August 20, 2001
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Christianity, Part II
A while back, I blogged about "What's Your Problem With Christianity?" The replies (25 of them in all) were, I thought, quite revealing.
- Three people had a problem with basic concepts of Christianity - that Jesus died for their sins because they were a sinner before they were born; that God seems violent; and the (sometimes) Christian belief that theirs is the only way to heaven.
- One person's answer wasn't clear to me.
- The other 21 people didn't have a problem with Christianity -- their beef was with Christians who have acted idiotic.
So according to this very unscientific study, 84% of the people have no real issue with Jesus. Jesus is widely accepted to have been a kind, loving individual that was more interested in spreading good than anything else.
So who, in your life, have you ever met that was the most "Jesus-like"? Was it someone in a church, or a guy down at the soup kitchen? Was it a missionary, or a nurse in a hospital?
I'm very, very interested in your replies, so please, be free with them!
- Three people had a problem with basic concepts of Christianity - that Jesus died for their sins because they were a sinner before they were born; that God seems violent; and the (sometimes) Christian belief that theirs is the only way to heaven.
Comments (25)
Believe it or not, the president of our company. The fairest, kindest, simplest man you'll ever hope to meet. He never judges, and he always has a kind word to say.
Strange as it may sound, my ex-wife's mom is one of the best people I have ever known. If I could elect anyone for Sainthood, it would be her. I just wish some of that had rubbed off on her daughter. -sigh-
well. quite honestly years ago when i was homeless and in florida, the people i spent time with down there equated me with jesus.
: )
the long hair and beard and starving look helped of course..
anyway..jesus is cool..him and buddha had the same message..which i think is interesting.
i think the popular image of jesus as a laid-back sweetheart is a little off the mark. he was a revolutionary and a trouble-maker, with normal human compulsions and emotions. (i don't mean that as anti-jesus or negative in any way.)
so, by that rationale, i've never met anyone like him -- someone who was willing to die for their convictions, religious or otherwise. i'm sure plenty of those people exist; i've just never met any.
Mowgli was here.
Absolutely, Grandpaboy! Jesus wasn't a pacifist. Check out what he did in the temple!
The whole blonde/blue image of Jesus is so bogus too... he was no doubt a swarthy-looking middle easterner!
At tomes, both my step-sons-in-law AND my husband resemble closely the stereotypical, popular, imagined visage of Jesus. I've met compassionate people, people who are willing to stand up for what they believe in, people who do the right thing for the right reason. But, I've never met anyone who died (or who was willing to die) for a seemingly worthless cause. In my opinion, the human race will never be worth the price Jesus paid. I'm just glad He doesn't see it that way.
i have never met anyone like Jesus...
A friend of mine at church.
I love grandpaboy's comment, and your reply, Sadzi, those are all points I bring up in religious discussions.
My most peaceful, saint-like companion is likely my friend Thom, who would slip his last five bucks into a stranger's back pocket and go hungry the rest of the week if he knew it would make their day.
A few women that I work with here are very wonderful... they are perfect examples of a Christian.. so much patience and love and understanding!!
My great-grandmother. She lived until just a couple of years ago. I have been blessed to have had a grandmother in my life, let alone a GREAT-grandmother.
Anyway, she was the kindest, most selfless person I have ever known.
But I do agree with grandpaboy. I don't think that's EXACTLY how Jesus was. I do think he was a rebel, dying for a cause.
The Duchess
A guy who I was mean to, who was nice to me for years afterwards and is still nice to me whenever I run into him - and never mentions that I was mean to him, at all, ever.
There was a guy, whose name I can mention for reasons I'll explain later, that I met a few years ago for the first time. Since then, he's been a sort of constant companion, even though we hardly ever met or spoke. One of those profoundly-influencing people you meet and suddenly your life has a new context. He taught me to pray, something my parents' Methodism couldn't do.
He was what some folks call an 'Indian doctor.' The word 'shaman' gets used too much today, but that's what he was. He was part of the local Lummi tribe.
He died recently. It turns out that his spiritual tradition says: When someone dies, you share stories about them until the funeral ceremony, and then you don't speak their name for a year. This is so that the spirit can find its way back to that original place without being distracted by us humans and our ignorant ways.
Anyway. I think he was a real embodiment of the Christ spirit -type thing, and I miss him a lot. Cuz I'm an ignorant human. But I won't say much more about him, because I've got a clue.
About 25 years ago I was involved in a nasty situation at an 'outback' hotel in remote North Queensland. I was staring down the barrel of a loaded rifle being held by a very angry and very drunk young man. An Indiginous Australian gentleman who's name I never learnt stepped between me and the 'gunman' and disarmed him.....there was no apparent thought for his own safety and the guy with the gun was WAY past being just crazy... that seemed a very Jesus-like act to me!
's funny. I have no doubts about the existence of Jesus and his reported actions. It's the 'religion' that humans have built around this man that gets to me. I wonder if Jesus arrived in downtown Sydney today, and carried out his miracles, would he still be seen as the son of God? Or if he appeared in 16th century Europe, would he have been burnt at the stake as a witch?
peace
I've always pictured Jesus as a basically good person, but no more a "Son of God" than you or I. I've never met any man or woman who has been as saintly as Jesus is purported to be. In my opinion, such a person is unlikely to exist.
