The Message Of Jesus

[VonNoble]

I have been coming to this Forum (which I value highly) since 2003. I cannot recall ever seeing a single thread debating the merit of the overall message of Jesus.

Sort of interesting to me that most the thoughts attributed to Christ are not much of an issue.

Mostly the words seem to be fairly well regarded by all.

So the majority of the debate between believers and slightly different believers.......between believers and nonbelievers......between the clergy and their congregations...between believers and the government.....between the message and the realities of application of that message lies elsewhere....not in the actual message.

The greatest commandment (forsaking all other details) is; to love.

If I as a non-Christian can respect the message as valid for all.... isn't it time at the start of this new year - to put away childish things as it were...and have unification that the vast majority of Christ-beleivers are no different than any other believers. They are trying to get it right. And like all of us - some have off days and some get confused and very few truly want to do anything more than walk their path with beauty?

Is that an "amen" moment for all? Seems like it would be a good way to start the new year as an inclusive, respectful ULC Forum.

There is so much wisdom here - what does it hurt to affirm all - especially the group I have noted over ten years to take a few undeserved lumps along the way.

Von

[BrDevon]

Happy New Year, and God bless you for saying something in a way that makes more sense than how I could have put it.

It does follow that if the majority of Christians are following some translation of the Bible and trying to acknowledge the message of Jesus, then the majority of our differences would arise from that condition known as being human. I have learned as I age that I should be less concerned with the need to be "right" and more concerned with the need to be reverent.

I look to the examples we are given in the Bible of how we are told Jesus lived: let's face it - some of the folks Jesus hung out with would probably not be the most welcomed visitors if they showed up in church next Sunday. Yet, He loved all people, because they were gifts from the Creator, His Father (note, these are my own beliefs, and come from a very biblically based perspective. I respect that not all share this path). Would you want to sit next to a leper? Yeah... me either. But the Lord did.

I remember a "fun" little exercise the pastor of the church where I attend did one Sunday. We had someone visit a service, and not knowing the congregation, they sat where they could be comfortable and see the service. Unfortunately, they sat where a regular member of the congregation usually sits. This is one of those "what would you do" moments? Does one welcome the newcomer and make them feel warm and comfortable or does one act coldly because the stranger is in "his/her seat"? The pastor quickly assessed the situation and without directly stating the purpose of the exercise, he had everyone stand, then move to a seat where they had never sat before. If you normally sit with your family or friends, sit somewhere else with someone you may have never spoken with or at least not recently. He then went on to tie in a message on whether we are ambassadors welcoming others to God's house or whether we fashion ourselves as gatekeepers who do not allow others in. I can't speak for others, but I know when I face the day of Judgement that I believe will come to me, the last thing I want on the record is for my Savior to inform me that I kept anyone from coming to Him.

This forum, for me, is very much one church I attend (yes, in the cyberworld, but since the majority of our membership is actually human, the internet is simply a vehicle for us to communicate effectively over greater distance). I have always appreciated the forward thinking gift that Kirby Hensley gave us in a Church that only asks one thing of us: to do that which is right. Not one of us is told what to believe to be a part of the ULC. We are free to embrace or reject any path before us. But it comes at a cost: if we ask for respect to walk our path or lack thereof, we should also guard the right of each of our brothers and sisters to walk their path (or not). We are not asked to agree with every person who comes to the ULC. Since we are so divergent, I do not honestly believe it would be possible for each of us to agree with all the different beliefs that make up our collective being. But can we honestly say to ourselves we are not glaring at someone if they sit "in the wrong pew"? Do we extend a hand in welcome, or a fist?

Each of us has the power to make the ULC "our church" and to make others want to be here. I'm Brother Devon... welcome to our forum.

[Brother Kaman]

I have been coming to this Forum (which I value highly) since 2003. I cannot recall ever seeing a single thread debating the merit of the overall message of Jesus.

Sort of interesting to me that most the thoughts attributed to Christ are not much of an issue.

Mostly the words seem to be fairly well regarded by all.

