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Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish carpenter that was born about 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, which is now a Palestinian city located in the central West Bank about 10 kilometers south of Jerusalem. Over the course of a very short period of time (about a year) Jesus developed a large following as a miracle worker and religious teacher. He was publicly executed by crucifixion around the year 35, and many millions believe the historical narrative that he was raised from the dead after three days in a tomb, and later ascended into the heavens.
Below is an English translation of one of Jesus' very famous outdoor lectures, which was widely shared by his disciples that were present, and eventually written down circa 70-90.
If you take 5-10 minutes to read this sermon, then you will know what being a Christian is actually supposed to mean.
I like to read this first thing in the morning, immediately followed by a few minutes of meditation where I sit quietly listening. I would not expect everything in the reading to speak to you, but I believe something will, as is always the case for me.
Excerpted the Gospel of Matthew - Chapters 5-7
The Beatitudes
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
The Law and the Prophets
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Concerning Anger
“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Concerning Adultery
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
Concerning Divorce
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Concerning Oaths
“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Concerning Retaliation
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
Love for Enemies
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Concerning Almsgiving
“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Concerning Prayer
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Concerning Fasting
“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Concerning Treasures
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Sound Eye
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Serving Two Masters
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Do Not Worry
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Judging Others
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
Profaning the Holy
“Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
Ask, Search, Knock
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
The Narrow Gate
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.
Concerning Self-Deception
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’
Hearers and Doers
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
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Wtf is that doing here?
The whole thing makes sense only if you have blind faith in an after-life in the "kingdom of heaven".
So if one does not believe, i.e. one cannot have 'faith' in something that is devoid of reason, one is not blessed? What's that mean? Straight to hell? It sounds kind of like the current global ponzi financial-economic system. Only with full blind faith in the system will you get the (illusory) 'wealth effect'.
Blind Faith? Not a chance for me. Religion? Not a fan. I find it amazing just how many "Christians" don't understand faith or the legitimacy of a Biblical faith which is anything but blind. There are so many passages in the Old Testament that are archaeologically verifiable and written hundreds or more years before Christ. Start with Leviticus 23. This passage covers the LORD's appointed times with man and lay out his redemptive plan for man. They are spring and fall feasts to be celebrated at specific dates/times on Jewish calendar. What are the odds that Jesus fulfilled to the day the Spring feasts? One Messiah two comings...the fall feasts are yet to come. To any objective and unbiased mind not married to a preexisting paradigm this should produce at least an investigative curiosity. What about Daniel 9, Malachi and so many other scriptures? I could go on but here's a tidbit:
1) Passover (Leviticus 23:5) – Pointed to the Messiah as our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) whose blood would be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover at the same hour that the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal that evening (John 19:14).
2) Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6) – Pointed to the Messiah's sinless life (as leaven is a picture of sin in the Bible), making Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus' body was in the grave during the first days of this feast, like a kernel of wheat planted and waiting to burst forth as the bread of life.
3) First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10) – Pointed to the Messiah's resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was resurrected on this very day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to him in 1 Corinthians 15:20 as the "first fruits from the dead."
4) Weeks or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:16) – Occurred fifty days after the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and pointed to the great harvest of souls and the gift of the Holy Spirit for both Jew and Gentile, who would be brought into the kingdom of God during the Church Age (see Acts 2). The Church was actually established on this day when God poured out His Holy Spirit and 3,000 Jews responded to Peter's great sermon and his first proclamation of the gospel.
The first chapter of Isaiah is big--- Isa 1:18 ..."come let us reason together".... God does not expect blind faith either. What's sad is you won't get true evidential apologetics in most churches in America these days. Many to most churches are clubs or more interested in business and donations. Religion?...no thanks. Blind faith?...there are religions for that.
He wasn't Jewish, He was Judean.
Sorry Quantum, you got a downvote. Whether you believe or not, the Bible is one of the great books of history, and like all great books has some real nuggets of wisdom.
