Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" certainly is a best seller with more than 40 million copies sold so far and has too many of the Christians fuming. For two thousand years Christians are used to believing that Jesus lived a strict bachelor life in keeping with His divinity conferred on Him, that they simply are unable to digest even the very suggestion of Jesus being married. Their conviction is so powerful that one is forced to believe that marriage is a deadly sin.
The fate of Mary Magdalene is still horrible as she was painted a prostitute by the Orthodox Church for more than thousand five years contrary to what the Gospels tell us about her. The Catholic Church in a sermon by Pope Gregory in the year 591 A D labeled Mary Magdalene a prostitute which was diligently followed by the Catholic Church until the year 1969 when they officially repealed this label from her. Even to this day the male believers are unwilling to accept the purity and sincerity of Mary Magdalene's devotion to Jesus and the love and affection returned to her by Jesus Himself.
Here are a few samples from the Gospels.
Mathew:28:1: In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Mark:16:9: Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
Luke:24:10: It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
John:20:18: Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
If you read the four Gospels, no where you will find that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. On the contrary wherever her name is mentioned, it comes first, signifying the great love and affection Jesus had for her and the important role she played in His ministry. Even the authors of the four Gospels acknowledged her important role in the life of Jesus by citing her name first always. This love and affection is often misunderstood, especially by the sceptics.
In the Gnostic Gospel of Phillip which was rejected by the Orthodox Church, it is mentioned that “There were three who walked with Jesus. His mother, his sister and his spouse were each a Mary.” It is interesting to note that the Greek word "koinonos" is here translated as "spouse" while it also means "intimate companion". The Gnostics were also followers of Jesus but were persecuted and chased to hide by the Orthodox Church since their views and books were unacceptable to the Orthodox Church.
The importance of Mary Magdalene in the Life of Jesus was first rejected by the instigation of Ireneaus, the Bishop of Lyons, France who lived in the later half of the second century A D from the Gospels. Later during the early fourth century, Anthansius, the Bishop of Alexandria (The 325 A D Nicene Creed fame) banned all the books of the Gnostics.
During the early period of Christianity, it was due to the jealousy of the male disciples that Mary Magdalene was sidelined although anyone who is conversant with the four gospels will realize that she was a beloved friend and confidante of Jesus during His three years of ministry in this world. We must note here that Jesus had no discrimination between the Jews and the gentiles, the sinner and the righteous or the male and the female. He treated everyone equally and was amiable to all of them. Therefore it is not at all strange that Jesus had so many women following Him and adoring Him. Read what Paul has to say on this:
"Epistle to Galatians:3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
Some of the banned Gospels of Gnostics were the "Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Phillip, The secret gospel of Mark, Gospel of Peter etc. Many women were apostles of Jesus including Mary Magdalene, Salome etc but were sidelined by the male apostles and the Churches who declare themselves the followers of apostles(even in jealousy, they are following the apostles, it would seem).
Coming back to the novel of Dan Brown, the Da Vinci Code, if you have read the book you would have noticed the few historical facts and French legends he mentions on which the fiction is based. Yes, this book is a fiction, a very cleverly woven creative fiction at that. It is unfortunate that most of the readers of this novel have taken all Dan Brown says in his FICTION as literal truth and do not give credit to his creative imagination and the clever conceptualization of a few chosen historical facts and legends.
The facts he mentions are the existence of the Knight Templers, the secret societies such as "Priory of Sion" and the unending search for the "Holy Grail". The legends of France speak of "Mary Magdalene brought the blood Royal" to France with her. Now this legend is based on the French spelling of "Holy Grail" which is Sangraal. The peculiarity of this word is "San Graal" is "Holy Grail" while "Sang raal" is "Blood Royal". The French legends also speak of a child in the boat that carried Mary Magdalene and her group to Provence in France. This girl child's name was "Sarah" which in Hebrew means "Princess".
Of course added to this is the custom of the Jewish people during the period Jesus lived, when it was the responsibility of every Jewish parent to get their children married by the age of twelve. Now Dan Brown in his novel asserts that because of this custom among the Jewish people, it is mandatory that Jesus was also married at this age.
But does this custom mean that all Jewish people both male and female were married by this age? I think not if we are to believe the history of, first, John the Baptist and second, the existence of "Essenes" a pious and strict community of Jewish people who chose to live away from the urban society in seclusion in the wilderness. Most of these Essenes did not get married and lived a very strict spiritual life. We all know that John the Baptist was not a married man and he was certainly a Jew. The Bible itself proclaims him as the "voice from the wilderness".
