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For all the angst I have had towards Jesus lately, there is one thing that I cannot take away from him, and that is, no matter if the stories of Jesus are true or not, Jesus is/was the living representation of the philosophy of life eternal. Christians like me absorb the deity of Christ on the cross and die on the cross with Jesus spiritually and then come back to life, which is living the same philosophies of the Buddha, and of Hinduism. That is living the philosophy of life eternal. Going with Jesus in your heart will take you right to it. Only through living the philosophy of life eternal, and the boundlessness of the spirit(go with Jesus) will you receive Heaven. No matter what I say about Jesus, I can not take that away from him. When I do as the Buddha and die spiritually and wander in the in-between, I absorb the deity of Jesus on the cross. It is a meditation I have done that will always remain with me. So I guess I have to agree with those that believe you never go back after loving Jesus. There is no way I can not love him. He also single handedly brings all of the religions and philosophies of the world together in astonishing ways. There is no escaping the deity that he represents. Weather he is fiction or not, he is the most amazing deity I have ever seen.
Last edited by Rider's Pantheon; 06-15-2013 at 09:43 PM..
Give your life to God through Jesus as a personal sacrifice to God. That is how I worshipped God through Jesus, along with countless other spirits in Heaven, and I probably always will. That is the Far Eastern way. He belongs in my own personal pantheon in ways I still don't understand.
Even if the NT is nothing but fiction, it is still amazing. The philosophies Jesus talks of and demonstrates about absorbing him, being the living embodiment of life eternal, is nothing short of incredible on any account. He is life eternal. And being at one with him on the cross makes you at one with him in spirit, and you live the philosophy. It is absolutely miraculous. I can't take that away him.
Yes Jesus is amazing , and His New Testament is not a myth , as in the book of Acts 2 Father God delivered His spirit onto the earth for those who repent of sin and follow Jesus commands , and Here it is some One thousand , Nine Hundred and Eighty years later , and God is still bringing His Holy Spirit and putting Him on people who believe and repent and follow Jesus Commands ....As God`s Spirit interacts with His people , life eternal is the plan God Spirit is here today
Our church is running an adult enrichment class in the fall that will go over all the evidence that much of the New Testament is fiction - a mythology invented by Paul to rationalize the dogma he hoped to spread.
Sagan said it best: "Better the hard truth, I say, than the comforting fantasy."
Our church is running an adult enrichment class in the fall that
will go over all the evidence that much of the New Testament is fiction - a mythology invented by Paul to rationalize the dogma he hoped to spread.
Sagan said it best: "Better the hard truth, I say, than the comforting fantasy."
What church is that and where abouts...you can be general.
It surprises me.
A full education from all sides is a good thing, imo.
It is important to note that Jesus, the man, isn't myth. (One minister in our faith referring to him in the very grounded manner, "Rabbi Yeshua bar-Yusef".) A prophetic leader did preach love and acceptance. What is myth is that which Paul and others built up around that kernel of truth. (The most convincing lies are those hidden within truth.)
The understanding that most of the supernatural aspects of the New Testament were fiction goes back to the very beginning of Christianity. For example, the Arians split from Christendom over the issue of the Trinity, a fantastical interpolation which became common lore only after the Council of Nicea. There were similar schisms over other corruptions such as those pertaining universal salvation (i.e., versus "the Select"). While history is written by the victors (and in this case, that's the Christians), it isn't necessarily an accurate portrayal.
Unlike those who subscribe to the Pauline mythology as if it were truth instead of just parable, we understand that revelation is not sealed. While the Bible, both Old and New Testament, remain wonderful sources of teaching parables, so do the teachings of Buddhist mystics, and the stories passed down through American Indian verbal tradition.
Even if the NT is nothing but fiction, it is still amazing.
Well, I don't personally believe the entirety of the New Testament (or, of course, the Old Testament) can be viewed as 100% accurate and valid history (though they both clearly contain some history of actual people, places and events.)
But to me, that is not the point. That parts of the OT are obviously mythology, and parts of the NT have been wildy addended and edited doesn't in any way diminish the worth of The Bible and its messages to us.
The Bible is perhaps the most profound, majestic, mysterious and beautiful product of the human mind and heart anywhere in the world throughout history.
I do not happen to believe literally in much of The Bible, and to be truthful, I do not believe in the resurrected, divine Jesus, but the foundational stories of The Bible and The Gospels--human failings, human emotions, our relationship to the world, each other and The Divine (whatever that may be or however a person chooses to view it), forgiveness, sacrifice, redemption, salvation, etc. are so deeply ingrained in us, and speak so deeply to me, that I constantly find value and wisdom every time I open The Bible, which is frequently.
I would point out, though, that I find a lot of wisdom and beauty in the scriptures and holy texts of all religions.
The Bible is perhaps the most profound, majestic, mysterious and beautiful product of the human mind and heart anywhere in the world throughout history.
Really? As a work of literature I have to give the bible a D-
Some parts are really amazing. The Song of Solomon is solid, but many of the less quoted books are almost gibberish. Revelation is nonsensical.
The four gospels are not particularly compelling from the standpoint of literature. Being derivative of one another means that they are largely repetirive.
Many of the morals set forth by god are horrible. As an example, the entire book of job shows god to be a bit of a monster.
Christ is like a portal or a door to eternity. What sustains a person is the holy spirit...If you through the teachings of Christ allow the HOLY SPIRIT to enter you then you are a host to an entity that is God...and when God resides in your flesh he sustains you...You have to understand this concept...It is not enough to say "I accept Christ as my personal savior" (I always thought that phrase was shallow).....You must open yourself up - let the old YOU die...and allow something new to enter your being...that is being born again....as for eternal life...not everyone wants it and God forces it upon no one...oddly God is very very polite and does not enter you unless invited....it is a free will issue...Anyway that is what I have learned - God can become flesh in YOU.
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