There are two pieces of news that would be completely earth shattering. One is the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and the other is the existence of the supernatural world. God, the devil, ghosts, demons, etc. etc. ad nauseam, that is all part of the supernatural world. We have frickin' cameras everywhere, why have we not captured some reasonable evidence of the existence of the supernatural world? Why, because most likely, it does not exist except in our very fertile imaginations. Nevertheless, the Bible has some really great suggestions which one ignores at one's peril. For example: YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON. You could just as easily say that as you cannot serve integrity and mammon.
In case you haven't noticed, the excesses of high finance is wrecking our world.
There have been millions of experiences of people with the supernatural, but usually the media will not help us find out about the good ones. Try this: Miracles in Times Square, New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOCE--KFaVw
There have been millions of experiences of people with the supernatural, but usually the media will not help us find out about the good ones. Try this: Miracles in Times Square, New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOCE--KFaVw
If you want to see proof that Jesus is alive, take a look at this video of miracles being done by the power of Jesus in Times Square, New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOCE--KFaVw
You don't have to have blind faith. You can watch the video above to start with, then you can go to one of the events, or get in touch with someone at one of these websites:
www.thelastreformation.com (Check out the Pioneer School to learn how to do these miracles yourself. I have watched all 20 videos and they have transformed my life. I have experienced more miracles since that time.)
www.thelastreformationusa.com
See also this video for some very good teaching on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=potfpJ6pPpI
There is also an amazing movie produced by Art Thomas, called "Paid in Full", available on Vimeo. But you have to rent or buy it.
I don't believe in any sort of afterlife.
But these are good words, wise words; and I can see that the world would be a better place if I and others lived like this.
Except if your a woman. Re-read it. I fucking hate religion. Truly.
John 8:7
Whatever.
Here, read this: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-05/guest-post-majesty-mindfulness#...
Re "The whole thing makes sense only if you have blind faith in an after-life in the "kingdom of heaven"." :
Yes, if you don't believe the house exists then you will never bother looking for it.
If you are driving 100mph towards a cliff and ignoring all warning to slow down then you WILL go over that cliff. Your lack of faith will not save you.
While we're on the subject of faith:
The Wright brothers did not have to wait for tribal Africans to believe in aeroplanes before they built one.
People didn't have to believe in viruses before they got sick.
Electricity did not wait for us to believe in it before it existed.
Every one has a plan until they get punched in the face. (Whoops! Sorry, the momentum carried me away there).
You wonder why a good little atheist like you will end up in hell? By default. The true believers will be in heaven. You'll be elsewhere. Surrounded by like-minded individuals.
Hell starts on earth for a lot of people: The slimebag con artist who complains that the world is "dog eat dog" and "you can't trust anyone". Well, he duped all the good people so they have learnt to run away and hide from him. So all he is left with is like-minded people.
The fighter who beats the crap out of everyone and can only get jobs beating the crap out of everyone. "Why am I surrounded by scumbags?"
Even if the angels decided to put up with you and let you into heaven, could you handle it? Cue the old joke about "Well, if I can't drink and fight and fuck, and I have to sit on a boring old cloud all day playing crappy music on a stupid harp then I'm not interested in going." Except that joke doesn't do my question justice. If you want to live in a clean home, you have to clean it. If you don't want your car to break down then you have to maintain it. If you want to be big and strong then you have to maintain the right diet and exercise regime. You want to sit on the couch all day, drink beer and watch TV? Obesity, lethargy and heart attack here we come!
Enjoy your lack of faith. But don't think it will excuse you from the truth.
The good book is out there if you want to read it. But many people can't read. If God did exist, what would he do? And why? Feel free to answer those questions any way you like. Just don't expect God to put aside his infinite knowledge just so he can fit inside your little box of what you think he should do.
Apart from that, sorry for wasting your precious time. You'd better get back to making the most of what is left of your life.
I fucking hate religion. Truly.
Yeah, Jesus was pretty pissed about a few things too.
The good little atheists end up in hell because they choose hell. It's where their creator isn't.
Just don't forget to put the money in the basket when it comes around. Thaaaaanks.
I thought I addressed that here somewhere. If that is all you can see then you are right to walk away.
Don't listen to the braggart at the pub. Look for the guy with the trophies. What trophies? You'd better find out what the trophies look like. Or you'll find the wrong guy.
