the crucifixion is a symbol of the mind's self-inflicted pain arising from the belief in separation and projection. the resurrection is a universal and collective reawakening of the mind to its true, unified nature.
In traditional Christian theology, the resurrection of Jesus is a literal, bodily rising from the dead on the third day following his crucifixion.This event is considered the central foundation of the Christian faith, as it vindicates Jesus's identity as the Son of God and serves as a guarantee of a future bodily resurrection for believers. The empty tomb and post-mortem appearances are presented as irrefutable evidence of this miracle. The resurrection is thus viewed as a unique, one-time event that distinguishes Jesus from all others and proves his divine nature and victory over death.
A Course in Miracles reinterprets the resurrection as a universal event that has already occurred in reality, waiting to be accepted by the individual mind. The text states that the resurrection is "the reawakening of every Son of God". It is not the creation of a new truth but "the dawning on your mind of what is already in it". The resurrection is defined simply as "the overcoming or surmounting of death. It is a reawakening or a rebirth; a change of mind about the meaning of the world".
This reawakening is not an isolated miracle for one person; rather, Jesus's resurrection is a collective event. The Course teaches, "he took all of us with him. 'He will take you with him, for he did not go alone. And you were with him then, as you are now'".This means that in reality, the illusion of death for all of creation was overcome at that moment, and the resurrection is a perpetual present possibility for all minds to accept. It is the recognition that the Son of God is eternal and cannot die.
the resurrection as the culmination of the path to Christ Consciousness.
Salvation is not a one-time event but an ongoing, internal process of undoing the ego's dream of separation. The Atonement is always a present possibility, and the resurrection is a perpetual state of being that is waiting to be accepted.
Ultimately, the true meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection is the realization of the mind's perfect and unbroken union with God. The events are not a celebration of a historical tragedy and a physical miracle, but a powerful, symbolic reminder that "I and the Father are One". This Truth, once fully accepted, frees the mind from its self-imposed hell and brings about a state of perfect "At-one-ment." This is the core promise of these teachings: that through the practice of forgiveness and the remembrance of one's true nature as Christ, the mind will be restored to its holiness, and Heaven on Earth will be established.
From ACIM
"Very simply, the resurrection is the overcoming or surmounting of death. It is a reawakening or a rebirth; a change of mind about the meaning of the world."
"The resurrection demonstrated that nothing can destroy truth. Good can withstand any form of evil, as light abolishes forms of darkness."
"The resurrection is the complete triumph of Christ over the ego, not by attack but by transcendence. For Christ does rise above the ego and all its works."
From WoM
“You can choose only love and fear. In love you are resurrected. In fear you are crucified.” “Try the crucifixion. It was not uncomfortable, once I embraced it.” “The crucifixion is simply a symbol of allowing all that you have identified with as strength to be stripped away.” “Resurrection is the dropping of the false argument of ‘me, separate from all of Creation.’” “Part of my task was to demonstrate that since I can do it, you can do it… The great equaling has truly occurred.” “We are about to put you through a purification like a laser beam. It has been called the crucifixion and resurrection.”
“This is the Resurrection then, the resurrection within your consciousness of the truth that sets you free. See in my earthly experience only a symbol of what can occur within you, as you choose to give your thoughts, to give your perceptions, to give your fears, to give your petty wants and needs over to your persecutors — for you’ll believe that the angels who have come to dismantle your illusions are your persecutors, because death feels like persecution. Give yourself over to it. Let the mind be corrected. Let the heart open and be healed. Let crucifixion be finished that resurrection might be experienced. And when that Resurrection called awakening has occurred, you will ascend to the Father, for He will take the final step for you and you will abide in the real world.”
Crucifixion, Death, Resurrection
Crucifixion - Being nailed to the Cross of time/space. Facing the deepest fear & pain with arms spread open and heart bared.
Death - Death of the false, illusory, impure self
Resurrection - As the false dies the Real is (re)born as the Phoenix after the complete death and the pause between breaths.
Ascension - All that remains is God/Christ/Self/Truth/Reality. The Son ascends to sit at the right hand of The Father.
- “And when that Resurrection called awakening has occurred, you will ascend to the Father, for He will take the final step for you.”