So the majority of the debate between believers and slightly different believers.......between believers and nonbelievers......between the clergy and their congregations...between believers and the government.....between the message and the realities of application of that message lies elsewhere....not in the actual message.

The greatest commandment (forsaking all other details) is; to love.

If I as a non-Christian can respect the message as valid for all.... isn't it time at the start of this new year - to put away childish things as it were...and have unification that the vast majority of Christ-beleivers are no different than any other believers. They are trying to get it right. And like all of us - some have off days and some get confused and very few truly want to do anything more than walk their path with beauty?

Is that an "amen" moment for all? Seems like it would be a good way to start the new year as an inclusive, respectful ULC Forum.

There is so much wisdom here - what does it hurt to affirm all - especially the group I have noted over ten years to take a few undeserved lumps along the way.

Von

Amen.

[Jonathan H. B. Lobl]

To my understanding, Christ has the same meaning as Buddha. Just as anyone can become a Buddha -- anyone can become a Christ.

[mark 45]

and in some schools of buddhism,said"christ "is one of many buddhas.

as an atheist,i have no problems with the teachings of universal love that are alleged to have been from him.but i have a major problem with the beliefs of some of his"followers".

[Jonathan H. B. Lobl]

and in some schools of buddhism,said"christ "is one of many buddhas.

as an atheist,i have no problems with the teachings of universal love that are alleged to have been from him.but i have a major problem with the beliefs of some of his"followers".

To my understanding; much of what we now know as Christianity was created by Paul -- not the historic Jesus -- if there even was a historic Jesus.

[Zequatanil]

I actually like this explanation--it is from

http://www.jeshua.net/

Jeshua, Jesus and Christ-

The Christ energy that I came to offer you stems from a collective energy that has gone beyond the world of duality. This means that it recognizes the opposites of good and bad, light and dark, giving and taking, as the aspects of one and the same energy. Living from the reality of Christ consciousness means that there is no struggle with anything. There is a complete acceptance of reality. This absence of struggle or resistance is its main characteristic. Since Christ (or the Christ energy) recognizes the extremes of all thoughts, feelings and actions as the manifestation of the one divine energy, there can be no duality, no judgment in the way ‘he’ (the christed energy) experiences reality.

Let’s give an example here. When the Christ in you watches an armed conflict between people, her heart weeps for the fate of the beaten one, but she does not judge. She feels the pain and humiliation with each blow, and her heart is filled with compassion, but she does not judge. She watches the offender, the one with the gun, who has power, who inflicts pain, and she feels……..the hatred and bitterness inside of him, and her heart grieves, but she does not judge. The heart of Christ embraces the whole spectacle with deeply felt compassion, but without judgment, for she recognizes all aspects as experiences she has gone through herself. She herself has lived out all of these roles, of offender and victim, of master and slave, and she has come to the understanding that she is neither of them, but that which underlies both.

The Christ energy has passed through all the energies of duality. It identified itself now with the dark, then with the light, but through it all, something remained the same. And when she realized this “sameness” underlying all her experiences, her consciousness obtained a new kind of unity: it was “christed”. The christed energy was the energy I came to offer you.

Who I was is quite difficult to explain. I will try so by distinguishing between three ‘identities’: Jeshua, Jesus, and Christ. I, the one who is now speaking, am Jeshua. I was the human being who carried the Christ energy in my incarnation on Earth. This energy may also be called Christ.

Jesus - in my terminology - is the name for the Godlike man who was the result of the infusion of Christ energy into the physical and psychological reality of Jeshua.

This Christ energy was poured into Jeshua from spheres of Light which are - from your standpoint - located in your future. Jesus was the man who performed miracles and put forward prophesies. Jesus was an emissary from the spheres of light, incarnated in me. In fact, he was my future self. Jesus was, from my perspective as the man Jeshua living on earth, my future self, who had become one with the Christ energy. Because the Christ in him was clearly present and visible to many people around him, he appeared to them as divine.

