Were all religions started by the mad and followed by the gullible? Perhaps, but I think there's more to it than that. I don't believe Man has always searched for a higher purpose or anything like that. I think we had God(s) thrust upon us by our own evolution. Take that story of Prometheus and stealing fire from the Gods. That must have been what it felt like to overcome the age old instinct for running from the burny light and finally understanding how to make it and how to feed it. Or Moses in the desert having a far-out trip and interpreting it as a message to set the people free from enslavement. "What's your name?" said Moses. "Me. er... existence." Said God. Or Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha all getting something similar from somewhere. A vision of a sky father who loves us. Don't think of it as a crutch for the weak. Think of it as the growing of an extra limb that will aid us in evolving past our enslaved predicament. But, oh, the wars and the misunderstandings - My god this and your god that. The good and evil thing was a definite part of the experience, but interpretation of what both of those are is so open it all falls to pieces if you see things from the other person's viewpoint. But then the people can't find God themselves. they don't have the crazy will and need of the prophet, and most of them have the day-to-day normalities to cope with anyway, so they look to the prophet as God. This includes some shamanic societies. And Buddhism. Along the way, of course there's been people who do it as a group. The shared psychic experience becomes empirical and positive for the group and it becomes part of their society. Like the Sufi and the Pentecostals or the Ghost Dancers. It is therefore more important to learn to exist every day with this overwhelming and beautiful experience for yourself than to look to any holy writing or prophet or shaman that isn't yourself for guidance. Not a Christian, a Christ (anointed of God). Not a Buddhist, but Buddha (lucid - in the dream sense). Read them, and take note for they are but fellow humans. Incidentally, I call myself a Wizard because it annoys pagans, christians and my scientist friends. Also because it's true. My advice is stop debating religion and start sharing it. We're all God, and nobody's right. But lots of people are very wrong...
well Buddah is just a human [if you are a Buddhist(then he is a teacher), or one of the Abrahamic faiths(then he is just a guy)] but if you are hindu or Hare Krsna its different... Jesus was more than a man, but still human none the less though and Buddha neer taught of the Father, the Father only exists in the Abrahmaic faiths, but the term Father only is used in Christanity basically... i hope people get what i mena by this, cause it makes sense to me, but is confusing to read
In what way was Jesus more than a man? Because he said so? Or because he lived an alternative lifestyle?
And my point about Buddhism is the reverence people place on a human. The only difference is in the displacement of the guiding figure. Buddha recognises the Self, but to be honest, a lot of traditional buddhists worship the buddha (not themselves, the fat statue) or whoever's supposed to be the n'th incarnation of whoever. That is dogma and not what the little fat man who became an idol was on about...
no, i believe Jesus was more than a man because He was... and Buddha was not fat...he would have been very skinny...it is the ancient chinese who made the buddha fat, as in their culture, the rich and wealthy [or improtant in this case, as buddha was not rich] were usually very large cause they had all the food they wanted and did no or little work...similar to the old tradition of wearing large white wigs and powdering the faces of the upper classes in europe... buddha was not rich, but was seen as improtant, so he was depicted as fat...there are just as many depictions of him as a skinny man too
I agree, man, follow the little voice inside (not the evil one that tells you to burn things, dammit...er, or is that just me?). I mean the inner guide. Everyone has a connection to... whatever, god, spirit, etc. The kingdom of god is within you, so you already are there. you just have to realize it.
How exactly, then, was Jesus more than a man? I'm afraid I can't accept "Because He was" into my fascistly empirical brain... And maybe you've got me wrong on what I was saying about Buddha. There was a man, and he gained a state of mind. That man had a name, as did the state of mind. If I say "I'm happy", that doesn't mean all sad people should get a statue of me, call me The Happy or somesuch, and venerate all the words I've ever written as divine. Perhaps they should just read into why I said I was happy and find a way to apply it to themselves, separating dogma from workable advice. But it's still a higher (feeling) force that guides our external and internal lives. They all are. It's a Holy Father, or a Sky Father, or an Earth Mother, or a spirit guide, or Mother Mary, or your own Buddhic lucidity. It's all the same discovery, to an extent, but it has to be a personal discovery or it's just something someone said. And if you find it in yourself, then you are whatever they were and more, since you have their writings and experience to add to your own. It's the evolving science of the mind and where it wants to take us...
the mind is something we created...why should we all go out on the same type of inward journy? because you said so? i believe Jesus was more than a man because i have read what He said and did, and i have felt it...call me close minded, or simply a blind follower, cal me what you will...it does not change that fact that i belive such... dont get me wrong, i never believed that one should follow and take simple lines on a page for granted... eh, i just get kindof fed up with every other post being..."search for yourself and inside yourself, dont listen to others...do such and such, not this and that"...kinda seem slightly hypocritical to me...but then again, thats just me
Jesus was more than the men around him, if that's what you mean. A hero, or a messiah, or whatever. I'm not saying don't listen to Jesus, or to anyone. I'm not advocating seeking purely within, either. I seen the delusional mess that can get people into! What I'm saying, is each one of us (with the right guidance, externally and internally) is a potential "More than a man" in just the same way. I too, have felt the struggle and passion of Christ, I too have seen people harrassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd and, at the risk of sounding like an emotional flower-child, have even cried for their condition and dedicated my life to the cause of love for them. I have even felt the heavens open, the holy spirit pouring down on me (was in the form of a vortex in my case, not a dove) and the blessing and approval of a fatherly force cleansing and preparing me for the work ahead. This was one of many life-changing baptisms I have experienced. But Jesus lived in the Jewish culture, and was born and raised a Jew. His teachings had to be true to his life experience, and yet adapted for the society he lived in. He didn't advocate freeing all the slaves, overthrowing the Romans (what they thought a messiah was for!) and starting an island, but he did teach mental freedom from these things. He gave the new commandment to love thy enemy (an update on the well debated "neighbour" commandment). His disciples told us to make the truth our own and to keep testing these things to see if they are true. I see no contradiction yet between Jesus and me. Jesus himself lived in a time of oppression and confusion. But, as Jesus told the woman at the well that synagogues and holy mountains were irrelevent as true followers worshipped in spirit and truth. In fact, Jesus said all the things that you get annoyed at other people saying, like watch for false christs and the kingdom of heaven is within you etc etc... According to Jesus, the only stipulation for being recognised as his disciples was having love. So Jesus was more than a man, in that sense. He wasn't the usual nine-to-fiver and he didn't die anonymous, that's for sure! But he was human, and if you are going to apply the "more than a man" label to Jesus, you might want to look around and see who else it applies to, or better yet (just to smart), look inside yourself... Love ya, dude
see, i dont know where you get all this information of me...i have no problem with "the kingdom of heaven is inside you"... i get fed up with all the people who say..."dont look externally for God etc...dont follow others...follow yourself...like MEEEEEEEE"...thats wht i dont like... im fed up with this thread