“This is the Resurrection then, the resuction within your consciousness of the truth that sets you free. See in my earthly experience only a symbol of what can occur within you, as you choose to give your thoughts, to give your perceptions, to give your fears, to give your petty wants and needs over to your persecutors — for you’ll believe that the angels who have come to dismantle your illusions are your persecutors, because death feels like persecution. Give yourself over to it. Let the mind be corrected. Let the heart open and be healed. Let crucifixion be finished that resurrection might be experienced. And when that Resurrection called awakening has occurred, you will ascend to the Father, for He will take the final step for you and you will abide in the real world.”
Excerpts from ACIM
VII. Believing in the Resurrection
It is impossible not to believe what you see, but it is equally impossible to see what you do not believe. Perceptions are built up on the basis of experience, and experience leads to beliefs. It is not until beliefs are fixed that perceptions stabilize. In effect, then, what you believe you do see. That is what I meant when I said “Blessed are ye who have not seen and still believe,” for those who believe in the resurrection will see it. The resurrection is the complete triumph of Christ over the ego, not by attack, but by transcendence. For Christ does rise above the ego and all its works, and ascends to the Father and His Kingdom.
Would you join in the resurrection or the crucifixion? Would you condemn your brothers or free them? Would you transcend your prison and ascend to the Father? For these questions are all the same, and are answered together. There has been much confusion about what perception means, because the same word is used both for awareness and for the interpretation of awareness. But you cannot be aware without interpretation, and what you perceive is your interpretation. This course is perfectly clear. You do not see it clearly because you are interpreting against it, and therefore do not believe it. And if belief determines perception, you do not perceive what it means, and therefore do not accept it.
Yet different experiences lead to different beliefs, and with them different perceptions, for perceptions are learned with beliefs, and experience teaches. I am leading you to a new kind of experience which you will become less and less willing to deny. Learning of Christ is easy, for to perceive with Him involves no strain at all. His perceptions are your natural awareness, and it is only the distortions which you have introduced that tire you. Let the Christ in you interpret for you, and do not try to limit what you see by narrow little beliefs that are unworthy of God’s Son. For until Christ comes into His Own, the Son of God will see himself as fatherless.
I am your resurrection and your life. You live in me because you live in God. And everyone lives in you, as you live in everyone. Can you, then, perceive unworthiness in a brother and not perceive it in yourself? And can you perceive it in yourself and not perceive it in God? Believe in the resurrection because it has been accomplished, and it has been accomplished in you. This is as true now as it will ever be, for the resurrection is the will of God, which knows no time and no exceptions. But make no exceptions yourself, or you will not perceive what has been accomplished for you. For we ascend unto the Father together, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, for such is the nature of God’s Son as His Father created him.
Do not underestimate the power of the devotion of God’s Son, nor the power over him of the god he worships. For he places himself at the altar of his god, whether it be the god he made or the God Who created him. That is why his slavery is as complete as his freedom, for he will obey only the god he accepts.
The god of the crucifixion demands that he crucify, and his worshippers obey. In his name they crucify themselves, believing that the power of the Son of God is born out of sacrifice and pain. The God of the resurrection demands nothing, for He does not will to take away. He does not require obedience, for obedience implies submission. He would only have you learn your own will and follow it, not in the spirit of sacrifice and submission, but in the gladness of freedom.
Resurrection must compel your allegiance gladly, because it is the symbol of joy. Its whole compelling power lies in the fact that it represents what you want to be. The freedom to leave behind everything that hurts you and humbles you and frightens you cannot be thrust upon you. But it can be offered you through the grace of God, and you can accept it by His grace, for God is gracious to His Son, accepting him without question as His Own. Who, then, is your own? The Father has given you all that is His, and He Himself is yours with them. Guard them in their resurrection, for otherwise you will not awake in God, safely surrounded by what is yours forever.
You will not find peace until you have removed the nails from the hands of God’s Son and taken the last thorn from his forehead. The love of God surrounds His Son whom the god of the crucifixion condemns. Teach not that I died in vain. Teach rather that I did not die by demonstrating that I live in you. For the undoing of the crucifixion of God’s Son is the work of the redemption, in which everyone has a part of equal value. God does not judge His blameless Son. Having given Himself to him, how could it be otherwise?
