Jesus

[Matt Houston]

Is there a group of people out there who believe that Jesus was a mortal man, that he did not rise from the dead, that he was an enlightened individual with insight into the right way of living which he tried to convey to people in his teachings. Are there people out there who are interested in learning about the teachings of Jesus without any of the empty ritual and mythology that make up the bible and the Christian Religion (and any organised religion for that matter). If so where could I find them?

Hope I have not caused any offence.

 

[Scuba Pete]

Are there people out there who are interested in learning about the teachings of Jesus without any of the empty ritual and mythology that make up the bible and the Christian Religion (and any organised religion for that matter). If so where could I find them?

I eschew all of the ritual and mythology myself: it's why I became a Christian.

 

[Matt Houston]

And as a Christian you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Do you believe that only Christians are entitled to 'salvation'? Just asking, I know we are not meant to debate here and I am not interested in debating anyway.

 

[Scuba Pete]

This is comparative religion, so I believe your questions are legit...

Sure, I believe he rose from the dead. I also believe that no one is entitled to salvation. God makes it available anyway, but we certainly don't deserve it.

More importantly, I deplore ritual, and certainly don't buy into the myth that "religion" has all the answers. My belief is simple: Love God, and love everyone else. Everything else is just unimportant details. Go figure.

 

[Matt Houston]

Do you know of any..........groups of people who follow the teachings of Jesus but do not believe he was raised from the dead?

I find it hard to believe I am the only one.

 

[Buttons*]

u arent... but first i'd look into if Jesus really even existed.

the book "The Jesus Mysteries" could help clear things up for you... it had many good refrences... look it up! if u're really interested...

 

[Halcyon]

Well, i'm sure there are many people who follow Jesus's teachings without believing in the resurrection.

An ancient group were the Ebionites;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebionites

Its possible these people followed the church led by the brother of Jesus, James. They opposed the church led by Peter and later Paul.

I think it would be very unlikely that no-one has similar beliefs today, have you done a google search?

 

[Matt Houston]

Hey, thanks I definately look into that book

I am very open to that fact that Jesus may not have existed, from what i understand the bible and related texts are the only records of him ever having existed, which is somehthing when you consider that the Romans were the greatest record keepers of all time and make no mention of him, but for some reason I think he did exist, I just can't bring myself to believe in miracles, people don't turn wate rinto wine now, why should they have done 200 years ago.

 

[Matt Houston]

Well, i'm sure there are many people who follow Jesus's teachings without believing in the resurrection.

An ancient group were the Ebionites;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebionites

Its possible these people followed the church led by the brother of Jesus, James. They opposed the church led by Peter and later Paul.

I think it would be very unlikely that no-one has similar beliefs today, have you done a google search?

Yes I have search a lot on google and evey other resource at my disposal. I also read about the ebionites, if I remember correctly they were absorbed into more mainstream Judaism.

 

[Todd]

Do you know of any..........groups of people who follow the teachings of Jesus but do not believe he was raised from the dead?

I find it hard to believe I am the only one.

From my limited knowledge on the subject, from what I understand is that Muslim's think he was a good profit, but don't believe he was raised from the dead or was even killed. I had discussed this with one of my friends who happens to be a Muslim. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Katzpur]

Is there a group of people out there who believe that Jesus was a mortal man, that he did not rise from the dead, that he was an enlightened individual with insight into the right way of living which he tried to convey to people in his teachings. Are there people out there who are interested in learning about the teachings of Jesus without any of the empty ritual and mythology that make up the bible and the Christian Religion (and any organised religion for that matter). If so where could I find them?

Hope I have not caused any offence.

I think a lot of Unitarian Univeralists believe pretty much as you do, Matt. You might want to go directly to the UU sub-forum and see if any of them can give you any additional information.

 

[Popeyesays]

Hey, thanks I definately look into that book

I am very open to that fact that Jesus may not have existed, from what i understand the bible and related texts are the only records of him ever having existed, which is somehthing when you consider that the Romans were the greatest record keepers of all time and make no mention of him, but for some reason I think he did exist, I just can't bring myself to believe in miracles, people don't turn wate rinto wine now, why should they have done 200 years ago.

One must remember that the only historyof interest to Romans was the history that glorified Rome.

They were very focuses and uninterested in anything not Roman in origin. So, if Josephus was an historian for Rome it was because his work showed Rome in its conquering glory, they had little interest in Palestine other than as conquered territory and the proactices, teachings, and wisdom of the Jewish nation were of no interest whatsoever to them.

Regards,
Scott

 

[BruceDLimber]

Is there a group of people out there who believe that Jesus was a mortal man, that he did not rise from the dead, that he was an enlightened individual with insight into the right way of living which he tried to convey to people in his teachings?

Probably.

There are people out there who believe virtually everything!

(Not that this makes them correct, of course . . .)

BTW, please don't worry about offending: sincere questions are always welcome in these forums!

Are there people out there who are interested in learning about the teachings of Jesus without any of the empty ritual and mythology that make up the bible and the Christian Religion (and any organised religion for that matter). If so where could I find them?

I fear you haven't investigated enough religions given that you're under the very mistaken impression that they're all wrapped up in rituah and mythology! I can assure you that some faiths aren't into mythology, and have few or no rituals! (It's simply a matter of searching around to discover them....)

Peace,

Bruce

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

Well, i'm sure there are many people who follow Jesus's teachings without believing in the resurrection.

For the record, we Baha'is view the Resurrection as a real event, but of spiritual--not literal--significance.

This agrees with the Bible, please note, which explicltly states that it is the _spirit_ that's important and that the flesh counts for nothing.

Regards,

Bruce

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

Well, i'm sure there are many people who follow Jesus's teachings without believing in the resurrection.

For the record, we Baha'is view the Resurrection as a real event, but of spiritual--not literal--significance.

This agrees with the Bible, please note, which explicltly states that it is the _spirit_ that's important and that the flesh counts for nothing.

Regards,

Bruce

 

[soma]

The mere reading of the Bible does not make us a Christian, and the direct experience of the soul can't be realized by the mere hearing of words or by reasoning alone. The Bible has to be read with an open mind to gain the indirect knowledge about the soul and then we have to act to bring that knowledge into ourselves in an actual experience. The indirect experience described in the Bible can inspirer us to gain the direct perception of God consciousness within ourselves. If we read the Bible or not, we are all entitled to the direct experience with God. Jesus never read the Bible and he had a direct understanding of the soul. The apostles acted in the spirit, received mental purification and they qualified for the secret of the soul too.

Jesus said, "I am the light and the way and it is only through me that my Father's kingdom can be attained." Jesus was a man, and Christ was the perfect man. He perfected the layers of his mind and attained Christ consciousness. The Christ way is to lay aside our fears, doubts and worries so we can enter into a silent, peaceful contemplation of Christ consciousness. Pure consciousness is within us and is perfect and because it is perfect, it destroys our doubts and fears, and casts out all uncertainty and disbelief. We must let go of everything, drop every fear from our minds, and enter into inner communion with the Father in pure consciousness. Now, from pure consciousness we draw full, complete and perfect joy, which causes us to surrender to the Father then God can remove every mental obstruction to peace because we surrender all confusion, doubt, condemnation and judgment to Him. Because the Soul is higher than the mind and more than the body, all conflicts can be removed and healed without effort, both in the mind and the body. The Christ way governs the activities of our life leading us to fulfillment with joy, love, unity, happiness and success.

http://thinkunity.com