This is a growth which follows ever higher levels of

consciousness and awareness leading to a Christ-consciousness and the embodiment of

Sophia-wisdom. It is this Christ-consciousness which is the Kingdom, the Path, and the Light
of which Jesus speaks. With the development of awareness comes love, kindness, and
compassion which are the manifestations of Christ-consciousness in outer life.
However, inner growth and the integration of the person, which was the heart of Jesus
teaching, could never become central to the work of the Church. As the Roman Empire
disintegrated, the Church took over the Empires task as lawgiver. Much of the Churchs
teachings have been commentaries on moral and legal issues which were necessary in a world
where people from different societies and cultures were coming into contact. There had to be
minimum rules of behaviour which would be followed by all even if they could not be
enforced by a police. Thus sins (the breaking of these minimum rules of social behaviour)
became a chief concern of churchmen. The rules were given divine sanction, and since the
rules could not always be enforced in the world, sanctions were thought to be sure to come in
the afterlife. The churches were the gatekeepers to the world beyond death. Thus the death
and resurrection of Jesus became a central aspect of the doctrine. The last judgement was
seen as a trial during which all of ones sins were weighed and appropriate punishment given
out, mitigated by the good one had done.
The inner growth and integration aspects of Jesus teaching never became central to
the doctrine of the churches, but it coexisted, taught by small groups in an esoteric way or
tolerated as forms of devotion, especially among the Orthodox in Greece and Russia.
Today, the lawmaking function of the churches has been largely replaced by the role
of the State. The State is the lawmaker for all citizens regardless of their religious faith.
International law has become the basis of rules for contacts among societies. Thus, the
personal growth, Christ-consciousness aspect of Christianity can come to the fore. Richard
Smoley has provided a clear guide to the literature, both devotional and esoteric. There is a
useful bibliography, and the notes are an indication of his wide reading. This is a welcome
contribution to the needed re-evaluation of religious traditions.
Ren Wadlow