Spirituality: "Christ is the Archetype" Richard Rohr

Christ is the Archetype and Model for the rest of creation as Scripture clearly teaches (Ephesians 1:3-14; Colossians 1:15-20). Yet Christians have instead focused on proving that Jesus is “God,” which felt necessary to put our group out in front and to solidify our own ranks. By pulling Jesus out of the Trinity and making him a mere “problem solver,” Christianity has no overarching vision or explanation for what it all means. We haven’t fully understood how the Christ “holds all things together” (Colossians 1:17). We were more eager to make Jesus the “top” than to make him the “whole,” and thus we ended up with a religion largely concerned with exclusion.

As a result, Christianity constantly divided into smaller tribes. “Why do you try to parcel up Christ?” Paul asked (see 1 Corinthians 1:13). Jesus became an arguable “text” outside of any larger “context.” If the Eternal Christ is forgotten or ignored, Jesus becomes far too small, a mere local “god” instead of a universal principle. Many Christians still see the universe as incoherent, without inherent sacredness, a center, direction, or purpose beyond personal survival itself. Many Christians focus on “saving their own soul” with little care for the world as a whole. Massive disbelief is the result. It is hard to feel privately holy or good when the universe is neither holy nor good.