What do you personally think that Jesus taught and why does it matter now?

georgeingraham said:
I like the Gnostics view, past and present. Believing Jesus taught secret spiritual knowledge, or gnosis, revealing the divine spark within humanity and the way to escape the material world to return to a higher, true God. He provided a path not through faith, but through self-knowledge and spiritual enlightenment to overcome ignorance and materiality.
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I too value the transcendence aspect but feel there must be an adaptation to physical existence that includes our lives right here and now. I like the transcended AND Include formula.
 
Thomas said:
"In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain, neither praising it nor despising it, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge." BhagawadGita 2.57
But what of the spiritual world?

"But persons who possess neither faith nor knowledge, and who are of a doubting nature, suffer a downfall. For the skeptical souls, there is no happiness either in this world or the next." BhagawadGita 4.40

I'm not lecturing the BhagawadGita to you! I would not presume, nor do I know anywhere near enough, but like my own Scriptures, one can be selective with quotes ... and the text of 2.57 does say 'material world', which suggests a qualified world?

It may well be emphasis, in which case 'the material world' is all there is ... but it seems to suggest not ... at least my conviction is otherwise.
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I make no pretense to having any knowledge of the Gita’s original language. However, a web search of translations of the cited passage do not all agree that the term “material world” is contained therein.
 
Thomas said:
"In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain, neither praising it nor despising it, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge." BhagawadGita 2.57
But what of the spiritual world?

"But persons who possess neither faith nor knowledge, and who are of a doubting nature, suffer a downfall. For the skeptical souls, there is no happiness either in this world or the next." BhagawadGita 4.40

I'm not lecturing the BhagawadGita to you! I would not presume, nor do I know anywhere near enough, but like my own Scriptures, one can be selective with quotes ... and the text of 2.57 does say 'material world', which suggests a qualified world?

It may well be emphasis, in which case 'the material world' is all there is ... but it seems to suggest not ... at least my conviction is otherwise.
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BG 4.40 is an interpolation.
Yes, what we perceive is the illusory world, the world of 'maya'. There is another, the world of 'absolute truth', where nothing other than Brahman exists, the entity which constitutes all things in the universe. In which there are no Gods, so sons of God, no heaven, no hell, no judgment, no prophets, messengers or manifestations. Everything that exists in the universe, arose out of a small ball of plasma that existed at the time of Big Bang (as per the Standard Cosmological Model).
 
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otherbrother said:
I too value the transcendence aspect but feel there must be an adaptation to physical existence that includes our lives right here and now. I like the transcended AND Include formula.
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These lyrics from a song I wrote the other day
convey the value of both the transcendent (“not mere things”) and acceptance of the Maya we live in (“Here on the ground is where I’ll stay.”):

Your Wings

Thank you God, NOT for mere things,
but for the LOVE in Your offerings.
How vain and foolish our flesh clings,
‘til You grace us mortals with Your wings—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place
to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!


So much for my fairy tale.
Big dreams shattered where they fell.
Somehow, I’ve weathered this dry spell.
Those wings of Yours have served me well—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place.
Wings to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!

I don’t need to fly away.
Here on the ground is where I’ll stay
to do what You need me to do today,
those wings wrapped ‘round me as I pray—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place
to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!
 
otherbrother said:
These lyrics from a song I wrote the other day
convey the value of both the transcendent (“not mere things”) and acceptance of the Maya we live in (“Here on the ground is where I’ll stay.”):

Your Wings

Thank you God, NOT for mere things,
but for the LOVE in Your offerings.
How vain and foolish our flesh clings,
‘til You grace us mortals with Your wings—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place
to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!


So much for my fairy tale.
Big dreams shattered where they fell.
Somehow, I’ve weathered this dry spell.
Those wings of Yours have served me well—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place.
Wings to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!

I don’t need to fly away.
Here on the ground is where I’ll stay
to do what You need me to do today,
those wings wrapped ‘round me as I pray—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place
to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!
Click to expand...
Replying to myself again! Otherbrother’s other Darrell (my first name, same as the two brothers who had the same name—mother to dumb to think of more names!—on the Bob Newhart comedy series in which he was an inn keeper).
The second line in the lyrics intentionally used “THE” love instead of Your love, because the love could well be coming from the person being thankful. That would not preclude it from also being Ultimate Reality’s Love. Love is not owned by anyone, or even The One, because it transcends, cuts across, and interconnects the individual beings (human love) and things (Beauty).
 
Aupmanyav said:
BG 4.40 is an interpolation.
Yes, what we perceive is the illusory world, the world of 'maya'. There is another, the world of 'absolute truth', where nothing other than Brahman exists, the entity which constitutes all things in the universe. In which there are no Gods, so sons of God, no heaven, no hell, no judgment, no prophets, messengers or manifestations. Everything that exists in the universe, arose out of a small ball of plasma that existed at the time of Big Bang (as per the Standard Cosmological Model).
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This really real world sounds a lot like another dimension (from our earthly perspective) that transcends but also includes this less real world. Sounds like good old “God” to me. The only disagreement might be about our best guess as to what God is made of. I guess “Mind Itself” “Deepest Source.” Aupmanyov chooses molecules or atoms. The atomic and subatomic realms are like another dimension (s) within the realm of “classical objects.” What we all seem to agree on is that the human mind can access and utilize other dimensions (whether those are outside of us or hidden deep inside us). Our “spirituality” includes unseen dimensions.
Meister Eckart suggests we don’t guess about a dimension that is beyond our understanding. He uses the word Godhead for this other dimension. Thomas here seems to consistently take Eckart’s advice, whereas Aupmanyov and I don’t mind guessing. I do agree that we should take our guesses with a grain of salt (not too seriously).
 
