Consciousness has nothing to do with spirituality

[zoey101]

2 hours ago, Prabhaker said:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

◄ Matthew 27:46 ► ◄ Mark 15:34 ►

@egoless  You can clearly see that Jesus is complaining to God. He and his father are not one.

The trinity is three God's in one. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. While each part serves a different purpose to the overall plan, They are one.

Jesus was God in Human Flesh, God the Son. His whole earthly life was centered on that. Jesus was tempted in the desert by Stan himself, because Satan was trying to get Jesus to fall more towards His Fleshly Nature as opposed to His Godly nature, but it didn't work. 

It also talks about how in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus begged the Father to spare Him from what He knew was about to happen.( Matthew 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me") His flesh was trying to take over. But He prayed with God and said, "; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And then went through with God's plan.

When He was on the cross being tortured and dying, He say's "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", because God is not sinful and cannot look upon sin. So in that moment just before Jesus fully surrender to His physical death, He is beaten, stabbed, bleeding, and for the first time in His entire journey through the World He created, HE WAS ALONE with only His flesh, so the flesh cried out. The people say this as a sign that He was an impostor as well, so they mocked Him and tried to give Him a drink from a rag soaked in vinegar. The Lord cries out again and that's when the real shit happens lol

"47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God."

The point is, Jesus is God come down in human flesh. He lived a Godly life to show us how we should live our lives, but He was still not free of the flesh until He died. 

I love Bible lessons lol

Edited June 8, 2018 by zoey101

[Azza]

@zoey101 this was beautiful to read (:

[zoey101]

4 minutes ago, Azza said:

@zoey101 this was beautiful to read (:

Thank you  I really am passionate for this kind of stuff now, it makes me sad that egoless left because all he needed to do was hold that strong faith of his, but allow for possible changes in his world view. I don't know what God's "Divine Plan" is. I don't think we are meant to know, at least not on earth. But that can make everything more exciting and beautiful, in my opinion.

It's all about perception. You can either look at it close minded and just accept only what you choose to because you heard or read it once, or you can have your foundation built on the things you believe, but stay open minded and discover the "Truth" through yourself and others.

No one will know what the "True" way is until we die. That's kind of the whole point for beliefs. We want to believe there is more than all of this, more than just we're born, we live, we die (this is a belief in itself). We could all die and find out that God was just a spaghetti monster in the sky that just used us as toys for His own amusement, or find out there really is nothing and our lives are pointless and totally by chance. WE CAN"T KNOW FOR SURE UNTIL WE SEE IT FOR OURSELVES.

So for now, I will hold on to my beliefs and just enjoy this crazy ride  

I'm not sure if that's just me rambling on though lol

[Azza]

38 minutes ago, zoey101 said:

So for now, I will hold on to my beliefs and just enjoy this crazy ride  

I'm not sure if that's just me rambling on though lol

I'm happy to see this mindset. It's peaceful and makes like more enjoyable. That's my goal at the moment although im not sticking to any belief anymore. But I'm not ditching any of them. Just adding them to my understanding 

[zoey101]

Just now, Azza said:

I'm happy to see this mindset. It's peaceful and makes like more enjoyable. That's my goal at the moment although im not sticking to any belief anymore. But I'm not ditching any of them. Just adding them to my understanding 

Exactly  we are all in different circumstances so the journey can't be the same for all of us. We have to find our way.

I don't see anything wrong in religion being the foundation for one's journey, as long as they don't make it the only thing there is. Life isn't black and white, what I see as good could be bad for you, so we can't base our whole life on something strictly word for word with no other options.

We are all seeking something, but it's up to us to figure out what that is. That doesn't mean it has to be scary or depressing, it's an adventure that will go on till we die. And if there is something after death (I believe there is) then the journey continues  

[cetus]

3 hours ago, Prabhaker said:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

◄ Matthew 27:46 ► ◄ Mark 15:34 ►

@egoless  You can clearly see that Jesus is complaining to God. He and his father are not one.

@Prabhaker I've wondered myself what deeper meaning of that statement may have been. So in the end Jesus succumbed to death of flesh because he felt abandoned by God-seperated. Who do you think abandoned who In this story?  Did Jesus's faith break with God? 

Just for the record I realize I'm speaking dualistically here.

