I Almost Missed the Jesus Revolution

It was a Monday, June 21, 1971, when Time magazine had a picture of Jesus on its cover; obviously not an actual photograph, since the necessary technology was yet to be conceived of in 1st century AD, but instead a likeness. An accurate likeness to the real Christ is doubtful, but rather a similar likeness of Him as depicted by religious paintings and icons; the earliest known portrait was discovered in Syria around 235. (^ Brandon, S.G.F, “Christ in verbal and depicted imagery”. Neusner, Jacob (ed.): Christianity, Judaism and other Greco-Roman cults: Studies for Morton Smith at sixty. Part Two: Early Christianity, pp. 166–167. BRILL, 1975. ISBN 978-90-04-04215-5)

The Times’ accompanying title was, “The Alternative Jesus: Psychedelic Christ.” The Jesus revolution had spread out from coffee houses, street corners, college campuses, homes and communes onto the news stands around the world.

Though I may have been vaguely aware of the revolution in its infancy, as an observer of media and music, I did not become a participating member until 1979 at the impressionable age of 20.

A friend of mine had gone off to college, while I postponed higher education favoring instead full-time work, as a matter of necessity to obtain food, shelter and clothing. I saw my friend on a break from her university studies and she was full of tales about this group of Christians that had gained her rapt attention and did I want to meet the group that lived by me? I responded, unsuspectingly and with youthful naiveté, and said, “Sure. Why not?”

My agreement to meet this group of devoted believers changed my life, in the way only a revolutionary fringe group can, dramatically. It started off innocently enough with home bible studies and prayer meetings. Then there were the invitations to be part of the communal eating arrangements, to which I also agreed.

Before long the teachings, that were so simple and reminiscent of my Catholic upbringing, took a turn to a narrow and idiosyncratic road. Verses of the bible beyond love your neighbor as yourself, such as women covering their heads in prayer, became law. And before I knew it, I was fully ensconced in a fervent mission to lead the entire world to the gospel. This mission played out quite zealously in some cases, though I never got up the nerve, where members shouted out the gospel story from street corners to anyone and no one in particular.

As things in the movement became more and more unorthodox, and the excitement of being part of something greater than myself (at least in the revolutionary sense) waned, I started questioning my involvement, until I came to the conclusion to leave the group altogether.

All in all, I am thankful I didn’t miss the so called Jesus Revolution. I gained from it a spiritual awakening to the universal principles found in Christianity, as well as in other religions, and those principles have helped guide me along the way. I went from the playing of the rock opera album of Jesus Christ Superstar on my bedroom stereo in the early 70s as a young teen, to imagining myself a gospel prophet of sorts out to save the world as the decade closed and the 1980s began. I wasn’t alone. Take a look at the video below for a glimpse of that time.