LET US BE HONEST- AN ANSWER TO CHRIST AND INDIAN CULTURE
Second page in the article, “Christ and Indian Cultural heritage” who ever wrote this, states clearly quote” My imagination is spreading its wings Man has set out his journey” I agree with this statement if man is separated from his imaginative powers there is no religion and there is no God as we think. Except basic necessities of man, most every thing we see around us are evolved from thinking and imagination. When Jesus lived there was no India as we know today and Asia as we know today, was known to very few travelers in the Middle East. In every civilization before Christ, there were people lived with noble virtues. In Greece, Aristotle and Socrates. In the East Buddha and Confucius and in Persia Zoroastrian. Historians will say all these people contributed so much wisdom for the man kind. We don’t know exactly from where Jesus got his noble wisdom. Jesus was not the first person preached kindness, forgiveness and love for all.
Jesus said this several times “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations…..” Teach what? all about Roman Catholic Religion or his love for the man kind? ” teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” All religions have taken followers so far away from real truth of God, with their rituals and idol worship. Religion like Islam, the crudest in this respect will not allow members to think any thing out side that religion. Christians are afraid to think any thing new because the fear of a hell waiting for them after death. Spiritual death is the result of following each other like a flock of sheep. Death is the result of inaction. Be active; and wherever there is activity, there must be difference. Difference is the sauce of life; it is the beauty, it is the art of everything. Difference makes all beautiful here. It is variety that is the source of life, the sign of life. Why should we be afraid of it?
It is waste of time and effort for the writer to abuse great epics like Vedas, Upanishads to prove Bible is much superior or Jesus is in those epics. People like Swami Vivekananda talked about the historic Jesus and his teachings not about the Jesus the Roman Catholic religion created. Vivekananda placed Jesus among great thinkers and teachers lived such as Buddha, Confucius and Saurashtra.
This is one nature of man to create imaginary characters in his mind then tell or write stories. Put words in the mouth of famous people they lived in the past, became an easy way to establish credibility for some ideas. Since not much recorded what they said when some of these famous people lived, polluting their sayings became an art. There is a school of thought, believe that Jesus lived in India for several years before he started his public teachings. Jesus learned about love, peace, kindness and giving up all worldly gains from Buddhism and Vedic Gurus. This argument is more realistic than the speculations made by righteous evangelical Christians about the life and teachings of Jesus.
Commonsense and logic are not part of a religion. Man started to walk on this earth probably few hundred thousand years ago. Man’s imaginary power kept him unique and different from other living creatures. That imagination took man out of forests to all parts of the globe. His imaginations became creative. Tools were developed out of rocks and animal bones. Shelters were created to escape from natural calamities and other animal attacks. Communities were created for strength and protection. Fear of darkness made man love the light producing objects above. That object became his provider and protector. Imagination took him to create sounds to communicate each other. Eventually those sounds took shape of words. Imagination made his hands paint pictures on walls of caves and rocks. All evolved slowly nothing was accrued same time.
Blind faith is what most religions demand from followers. There is no problem with blind faith in a religion as long as that religion will not claim that God created that religion. Especially Islam and Catholic religion claim that God personally made those religions and God is involved in the day to day management of their affairs. In the past, both Islam and the Catholics were engaged in wars to settle their differences and establish authority. Thousands of people were killed in those conflicts. Today only Islam is visibly militant in the religion business.
When he issued his ill-fated call to save Eastern Christendom from the Muslims around A.D. 1090, Pope Urban II unleashed what scholars across religious and ideological divides agree was one of history's biggest exercises in futility. Over the next 200 years, wave after wave of crusading knights wrecked havoc, death and destruction at the end of which, very little was gained.
Man was and is a story teller. Most writings we consider as ancient probably existed in its rudimentary form as stories several thousand years back. Before writing techniques were developed oral tradition was the norm. Stories told, retold, modified added from generations to generations. This oral tradition kept so many stories alive. When man invented alphabets, learned to write and found medium to put words some of the spoken stories got recorded. We see so many great books today that are based on imaginary characters and events. Most these characters are not entirely new creations from the authors. We know, most epics evolved from story tellers. Writings of Homer, Walmeeki and Kalidhasan are examples.
If some one say God inspired a person to write a book about him about 2000 years back, that make little or no sense. Why God waited all these years to reveal his story to man. Why God waited all that time to give rules and laws? Why God chose a small group of people as his chosen, even though he created all people on this earth? Is this a coincidence or not, God got manifested in man once man developed his speaking and writing capabilities? Telling the Old Testament as God inspired book is an insult to God. For example take Genesis. God created earth before light. Sun was rotating the earth. Earth was flat. This believe carried on for centauries. Galileo was a victim of the Catholic church for his believe that earth was round.
