Today it’s like this: “When a new immigrant comes to this country the first thing he wants t know is what his rights are!”
Now I am going to make a similar type of statement about religion …………..!
Any Religion, and especially the Western Religions, are all based on submission!
My beliefs are all based on accountability!
To put this into “Perspective,” I have to tell you that I’m not a Christian in the classical sense of the word folks.
Don’t ask me about miracles, walking on water, (unless it’s in the winter) turning water into wine, The Resurrection, virgin births, the Second Coming, the age of the Universe, Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons,and and all the other crap that people made up over the years!
Oh, I believe in, and follow, the Christian ideals, but not the rhetoric!
(From my book: A Brief History of Western Religion!)
Now there’s the rub, bunky!
The whole thing is about who and what you are as a person and human being, not what someone else tells you to be!
You don’t have to be accountable to God, but we do have to be accountable to ourselves if we want to achieve a State of Grace!
If you would like a FREE PDF copy of this Book, write to me at: allanjanssen@rogers.com
Now I am going to make a similar type of statement about religion …………..!
Any Religion, and especially the Western Religions, are all based on submission!
My beliefs are all based on accountability!
To put this into “Perspective,” I have to tell you that I’m not a Christian in the classical sense of the word folks.
Don’t ask me about miracles, walking on water, (unless it’s in the winter) turning water into wine, The Resurrection, virgin births, the Second Coming, the age of the Universe, Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons,and and all the other crap that people made up over the years!
Oh, I believe in, and follow, the Christian ideals, but not the rhetoric!
(From my book: A Brief History of Western Religion!)
What Jesus actually said was something more basic and infinitely harder to achieve.
The historical Jesus did not urge us to love humankind or to feel pity for someone else.
He did not tell us to deny ourselves for someone else’s sake, or flagellate ourselves, or even to enjoy anothers company!
What He did say was pure and simple and straight to the point, “Love one another!”
This sort of Love is not the altruistic love of humanity, nor the possessive love for our mate, but rather something that requires hard work, tenacity, and sacrifice.
It is easy to love your wife or husband, child or parent, but to Love your neighbor (or stranger) is a task that is never ending and always requires effort.
It is a Love that seems to have no immediate benefit and is therefore not practiced by many people.
However, in the end, this is what will make Humanity rise up to its potential, and approach what Jesus referred to as the “Kingdom of God (The Father).”
This is not something that is to be expected in the near, or far, future.
Rather, it was a state of being that is present at this time, and only has to be observed and followed in order to achieve a state of Grace.
One of the core sayings of Jesus was “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For behold, that kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
Jesus tells us quite clearly that the “Kingdom of God” is not a coming kingdom, or a future kingdom, but rather something already in and amongst his disciples.
It is not a place, but rather a state of mind!
To quote James Breech once more: “Your concept of the kingdom of God, whether it belongs to the future mythological conceived, in either eschatological or apocalyptic terms, misses the reality of the kingdom.
The symbolism really refers to a power that is a basic factor in human experience!”
That higher moral law was the foundation of Jewish law. Jesus of Nazareth preached an ethics of selfless concern for the welfare of others, rejection of material wealth, and non-retribution, all of which were standard in Jewish ethics.
The religion that he taught was an intensely individual religion.
Righteousness, which means the performance of right actions, was not a quality of actions, but rather a quality of the interior state of the individual.
The historical Jesus did not urge us to love humankind or to feel pity for someone else.
He did not tell us to deny ourselves for someone else’s sake, or flagellate ourselves, or even to enjoy anothers company!
What He did say was pure and simple and straight to the point, “Love one another!”
This sort of Love is not the altruistic love of humanity, nor the possessive love for our mate, but rather something that requires hard work, tenacity, and sacrifice.
It is easy to love your wife or husband, child or parent, but to Love your neighbor (or stranger) is a task that is never ending and always requires effort.
It is a Love that seems to have no immediate benefit and is therefore not practiced by many people.
However, in the end, this is what will make Humanity rise up to its potential, and approach what Jesus referred to as the “Kingdom of God (The Father).”
This is not something that is to be expected in the near, or far, future.
Rather, it was a state of being that is present at this time, and only has to be observed and followed in order to achieve a state of Grace.
One of the core sayings of Jesus was “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For behold, that kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
Jesus tells us quite clearly that the “Kingdom of God” is not a coming kingdom, or a future kingdom, but rather something already in and amongst his disciples.
It is not a place, but rather a state of mind!
To quote James Breech once more: “Your concept of the kingdom of God, whether it belongs to the future mythological conceived, in either eschatological or apocalyptic terms, misses the reality of the kingdom.
The symbolism really refers to a power that is a basic factor in human experience!”
That higher moral law was the foundation of Jewish law. Jesus of Nazareth preached an ethics of selfless concern for the welfare of others, rejection of material wealth, and non-retribution, all of which were standard in Jewish ethics.
The religion that he taught was an intensely individual religion.
Righteousness, which means the performance of right actions, was not a quality of actions, but rather a quality of the interior state of the individual.
The whole thing is about who and what you are as a person and human being, not what someone else tells you to be!
You don’t have to be accountable to God, but we do have to be accountable to ourselves if we want to achieve a State of Grace!
If you would like a FREE PDF copy of this Book, write to me at: allanjanssen@rogers.com
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