AndrewX, would you be so kind as to share with me what you mean by "unequivocable and undeniable proof that Jesus was the true Messiah?" IMHO, the Messiah could never be an individual, but the collective in the People of Israel. The logic of this assertion is that the individual is born, lives his span of life, and eventually dies. Tell me, are we supposed to expect a new Messiah in every generation? Obviously not. The Messiah, according to the Scriptures cannot die but to remain as a People before the Lord forever, according to Jeremiah 31:35-37. Besides, the word Messiah in the Hebrew text means the Anointed One. And we have from Habakkuk 3:13 that he is the People of Israel. Anyways, if you prefer not to get down into the discussion about the real Messiah, at least, I expect you to answer my first question/request above.
Ben
Nope. I can't do for you, Ben, what you won't do for yourself. And this is the same reason why God would never
force the acceptance of a Savior upon
anyone. It's your choice, if you prefer, to reject the possibility. I sure don't care to try and
argue you out of it.
On the other hand, you seem open to the notion that Christ dwells
beyond the flesh - and perhaps you care nothing for this business of the
blood sacrifice of Jesus, which is not at all what Christianity is about anyway. The Christ that Christians will one day get to know (and some already do) can incarnate, or express Himself in the worlds of form ... when needed. And sure, that may occur every so often to demonstrate that God has not
abandoned us, as can definitely seem the case, incarnate here in the world of deepest matter and materialism.
But God is also accessible in the here and now, within every human heart, and that is the
Spark of Christ that slumbers, just waiting to
burst forth as new Life and new Hope ... equally (or in parallel) as the flowers shoot forth from the snow or the ground when warmed by the sunshine of spring - DRAWN toward Him by that same Power.
Christ dwells within, and this is the Christ Immanent. Christ is also Transcendent, and this is why a SAVIOR is necessary, to manifest to Humanity what each of us is called to BECOME ... and to Represent, in the flesh, what EACH of us will one day BE, assuming we stick to the
`straight and narrow,' as it is called. Nothing about narrow-mindedness is meant by that phrase, and the man who cannot accept that his GAY brothers and sisters are just as
loved by Christ (a play on the word `straight') is NO Christian.
Anyway, I have fairly specific beliefs about the
Personhood of Christ, so to speak, and Jesus (a different Soul) ... but those would best be aired on a different forum. You can find plenty of that, if you poke around.
What's important to me, and what I think you're saying, is that Christ was NOT limited to the body or person of Jesus of Nazareth. If that's the gist, then HEAR-HEAR!!!
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