You have nailed yourself to a cross and placed a crown of thorns upon your own head. Yet you cannot crucify God’s Son, for the will of God cannot die. His Son has been redeemed from his own crucifixion, and you cannot assign to death whom God has given eternal life. The dream of the crucifixion of God’s Son still lies heavy on your eyes, but what you see in dreams is not reality. While you perceive the Son of God as crucified, you are asleep. And as long as you believe that you can crucify him, you are only having a nightmare. You who are beginning to wake are still aware of dreams and have not yet forgotten them.
The forgetting of dreams and the awareness of Christ comes with the awakening of others to share your redemption. You will awaken to your own call, for the call to awaken is within you. If I live in you, you are awake. But you must see the works I do through you, or you will not perceive that I have done them unto you. Do not set limits on what you believe I can do through you, or you will not accept what I can do for you. For it is done already, and unless you give all that you have received, you will not know that your redeemer liveth and that you have awakened with him.
Redemption is recognized only by sharing it. God’s Son is saved. Bring only this awareness to the Sonship, and you will have a part in the redemption as valuable as mine, for your part must be like mine if you learn it of me. If you believe that yours is limited, you are limiting mine. There is no order of difficulty in miracles because all of God’s Sons are of equal value, and their equality is their oneness. The whole power of God is in every part of Him, and nothing contradictory to His will is either great or small. What does not exist has no size and no measure. To God all things are possible. And to Christ it is given to be like the Father.
ACIM: Manual For Teachers- 28: What Is the Resurrection?
Very simply, the resurrection is the overcoming or surmounting of death. It is a reawakening or a rebirth; a change of mind about the meaning of the world. It is the acceptance of the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of the world’s purpose; the acceptance of the Atonement for oneself. It is the end of dreams of misery, and the glad awareness of the Holy Spirit’s final dream. It is the recognition of the gifts of God. It is the dream in which the body functions perfectly, having no function except communication. It is the lesson in which learning ends, for it is consummated and surpassed with this. It is the invitation to God to take His final step. It is the relinquishment of all other purposes, all other interests, all other wishes, and all other concerns. It is the single desire of the Son for the Father.
The resurrection is the denial of death, being the assertion of life. Thus is all the thinking of the world reversed entirely. Life is now recognized as salvation, and pain and misery of any kind perceived as hell. Love is no longer feared, but gladly welcomed. Idols have disappeared, and the remembrance of God shines unimpeded across the world. Christ’s face is seen in every living thing, and nothing is held in darkness apart from the light of forgiveness. There is no sorrow still upon the earth. The joy of Heaven has come upon it.
Here the curriculum ends. From here on no directions are needed. Vision is wholly corrected and all mistakes undone. Attack is meaningless, as peace has come. The goal of the curriculum has been achieved. Thoughts turn to Heaven and away from hell. All longings are satisfied, for what remains unanswered or incomplete? The last illusion spreads over the world, forgiving all things and replacing all attack. The whole reversal is accomplished. Nothing is left to contradict the Word of God. There is no opposition to the truth. And now the truth can come at last. How quickly will it come as it is asked to enter and envelop such a world!
All living hearts are tranquil, with a stir of deep anticipation, for the time of everlasting things is now at hand. There is no death. The Son of God is free. And in his freedom is the end of fear. No hidden places now remain on earth to shelter sick illusions, dreams of fear, and misperceptions of the universe. All things are seen in light, and in the light their purpose is transformed and understood. And we, God’s children, rise up from the dust and look upon our perfect sinlessness. The song of Heaven sounds around the world, as it is lifted up and brought to truth.
Now there are no distinctions. Differences have disappeared, and love looks on itself. What further sight is needed? What remains that vision could accomplish? We have seen the face of Christ, His sinlessness, His love behind all forms, beyond all purposes. Holy are we because His holiness has set us free indeed, and we accept His holiness as ours; as it is. As God created us so will we be forever and forever, and we wish for nothing but His will to be our own. Illusions of another will are lost, for unity of purpose has been found.
These things await us all, but we are not prepared as yet to welcome them with joy. As long as any mind remains possessed of evil dreams, the thought of hell is real. God’s teachers have the goal of wakening the minds of those asleep and seeing there the vision of Christ’s face, to take the place of what they dream. The thought of murder is replaced with blessing. Judgment is laid by and given Him Whose function judgment is. And in His Final Judgment is restored the truth about the holy Son of God. He is redeemed, for he has heard God’s Word and understood its meaning. He is free because he let God’s Voice proclaim the truth. And all he sought before to crucify are resurrected with him, by his side as he prepares with them to meet his God.