In the gospels, Jesus is called as a "Nazerene. Generally it is assumed that Jesus was called "Nazarene" because he lived in Nazareth. But consider the following where Tertullus, the orator for the Jews accusing Paul as the ring leader of the SECT "Nazarenes".
Mathew:2:23: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Act:24:5: For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes
It is interesting to mention here that the Essenes were also known as Nazoreans in the first century, which suggests the possibility of Jesus belonging to this sect of the Jews.
Jesus who displayed an inclination towards spirituality from His very early age could have followed suit and opted not to marry. This will even account for His life between the age of twelve and thirty, when in all probability He was among the Essenes learning and preparing Himself for His ministry. But that subject will be treated in another article in detail.
Whether you are an Orthodox Christian, just a believer or a non believer, you will still agree that from the ancient times, the holy men and women preferred to be independent and not tied to family life. It was not because they were against family life but just that they wanted to pursue their spiritual life without the encumbrances of family ties. Jesus was holy both by his life and His teaching and it is not surprising that He was not married. Some of the disciples of Jesus, who were also Jews were also not married, as we know.
What about the women around Him, you may ask and it is reasonable enough. In our own life we see holy men always surrounded by devotees of both sexes. In the case of women they are simply more demonstrative of their affection/devotion than men which we all will agree. Also humanity longs for love and compassion and both these qualities have the properties of magnetism in them that attracts everyone to them. So it is only natural that both men and women flocked to Jesus who was an epitome of love and compassion in all He did. Jesus certainly was and still is a charismatic person.
Considering the above facts it is safe to conclude that it is not necessary to deem Jesus as a married man purely on the basis of a custom which had its exceptions or a novel which is purely a fiction conceived by the cleverness of a creative writer.
~*~
Copyright © 04/08/2006 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
Some references relevant to the above:
Church History by Eusebius Pamphilius, bishopric of Cæsarea,
Translation by Dr. Arthur C. McGiffert and Dr. Ernest C. Richardson,
(New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890)
Completed some time in the year 324 A D.
Chapter XXV
4. Among the rejected writings must be reckoned also the Acts of Paul, and the so-called
Shepherd, and the Apocalypse of Peter, and in addition to these the extant epistle of Barnabas,
and the so-called Teachings of the Apostles; and besides, as I said, the Apocalypse of John, if it
seem proper, which some, as I said, reject, but which others class with the accepted books.
5. And among these some have placed also the Gospel according to the Hebrews, with which
those of the Hebrews that have accepted Christ are especially delighted. And all these may be
reckoned among the disputed books.
6. But we have nevertheless felt compelled to give a catalogue of these also, distinguishing
those works which according to ecclesiastical tradition are true and genuine and commonly
accepted, from those others which, although not canonical but disputed, are yet at the same
time known to most ecclesiastical writers-we have felt compelled to give this catalogue in order
that we might be able to know both these works and those that are cited by the heretics under the
name of the apostles, including, for instance, such books as the Gospels of Peter, of Thomas,
of Matthias, or of any others besides them, and the Acts of Andrew and John and the other
apostles, which no one belonging to the succession of ecclesiastical writers has deemed worthy of
mention in his writings.
7. And further, the character of the style is at variance with apostolic usage, and both the thoughts
and the purpose of the things that are related in them are so completely out of accord with true
orthodoxy that they clearly show themselves to be the fictions of heretics. Wherefore they are
not to be placed even among the rejected writings, but are all of them to be cast aside as absurd
and impious.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.html
The Essenes - http://www.essenespirit.com/who.html
The Essenes - http://essenes.net/bnei1.htm
Since the archaeological discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1946, the word "Essene" has made its way around the world--often raising a lot of questions. Many people were astonished to discover that, two thousand years ago, a brotherhood of holy men and women, living together in a community, carried within themselves all of the seeds of Christianity and of future western civilization. This brotherhood--more or less persecuted and ostracized--would bring forth people who would change the face of the world and the course of history. Indeed, almost all of the principal founders of what would later be called Christianity were Essenes--St. Ann, Joseph and Mary, John the Baptist, Jesus, John the Evangelist, etc.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05546a.htm - The Catholic Encyclopedia on Essenes
**********
Church History by Eusebius Pamphilius, bishopric of Cæsarea,
Chapter XXX.-The Apostles that were Married.
