Thomas said:
Why was Jesus required to die?
Man introduced death into the world, not God.
Only in Christian theology ...
Thomas said:
If God wanted to forgive our sins, he surely could have done so...
Thomas said:
It depends upon whether you rob God(1) or humanity(2) of its dignity:
1 If man willingly and knowingly sins, and God forgives, then man will soon arrive at the position that he can do just as he likes, cos he'll always be forgiven. Not long after that he'll spit in God's face just to prove the point. God becomes like a whipped dog, that no matter how much you beat, always slinks back for more punishment, BECAUSE HE IS LOYAL TO YOU.
2 If man willingly and knowlingly sins, and God forgives, then effectively man is absolved of all responsibility for his own actions, and if he is absolved of that which is evil, he is likewise absolved of that which is good. From that moment on his life has no purpose, no meaning, no value.
So God does want to forgive our sins, but for our sakes he cannot simply ignore them.
With the notion that a
forgiven man will
continue to sin simply because he finds that he
can be forigiven (and indeed,
is, even
before he asks) ... I disagree. The alternative, after all,
is the fear complex, which I think the church has kept in place, in order to maintain power ... yet which has
reduced the inherent dignity and self-worth of many a man
to practically nil. Indeed, it is
man that keeps crawling back, ever
whipped by his own conscience and by the berating chastisement of the clergy, yet all because
he has been told that he is unworthy. God, then, remains a demon, a threat,
the ultimate dispenser of doom whom and which must be propitiated ... if the man is to escape
eternal torment for his mistakes.
Thomas said:
without having his son and/or himself be killed in a horrible way.
Thomas said:
We chose the method, not God, and we elected to kill Jesus so, not God.
Absolutely. Yet, the record has yet to be set straight, and the facts are almost never presented in this light.
Thomas said:
The metaphysics and the symbolism are too involved to be discussed in a forum of this nature, but the principle point is that what happened on Golgotha happens every day, every waking moment ... we have a simple choice - one that He told us - either we carry the cross with him, or we're with the mob.
St. Paul:
"I die daily."
Thomas said:
Rather we make a virtue of our iniquity and say, "it's OK. I can work my own salvation, thanks."
The Buddha's last words:
Be a lamp unto your feet. Work out thy own salvation ... with diligence. Yet, often the response,
whining: I caaaaan't
You do it foooooor me. And thus, the abnegation of responsibility.
The shifting of the burden onto the shoulders of another. Yet
no one else, can carry our load. No one else, can assume responsbility for our errors, and our shortcomings. In our imaginations, alone ...
Thomas said:
If we really believed what we profess to believe, the churches would be packed.
G. K. Chesterton:
"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried."
Elvis, by the way,
was known to have had a copy of H.P. Blavatsky's
Secret Doctrine, which he read, studied, and cherished. The same is true of Albert Einstein, who also
said himself that he found certain inspiration and answers there. But then, both of these men - were rather open-minded ...
I agree that Elvis' career was on the decline long before his death, yet a legend he would have remained even if he had simply dwindled away, as many other rock stars have done. The contributions that Elvis made,
practically inventing a genre single-handed (others contributed, but
none quite so much as Elvis, it can easily be argued) ... could
never be negated, or undone, by his drug use, or other mistakes. Just as the musical contributions and innovations of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and others - cannot be disputed. At best, one can say,
"I don't like their music." Big deal.
Without the death of Jesus of Nazareth, I think Christianity might look a bit different. I don't think the purpose of Christ's coming
had much to do at all with the demonstration of life after death ... which is something
we will all experience, regardless of belief, faith, or lack thereof. Christ's Mission, if we consider what He sought to
emphasize, was about the
Mystical Birth within the human heart, which Buddhists know well as the
development, or emergence, of the Buddha nature - the cultivation of
Bodhichitta. Christ taught this, and many, many more doctrines that are found in Buddhism.
He also emphasized
purity - purity of life, purity of character, and a
nobleness, a
dignity, which would lead to greater Communion and a more intimate relationship with God. This, likewise, is not foreign to the Buddhist Dharma,
as emphasized in the Noble Eightfold Path. Nevermind the differences between Nirvana and "God," similarities are
also present. Those who would rather split hairs, and cling to semantics ... might occupy themselves
more with the
treading of that Path, and the proper embodiment of the lifestyle which Christ advocated - and then perhaps the
bliss, the heavenly rapture, that comes to them, might more closely resemble the
Buddha's Nirvana.
Had Jesus lived to be 80, things might have been different,
but this was surely unlikely given the political climate of the day, and also given the
disdain which his own people had for the revolutionary ideas he was preaching (
especially the Sanhedrin,
for whom Jesus was a great upset, a disruption, and a threat to the established order & authority). I consider it a great misfortune, and sadly - part of the
heavy karma which Jesus still labors tirelessly to mitigate ... that so much emphasis was placed on the
crucifixion. The emphasis should have been upon his
life, his works, and above all,
His Message. Yet, how much easier to glorify and deify, to worship and adore ... than to emulate,
which, after all - is the higest form of flattery ... and what the Master sought of us.
sighhhh ...
Love & Light,
andrew
