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.)
