A Rebirth for Christianity [Paperback]

Alvin Boyd Kuhn (Author), Stephan A. Hoeller (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2008

The search to uncover the hidden origins of Christianity and discover its true message has become a current topic of fascination for many readers. People are eager to know the truths behind the biblical legends and the mysteries that created Christian rites, ceremonies, and codes of behavior. Kuhn argues that the sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity do not portray historical truths, but symbolic and mystical metaphors. The spiritual truth encoded in scripture, says Kuhn, is far more important than its literal narrative. Kuhn’s research provides a clear understanding of the allegorical interpretations of the scriptures and their significance to a deeper, more profound Christianity. He traces the historical and philosophical origins of Christian thought to illustrate that Jesus was one of many incarnations of an enduring archetype that has surfaced in many religions. In fact, those who wrote the scriptures may have never even intended the focus to be on Jesus, the man. Moreover, Kuhn investigates the problems (psychological, spiritual, and otherwise) that result from a purely historical interpretation of Jesus. In doing so, Kuhn reclaims the mystical power at the core of Christianity's message, which has to do with the "birth" of the inner Christ and the emergence of divine consciousness in humanity.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Quest Books; Second Edition edition (April 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0835608387
• ISBN-13: 978-0835608381
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has real answers to life!, February 17, 1999

By 

Casca (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Rebirth for Christianity (Hardcover)

Alvin Kuhn has done a magnificent job in explaining the ancient wisdom and showing its relevance for us today.This book gives a good exposition of his views.Man has two natures, the animal and the divine.Plato and Aristotle and others wrote about the animal soul and the divine soul.The purpose of human life is to develop the divine soul so that it can uplift the animal soul.This is the essence of the ancient wisdom.Kuhn shows how political Christianity turned this teaching upside down.It took the divine soul away from man and placed it in one alleged person, Jesus Christ.This left man empty.Christ was never a person, but a symbol of the divine soul in every human being.Early Christians such as Paul had this teaching, but in the 3rd century the Church became a tool of repression and the true teachings were discarded.Kuhn brings the truth to light again in a much needed message for our times.He shows that the Bible is not to be taken literally, but should be understood symbolically.The ancient wisdom is right there in the Bible , in symbolic language.Some examples: the virgin is the constellation Virgo;the star in the east is Sirius and the "three wise men" are the three stars in the belt of Orion the Hunter;the Christ was put in a manger, a feed trough, to be spiritual "food" for our animal nature.The raising of Lazarus is a retelling of the raising of Osiris in ancient Egypt.The name Lazarus comes from Osiris.The Bible life of the Christ is not history, but a retelling of the life of the divine soul in man.Christians burnt all the books containing the ancient wisdom to try and hide the truth from mankind.When the divine soul comes into matter it dies and then is reborn in humans.This explains the crucifixion and the resurrection, which do not make any sense when taken literally.All Kuhn's books are worth reading for those interested in religion and philosophy.This book gives a concise introduction to his ideas.If taken up, these ideas can change the world.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Key to Help Awaken the Human Heart, April 8, 2007

By 

Dr. Richard G. Petty (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Rebirth for Christianity (Paperback)

Alvin Boyd Kuhn has always been a polarizing force in Bible studies. During his lifetime he produced a body of work in which he proposed that the Bible was symbolic rather than just being a depiction of true events. He was almost entirely self-taught and he had few qualifications. Most scholars have not even heard his name.

But it would be a mistake to dismiss his work out of hand. Though there is impressive evidence that the Bible is an historical document, there is also an important question: were the early writers of the Bible trying to communicate concepts that lay beyond the written word? The thought processes of our great grandparents were very different from ours, let alone people from 2,000 years ago, for whom allegory, parable, analogy and symbol were important ways of communicating objective events as well as spiritual insights. Kuhn believed that the Bible was a mixture of memory and metaphor designed to preserve the meaning of Jesus' teachings. Therefore a full understanding about the significance of the life and ministry of Jesus requires us to evolve our thinking and to apply our intuition.

This book was completed shortly before Kuhn's death in 1963 and was the last in a series dealing with the mystical underpinnings of orthodox Christianity. His central idea was that we all have the ability to realize an indwelling Christ. In the years since the book was published, many others have run with an idea that he outlines in the first chapter of the book, entitled "Relighting an Ancient Lamp." This idea is that in religions around the world, the symbol of light represents Mind. This idea has recently been discussed many times, especially in the very interesting books by Lee Baumann. Kuhn develops ideas familiar to Hindus, Buddhists and Taoists, that Mind underlies the creation of the Universe. This is also where many of the ideas of "manifesting" have come from: if we each contain a small piece of Mind, then we all have the potential to be creators.

Kuhn felt that we needed to restore our personal connection to the Divine mysteries, and that we could only do so by moving beyond the historic accounts of Jesus to also understand his life as a profound spiritual allegory.

Although often criticized, what Kuhn was trying to do was to re-discover a living spiritual experience. He was not trying to re-write history, but deepen our experience of Christ.

The book is well worth reading, if only for his discussion of the symbol of light representing Mind and the notion that even in the Christian tradition Mind is the force behind God's creation. For people on a spiritual path, there is a lot of material in the book that can provide an excellent focus for contemplation and meditation.

Warmly recommended.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best spiritual and esoteric books for all times, March 10, 2006

By 

ZANZIBAR "Hotep" (Diaspora) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Rebirth for Christianity (Paperback)

I found this Boyd Kuhn masterpiece, while searching for another book of his. This was his last book before passing from this realm. This might have been his best work; written with a sincerity & passion for the truth. Boyd Kuhn lifts the veil from Prophet Issa (Jesus) and reveals the true essence & meaning of this great Master's work. A special treat for all those travelling brothers from & to foreign countries.