[zoey101]

8 minutes ago, cetus56 said:

@Prabhaker I've wondered myself what deeper meaning of that statement may have been. So in the end Jesus succumbed to death of flesh because he felt abandoned by God-seperated. Who do you think abandoned who In this story?  Did Jesus's faith break with God? 

Just for the record I realize I'm speaking dualistically here.

I don't think it was "abandonment" really, nor did He break His faith. Jesus came to fulfill the Word by living in the flesh and then dying for our penalty of sin. In my opinion (not sure if this is in the Bible or not) I think God also needed to understand us. He is above us and completely without sin, so He is unable to understand our sinful nature until He comes down in the flesh to live it. I only feel this because the tone of the Bible from Old Testament to New Testament really changes after Jesus. 

In the Old Testament it felt like God was a "wrathful" God that wouldn't hesitate to strike someone down or cause plagues. But in the New Testament, after He sends His Son down, the tone switches to Love. It's like He was able to understand us once Jesus went through it all. 

So, God the Father was still unable to look upon sin, so that's why Jesus felt alone, but it was His flesh causing Him to fear which couldn't be there unless the flesh was causing Jesus to doubt, hence the "sin" God the Father cannot look upon.

But that is strictly my opinion based on what I have learned so far  I could be wrong, only God know what happened in that moment  

[cetus]

@zoey101 I think I know what your saying.  God is pure from all that arises within conscious awareness of flesh?

[BuddhaTree]

To assume that you were unconscious means that there was a consciousness of this unconsciousness.

Understand what is written here by yourself and you won't say that you have to learn to be aware again.

You are the consciousness itself.

[WaterfallMachine]

18 hours ago, egoless said:

Guys I am not trying to convince anybody here to change their beliefs. What I am trying though is to share my new findings. I questioned the nonduality a lot. For example, as Leo is saying it is the path where you become dead in the end. We were blindly nodding the heads but if you think critically why would someone really want to become dead and lose the sense of free will? I am just trying to open you all to the possibility that if Jesus is really the Truth and prophecies of the Revelation are true than just consider how would the devil decieve the humanity? Precisely with this new age stuff where people are starting assuming that they are gods themselves... I really invite you all to watch this video and be open minded to everything. What if this states of nonduality where you merge with the universe is just another phenomenon in the brain? Precisely in your prefrontal cortex which is responsible for your sense of reality, time and free will?

 

 Egoless, I’m sorry, but I’ve heard these misconceptions before. I’ve made these ideas myself, and these are completely contradictory to what they mean. You said you’re not looking to change anyone’s beliefs but are just looking for a discussion, so I accept that respectfully.

God has a different meaning here than “An all powerful deity and creator” as Christianity says. God here is more similar to the idea of the universe or all, similar to how Pantheism worships nature and the world. It’s an oversimplification, yes, but you are clearly not researching the terms here.

Being dead also has a very different meaning here, egoless. It’s not literally the emotionally dead and empty feeling you imagine. It’s not the emotional or physical death you imagine. It’s more of a death of a part of yourself that you need to shed so the good can come.

Though, if you’re looking for God, then please go find him in your own way, but at least take time to learn about common misconceptions before making a decision. It’s similar to how people of other religions may have to educate themselves about terms such as the “Holy Trinity” or “Communion” in Christianity. Please provide respect by learning these terms yourself.

Thank you, and I support whatever decision you make.

[Prabhaker]

7 hours ago, zoey101 said:

Jesus was tempted in the desert by Stan himself, because Satan was trying to get Jesus to fall more towards His Fleshly Nature as opposed to His Godly nature, but it didn't work. 

It you christian conditioning that you see things in this way. The Christian is conditioned in one way, the Hindu is conditioned in another way, but they are all conditioned. 

Life needs transformation, and transformation is a great work upon oneself. It is not a child's play, that: "Just believe in Jesus Christ, go on reading the Bible again and again, and you are saved." Saved from what? Saved from transformation!

Jews never accepted Jesus, not even today. There was a reason why they crucified him: if on the cross he can manage to provoke God to help him, then they will be able to see whether he is the messiah or not , God will save him.

If God is not even bothering about saving His own son on the cross, then what to say about others? And if Jesus cannot provoke God to save him, how can he provoke God to save others? The crucifixion was going to be a criterion.

They had forced him to carry his own cross. Three times he fell on the way; the cross was too heavy. Jesus said that "those who have such faith can move mountains". He could not carry his own cross and he was trying to carry the crosses of the whole of humanity. On the cross he himself feels shaken up. He cries to God,"Have you forsaken me?" , because he sees that the crucifixion is happening and there is no miracle.