1. Clement, indeed, whose words we have just quoted, after the above-mentioned facts gives a
statement, on account of those who rejected marriage, of the apostles that had wives. “Or will
they,” says he, “reject even the apostles? For Peter and Philip begat children; and Philip also
gave his daughters in marriage. And Paul does not hesitate, in one of his epistles, to greet his wife,
whom he did not take about with him, that he might not be inconvenienced in his ministry.”
2. And since we have mentioned this subject it is not improper to subjoin another account which
is given by the same author and which is worth reading. In the seventh book of his Stromata he
writes as follows: “They say, accordingly, that when the blessed Peter saw his own wife led out
to die, he rejoiced because of her summons and her return home, and called to her very encouragingly
and comfortingly, addressing her by name, and saying, ‘Oh thou, remember the Lord.’ Such was
the marriage of the blessed, and their perfect disposition toward those dearest to them.” This account
being in keeping with the subject in hand, I have related here in its proper place.
"Mathew:8:14: And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever."
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Saturday, September 1, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Redemption And Salvation - 4
Paul and Christianity
If you are familiar with the New Testament of the Bible, you will realize that most of the books of the New Testament are dedicated to Paul the apostle. Only the four gospels are dedicated to the life and work of Jesus. In the Acts, although some of the other Apostles are mentioned, the major portion of the book is dedicated to the history, message and acts of Paul the Apostle. Now the question arises why this importance to Paul, who was not one of the original disciples of Jesus.
Those who are familiar with the New Testament know who Paul was and what he did to the followers of Jesus. For those who don't here is a brief description. Paul's original name was Saul and he was one of the staunch Jews and well versed in the scriptures of the Jews. It is said of Paul that he learned the scriptures from the great Jewish scholar and Rabbi, Gamaliel. He was also a great oppressor of the followers of Jesus until he was converted.
Ac:22:3: I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
According to the gospels, it was Peter the disciple on whom the church of Jesus was to be built.
M't:16:18: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And yet here in the New Testament it is Paul, who is not one of the original disciples, is exalted and whose messages are considered as the true interpretation of the Messages of Jesus. It must be noted here that Jesus spoke to the people in parables and later explained the true hidden meaning to his disciples in private. Please note Paul was NOT among the privileged disciples who received these detailed messages from Jesus. Yet today’s church, irrespective of the denomination always quotes the words of Paul to justify their doctrines of Christianity.
Even when they strive to explain important messages of Jesus, such as "Being Born again" it is the words of Paul which is quoted to justify their interpretation. The gospels claim Jesus had twelve disciples. But those familiar with the gospels know that Jesus had more than these twelve people as his disciples and most of them followed him every where and some of them were also women. Even in the acts, the women are mentioned to follow the apostles in their journey of preaching Gospel. Yet gospels suggest that Jesus had only twelve disciples. Do you wonder why?
Is not it obvious that the number twelve was chosen later on by the greedy bishops who wanted to equate Christianity with the then extant pagan religions? It is interesting that the Zodiac has twelve signs in it and twelve is a sacred number for the pagans. Of course this is a separate subject and I will not go deeper into this except to mention it here for the readers to consider and think it over.
Now coming back to Paul, let us consider a theory. I repeat this is only a theory.
Paul as Saul hated the followers of Jesus and was known to persecute them wherever he found them. In fact he was journeying from place to place to seek out the followers of Jesus and persecute them. Now this is the man who is now exalted above the original disciples of Jesus and it is on the strength of this man's interpretation of the messages of Jesus that today’s Christianity thrives.
Now let us see this scene of fast growing followers of Jesus in the time of Saul in spite of his persecution and think from Paul's point of view. Here is a religion or doctrine fast growing despite his efforts to destroy it which is contrary to the beliefs of the Jewish people in the very land of the Jews. These people are the followers of the man who claimed he is the son of god and the expected messiah of the Jews, all of which are blasphemy in the eyes of this staunch Jew, Saul. How can he stop the growth of this following of Jesus and save Jewish religion?
The easiest way to destroy any organization is to destroy it from within that organization and what a brilliant idea! Saul becomes Paul and convinces the original Apostle of hsi sincerity which is of course false. The innocent Apostles believe his learned speech and accept him within their circle and even recommend him to the various churches where he goes to preach the gospel of Jesus.
Here is the opportunity to Saul alias Paul to, having infiltrated into the folds of the followers of Jesus, to corrupt the messages of Jesus in such a crafty way using his high scholarly talent to deviate them from the original true messages of Jesus. From the way Christianity has embraced the interpretations of this Paul from his letters to the various churches, it is obvious that he has succeeded in hiding the true messages of Jesus and there by destroying it totally. All the future bishops and preachers of the gospel have eagerly accepted the teachings of Paul since it gave them more leverage to control their respective churches.