My personal opinion of Jesus matches the portrayal of the "Son of God" in Final Fantasy Tactics (a video game. Heh.). He was a guy who wasn't very brave, but tried to do good things, and was used as a tool of various political and religious factions, even after his death. I'd have to agree that I have no problem with Jesus, it's his fanclub that pisses me off.
Hmm. I doubt a mere tool would be tortured and put to death for someone else's political or religious games. Try it sometime. And not just him, but his followers as well. But... the fact is, He died for it... nothing changes the fact that He is either a madman, a liar, or really who He said He is.
And, to reply to GudKarma's thought... I've heard it said that every other religion says "follow this path to reach enlightenment," or "take this path to reach Nirvana" or whatever it may be; but Jesus was the only one who ever said that to reach eternity, you have to go through Him. That is the difference.
Here's an interesting thought, while we're kinda on the subject: isn't it the Koran that proclaims Jesus to be a prophet... and does not the Koran also say that everything a prophet says must be the truth? I thought that was funny.
A brother in our congregation. This dear man preformed our wedding ceremony. He has such patience . He has some physical disablities that are quite survere, but he never complains about the discomfort they must cause him. Such a giving person. He has a sense of humor that is delightful.
My ex-boyfriend's sister. She is the kindest, sweetest person I have ever met. She has a lot of faith in God and tries to live for God. I have never seen her be mean to anyone, she is constantly spreading happiness and is never in a bad mood.
A boy I used to wrok with. He didn't think very much of himself, but he was kind and humble and lived by what he believed.
Martin Luther King, jr. Ghandi.
Among people who don't have as much publicity and may not have been leaders in the same way, read the stories about VeryModern's grandfather, Henry who believed the only sin was to hurt people, and endeavored not to do that.
If Jesus wasn't like that (and I don't think we can rely on the bible to know what he was really like), he should have been.
In my early 20's, I was poor, misguided, frightened....and I put on a brave front determined to fool everyone (myself included.) A very kind hearted Seventh Day Adventist named Alice worked at a health food restaurant I frequented. (Big portions of food for little money.) She saw through my fascade. Soon she was bringing me food, calling me to see how I was and inviting me to stay at her home so she could 'heal me'....not with words of religious conversion...but with good food, and with hot and cold spas and with deep tissue rubs. Alice took me into her home and endeavored to treat me as a precious being. She treated me as though I were Jesus, all the while knowing I would not convert, knowing I was 'worldly' in comparison to her, knowing my path was different. In this ultimate giving of herself, in this rare ability to see the divine in me (and in others) and to honor it selflessly, I experienced the love of a person I've likened as close to Jesus anyone I've ever met.
Personally...I embrace the greater good of all religions. Admittedly I have an affinity for HH The Dalai Lama. On several occasions, when hunting for merchandise to use in my work I have had a strong attraction to indescript homely beads...yet despite my visual reluctance to purchase them, I could not resist the intense and overwhelming 'feel' they generated. Sensing 'content' was more important than 'appearance' I (on two seperate occasions) scooped them up and took them for purchase. On these two occasions I was informed the beads were blessed by HH The Dalai Lama, and the route of their journey was shared with me. They have an unmistakeable give-and-take energy I delight in. I also have a set of bells blessed by him and brought to me by a colleague who had audience with him in India years ago. Needless to say, his energy intrigues me, and I am spellbound by my ability to identify and sense it; to me he is a strong beacon. In terms of holy men...I find him to be the best modern day example.
Closest person I met to Jesus was my Dad's Mom... She was frail, but had a strong heart and soul, and had VERY strong convictions, and submitted herself completely to her Creator's will...
Whever I leave a comment, I read everyone else's first but I didn't want to be influenced by what everyone else had written, so I'm sacrificing my ritual comment-reading so you have an unbiased comment from me...
I think mine was a girl who volunteered at our university night line service. She was just an ordinary girl but brimming with compassion and kindness. There was nothing to pick her out from the crowd except for the way she made you feel. I suppose I think of Jesus in those terms, even though he was extraordinary... but to me, he was meant to be an ordinary man... just filled with the better qualities which human kind has to offer
I don't have a ready answer. My mom would be the closest that comes to mind right off. She's always been the most selfless, compassionate person I've known, but she still has her flaws.
I want you to know that I really respect everything you have to say, and I appreciate your comments, especially since you took the time to say them thoughtfully and tactfully. I still think you were missing the point somewhat on my rant. I believe, know in fact, that Jesus was a rebel, that He certainly displayed righteous anger, and was totally blunt in calling people what they were-- hypocrites, for example. I was trying to draw an analogy simply between the mission of His life and the different personalities manifested here on Xanga. There are many here who have tried to spread positive messages (which certainly do not exclude expressions of righteous anger), who are crucified, metaphorically speaking, by self-serving hypocrites who think only their message has truth. That's the analogy I was trying to draw.
Thanks again for the comments and the thought-provoking blog.