And when he says, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." that is surrender, but not true , with reluctance, just a face-saving device. Nothing is happening, all is finished. 

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, said, “I thirst!” Now, this is the man who used to walk on water. This is the man who used to turn water into wine. He cannot even manage a glass of water , and he was able to change stones into bread! Why can't he change the air into water?

Christians go on, all over the world, saving people. They don't even understand what it means to save. In the East, no religion has ever proclaimed that anybody can save you except yourself. 

[zoey101]

On 6/8/2018 at 5:26 PM, cetus56 said:

@zoey101 I think I know what your saying.  God is pure from all that arises within conscious awareness of flesh?

Yeah  But when He came down down in the flesh, God the Son, He didn't condone the sin. His whole message was to bring us back to the bottom line, "Love the Lord your God, and Love you neighbor as yourself

On 6/8/2018 at 10:53 PM, Prabhaker said:

It you christian conditioning that you see things in this way. The Christian is conditioned in one way, the Hindu is conditioned in another way, but they are all conditioned. 

Life needs transformation, and transformation is a great work upon oneself. It is not a child's play, that: "Just believe in Jesus Christ, go on reading the Bible again and again, and you are saved." Saved from what? Saved from transformation!

Oh boy lol

Please keep in mind that I am no expert here, I can only speak off of what I know, feel, an believe  

First, I already have agreed in my other posts that Life requires transformation. We can't just stick with one thing, what you believe today can't be what you will believe in 10 years because, hopefully, you will have learned , more at that point. 

On 6/8/2018 at 10:53 PM, Prabhaker said:

Jews never accepted Jesus, not even today. There was a reason why they crucified him: if on the cross he can manage to provoke God to help him, then they will be able to see whether he is the messiah or not , God will save him.

I can't speak for why or what Jews believe. I wasn't there, I can only base my beliefs off of what I learn and feel. What I read one was that the reason they found it hard to believe was because, at the time, they were under hard ruler ship (like many times in the past) and when they heard the prophecies of the coming of The Messiah, they took the whole "King on Earth", "He shall bring the kingdom of God down to Earth and rule over it all" stuff as a literal thing, and when He revealed Himself as this humble carpenter that's whole mission was to spread the Word of God and Love, they were disappointed and hurt. Makes some sense, but again, I wasn't there so I won't try to say "this is what happened".

On 6/8/2018 at 10:53 PM, Prabhaker said:

If God is not even bothering about saving His own son on the cross, then what to say about others? And if Jesus cannot provoke God to save him, how can he provoke God to save others? The crucifixion was going to be a criterion.

They had forced him to carry his own cross. Three times he fell on the way; the cross was too heavy. Jesus said that "those who have such faith can move mountains". He could not carry his own cross and he was trying to carry the crosses of the whole of humanity. On the cross he himself feels shaken up. He cries to God,"Have you forsaken me?" , because he sees that the crucifixion is happening and there is no miracle.

And when he says, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." that is surrender, but not true , with reluctance, just a face-saving device. Nothing is happening, all is finished. 

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, said, “I thirst!” Now, this is the man who used to walk on water. This is the man who used to turn water into wine. He cannot even manage a glass of water , and he was able to change stones into bread! Why can't he change the air into water?

I already gave my belief on this in my previous post lol

We believe in the Trinity, Three in one. Now, I am not 100% sure if my way of viewing this is the way most Christians view it, but I see it as Three separate parts, with their own functions and jobs in the Divine plan, but all part of the same overall "greater power". Although, I am still open to that viewpoint changing in the future as I learn more. 

God the Father

I guess this is the one most think of as the "main one". This is the part of the trinity that was responsible for the Creation of all things. Whether you believe it was the way it was written in the Bible, or you believe in the Big Bang or Evolution, we believe God the Father did it. This part does not know sin and cannot "look upon it". In the Old Testament, it was required for the Jewish people to offer up a blood sacrifice for the payment of their sin I guess you could consider this a characteristic of the "ego"), because our sin is too great for us to take away on our own, we had to offer something up.

"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23

but He wanted to have a real connection and relationship with us, like He did "in the beginning" so he sent:

God the Son

"...but the gift of God is eternal life, through Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 6:23

This parts job was to come down as God in the flesh, to live a human life, while spreading the true message of God, Love. He was not all God come down, or all human, nor was he a demigod (half human, half god). He was all God come down in all flesh. He was just as much God as human, so He knew everything that was going to happen and everything the He needed to do, but He still had to fight with His flesh.