The important question to be asked to all Roman Catholics in this discussion, who was Jesus Christ and what is the relationship with Jesus and this Roman Catholic religion? Was Jesus a Roman Catholic? Was Jesus a Christian? Did Jesus know a thing about Roman Christianity? Did Jesus instructed his disciples to start a new religion? Did Jesus give up his Jewish faith on the cross?
Answers according to the history, Jesus was born in Judaea now the modern Israel from Jewish parents. He was circumcised and brought up as a Jewish person. He was different from others, so was John the Baptist. John was killed for his revolutionary ideas and preaching. Jesus followed the path of John and he got killed too.
It is a fact that Jesus did question so many rules in the Jewish bible and customs practiced by the community some times he ignored them. Jesus had followers just like the Baptist had .When Jesus lived all Judea was ruled by Romans. Except the priestly community in Judea, ordinary Jews hated the Roman rule over their life. They wanted some one to get the Romans out from their land. They thought Jesus might do that. Once they found out , Jesus was captured and tried for blasphemy they were disappointed. They thought Jesus might use miracle to get out and defeat Romans. That did not happened.
Jesus was killed by Romans, to please those Jewish priests who thought Jesus was a threat to their control over the public. This is the end of the story. History will not say Jesus abandoned his religion before death. After death of Jesus his followers did not give up Jewish heritage or the bible. They gathered to remember their teacher and his teachings with in their Jewish faith. Original Jesus followers and leaders of the movement believed that, to be a good Jesus believer must be a good Jew to begin with.
When Paul started his ministry based on Jesus teachings he started a revolution. Paul argued with leaders like James and Peter, that any one can be a Jesus follower no need to be circumcised or a Jew. Paul laid the foundation for the Christianity that we see today. Paul was an educated person and a thinker. His writings are older than Gospels. Paul was more interested in spreading Jesus movement with his stamp, out side Israel. Interesting to note that Paul and Jesus lived same time in Israel and he did not know Jesus or he paid little attention to Jesus’ teachings. How Paul became a Jesus believer, there are stories and speculations out there that is not important in this discussion.
Historians believe Mark wrote the first gospel some time 50 to 60 years after death of Jesus. All gospels are according to the name bearers Mark, Mathew, Luke and John we have no idea who wrote and what were the names of those original authors. In addition to all this confusion none of the original documents exist today. The gospels we read today are copy of a copy of a copy. General consensus is that Jesus spoke Aramaic and gospels were written in Greek. Jesus did not write a thing and all his disciples were un educated. Obviously, most common people lived in Judea at that time were not literate in a language. Most documents were written at that time were in Greek. Greek was a much more advanced language and considered to be the language of the aristocrat.
So much we see in the gospels are rewritten several times from memories and fragments of original documents. Up until the printing press was invented all documents were written by hand one letter at a time. Writing skill was not common among people only few knew how to write. What ever a scribe record was considered to be authentic. Only another scribe could point out mistakes or authenticity. When Rome took over the Christianity, a massive revision took place in the shape and contend of all gospels.
The New Testament developed, or evolved, over the course of the first 250-300 years of Christian history. No one particular person made the decision. The decision was not made at a church council. The particular writings that became those of the New Testament gradually came into focus and became the most trusted and beneficial of all the early Christian writings. Several gospels were discarded as irrelevant such as gospel of Thomas and Judas. Later they got discovered from caves known as Nag Hammidi library.
All gospels tell a story about Jesus. There are similarities same time there are contradictions. Mark and John will not write about the birth of Jesus. Mathew and Luke got a narration but they contradict. Mathew says after birth of Jesus Joseph was told by god to take the baby and escape to Egypt. Luke says Jesus was taken to temple right after birth for religious rituals. In the genealogy of Jesus, Mathew says a Jacob is father of Joseph and Luke says Heli is father of Joseph. Who is correct no idea. There is no Herod killing babies in Luke’s gospel either. If God inspired authors to write gospels then why all these contradictions different type of inspiration?
John’s gospel is entirely different. His gospel is a theological book written with Greek philosophical influence. John doesn’t say much about life of Jesus. He narrates more miracles than other three. He got the story of crucifixion very different from others. John says Jesus was crucified on the eve of the preparation day of the Passover. That means Jesus did not eat the Passover meal. John 19.14 “Now it was the preparation of the Passover”. This is a major contradiction from other gospels. According to john Jesus was crucified before Passover day started.
All Abramic religions have one starting point the Hebrew texts. All are like three children in a family come from same father and they will not get along.
To conclude my observation about Religions all of them play a role in lives of most people. For some, religious gatherings are a social platform. For many, religion gives a false hope and security. For others a place for economic activities.