Now if you go to many of the Pentecostal churches you will hear them proudly proclaiming "We are following the Apostles". By Apostles they mean Paul and not the others. A deeper analysis of the whole Bible will show us very clearly that the religions based on the Bible are male dominated and has a secret Agenda to totally suppress the females in every way possible. Before the advent of these religions, Goddess worship was the acknowledged and accepted concept. Almost all the cultures of the world had its own goddess or goddesses.
The Catholic Church was intelligent enough to capitalize on this belief of the people and exalted Mary as the mother of Jesus (God) giving divinity to her and yet depriving the women of any freedom in the church or society. If you accept the divinity of Jesus and accept him as the son of God then you also accept the concept of a female Goddess who participated in the birth of the son of God. All these religions suppress the possibility of the existence of Goddess or Goddesses. This last bit of information is for you to think!!!
All feedback welcome
Copyright © 03/15/2007 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
If you are familiar with the New Testament of the Bible, you will realize that most of the books of the New Testament are dedicated to Paul the apostle. Only the four gospels are dedicated to the life and work of Jesus. In the Acts, although some of the other Apostles are mentioned, the major portion of the book is dedicated to the history, message and acts of Paul the Apostle. Now the question arises why this importance to Paul, who was not one of the original disciples of Jesus.
Those who are familiar with the New Testament know who Paul was and what he did to the followers of Jesus. For those who don't here is a brief description. Paul's original name was Saul and he was one of the staunch Jews and well versed in the scriptures of the Jews. It is said of Paul that he learned the scriptures from the great Jewish scholar and Rabbi, Gamaliel. He was also a great oppressor of the followers of Jesus until he was converted.
Ac:22:3: I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
According to the gospels, it was Peter the disciple on whom the church of Jesus was to be built.
M't:16:18: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And yet here in the New Testament it is Paul, who is not one of the original disciples, is exalted and whose messages are considered as the true interpretation of the Messages of Jesus. It must be noted here that Jesus spoke to the people in parables and later explained the true hidden meaning to his disciples in private. Please note Paul was NOT among the privileged disciples who received these detailed messages from Jesus. Yet today’s church, irrespective of the denomination always quotes the words of Paul to justify their doctrines of Christianity.
Even when they strive to explain important messages of Jesus, such as "Being Born again" it is the words of Paul which is quoted to justify their interpretation. The gospels claim Jesus had twelve disciples. But those familiar with the gospels know that Jesus had more than these twelve people as his disciples and most of them followed him every where and some of them were also women. Even in the acts, the women are mentioned to follow the apostles in their journey of preaching Gospel. Yet gospels suggest that Jesus had only twelve disciples. Do you wonder why?
Is not it obvious that the number twelve was chosen later on by the greedy bishops who wanted to equate Christianity with the then extant pagan religions? It is interesting that the Zodiac has twelve signs in it and twelve is a sacred number for the pagans. Of course this is a separate subject and I will not go deeper into this except to mention it here for the readers to consider and think it over.
Now coming back to Paul, let us consider a theory. I repeat this is only a theory.
Paul as Saul hated the followers of Jesus and was known to persecute them wherever he found them. In fact he was journeying from place to place to seek out the followers of Jesus and persecute them. Now this is the man who is now exalted above the original disciples of Jesus and it is on the strength of this man's interpretation of the messages of Jesus that today’s Christianity thrives.
Now let us see this scene of fast growing followers of Jesus in the time of Saul in spite of his persecution and think from Paul's point of view. Here is a religion or doctrine fast growing despite his efforts to destroy it which is contrary to the beliefs of the Jewish people in the very land of the Jews. These people are the followers of the man who claimed he is the son of god and the expected messiah of the Jews, all of which are blasphemy in the eyes of this staunch Jew, Saul. How can he stop the growth of this following of Jesus and save Jewish religion?
The easiest way to destroy any organization is to destroy it from within that organization and what a brilliant idea! Saul becomes Paul and convinces the original Apostle of hsi sincerity which is of course false. The innocent Apostles believe his learned speech and accept him within their circle and even recommend him to the various churches where he goes to preach the gospel of Jesus.