This part of the Trinity did not just come into existence at the Virgin birth. 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God" John 1:1

Jesus is considered the "Word" to us because He is the physical Word of God come down, just for us. He was there since the beginning through it all. 

Now, Jesus had to suffer. It is stated through out the Bible that His purpose was to come and spread the news, that we may spread it to the ends of the earth. He also had to die. Once Jesus paid our debt for sin, "death", there was no more need for blood sacrifices. He was the ultimate and final blood sacrifice. And with Him going through all of the needless disrespect and unjustified torture, because He broke no laws (even Pilot "washes his hands of this mess because he couldn't see what He did wrong). He experienced the absolute worst parts of the human nature, and still loved us enough to beg the Father's forgiveness for them. 

Now, when you accept Jesus as your Savior, you will receive:

God the Holy Spirit

This is the part of the Trinity that lives insides us and guides us to love and follow God's Plan. This does not save us from temptation or turn us into perfection like God. This is the part that gives us our conviction of sin and our fire for the glory of God. 

This part was also in the beginning:

"The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." Geneses 1:2

 

I'm not sure what else I can add without repeating myself lol but please feel free to keep asking anything you want. I do apologize for the long ass post and the delayed response

Edited June 11, 2018 by zoey101

[zoey101]

On 6/8/2018 at 10:53 PM, Prabhaker said:

Christians go on, all over the world, saving people. They don't even understand what it means to save. In the East, no religion has ever proclaimed that anybody can save you except yourself. 

Oh, P.S. 

Got to make this very clear:

Christians are NOT in the business of saving anyone. Jesus Christ is the only way to Salvation. It is our job to only spread God's Word through our life (actions, words, reactions, attitude all of it).

We are just as sinful as any nonbeliever and can get just as twisted up and misinformed as them, so we do NOT have that power or right. 

I am fulfilling my part in His plan now by defending and sharing His message, but not showing hate or disrespect for anyone that does not believe it. I love everyone on this site, and I will mess up, but if I can show God's Love through my discussions, then I am doing what He calls me to do.

If no one is brought to the Lord because of my words or actions, that is okay. I still love you and will enjoy conversing and learning what you know, but I won't hold it against myself for not being the one who leads you to Salvation. I cannot save you, only the Lord can. 

That is our belief. 

[DMM710]

Wouldn’t being “egoless” mean that you’ve had a direct experience of non duality? Or am I misunderstanding what ego death is? 

[Prabhaker]

14 hours ago, zoey101 said:

Christians are NOT in the business of saving anyone. Jesus Christ is the only way to Salvation. It is our job to only spread God's Word through our life (actions, words, reactions, attitude all of it).

Jesus said that, “I am the way, and I am the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." ◄ John 14:6 ►

Catholic Church endorsed forced conversion of unbelievers into the Church.

"And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." ◄ Luke 14:23 ►

 Roman Emperor Theodosius prohibited all forms of Pagan worship and allowed the temples to be robbed, plundered, and ruthlessly destroyed by monks and other enterprising Christians. 

During the Saxon Wars, the Christian Frankish king Charlemagne waged war on the pagan Saxons for over 20 years, seeking to Christianize and rule the Saxons. During this period, the Saxons repeatedly refused Christianization .

Olaf I of Norway, during his attempt to Christianize Norway during the Viking Age, had those under his rule that practiced their indigenous Norse Paganism and refused to Christianize tortured, maimed or executed, including seidmen, who were tied up and thrown to a skerry at low tide to slowly drown.

The Christianization of the pagan Balts, Slavs and Finns was undertaken primarily during the 12th and 13th centuries, in a series of uncoordinated military campaigns by various German and Scandinavian kingdoms.

Christianity is targeted by critics of colonialism because the tenets of the religion were used to justify the actions of the colonists.

When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. ~ Desmond Tutu

14 hours ago, zoey101 said:

If no one is brought to the Lord because of my words or actions, that is okay.

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." ◄ Matthew 19:29 ►

Christianity goes on sending missionaries around the world to help the poor. In India, rich person are not converted to Christianity, only poor people.  And they are converted to Christianity not because they love Christ but because they love bread and butter. The Christian missionaries can supply them with a little food, clothes, shelter, a school, a hospital. What will happen if poverty disappears? how will Christian missionaries be able to convert poor people to Christianity? 