Anyone remember this guy? He called the bluff that we are all supposed to call.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bogucki
I must say, the wiki description omits a lot of the media presentation from all them years ago. You may need to talk to those who remember.
Edit: Maybe this link is better:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/201007/programs/DO0841H002D2010-07-0...
A complete shaming of Wall Street behavior and Bankster idolatry.
Oh yeah?
Wallstreet success is a function of the people "turning the other cheek"
...and our warring, whoring, and worrying about fads and fashions.
"Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you."
Looks like .gov and the fed are in complete agreement with these statements. I guess that that explains the FSA and 200 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
I believe it means give of your own free will, which is a very important difference between charity and government entitlements. There is a commandment about stealing that is part of The Law.
The retaliation thing does not flow so well with the fight club theme either.
Since we don't have a Jesus FB page or any instagram posts by him maybe we shuld just sum it up by saying something like...we are all here for a reason, we have no ability to comprehend what that reason is or what happens when we are gone, so do your best to live a happy life and treat your fellow man/woman with respect.
Why the need to follow (and more likely create) figures from so long ago that have had so many people killed in their names?
Not going to comment on the fight club theme, but it's refreshing to see something like this article on here, and I can see from the up arrows on various comments that I'm not the only one that likes it. I agree with the first part of your conclusion (we are all here for a reason) but not the second part (no ability to find out). The problem is that our opinions are often formed by what we are taught or by people around us, and often we think that our way of thinking is pretty good. But just because we believe it and feel good about it for the moment does not mean it is true. If you don't take the time to investigate the claims and teaching of Jesus, you may never find out that they are true. Jesus, as the Creator of the Universe (nothing was made without Him--John 1:3), has the right to set all the rules, and He has done just that. Do you need any evidence? Just look around you. Everything you see around you is made by Him or from raw materials that He created.
But Jesus is not responsible for everything that happens. He gave man a free choice to do good or evil, and furthermore, there is someone called the devil, and his ultimate strategy is to do bad things and have God get the blame for them. From his perspecitve, pretty brilliant, right? Something like a false flag attack? A lot of us know about those... They happen in the spiritual dimension also.
From the Amplified Version, John 7:16-17
(16) Jesus answered them by saying, My teaching is not My own, but His Who sent Me.
(17) If any man desires to do His will (God's pleasure), he will know (have the needed illumination to recognize, and can tell for himself) whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from Myself and of My own accord and on My own authority.
In other words, to know if it's true or not, you have to be willing to do it. Doesn't make sense to you? It doesn't have to! When you set the rules for the Universe, you don't have to be constrained by what makes sense to others. Jesus is the ultimate Man--He doesn't care what you think!!!! He only cares about what His Father wants. Since you can't beat Them, you better join them! It's the best decision you'll ever make.
God never offers to prove His existence. He just says, "I AM!"
"Why the need to follow (and more likely create) figures from so long ago that have had so many people killed in their names?"
Many adhere to beliefs and people that advocated those beliefs from long ago. For instance Darwin's survival of the fittest and gradual evolution theories from observations made (ostensibly) on Gallapagos Islands - that ultimately lead to the Darwin/evolutionary faith in such scientifically specious ideas like the Big Bang theory, that is disproven in part or in whole by a simple review of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics related to closed systems. But whether we have a young earth, or old earth - who really cares - the question is how and why do we have this habitable place?
Also the integration of the complex systems of the human body should make us pause and wonder how such a design just took place...
If you consider yourself rational and scientific, and don't ask these questions, my question is why not? Even Richard Dawkins has discussed the anti-matter that scientists postulate about quarks. What is that?
Fair to say that life itself is pretty mysterious. So why all the brow beating of those with faith - when such is the case?
Now, as has been opined clearly above - religion is another matter. I detest religion, for its sake, also.
Fonz nailed it.
re "Why the need to follow (and more likely create) figures from so long ago that have had so many people killed in their names?" :
What did Jesus say? What did Jesus do? So why are some of his followers violent? Who do you believe - the man with the trophies or the braggart at the pub? The man at the pub. Because his voice is loud and you're at the pub. Meeting the guy with the trophies involves getting out of bed in the morning and wandering down to the race track.
