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Jesus Part II: The Two of Them?
Are You Seeing Double? Maybe...
“First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
The Mahatma Gandhi. . .
Hidden within the New Testament, you will find not one but two personages called Jesus. One is the Master Teacher; the other is the Master Ego. One is authentic, the other false. How can you tell which is which? By what each says. Here are but a few (paraphrased) examples.
Authentic: Do not condemn but stay open to all.
False: You will be judged harshly if you do not believe one certain way.
Authentic: Do not anger easily; love your enemies.
False: Those who don't believe the one certain way are children of the devil and your enemies. They deserve your attack if they will not accept your truth.
Authentic: God loves everyone equally, including those you may think of as evil, so be careful in your judgments.
False: God casts the disobedient into eternal fire--forever.
Authentic: All who love peace and also love each other are sons and daughters of God. Practice compassion.
False: There is only one Son of God. Everyone else is sinful and unworthy of God’s love. He cannot even look upon the world because of its sin.
Authentic: God forgives absolutely. There is no memory of wrongs.
False: If you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, you are lost forever; no forgiveness is possible.
Authentic: You are all expressions of God. There is no difference between male and female, free and slave, black or white, Jew or Gentile. God is Love.
False: Only believers in one certain way will be saved. Women should be silent, slaves should obey their masters, there are greater and lesser in the Kingdom. God seeks revenge against His enemies. Even the good people in other religions will burn in an eternal fire.
Authentic: God is Immanent Presence. “The Kingdom is within you.”
False: God is far off, apart, too holy to be a part of fallen creation.
You are, of course, free to accept the Jesus you choose, or to reject him out of hand. But if you elect to follow Jesus, choose wisely which one you will serve. Your daily experience of living--on all levels--depends on how well you discern the spirits. If you are at all aware, the choice will be easy.
"One man's theology is another man's belly laugh." Robert Heinlein
(This series will enlighten some, anger others, be of no interest to even more. No matter. My job is to lay it out as I see it. If you think I am going to hell for what I write here, so be it. I've heard that many times before. It didn't bother me in the past; it doesn't bother me now. There is no hell, no devil, no eternal punishment. Those who believe the Bible teaches all that simply have misunderstood the writings. The great theologians who believe it are wrong; if you believe it, you are wrong. But you see, that's OK. I'm not condemning you. You'll be fine. Me, too. Much love.)
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Thanks Richard.
Stick to your guns. You're doing fine. There will always be dogmatic and small minded people who think you should do as they do or else. Your experience of Jesus is as valid as anyone's. After all, it's supposed to be a personal relationship, right?
I stand with you in your journey.
It is so strange for me because I usually and pretty strong and centered in what I believe in but latley with all the crap that has been thrown at me I am teetering on if Jesus really existed or not and the Bible if Jesus really said the things that he did in that book or not. If Jesus didn't exist then who pulled me out of my body and told me that Everythng Is Going To Be OK? I truly think that he was that person--or my higher self, which would also be attached to something like Jesus as well. I think it is that what we said in my Cult Hub...the more you think you know it the less you know of it. Other people can see this and are using it as a tool to discredit my words around here in hubpages. It is very troubling at times because I do not know what is what and there are things that I do know in a fleeting moment. I am still on my journey, I guess just another part of that Long Winding Road.
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Hi! Somehow, I knew you would. Keep up the good stuff. You're a real asset.
That is how I read the Bible and I chose the Authentic.
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