The Christ of Christians

[Silent Munkey]

Mathew 10:32-38

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

He actually states that he isn't bringing peace to the world. "I came not to send peace, but a sword." I am just confused as to why anyone would want to follow a person like this.

I added that last line in there because of the reference to the cross... I guess he expected people to carry crosses before he died.

Mark 5:8-13

8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand and were choked in the sea.

Why did 2,000 pigs have to die? What did the pigs do? Why couldn't the guy just die?

[Silent Munkey]

Oh and my favorite...

Mark 21:18-20

18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

Because a tree didn't have fruit on it? He just kills it? Way to use your powers for the greater good "Son of God"...

Mark 11:13-

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.
14 Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

Once again...

[Silent Munkey]

hehe I misspelled Christians. =)

[minorwork]

He actually states that he isn't bringing peace to the world. "I came not to send peace, but a sword." I am just confused as to why anyone would want to follow a person like this.

It is an allegory for one who thoroughly understands themselves. You understand yourself don't you? And do others think you act out of self interest? Any is suspect claiming his work is for other's interests. Loving your mother more than self is a recipe for subjugation of one's will and a taking on of responsibility for the results of acting at another's behest.

I added that last line in there because of the reference to the cross... I guess he expected people to carry crosses before he died.

A metaphor for responsibility. In this case, standing up for what you believe, which is that you are the King of the Castle, Master of your Domain, not just self realized but God realized.

Why did 2,000 pigs have to die? What did the pigs do? Why couldn't the guy just die?

Total bullshit in reality, but allegorically establishes your own authority of self rule.

[minorwork]

Oh and my favorite...
Mark 21:18-20
Because a tree didn't have fruit on it? He just kills it? Way to use your powers for the greater good "Son of God"...
Mark 11:13-
Once again...

Allegorically. Again. Authority rests with the self realized, even more with the god realized. The fig tree is an allegorical representation of the human body that, seemingly on a whim of luck or bad fortune of being in the wrong time and place, can be set upon to destruction by seeming unsympathetic powerful forces above it.

[Silent Munkey]

Allegorically. Again. Authority rests with the self realized, even more with the god realized. The fig tree is an allegorical representation of the human body that, seemingly on a whim of luck or bad fortune of being in the wrong time and place, can be set upon to destruction by seeming unsympathetic powerful forces above it.

God is real int he Bible. God created the fig tree with a season for fruit... And 'His son" kills it because it is being normal and natural and he is not pleased? He just sounds like a selfish and ignorant peson. The model Messiah?

[Silent Munkey]

It is an allegory for one who thoroughly understands themselves. You understand yourself don't you? And do others think you act out of self interest? Any is suspect claiming his work is for other's interests. Loving your mother more than self is a recipe for subjugation of one's will and a taking on of responsibility for the results of acting at another's behest.

A metaphor for responsibility. In this case, standing up for what you believe, which is that you are the King of the Castle, Master of your Domain, not just self realized but God realized.

Love no one before me has again always sounded very selfish.

I have never been a big fan of acting in the name of a god. I understnad why people do it. I understand why the leaders rally the people under the banner of a god and all that but that doesn't say much about the leader. He understands that the people will follow a god so he uses that to bend their will and get them to do what he couldn't get them to do with his power alone.

I do not believe in a god but I am not crazy enough to deny the power of one.

[minorwork]

God is real int he Bible. God created the fig tree with a season for fruit... And 'His son" kills it because it is being normal and natural and he is not pleased? He just sounds like a selfish and ignorant person. The model Messiah?

Nature is capricious to the uninitiated, the ignorant. Man too. Is a creator of capriciousness immune from the charge itself? Not at all. Better a capricious, selfish, ignorant god than a capricious, selfish, ignorant man. And so deity shields man from himself concerning those things done for no apparent reason. "His son" is transformed into a scapegoat and is NOT the model, in consideration of things seemingly capricious.

At another level, the parable of the fig tree is also a model of a godman's power used capriciously, a lesson testifying to the results of undisciplined thought and action of man wielding power.

The moral of the story is that each, realizing themselves as God, personally take responsibility for their every act, every thought, as these effect change in the world.

"You must not change one thing, one pebble, one grain of sand, until you know what good and evil will follow on that act." ~ Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Dispossessed"

Love no one before me has again always sounded very selfish.

Be true to yourself is the proper translation.

I have never been a big fan of acting in the name of a god. I understand why people do it.

Immaterial. Why would YOU do it? I would do it understanding the meaning of it, so that my action is aligned with, not against natural forces, and so the action would be dogmatically considered a karma-less act. A paradox if there ever was one.