We want to believe the guy with the 97 Rolls Royces because we too want 97 Rolls Royces. But does what he practice match what he preaches? If you met a homeless, unemployed man on a park bench, would you believe anything he told you? If he said, "Sell all your crap and give the money to the poor (i.e. someone ELSE) and then follow me", would you? Far easier to watch the shiny haired suit on the TV that says, "Money is evil so you'd better give it all to me!" and then go back to work the next day.
Jesus said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened." Jesus don't need no stinking Facebook. He don't even need the Bible - though if he thinks that is what you need then he'll give you one - "Ask and you shall ..." How does that correlate with the Godless masses on the other side of the world with their heathen practices? I don't know. But Jesus said ...
There's that damn faith showing up again. Well, I don't understand everything about Fluid Dynamics either but I still jump in aeroplanes. So I'm not too fussed about it.
P.S. Sorry for sounding like a prick in that last paragraph. I can't imagine it being a satisfactory answer.
Good question, Fonz. I don't know the answer. Empirically speaking, I do know many more people, such as myself, that have actually experienced a spiritual awakening, than people that have actually killed in the name of God.
Does Jesus have the monopoly on spiritual awakenings or can someone come the conclusion that I stated and be considered awakened as well?
Jesus doesn't want an awakening, He wants to get rid of everything bad in your life so He can make it totally pure, and so that you can love others enough to die for them. This life is very short. In a few years, things will be different for all of us, and then what is going to matter?
You appear to believe that Jesus was "about" some New Age sense of a "spiritual awakening." The only spiritual awakening about which Jesus cared was that men understand that they must have faith in Him in order to be saved. Any other "spiritual awakening" deals with the material world (e.g., transcendental meditation leading to some notion of inner peace and Nirvana), and is not truly of spiritual nature. Such is purely material. So, no, there is no other true spiritual awakening. Only in Christ can the spirit be awakened, the light shine, the door be opened. Only in Christ is there ETERNAL salvation.
What so many people--many well intended--miss is that Jesus was not merely a teacher, a Middle East Buddha of some kind. He IS God. Indeed, the Alpha and the Omega. He was before the world existed. He is the Word made Flesh. He is God. He is God in human flesh. He lived, taught, died, was resurrected, and ascended. He is not about inner peace today, on this Earth. He is not about somehow finding a way to be happy, contented, and brotherly. He came because He knew Man could not live eternally unless He took on Man's sins and died and defeated Satan and eternal damnation for Man.
So again, no, your worldly awareness that you can be nice to someone and find inner peace is not a spiritual awakening (unless it opens your heart to allow the Grace of God through the Holy Spirit to save you).
Watauga,
You truly "get it", and your post was to help those who have "ears to hear" to see the light. I am also grateful to HH for posting the essence of wisdom and the only wisdom found on this terminal planet of ours.
In answer to the naysayers, Christ did not teach the religion of man; who invariably makes void the word of God. Instead he taught us how to live life loving God in the individual realities we find ourselves in. His strongest criticisms was against the Pharisees and Saudducees which represented the organized "religion" of the times.
I fucking hate religion. Truly.
Truly...
But you sure do love your F word. My understanding of your favorite word is it had its origin in religion. Fornication Under Carnel Knowledge.
I Love Religion. Truly.
And at the risk of throwing pearls before swine, Christianity has had more to do with elevating women from the status of chattel to equality in the sight of law than Lincoln had in proclaiming emancipation.
jmo.
Thanks for the AM read HH.
I don't normally swear, but when someone espouses a philosophy where I am doomed to torture forever, I kinda get worked up. Not that I believe him, of course.
Are the authorities bad for creating prisons? (not talking about FEMA camps) Prisons are designed to punish evil doers--if you are kind to your fellow man and live a decent life, you usually don't have to go to prison. Do Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, or Castro deserve any punishment when they die? Or should they be rewarded with good things for all eternity? Would you respect a judge that overlooks evil and pardons the man that just killed your daughter without any punishment at all? God, being the perfect judge, cannot overlook ANY evil. But He has made the way to change you from the inside out and make you love others TRULY!!!