Here is the opportunity to Saul alias Paul to, having infiltrated into the folds of the followers of Jesus, to corrupt the messages of Jesus in such a crafty way using his high scholarly talent to deviate them from the original true messages of Jesus. From the way Christianity has embraced the interpretations of this Paul from his letters to the various churches, it is obvious that he has succeeded in hiding the true messages of Jesus and there by destroying it totally. All the future bishops and preachers of the gospel have eagerly accepted the teachings of Paul since it gave them more leverage to control their respective churches.
Now if you go to many of the Pentecostal churches you will hear them proudly proclaiming "We are following the Apostles". By Apostles they mean Paul and not the others. A deeper analysis of the whole Bible will show us very clearly that the religions based on the Bible are male dominated and has a secret Agenda to totally suppress the females in every way possible. Before the advent of these religions, Goddess worship was the acknowledged and accepted concept. Almost all the cultures of the world had its own goddess or goddesses.
The Catholic Church was intelligent enough to capitalize on this belief of the people and exalted Mary as the mother of Jesus (God) giving divinity to her and yet depriving the women of any freedom in the church or society. If you accept the divinity of Jesus and accept him as the son of God then you also accept the concept of a female Goddess who participated in the birth of the son of God. All these religions suppress the possibility of the existence of Goddess or Goddesses. This last bit of information is for you to think!!!
All feedback welcome
Copyright © 03/15/2007 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
Redemption And Salvation - 3
To be Born Again
We accept that Jesus was a great spiritual master who showed us the way to our spiritual enlightenment. In his various messages he told us the different things required of us to be admitted into the Kingdom of God. A major criteria for admission to the Kingdom of God is to be born again. Refer to
Joh:3:3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh:3:5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Jesus specifically said that unless you are born again you will not enter the Kingdom of God. As mentioned above Christianity who profess to follow Jesus, has thousands of denominations within the one religion and accordingly the concept of "born again" is also explained in thousands of different ways. Once again this controversy needs deep thought and analysis. A man or woman already born can not be born again in flesh. So this concept of being born again preached by Jesus refers to the spiritual birth of a human and not the natural fleshly birth.
How can a human be born again in spirit? A straight forward answer for this which any ordinary human can understand easily is not given in the Bible. The Apostles have tried to explain this concept but have failed to give a simple answer. Instead they make it so complicated that the preachers have been able to interpret their explanations in many different ways to suit their own purpose and doctrine. But we need a simple answer to this question, one that can be understood easily by all humans. This is important because all humans want to enter into the Kingdom of God and NOT only the intelligent or the blind believers of the human species.
Further Being born again is the only way to attain ETERNAL LIFE as professed by the gospels and the other books of the New Testament. So we need to know the true meaning of this concept of being born again. I do not pretend to be a scholar of scripture or a spiritual master. I am a simple ordinary human being in search of the truth about spirituality. Accordingly in my own humble way, I have been searching for an answer to this concept and here I place my own belief of the meaning of "Being Born again" for your consideration. I am open to suggestions on this subject as I do not claim to know all.
When we are born the first time to our parents, we are of flesh (in the womb a child is surrounded by water) and a normal human being does not give any importance to the spirit that resides within and gives life to the body. We assume that we are this body and live accordingly with the permanent fear that some day we will die. In such a state our importance goes to this body and the needs and pleasures/pain concerning this body. We normally do not think of the spirit that resides within us which is our life. I am saying this about a normal human being. It is of course possible that some of us may be aware of our spirit from early age and would know the difference between our bodily existence and the spirit that gives life to us and makes our body a living body.
It is my humble belief that when we realize that we are NOT this body but are really A SPIRIT BEING temporarily residing in this body and that our spirit has no end (death) and has eternal life, it is then that we are born again. Once we realize our spirit existence, it is then that we give more importance to our spirit and know that this body is mortal but not us who are spirit beings. It is then that we realize our ETERNAL EXISTANCE. This is the ETERNAL LIFE all humans are searching for.
As I said earlier this is my humble belief and I am open to suggestions on this subject.
All feedback welcome
Copyright © 03/15/2007 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
We accept that Jesus was a great spiritual master who showed us the way to our spiritual enlightenment. In his various messages he told us the different things required of us to be admitted into the Kingdom of God. A major criteria for admission to the Kingdom of God is to be born again. Refer to
Joh:3:3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh:3:5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Jesus specifically said that unless you are born again you will not enter the Kingdom of God. As mentioned above Christianity who profess to follow Jesus, has thousands of denominations within the one religion and accordingly the concept of "born again" is also explained in thousands of different ways. Once again this controversy needs deep thought and analysis. A man or woman already born can not be born again in flesh. So this concept of being born again preached by Jesus refers to the spiritual birth of a human and not the natural fleshly birth.