I, Jeshua, was a man of flesh and blood. The unique and to some extent artificial aspect of the “Jesus-construction” was that I received his/my Christed self from the future. I did not become christed on the basis of my past and the experiences therein. I did not achieve enlightenment in a natural way, but by means of an intervention from outside so to speak, by an infusion of Christ energy from the future. I had agreed to play this role before I began this lifetime. I agreed to be ‘overshadowed’ by the Jesus presence, as an act of service, and also because of a deeply felt longing to get to know the reality of my deepest potentials.

Jesus, my future self from the spheres of light, had become one with the Christ energy. Yet he did not represent the entire energy of Christ here on earth, for this energy encompasses more than Jesus. He is one part or cell of it.

Christ or the Christ energy (it is more like an energy field than a personal entity) is a collective energy which has many aspects or “cells”, which are cooperating in such a way that they function as one “organism”. All cells make a unique contribution to the whole and experience themselves as individuals while being part of the whole as well. One might call these several aspects of the Christ energy angels or arch-angels. It is the hallmark of angels that they have a sense of individuality as well as a high-degree of selflessness, which allows them to feel one with collective energies and be joyfully in their service.

http://www.jeshua.net/

Edited January 5, 2013 by Quetzal

[emalpaiz]

I consider myself a Universlist trained in a Neo-Vedic Center. When you walk into the Morivií Hermitage -- a very small shrine in the world of shrines -- you will find a very small altar dedicated to three Avatars: Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ, and Sri Bhagavan Krishna. I consider them to be my elder brothers in the path. The teachings of Jesus Christ have had a profound influence in the life of many people. His teachings have influenced my life in a very profound way, even though I do not claim to be a Christian.

Hermano Luis

Moriviví Hermitage

Edited January 5, 2013 by emalpaiz

[Reverend V]

According to the New Testament Jesus' message was simple. It was not some metaphysical new age message like some try to imply. It was essentially Jewish apocalypticism. He was telling people the Kingdom was near; in some instances it was already here. He taught the things present in this reality are not as important as what awaits in the next reality which he called the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught compassion, forgiveness, love and charity but his main message was the Kingdom.

†?†

Edited April 13, 2013 by ReverendV

[Atwater Vitki]

First off Von, "Amen" to what you said above.

......the understanding that she is neither of them, but that which underlies both.

The Christ energy has passed through all the energies of duality. It identified itself now with the dark, then with the light, but through it all, something remained the same. And when she realized this “sameness” underlying all her experiences, her consciousness obtained a new kind of unity: it was “christed”. The christed energy was the energy I came to offer you.

Who I was is quite difficult to explain. I will try so by distinguishing between three ‘identities’: Jeshua, Jesus, and Christ. I, the one who is now speaking, am Jeshua. I was the human being who carried the Christ energy in my incarnation on Earth. This energy may also be called Christ.

Jesus - in my terminology - is the name for the Godlike man who was the result of the infusion of Christ energy into the physical and psychological reality of Jeshua.

This Christ energy was poured into Jeshua from spheres of Light

Suzanne, what you quoted above is nearly identical to the material I've read on such things as the "Collective Consciousness", "The Source", "The All" etc...the things I mention frequently which are all encompassing of the Trinity, "God", pantheon and the many nomenclatures of Spiritual thought.

This is precisely why I do not believe, the path is as important as the message of any given belief structure, either. Religious and secular beliefs of exoteric and esoteric origins are purely the devices human-kind uses to describe this "christed energy". I've always found it to be a part of the "human condition" as to why there are so many arguments and debates over the path while nearly all seem to embrace the same constructs. Therefor, the only conclusion I can garner from such idiosyncrasies is that some humans wrongly believe themselves to be above "God".

Kind of silly, but ever so "Hu-man".

If we could, as Von said, "put away childish things", especially those of our own making, the message would indeed be the focus of discussions and our individual paths would not matter what-so-ever.

Excellent message of "Unity" Von, and well expressed by everyone.

Blessings of Peace,