I understand why the leaders rally the people under the banner of a god and all that but that doesn't say much about the leader. He understands that the people will follow a god so he uses that to bend their will and get them to do what he couldn't get them to do with his power alone.

Leaders are thrust to the front by the people's inability to accept responsibility themselves. Leaders become a surrogate shield in supposition to the deity's function. Shall the leader not take compensation for his role? He may not understand it, but his will be the first head to roll should things take a bad turn. You're living that part, eh? Again the shield manifests, the surrogate for the selves of the masses each unable, unwilling, too ignorant, or too fearful to face the godhead within.

The all providing government is such a shield too,however unwieldy with its attached chains. An adequate one for those in all out denial of their own birthright though.

I do not believe in a god but I am not crazy enough to deny the power of one.

????

[Silent Munkey]

...

[Silent Munkey]

????

I once wrote an essay back in highschool. It was titled The Power of God. I do not believe in gods and I made that point clear in the bringing of my essay. Then you have the people that do believe. This is a powerful force. The belief in a god is what gives it it's power. It is obvious that the gods never do anything to the world directly so they have to pick people to work through. We have seen nations destroyed. We have seen countless murders. Burning witches. Torturing. Maiming. Lying. Stealing. ...you get the point...

The power of god lies in the minds of its people. The actions of those people are the only display of power we will ever see from any god.

Granted it isn't all bad but it doesn't make up for all the wrong religion has done over the years.

This is why I believe in the power of a god that doesn't exist.

[minorwork]

I once wrote an essay back in highschool. It was titled The Power of God. I do not believe in gods and I made that point clear in the bringing of my essay. Then you have the people that do believe. This is a powerful force. The belief in a god is what gives it it's power. It is obvious that the gods never do anything to the world directly so they have to pick people to work through. We have seen nations destroyed. We have seen countless murders. Burning witches. Torturing. Maiming. Lying. Stealing. ...you get the point...

The power of god lies in the minds of its people. The actions of those people are the only display of power we will ever see from any god.

Granted it isn't all bad but it doesn't make up for all the wrong religion has done over the years.

This is why I believe in the power of a god that doesn't exist.

The man-body is the temple of god where god is realized.

Con men of all stripes play to the human condition for their own profit, monetary or emotional. Who among us does not yield to the temptation of such power? A boss knows his men's idiosyncrasies and effectively manipulates them to the job at hand. An effective boss doesn't have to. He watches over his men's safety and becomes the scapegoat for their mistakes.

The Biblical theme is to know oneself in the gentlest manner possible and so be an effective boss of oneself. But the Bible fails to effectively communicate to the needs of each student according to his abilities, as any religion fails whose master is dead. Unfortunately experience is the most effective teacher when a mortal one is not at hand. Its knowledge cannot be cast aside like a wormy apple.

[theophilus]

Mathew 10:32-38
He actually states that he isn't bringing peace to the world. "I came not to send peace, but a sword." I am just confused as to why anyone would want to follow a person like this.

The reason he brings division is that some people will hear and receive him and some will reject him and persecute those who believe in him.

I added that last line in there because of the reference to the cross... I guess he expected people to carry crosses before he died.

This means that we must be prepared to do what God wants even though it will lead to personal sacrifice.

Mark 5:8-13
Why did 2,000 pigs have to die? What did the pigs do? Why couldn't the guy just die?

If the pigs hadn't died then they would have died later when they were slaughtered to be eaten. What difference does it make if they died a little earlier than they would otherwise?

Mark 21:18-20
Because a tree didn't have fruit on it? He just kills it? Way to use your powers for the greater good "Son of God"...

You can find the answer to that here:
Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree if it was not the right season for figs? The answer to this question can be determined by studying the characteristics of fig trees. The fruit of the fig tree generally appears before the leaves, and, because the fruit is green it blends in with the leaves right up until it is almost ripe. Therefore, when Jesus and His disciples saw from a distance that the tree had leaves, they would have expected it to also have fruit on it even though it was earlier in the season than what would be normal for a fig tree to be bearing fruit.

Symbolically, the fig tree represented the spiritual deadness of Israel, who while very religious outwardly with all the sacrifices and ceremonies, were spiritually barren because of their sins. By cleansing the Temple and cursing the fig tree, causing it to whither and die, Jesus was pronouncing His coming judgment of Israel and demonstrating His power to carry it out.

If you find things in the Bible you don't understand this site would be a good place to look for the answers.