How can a human be born again in spirit? A straight forward answer for this which any ordinary human can understand easily is not given in the Bible. The Apostles have tried to explain this concept but have failed to give a simple answer. Instead they make it so complicated that the preachers have been able to interpret their explanations in many different ways to suit their own purpose and doctrine. But we need a simple answer to this question, one that can be understood easily by all humans. This is important because all humans want to enter into the Kingdom of God and NOT only the intelligent or the blind believers of the human species.
Further Being born again is the only way to attain ETERNAL LIFE as professed by the gospels and the other books of the New Testament. So we need to know the true meaning of this concept of being born again. I do not pretend to be a scholar of scripture or a spiritual master. I am a simple ordinary human being in search of the truth about spirituality. Accordingly in my own humble way, I have been searching for an answer to this concept and here I place my own belief of the meaning of "Being Born again" for your consideration. I am open to suggestions on this subject as I do not claim to know all.
When we are born the first time to our parents, we are of flesh (in the womb a child is surrounded by water) and a normal human being does not give any importance to the spirit that resides within and gives life to the body. We assume that we are this body and live accordingly with the permanent fear that some day we will die. In such a state our importance goes to this body and the needs and pleasures/pain concerning this body. We normally do not think of the spirit that resides within us which is our life. I am saying this about a normal human being. It is of course possible that some of us may be aware of our spirit from early age and would know the difference between our bodily existence and the spirit that gives life to us and makes our body a living body.
It is my humble belief that when we realize that we are NOT this body but are really A SPIRIT BEING temporarily residing in this body and that our spirit has no end (death) and has eternal life, it is then that we are born again. Once we realize our spirit existence, it is then that we give more importance to our spirit and know that this body is mortal but not us who are spirit beings. It is then that we realize our ETERNAL EXISTANCE. This is the ETERNAL LIFE all humans are searching for.
As I said earlier this is my humble belief and I am open to suggestions on this subject.
All feedback welcome
Copyright © 03/15/2007 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
Redemption And Salvation - 2
Jesus as Messiah
In the old Testament of the Bible from the first book Genesis to the last book Malachy, it has been prophesied that God will send his messiah to redeem humanity from this original sin. Please refer
Ge:3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Mal:3:1: Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Isa:7:14: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa:9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa:59:20: And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
Some of these prophecies are interpreted to say that God will send his only begotten son to redeem humanity. The prophecies also confirm that the messiah will redeem humanity by sacrificing himself and his blood will redeem humanity from the original sin.
The gospels of the New Testament claims Jesus is the messiah and son of God. It also further says that Jesus was born of a virgin and hence pure and devoid of the original sin. Everyone knows the story of crucification and resurrection and so I am not mentioning it.
But here again a thinking man begins to wonder about the Bible prophecies and the advent of Jesus.
The first question is whether Jesus was born of a virgin. The prophecies clearly mention that the messiah will come from the roots of Jessie, in other words in the genealogy of King David who was of the Jewish tribe. Mary, the mother of Jesus, being the cousin of Elizabeth, can not be a Jew. Zacharias, father of John the Baptist is a Rabbi and only the tribe of Levi and descendents of Aaron could become rabbis. It is quite possible that Mary, the mother of Jesus was also a Levite.
As you will all agree, if Jesus was born of Mary alone then he can not be from the root of Jessie, the father of King David. If the people who call themselves believers of Jesus insist upon virgin birth then they are defying the prophecy of the old testament.
Lu:1:36: And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
In order to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament, it becomes imperative that Jesus is the biological son of Joseph whose lineage is traced back to King David in the gospels. If Jesus was born of Virgin Mary then he is NOT the messiah, the Old Testament has prophesied.
Isa:11:10: And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Yet Christianity assures us that Jesus is the messiah and goes on to elaborate that Jesus by sacrificing himself on the cross and shedding his blood has redeemed us from the original sin. All one has to do is believe in Jesus as the messiah and you are redeemed from the original sin. Of course various denominations of the Christianity give different definition for redemption by the blood of Jesus and we all know that Christianity has thousands of denominations and in turn has thousands of interpretations for redemption.
It must be stressed here that only those who believe in the Original sin has a need for redemption and a messiah. However logical analysis of the Bible and God clearly shows us that there can not be a original sin and we can not be born sinners. As such the question of redemption by a messiah, be it Jesus or anyone else becomes null and void. Humanity can safely accept Jesus as a great spiritual master and no more.