Second page in the article, “Christ and Indian Cultural heritage” who ever wrote this, states clearly quote” My imagination is spreading its wings Man has set out his journey” I agree with this statement if man is separated from his imaginative powers there is no religion and there is no God as we think. Except basic necessities of man, most every thing we see around us are evolved from thinking and imagination. When Jesus lived there was no India as we know today and Asia as we know today, was known to very few travelers in the Middle East. In every civilization before Christ, there were people lived with noble virtues. In Greece, Aristotle and Socrates. In the East Buddha and Confucius and in Persia Zoroastrian. Historians will say all these people contributed so much wisdom for the man kind. We don’t know exactly from where Jesus got his noble wisdom. Jesus was not the first person preached kindness, forgiveness and love for all.
Jesus said this several times “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations…..” Teach what? all about Roman Catholic Religion or his love for the man kind? ” teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” All religions have taken followers so far away from real truth of God, with their rituals and idol worship. Religion like Islam, the crudest in this respect will not allow members to think any thing out side that religion. Christians are afraid to think any thing new because the fear of a hell waiting for them after death. Spiritual death is the result of following each other like a flock of sheep. Death is the result of inaction. Be active; and wherever there is activity, there must be difference. Difference is the sauce of life; it is the beauty, it is the art of everything. Difference makes all beautiful here. It is variety that is the source of life, the sign of life. Why should we be afraid of it?
It is waste of time and effort for the writer to abuse great epics like Vedas, Upanishads to prove Bible is much superior or Jesus is in those epics. People like Swami Vivekananda talked about the historic Jesus and his teachings not about the Jesus the Roman Catholic religion created. Vivekananda placed Jesus among great thinkers and teachers lived such as Buddha, Confucius and Saurashtra.
This is one nature of man to create imaginary characters in his mind then tell or write stories. Put words in the mouth of famous people they lived in the past, became an easy way to establish credibility for some ideas. Since not much recorded what they said when some of these famous people lived, polluting their sayings became an art. There is a school of thought, believe that Jesus lived in India for several years before he started his public teachings. Jesus learned about love, peace, kindness and giving up all worldly gains from Buddhism and Vedic Gurus. This argument is more realistic than the speculations made by righteous evangelical Christians about the life and teachings of Jesus.
Commonsense and logic are not part of a religion. Man started to walk on this earth probably few hundred thousand years ago. Man’s imaginary power kept him unique and different from other living creatures. That imagination took man out of forests to all parts of the globe. His imaginations became creative. Tools were developed out of rocks and animal bones. Shelters were created to escape from natural calamities and other animal attacks. Communities were created for strength and protection. Fear of darkness made man love the light producing objects above. That object became his provider and protector. Imagination took him to create sounds to communicate each other. Eventually those sounds took shape of words. Imagination made his hands paint pictures on walls of caves and rocks. All evolved slowly nothing was accrued same time.
Blind faith is what most religions demand from followers. There is no problem with blind faith in a religion as long as that religion will not claim that God created that religion. Especially Islam and Catholic religion claim that God personally made those religions and God is involved in the day to day management of their affairs. In the past, both Islam and the Catholics were engaged in wars to settle their differences and establish authority. Thousands of people were killed in those conflicts. Today only Islam is visibly militant in the religion business.
When he issued his ill-fated call to save Eastern Christendom from the Muslims around A.D. 1090, Pope Urban II unleashed what scholars across religious and ideological divides agree was one of history's biggest exercises in futility. Over the next 200 years, wave after wave of crusading knights wrecked havoc, death and destruction at the end of which, very little was gained.
Man was and is a story teller. Most writings we consider as ancient probably existed in its rudimentary form as stories several thousand years back. Before writing techniques were developed oral tradition was the norm. Stories told, retold, modified added from generations to generations. This oral tradition kept so many stories alive. When man invented alphabets, learned to write and found medium to put words some of the spoken stories got recorded. We see so many great books today that are based on imaginary characters and events. Most these characters are not entirely new creations from the authors. We know, most epics evolved from story tellers. Writings of Homer, Walmeeki and Kalidhasan are examples.
If some one say God inspired a person to write a book about him about 2000 years back, that make little or no sense. Why God waited all these years to reveal his story to man. Why God waited all that time to give rules and laws? Why God chose a small group of people as his chosen, even though he created all people on this earth? Is this a coincidence or not, God got manifested in man once man developed his speaking and writing capabilities? Telling the Old Testament as God inspired book is an insult to God. For example take Genesis. God created earth before light. Sun was rotating the earth. Earth was flat. This believe carried on for centauries. Galileo was a victim of the Catholic church for his believe that earth was round.
