Christ -- How merciful he was!

[Sassafras]

There are five hundred million people who call themselves Christians. If you compare their deeds with the text of the Gospels, you will find no likeness thereto. The real Christians are rare. The Christ exhorted men to be kind. The Christians are fighting and killing one another, leading their young men into war, shedding blood, destroying dwellings, causing mothers to lose their sons and children their fathers. What has all this to do with the teachings of Christ? Is a man whose highest aim is bloodshed a Christian? Christ suffered in order to teach kindness. "O Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Thus he pardoned his murderers. How merciful he was!

This quote was written by 'Abdu'l-Baha, the son of Baha'u'llah, in a book called Divine Philosophy in the early 1900's.  The quote refers to 500 million Christian adherents which reflects that time in history.  Today, Christianity has over 2 billion adherents -- significantly larger.

I posted this quote not to irritate Christians, but rather to get people to think about how the True Message of any Manifestation can fade over time.  What was the True Message of Christ, of Abraham, of Moses, of Krishna, of Zoroaster, of the Buddha, of Muhammad?  How have the Messages of these Manifestations changed over the years?  Do you know the True Message of the Bab, or Baha'u'llah?  And what do you think Their Messages will look like in about 800 years?  These are some deep questions, but I really want to have people think about the above quote and know that I am sincere.

Your thoughts....

[Truthsayer]

Christians are not aware of the true nature of Jesus' sacrifice. Most Christians cannot even correctly define the word. "To sacrifice" does not mean to kill, slay, murder, crucify or even to dieany more than "Christ" was Jesus' last name! To "sacrifice" means tolose or to give something up to serve a higher purpose. This something usually holds a great value to the one giving it up. A true sacrifice can only be made through a leap of faith. For example; The faith of a man who runs into a burning building to save a screaming child is the both he and the child will make it out of the building alive and unharmed. The thing he willing to give up for this purpose is his own life, which is of great value to him.

Jesus had taken the greatest leap of faith in the recorded history of mankind. Christians relate His sacrifice to His death on the cross, but this is not so. Christians need to ask; What is it that Jesus holds, that is of great value to Him, that He was willing to give up for the sake of all of mankind. Here is a hint; No one may enter the kingdom of God laden with burden, be they your own or someone else's.
The resurrection or "glorification of Jesus", was the ultimate example and demonstration of the state of being which every mortal man, woman and child must achieve before entrance into the Kingdom of God is permitted. Pure, Holy Spirit. But for Jesus this is where the glory ended. Upon His ascension into the heavens, He was escorted to a place reserved only for Him, where He must carry out His final assignment in true service to God. To carry the burdens of this world on His shoulders. Jesus did not sacrifice His physical life for this purpose, He sacrificed His eternal life to serve this purpose. This is the piece of the puzzle that is missing from the christian Bible. This sacrifice remains intact within a dark cloud of ignorance that Christians make no effort to lift. Jesus was placed at the center of that cloud and there He will remain until the burdens of this world cast upon Him are lifted and removed. It is the faith of Jesus Christ that someday, mankind will recognize his own power and potential to achieve the Christ. Only when this happens will the Spirit of Jesus be liberated. This of course means that man must turn his way of thinking around, take more responsibility for his own actions, truly repent of his egotistical lusts, greeds, and selfish desires, and stop using Jesus and His name as a scapegoat.

Through His sacrifice, we know how great is the love of Jesus for us, but the question is, how great is our love for Jesus? What would you be willing to sacrifice as a first step to removing your burdens from Jesus? Will Christians be willing to heed this message and liberate Jesus so that He can then enter the kingdom of God and prepare that place for us He has promised, or will they continue to go down and take Jesus with them?

[misfitguy]

Your commentary was one of the more interesting I have read outside of a published piece.  I assume that you are a Christian and are opining from whatever sect of the Christian religion you attend to. I would be interested in just which of the thousands of traditions of the Christian religion has influenced your thoughts the most.

To be fair, I will share with you my influences as well.  I was raised by an agnostic Father and a Mother that was a disinterested Baha'i.  I attended Christian (Baptist) churches as a child as well as youth classes for the Baha'i Faith.  I became a member of a Congregational church when I was 19, married in that church and quit attending within a year, disillusioned, not in Jesus, but in the church.  For the next 10 years I searched for the Truths of God and eventually declared my belief in Baha'u'llah as the most recent Manifestation.  This didn't lessen the love I had for Jesus, but it made it greater and clarified the Truths since I wasn't fettered with the dogma of the church.

OK, now that is out of the way, let me comment.  One of the most difficult things I had to do, as a Christian, was to understand the dogma of the Christian church.  The corner stone being the resurrection of Jesus and then the miraculous virgin birth, as well as the confusing Trinity. I'll also throw in the Jesus is God, concept as mind-boggling.  Your treatise assumes all of these are true.  I don't.  I have come to the conclusion that the "miracles" of Jesus either happened or they didn't, but they had little value when it comes to the importance of His message. In fact, with all the hoop-da-lah concerning his miracles, His message gets lost. 

The most important message He gave us, as I see it, was that we had to learn to forgive.  The church changed that into he died to forgive our sins, another miracle that is difficult to get a handle on.  I am saying that he said we needed to turn our cheek and he said that literally.  That is His core message and that is what changed the world.  A person that is "saved", in my mind, is one that has accepted the existence of God, recognized their own humility and has begun to nourish their soul with prayer, recognition of God and good acts.  They also have learned or are beginning to learn to listen to their soul for direction in their life on a daily or minute by minute accounting.  Each one of us is expected to "sacrifice" on a daily, minute by minute, way of living.  Not the big sacrifice of entering a burning building, but the small sacrifices of not responding negatively to somebody that was rude.  It is these type of sacrifices that really transform us into a spiritual person. 

