Protestantism

» Migisi - Difficult

In response to Difficult posted by HeadZenCards:

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Was Jesus a pacifist, or an idealist?
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Idealist: one that places ideals (a standard of perfection, beauty, or excellence) before practical considerations.
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But was Jesus really a nonviolent pacifist? If one can commit violence using words, we should look at the words Jesus used against people. A small sample: brood of vipers, snakes, hypocrites, dogs, swine, son of hell, blind fools, ferocious wolves, bad fruit, evil, devil (and sons of the devil), wicked and adulterous, ungrateful and wicked.
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Revelations presents a very violent Jesus coming again, stomping enemies, and feeding them to the vultures. Jesus commands his followers to practice non-violence and at the same time worship his violent Father, uses violence to destroy violence, and brings about a Kingdom of peace in the midst of violence.
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Once again, contradictions on the character of Jesus abound.

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - Difficult

In response to Difficult posted by Migisi:
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Was Jesus a pacifist, or an idealist?
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There has to be a way of describing the Essential jesus.
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I wonder if we could do that without being raided by the Denominational Police Task Force.
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Difficult

In response to Difficult posted by pink101:

There has to be a way of describing the Essential jesus.
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How do you mean 'essential'? The essence of or basics of Jesus, or the necessary and indispensable Jesus?

-- posted by Migisi

» HeadZenCards - Difficult

In response to Difficult posted by Migisi:

IMHO, the Jesus story was a story pieced together about many nut-job preachers of his era and the prevailing pagan myths.

Through the Biblical Jesus, one may pick and choose from the Hippie Jesus, the Commie Jesus, the Vengeful Jesus...: whatever flavor Jesus that brings in the money to support the current power structure.

This is why nut-job preachers from every era since claim him as their own.

That way, they can always profit from the Lord the day has made.

-- posted by HeadZenCards

» pink101 - Difficult

In response to Difficult posted by Migisi:
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The basics that make Jesus to be who it is that he is as far as a person living today is concerned.
This sense of the word essential--anything that is indispensable as far as a person of this day is concerned.
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Who knows?

In response to Difficult posted by pink101:

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The basics that make Jesus to be who it is that he is as far as a person living today is concerned.
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I liked these two parts of the PBS Frontline presentation "From Jesus to Christ":
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What Can We Really Know About Jesus?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/...
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The Complexity of His Religious Identity
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/...

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - Who knows?

In response to Who knows? posted by Migisi:
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My gosh, Migisi, that looks like a home work assignment given to students over an extended holiday. And, I wonder if I'd still be able to get an idea of who it is that you think Jesus is and or was by reading them. Can I? And, if I can, is it possible for me to say, "this" is what you believe?
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No matter, those links are very interesting.
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:~)
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I think the idea of essential should boil the idea down into twenty five words or less--maybe to almost bullet the basic issues involved.
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Did, for example, Jesus address religio/political issues with his audiences or was it all about how sinful people are and that they are bound for an eternity in Hell's condemnation? Why is it so important that we deal with the biblical Jesus? Does he only exist in a book? Must we see him as the leader who makes it possible for the Jews to rule the world? Is that what Jesus is all about? Can we portray his being without having to prove some ancient prophecy?
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Who knows?

In response to Who knows? posted by pink101:

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You want all this addressed in 25 words or less? Hee hee.

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - Who knows?

In response to Who knows? posted by Migisi:
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Are you thinking there is no essential Jesus?
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Who knows?

In response to Who knows? posted by pink101:

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I'm thinking.

-- posted by Migisi