The important question to be asked to all Roman Catholics in this discussion, who was Jesus Christ and what is the relationship with Jesus and this Roman Catholic religion? Was Jesus a Roman Catholic? Was Jesus a Christian? Did Jesus know a thing about Roman Christianity? Did Jesus instructed his disciples to start a new religion? Did Jesus give up his Jewish faith on the cross?
Answers according to the history, Jesus was born in Judaea now the modern Israel from Jewish parents. He was circumcised and brought up as a Jewish person. He was different from others, so was John the Baptist. John was killed for his revolutionary ideas and preaching. Jesus followed the path of John and he got killed too.
It is a fact that Jesus did question so many rules in the Jewish bible and customs practiced by the community some times he ignored them. Jesus had followers just like the Baptist had .When Jesus lived all Judea was ruled by Romans. Except the priestly community in Judea, ordinary Jews hated the Roman rule over their life. They wanted some one to get the Romans out from their land. They thought Jesus might do that. Once they found out , Jesus was captured and tried for blasphemy they were disappointed. They thought Jesus might use miracle to get out and defeat Romans. That did not happened.
Jesus was killed by Romans, to please those Jewish priests who thought Jesus was a threat to their control over the public. This is the end of the story. History will not say Jesus abandoned his religion before death. After death of Jesus his followers did not give up Jewish heritage or the bible. They gathered to remember their teacher and his teachings with in their Jewish faith. Original Jesus followers and leaders of the movement believed that, to be a good Jesus believer must be a good Jew to begin with.
When Paul started his ministry based on Jesus teachings he started a revolution. Paul argued with leaders like James and Peter, that any one can be a Jesus follower no need to be circumcised or a Jew. Paul laid the foundation for the Christianity that we see today. Paul was an educated person and a thinker. His writings are older than Gospels. Paul was more interested in spreading Jesus movement with his stamp, out side Israel. Interesting to note that Paul and Jesus lived same time in Israel and he did not know Jesus or he paid little attention to Jesus’ teachings. How Paul became a Jesus believer, there are stories and speculations out there that is not important in this discussion.
Historians believe Mark wrote the first gospel some time 50 to 60 years after death of Jesus. All gospels are according to the name bearers Mark, Mathew, Luke and John we have no idea who wrote and what were the names of those original authors. In addition to all this confusion none of the original documents exist today. The gospels we read today are copy of a copy of a copy. General consensus is that Jesus spoke Aramaic and gospels were written in Greek. Jesus did not write a thing and all his disciples were un educated. Obviously, most common people lived in Judea at that time were not literate in a language. Most documents were written at that time were in Greek. Greek was a much more advanced language and considered to be the language of the aristocrat.
So much we see in the gospels are rewritten several times from memories and fragments of original documents. Up until the printing press was invented all documents were written by hand one letter at a time. Writing skill was not common among people only few knew how to write. What ever a scribe record was considered to be authentic. Only another scribe could point out mistakes or authenticity. When Rome took over the Christianity, a massive revision took place in the shape and contend of all gospels.
The New Testament developed, or evolved, over the course of the first 250-300 years of Christian history. No one particular person made the decision. The decision was not made at a church council. The particular writings that became those of the New Testament gradually came into focus and became the most trusted and beneficial of all the early Christian writings. Several gospels were discarded as irrelevant such as gospel of Thomas and Judas. Later they got discovered from caves known as Nag Hammidi library.
All gospels tell a story about Jesus. There are similarities same time there are contradictions. Mark and John will not write about the birth of Jesus. Mathew and Luke got a narration but they contradict. Mathew says after birth of Jesus Joseph was told by god to take the baby and escape to Egypt. Luke says Jesus was taken to temple right after birth for religious rituals. In the genealogy of Jesus, Mathew says a Jacob is father of Joseph and Luke says Heli is father of Joseph. Who is correct no idea. There is no Herod killing babies in Luke’s gospel either. If God inspired authors to write gospels then why all these contradictions different type of inspiration?
John’s gospel is entirely different. His gospel is a theological book written with Greek philosophical influence. John doesn’t say much about life of Jesus. He narrates more miracles than other three. He got the story of crucifixion very different from others. John says Jesus was crucified on the eve of the preparation day of the Passover. That means Jesus did not eat the Passover meal. John 19.14 “Now it was the preparation of the Passover”. This is a major contradiction from other gospels. According to john Jesus was crucified before Passover day started.
All Abramic religions have one starting point the Hebrew texts. All are like three children in a family come from same father and they will not get along.
To conclude my observation about Religions all of them play a role in lives of most people. For some, religious gatherings are a social platform. For many, religion gives a false hope and security. For others a place for economic activities.
