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Is christianity what Jesus wanted?
According to what I've heard about the Buddha's teachings, he expressly did not want himself to become idolized and made into an object of worship and mere ritual, but rather he wanted his teachings to be only the starting point of ongoing critical investigation, practice and dialog. As far as I can tell, both have happened.
Personally, I don't know a whole lot about what's written in the bible, for example. But I don't find it hard to imagine that Jesus might have felt the same way about his teachings as the Buddha did.
So my questions are:
1 - Do you know of any concrete indications that Jesus in fact did or did not feel that way?
2 - In your view of christianity, would you say it is only idolized worship and mere ritual, or ongoing critical investigation, practice and dialog, or does it have aspects of both (and to what degree)?
3 - Why would you say that is, and would you say it needs more (or less) of one or the other?
Colleen Steen 500+
While exploring various religions as an adult, including Catholicism, I stayed in a Benedictine monastery, working in their gardens, and participating in other aspects of their everyday life. While wandering in the library one day, I found an interesting little book called "Meeting Jesus AGAIN for the First Time" by Marcus J. Borg. With various passages from the bible, it convinced me that Jesus was a compassionate, humorous, loving person, and I discovered that the Benedictine priest's practice was very similar. Their practice didn't seem to be about dogma and ritual, as much as living life fully in every moment. They did their own logging, gardening, cleaning, cooking, etc., and had so much fun with each and every task. I later stayed with one of their sister communities in Mexico and found the nuns to be the same way. I traveled with them to mountain villages, where they helped educate and nurse those in need. Always, with both these groups of nuns and priests, there was joy, humor, gratitude, appreciation, love.
I don't think we have any "concrete indications that Jesus... did or did not feel" a certain way. What we do have is information regarding how he lived his life. What I have, is an exploration of his life through some who believe in how he lived his life, and my own exploration of life based on how I've lived my life. I believe the prophet Jesus, encouraged us to live with kindness and love. Somehow, a very basic message became entrenched in dogma, that often doesn't effectively serve humanity.
Anna-Karin Strömberg
The first priority for Jesus was to preach the good news about God's Kingdom. That is what he taught his followers to do.
He would never have been part of the political arena, or promoted war. So he wouldn't have accepted anyone who claim to be a Christain, yet participate in politics and/or war.
At least that's what I've understood from reading the Gospels.
E G 10+
Philip Crume
1) On multiple occasions, the bible claims that Jesus referred to himself as the son of god, son of man, the king whose kingdom is not of this world, etc. He was noted for speaking with an air of authority, even to Roman officers.
2) Christianity hinges on the Judaic concept of sin and scapegoats. Where all mankind is doomed because it sinned against god starting when Eve bit the apple, and only by having the whole nation place its sins on a goat, would it be possible to avoid their fate. In the Jewish contract with god (a covenant), scapegoats can only be used for a year. Jesus claimed that he was the son of god, had no sin, was a perfect sacrifice, and that it was good forever. Hence the term "lamb of god" and a new "covenant."
3) Jesus participated in some religious rituals (he was called a rabbi/spiritual teacher), everyone in ancient Israel did. But his main message was that it is more important to be spiritually genuine. He spent a lot of time engaged in "direct action" against the religious authorities and despised their superficiality. He seemed to feel that rituals were worthless if people weren't spiritually genuine and adhered to the purpose behind the ritual. For example, it wasn't enough that you should avoid adultery, but that if you even looked at a women in lust, you were just as guilty.
What draws many people outside of Christianity to him were his ideas of spiritual genuineness. However the institution of Christianity has grossly warped his teachings. In one of the unapproved works, he said: "the kingdom of god is inside and all around you." In short, you don't need buildings or a professional priesthood, or have any concerns regarding the natural world for they are corrupting influences. You can live on faith alone.
Debra Smith 200+
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Mark Meijer 100+
Although it's interesting to keep in mind that a truly wise person would also adapt his teachings to the context of the times and the needs of the "target audience". It's conceivable that this could sometimes imply the institution of something more assuming and structured (even while realizing its limited and temporary suitability, and with the hopes that at some point it would outgrow its own usefulness).
So the reason for my first question was to find out if there is anything specific in what Jesus might have said or done that could indicate his intentions in this regard, sothat it might serve as a more solid basis for constructive debate than imagination alone.
Lee Wilkinson 20+
Mark Meijer 100+