There are 1.5 million homeless in America. Why are they homeless? Nobody is going to help them, because they are already Christian. Christians can send huge amount of money to convert people in poor countries, why can't they help their own homeless and poor people first ?

[Prabhaker]

16 hours ago, zoey101 said:

We believe in the Trinity

Just like the Christian trinity, Hindus also have a trinity (Trimurti, three faces of the God) - Brahma, the creator god; Vishnu, the god who maintains the world; and Shiva, who will destroy the world. This is a cycle. Then Brahma creates the world again, and for millions of years Vishnu maintains it; then one day Shiva destroys it.

The Buddhist doctrine talks about - Buddhist trinity (Trikaya) - Buddha’s three bodies. The first body is called the body of truth, the universal body, the divine body. You can call it God. The second body is called the bliss body – the bridge between the first and the third. You can call it the soul. And the third body is the physical body.

[Key Elements]

@Prabhaker There was this maid (servent) who I knew, and she sent her three young children to the free hostel because of the conversion I suppose. They get free room and board, clothes, food, decent education, etc. etc., but there was a catch. She only get to see them once every week, only for a few hours. The poor don't get the best health care even though they get helped by others due to whatever reason. Ppl still have to find their own way. That's how it works. Others can only help so much.

[zoey101]

 

6 hours ago, Prabhaker said:

Jesus said that, “I am the way, and I am the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." ◄ John 14:6 ►

Catholic Church endorsed forced conversion of unbelievers into the Church.

"And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." ◄ Luke 14:23 ►

 Roman Emperor Theodosius prohibited all forms of Pagan worship and allowed the temples to be robbed, plundered, and ruthlessly destroyed by monks and other enterprising Christians. 

During the Saxon Wars, the Christian Frankish king Charlemagne waged war on the pagan Saxons for over 20 years, seeking to Christianize and rule the Saxons. During this period, the Saxons repeatedly refused Christianization .

Olaf I of Norway, during his attempt to Christianize Norway during the Viking Age, had those under his rule that practiced their indigenous Norse Paganism and refused to Christianize tortured, maimed or executed, including seidmen, who were tied up and thrown to a skerry at low tide to slowly drown.

The Christianization of the pagan Balts, Slavs and Finns was undertaken primarily during the 12th and 13th centuries, in a series of uncoordinated military campaigns by various German and Scandinavian kingdoms.

Christianity is targeted by critics of colonialism because the tenets of the religion were used to justify the actions of the colonists.

When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. ~ Desmond Tutu

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." ◄ Matthew 19:29 ►

Christianity goes on sending missionaries around the world to help the poor. In India, rich person are not converted to Christianity, only poor people.  And they are converted to Christianity not because they love Christ but because they love bread and butter. The Christian missionaries can supply them with a little food, clothes, shelter, a school, a hospital. What will happen if poverty disappears? how will Christian missionaries be able to convert poor people to Christianity? 

There are 1.5 million homeless in America. Why are they homeless? Nobody is going to help them, because they are already Christian. Christians can send huge amount of money to convert people in poor countries, why can't they help their own homeless and poor people first ?

Okay dude. You obviously only want to arguing. That's not what I was aiming to do. 

I am not Catholic I am Baptist, I don't know what the Catholics did or are doing now, nor do I care really. It's not the same thing, they have the same foundation, but it has been pretty warped over the years, in my opinion.

I already said that I can't speak on behalf of other religions, nor can I speak on what other "believers" have done in the past. Anyone can say they are a believer and then go out and shoot 50 people. That doesn't mean they believed the right things. They could have really misinterpreted the Word, who knows. 

You asked what I believed and I shared it. We don't all believe the same. Hell, there is a Church in America called Westborough BAPTIST Church that's entire life's work can be summed up in Military Funeral Protests and Protests at HIGH SCHOOL graduations where gay people were to graduate. If you ask anyone in my Church that knows about them, they'll agree that those people follow a different belief from us. 

There are missionaries here in America as well as across the Earth. Some are called to go overseas because they are in a position to do that. So the ones that stay behind, like myself, work on helping our home land. I am involved in several homeless, elderly, and children/teen outreach programs. We go and take food to the homeless in our city and sit down with them just asking them about their lives and offering the references to programs that can help them get back on their feet. We actually don't sit there and just talk about God. We treat them like human being and don't shove it down their throats. Once we have built that relationship with them, usually its them who bring up the subject. 