Further today’s Christianity has exalted Jesus to divinity and claims that he is the son of God and so he is God. Here again one has to think and analyze the facts. If Jesus is the son of God as the gospels of the New Testament claim, then surely he must have a mother. In other words God can not have a son without the aid of a female divinity. Nowhere in the Bible, be it Old Testament or New Testament, the feminine divinity is acknowledged. On the contrary, the scripture tries hard to convince us that there is only one God, the father and no other gods or goddesses. Christians willing to accept Jesus as the son of God are unwilling to admit the possibility of a female deity.
It must be noted that the Bible says that God sent his ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to redeem humanity। The gospels and the subsequent books of the New Testament assures us Jesus is the only begotten son of God and God in his kindness has sent his own son to be sacrificed for our sins. God is the creator of this universe which we all admit. At the same time no creation of God can be called as his only begotten son. To be the only begotten son of God, the son must positively have a mother, a goddess or a human female. Neither is acknowledged by the scripture and those who questioned this shortcoming were persecuted.
All feedback welcome
Copyright © 03/15/2007 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
In the old Testament of the Bible from the first book Genesis to the last book Malachy, it has been prophesied that God will send his messiah to redeem humanity from this original sin. Please refer
Ge:3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Mal:3:1: Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Isa:7:14: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa:9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa:59:20: And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
Some of these prophecies are interpreted to say that God will send his only begotten son to redeem humanity. The prophecies also confirm that the messiah will redeem humanity by sacrificing himself and his blood will redeem humanity from the original sin.
The gospels of the New Testament claims Jesus is the messiah and son of God. It also further says that Jesus was born of a virgin and hence pure and devoid of the original sin. Everyone knows the story of crucification and resurrection and so I am not mentioning it.
But here again a thinking man begins to wonder about the Bible prophecies and the advent of Jesus.
The first question is whether Jesus was born of a virgin. The prophecies clearly mention that the messiah will come from the roots of Jessie, in other words in the genealogy of King David who was of the Jewish tribe. Mary, the mother of Jesus, being the cousin of Elizabeth, can not be a Jew. Zacharias, father of John the Baptist is a Rabbi and only the tribe of Levi and descendents of Aaron could become rabbis. It is quite possible that Mary, the mother of Jesus was also a Levite.
As you will all agree, if Jesus was born of Mary alone then he can not be from the root of Jessie, the father of King David. If the people who call themselves believers of Jesus insist upon virgin birth then they are defying the prophecy of the old testament.
Lu:1:36: And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
In order to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament, it becomes imperative that Jesus is the biological son of Joseph whose lineage is traced back to King David in the gospels. If Jesus was born of Virgin Mary then he is NOT the messiah, the Old Testament has prophesied.
Isa:11:10: And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Yet Christianity assures us that Jesus is the messiah and goes on to elaborate that Jesus by sacrificing himself on the cross and shedding his blood has redeemed us from the original sin. All one has to do is believe in Jesus as the messiah and you are redeemed from the original sin. Of course various denominations of the Christianity give different definition for redemption by the blood of Jesus and we all know that Christianity has thousands of denominations and in turn has thousands of interpretations for redemption.
It must be stressed here that only those who believe in the Original sin has a need for redemption and a messiah. However logical analysis of the Bible and God clearly shows us that there can not be a original sin and we can not be born sinners. As such the question of redemption by a messiah, be it Jesus or anyone else becomes null and void. Humanity can safely accept Jesus as a great spiritual master and no more.
Further today’s Christianity has exalted Jesus to divinity and claims that he is the son of God and so he is God. Here again one has to think and analyze the facts. If Jesus is the son of God as the gospels of the New Testament claim, then surely he must have a mother. In other words God can not have a son without the aid of a female divinity. Nowhere in the Bible, be it Old Testament or New Testament, the feminine divinity is acknowledged. On the contrary, the scripture tries hard to convince us that there is only one God, the father and no other gods or goddesses. Christians willing to accept Jesus as the son of God are unwilling to admit the possibility of a female deity.
It must be noted that the Bible says that God sent his ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to redeem humanity। The gospels and the subsequent books of the New Testament assures us Jesus is the only begotten son of God and God in his kindness has sent his own son to be sacrificed for our sins. God is the creator of this universe which we all admit. At the same time no creation of God can be called as his only begotten son. To be the only begotten son of God, the son must positively have a mother, a goddess or a human female. Neither is acknowledged by the scripture and those who questioned this shortcoming were persecuted.
