Many people say, "What's the big deal? It's a universal term." Not so. "Christ" (check your Oxford English Etymology) means "Lord's Anointed" and "title of Jesus of Nazareth." Everything under the term "Christ" is about Jesus and Christianity. There is NO WAY NOT TO MAKE THIS CONNECTION, I don't care what anyone says. I have nothing against Jesus, the man, but I think the term is a barrier in spirituality, a huge one, that no one really wants to address - -- so I am addressing it. To many spiritualists and non-Christians the term "Christ Consciousness" is simply a term that came from the Greek ("kristos") and was adopted by Christianity, and not any other religion. To some others it means "unconditional love," but that is not the literal translation. "Christ Consciousness" means to have the consciousness of Jesus Christ...it's not cryptic, it's in plain language.

Jews use the term "Messiah" - it has a similar meaning, but not identical, to "Christ." Judaism says that the Messiah will be born of human parents, with normal physical attributes just like other people. He will not be a demi-god, and will not possess supernatural qualities. In fact, an individual is alive in every generation with the capacity to step into the role of the Messiah. Jews do not believe Jesus was THE Messiah because he has not fulfilled the prophecy. The Hebrew Bible says that the Messiah will:
1. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
2. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).
3. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)
4. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel - uniting the entire human race as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world - on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).

Users of this term "Christ Consciousness" tend to take it for granted that others accept and adopt it as a way to describe a couple of things: the peak of spiritual consciousness (God), or the level to which they think Jesus achieved. Many people cannot separate the Christ from Jesus - to them it's one and the same.

When I read this term in spiritual articles that push its use and are more than explaining its definition, I second-guess the quality of the material. For me, spirituality doesn't have to exclude religious teachings, but it shouldn't promote only one of them; it should be all-inclusive and neutral. Advanced spiritual teachers don't play favorites, and if they are it's due to the filter of the human being who is using it. That's enough of a reason to question it. It's a term intended to associate with Jesus and Christianity because it is DIRECTLY associated with him; not with Buddha, nor Moses, nor Mohammad, nor Jane or Joe Schmo. I don't feel it's respectful of all people. It feels a little alienating. When I hear it I feel not included and that I'm forced to convert. Yes, words are powerful and even a simple term as that one has this negative effect upon me, and I suspect users of the term know (at least subconsciously) why they're using it. What if the term was Moses consciousness, or Mohammad consciousness. Would you feel comfortable with those? Would you think there might be another agenda at work through the use of those terms?

It is for these reasons that I think using the term "Christ Consciousness" is inaccurate, confusing, and exclusive. In a gentle way it sends the message that Christianity and Jesus are better than other religions and other beings. Many people, who weren't raised as Christians or Catholics, or haven't converted to Christianity, are not comfortable with the term "Christ Consciousness," and they don't relate to it in the same way as those who have. I feel that people coming from a Christian influence and are into spirituality are imposing this term on everyone because they're still steeped in their dogma. Why else would they have to use the word "Christ?" Why not use a more neutral, inclusive, and accurate term such as "Source Consciousness," for instance?