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otherbrother said:
Aupmanyov chooses molecules or atoms. The atomic and subatomic realms are like another dimension (s) within the realm of “classical objects.” .. (whether those are outside of us or hidden deep inside us). Our “spirituality” includes unseen dimensions.
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Nothing hidden inside us. These are physical facts.
Yes, there are two different worlds. The perceived and the other of the quantum sort with matter and anti-matter.
 
Obviously we are playing in the playground we know...and what is unknown is what our actions have in the playground we dont know.

Early surgeons thought a bloody gown from the last operation indicated a prowess in their field while unbeknownst to them they were transferring disease and bacteria to knew patients accelerating their demise.

The question is does our level of pontificating constitute similar for others...in this moment I say indeed it does...

However it also leads to the advancement of understanding as we pigs roll in the mud...one of us may find a truffle.

Love you all and the contemplations you inspire
 
Longfellow said:
This is not only for Christians, or even for followers of Abrahamic religions. Other people might have opinions about what Jesus taught and why it matters now. For some people, what he taught might be "nothing" because they don't believe that there ever was such a person as the one in the gospels. Then if they want to, they can say why that matters to them.

I'm not asking for proofs, reasons or Bible verses. Just what you personally think about what he taught and why it matters now.

This question came to me while I was thinking about what I might want to post about, if I keep posting here.
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I’m not entirely convinced that “Yeshua,” or the historical figure later called Jesus, existed in the way tradition presents him. Even if he did, I doubt he resembled the theological construct built around him.

If he existed at all, I suspect he was a heterodox Jewish thinker who absorbed elements of Eastern metaphysics, possibly Vedic and Arabian polytheism, and blended them with Jewish apocalyptic and ethical traditions. That would have made him an iconoclast, not a divine figure, but a philosophical and social agitator.

From that perspective, his death was not a cosmic sacrifice, but a political execution. A disruptive figure eliminated through cooperation between Jewish authorities and Roman power. The mythos came later. The theology followed the corpse.

Christianity did not continue his message. It was reshaped into something that could serve politics.
 
Aupmanyav said:
Nothing hidden inside us. These are physical facts.
Yes, there are two different worlds. The perceived and the other of the quantum sort with matter and anti-matter.
Click to expand...
Well at least we agree on that, the world we perceive and the world we don’t. Will picks up on that nicely in the next comment in terms of known and unknown .
 
otherbrother said:
These lyrics from a song I wrote the other day
convey the value of both the transcendent (“not mere things”) and acceptance of the Maya we live in (“Here on the ground is where I’ll stay.”):

Your Wings

Thank you God, NOT for mere things,
but for the LOVE in Your offerings.
How vain and foolish our flesh clings,
‘til You grace us mortals with Your wings—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place
to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!


So much for my fairy tale.
Big dreams shattered where they fell.
Somehow, I’ve weathered this dry spell.
Those wings of Yours have served me well—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place.
Wings to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!

I don’t need to fly away.
Here on the ground is where I’ll stay
to do what You need me to do today,
those wings wrapped ‘round me as I pray—
wings to fly from heart to heart
where faithful gospel fires start.
Wings that span a lonely space
as care and kind support takes place
to help each soul know its worth
and taste the heaven here on earth.
Oh, how glad my spirit sings
the good news carried by Your wings!
Click to expand...
You said it was a song.
Do you have the sheet music or a recording of it?
 
To start, Jesus preached to the people of Israel. Not to Jews alone, not to gentiles but to Israel, this is to say, the twelve tribes. This preaching focus alone was a missile targeting the headquarters of the religious authorities in those years.

He himself said that the religious authorities gave priority to traditions and leave in second place the word of the creator. However, Jesus also used those traditions in his words and actions, and the people turned crazy about such a novelty. He acquired lots of followers with his wisdom, while the religious authorities at the time of teaching the law were very strict, dry and even threatening.

His interpretation of the scriptures were phenomenal, he became the champion.

This is like a person believing in the theory of evolution for years and years and suddenly Jesus comes and teach a better interpretation of the process of life on earth. And this new interpretation is way more accurate and based on scientific evidence while the theory of evolution was found to be born from philosophy rather than scientific observation and/or tests.

No laws were changed by Jesus but these were interpreted accurately.

There are many things that most current religious denominations ignore from Jesus words and actions because current believers are far away from being part of Israel, this is to say, also learning the traditions as well. But one day they will catch up.

Point is that the religious authorities found out that Jesus teachings did show that several of their interpretations of the scriptures were simply incorrect. As people started to follow him, they decided to take him away from the public. Their authority was at risk.

I will say it this way: if current followers find out what Jesus said and did based on traditions and correct interpretation of the scriptures, then current religious authorities will also try to impede for that such knowledge to spread out because will turn down several of their doctrines based on the same scriptures.

After his resurrection he spent forty years explaining them things about the kingdom, an this part appears to be correct, because at his depart the apostles inherited the same style of interpreting the scriptures.

I like that guy, Jesus.
 
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