Also, Christians aren't the only ones that do this, so to point out that there is a problem with it just because it's Christians doing it is pretty ignorant, in my opinion. Sorry, but just saying.

It is my job as a believer to spread the good news, that "Jesus Christ has risen from the grave so that we may have eternal life through Him" I can't force someone to believe, doing that could hurt their chances of even ever considering it. 

I do enjoy discussing this subject, but I don't see you really wanting to do the same. I don't really see this going anywhere past you trying to put my whole belief system down because of you desperate need to be contradictory and right. 

I hope you are able to bookmark this stuff for later. Who knows, maybe you will be at a point in your life where you just see these words and you somehow begin to believe. But if not, I still love you and will be available if you have some non-confrontational questions for me. 

God Bless

[Prabhaker]

26 minutes ago, zoey101 said:

It is my job as a believer to spread the good news, that "Jesus Christ has risen from the grave so that we may have eternal life through Him"

How will you recognize Jesus?

Dostoevsky of Russia, wrote a book: The Brothers Karamazov. In that he says that after eighteen hundred years since his death, Jesus thought that the time was ripe for him to re-visit the earth.

There were churches erected in every village to preach his message; there were priests and monks with the cross dangling from their necks. Almost half the world had turned Christian! He was sure of a tumultuous welcome.

So one Sunday, Jesus descended into a village and stood under a tree. People were returning from the village church; the morning mass was over. They were surprised to see a Christ-like figure standing under the tree. Who is this man dressed like Jesus? He must be an actor, they thought.

They gathered round him, full of curiosity and began to question him: "Your acting is perfect. You look exactly like Christ."

"But I AM Christ," said Jesus. They laughed aloud; one threw a stone, another a slipper and they all danced round him, calling him insane. One, out of pity, told him to go before the priest caught him.

"Your priest? He is my priest. Don't you recognize me? I am the one to whom you pray every morning."

"We shall worship you as you deserve, if you do not make yourself scarce quickly!" they told him.

Jesus in his compassion forgave them; perhaps they really did not recognize him, but the priest was bound to, for he sang his praises all day. Then along came the padre. The noisy crowd became silent as he approached. Then one by one, they touched his feet - such is the world: it will stone God but it will prostrate before those who make business out of Him.

"This is blasphemy!" exclaimed Jesus.

"Keep quiet," said the people. "If the priest hears you, he will feel insulted." This drew the priest's attention. "Who is this rascal?" he asked, "Bring him to me."

"You too do not recognize me?" Jesus asked the priest, "And you wear my cross around your neck!"

But Jesus overlooked the fact that the cross he was hung on was made of wood, while the cross that hung round the priest's neck, was made of gold. Was ever a cross to hang a man by made of gold? And it is the man who is hung on the cross and not the cross on the man!

"This man looks like Satan himself!" proclaimed the priest, "Our Jesus came to earth but once. There is no need for him to come again. Now we are here to look after his work."

So Jesus was locked up in the attic of the church, He was shocked! This was the same kind of treatment he had received eighteen hundred years ago. "Will I be crucified again?" He wondered.

The priest came to visit him in the middle of the night. He fell at his feet and begged forgiveness. "I recognized you alright, Oh Glorious One! But we are constrained to deny you in the market-place.

You need not take the trouble of coming again. We are carrying out your work with all sincerity.

[Prabhaker]

34 minutes ago, zoey101 said:

Jesus Christ has risen from the grave so that we may have eternal life through Him

For centuries Jews had been hoping and waiting, when will the messiah come? 

And then suddenly Jesus declared, "I am the messiah for whom you have been waiting."

Jews were disturbed, because the mind can wait, it is very easy to postpone. Whenever the messiah comes, we immediately deny him. This has to be understood. Mind can live in the future, but cannot live in the present.

Now we are waiting for Christ to come back; he has promised, “I will be coming back.” Now if anybody says, “I am Jesus Christ,” Christians will do the same. This time Christians will crucify him. 

@zoey101 If you are waiting for Christ's coming, Christ has always been coming. We are not available. 

When Jesus was here , only twelve illiterate people were available. What happened to the Jews? They were waiting for messiah for centuries!

So, don't wait, become available, Christ is always here.