"I don't normally swear..."
Yes you do.
And now, you're showing us that you're a liar as well.
when someone espouses a philosophy where I am doomed to torture forever, I kinda get worked up...
I can understand the sentiments, and like you say, it won't matter if it's not true. (Whether you believe it or not is actually irrelevent.) But I think you may be looking at it upside down. The message of Christ is individual guilt now has a way of being dealt with that allows for its elimination, not just a rolling over.
That, by the way is precisely why this message is so appropriate in its relationship to the fed and other central bank policies. When the best thing nations like Argentina have to look forward to is a future where credit markets will open up and bestow their populace with more borrowed wealth to further indebt the nation to moneychangers, something's terribly askew.
jmo.
No, you do not have to believe in Jesus to be spiritually awakened. In fact, following the dogma of any religion holds you back from true spiritual awakening, in my opinion. The problem is how do you define spiritual awakening and measure to what degree you are awakened? How do you know you are on the right path? This is the second time I am quoting this article, but this is one of the best pieces I have read on ZH in a long time: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-05/guest-post-majesty-mindfulness#...
P.S., I also find a lot of interesting information in the stories of near-death experiencers. I suggest reading about them and watching videos of people's experiences and stories. The more you do, the more I think you begin to see what this world is about.
I think one of the signs of a spiritually awakened person is that they understand universal free will and do not see any reason to argue for or against or promote one belief system over another. This includes religion, forms of governement, scientific theory, politics, anything you can imagine that people will kill each other over. If you can disconnect yourself from the system and for a brielf period of time accept that everything is perfect as is, then I think you are awakened.
In what way is such an "awakening" spiritual in nature? If you define "spiritual" as some aspect of the material world in which a human mind finds a way to "disconnect from the system" then sure, you can call such a "spiritual awakening." I cannot accept that sort of definition. Then again, words lost meaning decades ago, and we can make up definitions to fit our material needs as easily as we can lie and deceive about everything else.
I cannot define it or measure it in terms that others will accept or agree with nor can I, like you, accept what others try to tell me it is. I can't even define it or measure it to the satisfaction of myself. The disconnect thing I mentioned is a concept that for me is just a small piece of what I think it means to be to be awakened.
Spiritual awakenings occured before 35 AD, just as they occured before 1952. There have been many testimonies about the Truth over time but it has always existed before them. Is the Truth for you? Do you want peace in your heart?
question is: what is "awakened"? very few people in the Old World even understand the term. as such, it's an astonishing small part of humanity that even heard of that
if you read the Sermon of the Mount, you'll doubt strongly that the author would ever ask anybody to kill anybody else, particularly in his name
Well then lets just call it a big whoops.
I grew up in a catholic family. Heard all the sermons. I identify with buddhism probably more than anything. But in the absence of empirical evidence I just choose to wake up and do my best to be a good person. It's amazing how not hard it is to do.
"It's amazing how not hard it is to do." Congratulations. It is certainly great to try. All of us should.
You may have heard some sermons, but certainly you did not hear all. And, more importantly, your remarks here make me wonder how well you listened (or how well they were taught).
Buddhism is a wonderful material option. One can refocus outside of self, find inner peace, meditate. . . but Buddhism, ultimately, is about "saving oneself," and it is very difficult to imagine anyone being good enough, smart enough, or nice enough to do that, even if those were what salvation was all about.
lol. then perhaps you are, among other things, a... good product of a good environment? then roots are important. I wrote something about it this morning, here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-05/guest-post-majesty-mindfulness#...
a big whoops ;-)
seems to me people are good or bad. unfortunatly we are civilized and horse thieves have more rights than your right to the horse they stoll from you and are sitting on. call sal, ha...
Sounds like my grandpa summed things up well enough when he said "nobody likes an asshole".
I don't know. I don't believe so. Sit quietly, read the above sermon in a private space, ask the question, and listen to your heart.
I do know that here are many Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindi, and every type of person that have claimed to experience a spiritual awakening.
This may be interesting for you: We Agnostics.