191. Jesus Christ in the
eyes of a non-Christian. Part Seven
We were discussing that how did Christianity grow from a few demoralized, persecuted, leaderless followers to the largest religion in the world?
The answer is, because Jesus repeatedly appeared to his followers after his death, and even to one of his enemies, like Saul (St. Paul). There is nothing more convincing to any person than a visit, while one is awake and in full senses, than a visit and talk with a dead person whom one knew well when that person was alive. All doubts vanish, never to appear again. Even threat of painful death does not make one renege. It is no wonder that almost all of his 12 disciples (and others like Stephens and St. Paul), except John and perhaps one other (who were not killed), stood steadfast when they were violently executed. Some were beheaded; others were crucified, or stoned to death or pierced by pine needles or arrows.
That is why his death and resurrection were so important to God’s plan
Now, after I have
discussed the four aspects of his life: his message, his miracles, his
death, and his resurrection, what do I conclude?
Power of God was with him.
Nobody before and nobody after him had that much power!
We are forced to arrive at that
conclusion by the richness of the above mentioned four aspects and by the fact
that the fruit of his labor resulted in the largest single creed which humanity
has adopted. A tree is recognized by its fruit.
Nonetheless my rational mind
cannot accept certain aspects of the popular and fundamental beliefs of
Christianity. These are listed below.
1.
Jesus was the Son of god
2.
Three gods or one God
3.
Man is made in the imitation of God
4.
Redemption of sins by Jesus
God
is fundamentally different from human beings. Let me repeat what I wrote before
( blog 113):
. God can be conceptualized as
energy, or something even more subtle than energy, with a supermind. You can
raise an objection that how can energy have a mind. We already know it can
happen. Human brain is an example. It is made, mainly, of nerve cells. These
cells have the power to think. Thoughts arise from certain nerve cells in the
brain. I can communicate with them and they with me. When I address my brain cells
and say “how are you doing?” I am certain that some brain cells have received
the message, otherwise I would not be conscious of it. The message had to be
received and interpreted by brain cells to come to my consciousness. The cells
may reply “we are fine”. Again, to come to my consciousness, some brain cells
must have formed the thought and sent it to me. Either the same or some other
brain cells interpreted the thought. These cells communicate with each other
instantaneously, at the speed of light (we know the speed, because all messages
are carried by electrons, which travel at the speed of light). If our brain, a
collection of billions of cells, made of atoms, and atoms made of subatomic
particles, such as electrons and protons and neutrons, can have thoughts of
pain, pleasure, compassion, jealousy, and anger, why not God, a collection of
pure energy, have a mind?
Such a limitless mass of subtle energy cannot have sons and
daughters like humans have. It is like saying that electricity has sons and daughters
and husbands and wives. There cannot be three Gods; the Father, the son and the
Holy spirit. Holy spirit is the kinetic energy of unchangeable God. The two
cannot be separated, like milk and its whiteness, the fire and its ability to
burn. Let us see what St. Paul had to say in New Testament:
6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom
all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things came and through whom we live. (1 Corinthians 8:6).
Man is a creation of the
Creator. It is not made in the image of God or in imitation of God. What has
limitless mass of energy in common with a biped carbon based animal?
This mote’s concept of Jesus
does not include the belief that he came to redeem our sins. He came to show us
a path through his message and through the example of his noble death and
resurrection.
I did not find any message
of Redemption in the gospel of Mark. At any rate, to think that we are
exculpated from evil deeds, because Jesus Christ has taken our sins and had to
sacrifice his life for our sins, is not rational . This notion is not worth
serious consideration.
And anyway what are the sins
of human beings for which they are going to be punished in hell, by being burnt
alive by fire for centuries if not forever?
All our acts, good or bad,
are the result of three factors, or rather two factors; intention, nature and
nurture. One is the result of one’s nature, which is produced by one’s genes,
which one gets, half from one’s mother and half from one’s father. The other
part of a person is constructed by where one is nurtured, or where one grows
up. The environments; parents, teachers, peers, culture, etc. Neither in nature
nor in nurture one had any control. A just God is not going to punish us for our
sins, because our intention was mostly derived from factors which were not in
our control (See blog 54).
As far hell is concerned I have discussed it
in blog 119 (1). Here are some excerpts:
“Years ago (probably
twenty-five), somebody casually remarked, “There is no hell, just heaven. God
is kind and merciful; therefore, there cannot be a hell”. That remark gnawed on
my ( this mote ) mind for years. The more I thought, the more I was convinced that there
cannot be hell”……….
….“Isn’t it true that you have
a son who is causing you great suffering because he drinks and………”(Sri Yogananda talking)
The man’s jaw dropped “How did
you know? Yes, this has been the greatest sorrow of my life”
“Then may I make a suggestion”
“Yes”. The man was eager for a
solution.
“All right take him out for a
walk in the hills, and have two trusted friends waiting there for you. They
should pounce upon him and bind him. Then let them build a huge roaring fire.
Let them throw your son in the fire”
The man was flabbergasted.
“Are you mad to make such a suggestion?”
“Exactly so! Yet you ascribe
such behavior to God, who created you and instilled in you that love for your
child. How dare you attribute to Him feelings so callous and punitive that He
will take all of His children that have done wrong and cast them in eternal
flames?”
A final remark to this seven blog series : All systems fail
at the altar of human self-interest. Whether it is any religion or ideology,
such as communism. Only certain individuals surmount this hurdle through
selflessness.
.....................................................................................................(1) ‘Finding the joy within you, by Sri Daya Mata’