All feedback welcome
Copyright © 03/15/2007 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Redemption And Salvation
Original Sin
We normal human beings believe that the God we worship is filled with compassion, love and forgiving. Almost all religions of the world also proclaim that their Gods/Goddesses advocate compassion, love and forgiveness. Yet here we are laden with s sin committed by the first man and woman who did not obey the command of God according to the Bible. Three of the major religions of the world, Jewish, Christianity and Islam affirm to their followers that they are born sinners because their first father and mother committed a crime.
This affirmation in turn creates a guilt feeling among the followers of the respective religion and this guilt feeling leads them to fear God because as born sinners we are subject to punishment. The same holy books also suggest or rather gives humanity a promise that a messiah will some day come and redeem us from this original sin. The messianic figure is exalted by these religions as the messenger of Gods or the son of God or the God himself.
For a thinking man or woman this does not sound reasonable or logical because a God portrayed as a compassionate, loving and forgiving God, can not be so cruel as to make all future generation answerable for a sin committed by the first man and woman. We humble humanity in our innocence would believe that a God who is compassionate, loving and forgiving would have long since forgiven this sin of the first man and woman. But the scripture denies this attribute of forgiveness on the part of God and assures us that God is not compassionate, loving and forgiving but is punitive. The same scripture also assures the followers that God is righteous and impartial.
One begins to wonder why this contradiction and comes to the only possible conclusion that the religious elite are using this guilt feeling and the subsequent fear of the innocent followers to control them. They further impose upon the innocent followers more laws from the scripture and scare the innocent followers into submission. The fear of retribution makes the innocent followers of these religions to diligently follow the law of the scripture without questions. Any opposition from the followers who may opt to question the rationality of the doctrine are appropriately dealt with either by severe punishment or by death.
To add to the fear of the innocent followers the concept of heaven and hell are propagated, a promise of heaven to the obedient and hell for the disobedient. Any logical person will naturally assume that a God who is compassionate, loving and forgiving would have forgiven the first couple of their sin, in which case the question of redemption does not arise. When we think deeply on this subject it becomes doubly obvious that the original sin does not exist and that we are NOT born sinners but pans in the hands of the religious leaders.
All feedback welcome
Copyright © 03/15/2007 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
We normal human beings believe that the God we worship is filled with compassion, love and forgiving. Almost all religions of the world also proclaim that their Gods/Goddesses advocate compassion, love and forgiveness. Yet here we are laden with s sin committed by the first man and woman who did not obey the command of God according to the Bible. Three of the major religions of the world, Jewish, Christianity and Islam affirm to their followers that they are born sinners because their first father and mother committed a crime.
This affirmation in turn creates a guilt feeling among the followers of the respective religion and this guilt feeling leads them to fear God because as born sinners we are subject to punishment. The same holy books also suggest or rather gives humanity a promise that a messiah will some day come and redeem us from this original sin. The messianic figure is exalted by these religions as the messenger of Gods or the son of God or the God himself.
For a thinking man or woman this does not sound reasonable or logical because a God portrayed as a compassionate, loving and forgiving God, can not be so cruel as to make all future generation answerable for a sin committed by the first man and woman. We humble humanity in our innocence would believe that a God who is compassionate, loving and forgiving would have long since forgiven this sin of the first man and woman. But the scripture denies this attribute of forgiveness on the part of God and assures us that God is not compassionate, loving and forgiving but is punitive. The same scripture also assures the followers that God is righteous and impartial.
One begins to wonder why this contradiction and comes to the only possible conclusion that the religious elite are using this guilt feeling and the subsequent fear of the innocent followers to control them. They further impose upon the innocent followers more laws from the scripture and scare the innocent followers into submission. The fear of retribution makes the innocent followers of these religions to diligently follow the law of the scripture without questions. Any opposition from the followers who may opt to question the rationality of the doctrine are appropriately dealt with either by severe punishment or by death.
To add to the fear of the innocent followers the concept of heaven and hell are propagated, a promise of heaven to the obedient and hell for the disobedient. Any logical person will naturally assume that a God who is compassionate, loving and forgiving would have forgiven the first couple of their sin, in which case the question of redemption does not arise. When we think deeply on this subject it becomes doubly obvious that the original sin does not exist and that we are NOT born sinners but pans in the hands of the religious leaders.
All feedback welcome
Copyright © 03/15/2007 Joel Raja Kumar J (a k a) Poet Raja
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