I would like to say more, but will wait for a response.  I surely don't want to sound like I am lecturing, but am only opining myself.

Mick

[Truthsayer]

Opine away, my friend! I love hearing the opinions of others in relevance to this subject just so I know I am not the only one who thinks about it!

I was raised in a baptist environment, but going to church was optional, not mandatory. I began questioning the nature of the church as a teenager. I thought it rather strange that one christian community can be so divided. All of the denominations within the realm of christianity teach from the same Bible, but their messages are entirely different.
There was a time in my life when I considered myself to be an atheist. I was so confused, I didn't know what to believe. But something within me kept encouraging me to keep searching and not give up. It was as if God had taken me by the hand and said; "come child, allow me to show you." And He did! Heaven let your light shine down! I started questioning the true nature of God. I didn't ask my questions to anyone in the church. I took them directly to the source, and received my answers directly from the source. My relationship with God is truly a personal one that I don't mind sharing.

It is interesting that you mention about the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. I wrote a poem about this very concept. allow me to share it with you.

CHRISTMAS IS FORGIVING



Our father who art in heaven,

My name is confusion, as I am sure you already know.

I am writing on behalf of myself and others who hold this name,

but who are afraid to confront you.

I hope you don't mind that I ask you some questions.

Yours is the only answer I need as I know you will never mislead.

The Christmas season is fast approaching.

Amid the hustle, bustle, shopping madness, jingle bells and santa

claus, I have forgotten what it is truly about.

I know that christmas is for giving, but preparing for this day

always leaves me exhausted, in debt and with a feeling that

something dear has been lost.

Tell me Father, where is the reward in such Christmas giving?

Is love measured only in the size and expense of the fruits of

mankind? Or is there something else being overlooked?

WAIT!

For giving can also be ONE word, can it not?

And is not the christmas day celebrated to honor the birth of

Jesus, the Christ?

And was it not the purpose of the life of Jesus to teach and show us

how to bring forth liberty from sin and redeem our souls through the

act of forgiveness?

"Forgive our debts AS we forgive our debtors."

Of course!

It is the ultimate act of Grace! A giving that comes straight

from the heart, holds no monetary value, yet brings forth an

indebtedness of a JOYOUS nature!

Thank you Father for this invaluable insight!

There is no greater gift we can give or receive than the

gift of forgiveness.

It is where true healing begins.

I shall pass this revelation on to the others in your name,

And encourage the form of giving necessary to bring peace,

love and eternal joy to those who practice it.

Now that I have received your answer, I feel no need to send this letter.

You were listening as I was writing, now my name is Clarity!


It took me seven years to finish this piece of work to my satisfaction. Whenever I thought I was finished, new insight would pop up and I found myself needing to work it in. I finally finished it in the summer of 2004. What occurred later on that year was totally unexpected.

I never knew my biological father. He stepped out of my life while I was still in diapers and I haven't heard from him since. From the stories my mother told about him, I didn't care if I ever knew him. I held so much anger toward him.

The day after christmas 2004, I received a phone call from my mother telling me that my father had had a heart attack and was in the hospital. She heard the news from some unexpected grapevine. Why she would think I should care, I don't know. The hospital they had taken my father to was only a five minute walk from where I lived at the time. I felt obligated to visit him and pondered this idea all day. In the evening, I made up my mind to visit him. Of course, my emotions were off key. I wasn't sure if he would know me or not. Would I give him another heart attack? God forbid!
It was awkward at first, but we both relaxed after a while. He told me about his mother whom I was named after but never met. We talked for about an hour and a half that evening and the next day I went back to visit him again. This time I took my daughter with me. He was discharged from hospital on the 29th of December. We kept in touch after that and I even spent a year in the town where he lives just to get to know him better. I released all of my anger toward him and now feel so liberated.
The amazing thing is this. The town where my father lives has its own hospital, fully equipped with all the latest medical technology, yet he was "air lifted" to a hospital 80 miles away, but only a five minute walk from my house! Not only was I given the opportunity to forgive my father, but I was given the chance to do it in person, and it occurred right at christmas! Any other way would have been impossible.
The Lord has been working such miracles in my life since I took His hand. Right now, nothing can shatter my faith.

[misfitguy]

Truthsayer,

I apologize for not responding to your post of January 23 of 2009.  My bad and I must have just missed it for as I read it today, I found myself filling with joy and comfort that your poem delivers.  Thank you for sharing so much of yourself.  The poem was/is marvelous.  When we worship God we should not be confused.  If we are, we are probably involved in a lot of man made dogma.  Clarity comes when we finally see the Truths of God.  You are obviously there.  It is an incredible place to be. 

The paragraph concerning your father was interesting.  You mentioned you had a chance to forgive your father.  I would suggest that you had a chance to resolve your anger.  Forgiveness is an overused word, and I always picture a priest waving his hand over our head as we bow in obedience.  Resolution is an healing word.  I had issues with my father, who passed away a few years ago, that I never resolved.  It eats at me.  I can't see where forgiveness would help as understanding why he acted the way he did doesn't help at all either.  We all can chose how to act to others.  I hope your relationship with your father continues to be positive for both of you.  I hope this response isn't too late for us continuing this thread.

warmly,

Mick