Tag Spirituality

Author Chopra creates new Jesus

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Crucifixion, Diego Velázquez, 17th c. Abrahamic religions believe in the idea that God can prescribe a means of atonement for sin; in Judaism, by spilling the blood of animals or in Christianity, by the atonement of Jesus.Image via Wikipedia

Number three on the New York Times best seller list does not surprise me. People would much rather believe all these convoluted offerings rather than the truth that a loving God actually cared enough about our pitiful selfs that He sent His only Son to die so that we might live.Now I do not know about you but my best intentions has never led me anywhere but to despair. No matter how hard I tried I could never measure up to be GOOD enough by the so called enlightened crowd so I guess I would be doomed to forever live in despair save for the Lord Jesus Christ who came into my life and rescued me from my despair. Now I know who I belong to and therefore I am no longer looking to the enlightened crowd for my self worth.

Perhaps Chopra and all his adherents would be better served to read the ‘Good Book’.

clipped from www.townhall.com
In the book, released in February by Harmony, Chopra states, “I have written what I think the New Testament means…” And what it means to Chopra, the author of more than 40 books, is quite different from the way orthodox Christians have understood it through the centuries.
Chopra believes that the “real” Jesus — the third Jesus — is much less than the New Testament makes him out to be.
According to Chopra, Jesus was nothing more than an adherent to what we now call New Age philosophy.
“Jesus did not physically descend from God’s dwelling place … nor did he return to sit at the right hand of a literal throne,” writes Chopra. “What made Jesus the Son of God was the fact that he had achieved God-consciousness.”
We shouldn’t discount Chopra’s book and assume no one is reading it. Sadly, the opposite true. “The Third Jesus” — full of New Age, heretical pabulum — was ranked third March 30 on The New York Times’ list for hardcover advice books.

Not So Good Friday

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

By Patrick Oden

goodfri 4546cToday is Good Friday. A curious name because in reality it was a pretty bad Friday.

Imagine if you were a disciple. You had spent three years following a man who more and more seemed like he was the Messiah. He did miracles. He spoke wisdom. He had a power you had never seen in anyone.

Then, on the day in which his power was tested he failed the test. You had given up everything, all that you were, to follow this man and on this Friday he left. He was killed. And this is just the perspective of Jesus‘ followers. Don’t get me started on how bad Jesus’ day was.

“Take this cup from me,” he prayed the night before. God didn’t. It wasn’t his will that Jesus be saved at this point.

On that Friday it was anything but good. Maybe it should be called Miserable Friday, or Awful Friday, or The Worst Friday Ever. Lives were lost on that day, and not just those crucified. Souls were seemingly lost. Everything went wrong. Nothing worked right.

Oh, yeah, Joseph of Arimathea… he was able to get a tomb and bury Jesus before nightfall. At least Jesus wasn’t thrown to the dogs. Thank God for the little blessings, eh?

Yes, the prophets said something about suffering, and disfigurement and the like. But, what is that on such a day? Everything goes wrong. But God does not do wrong things. What are the prophets when one’s own perception sees the troubles bubbling over? They are forgotten words of a past era unable to speak to the present. Jesus is dead. Jesus is buried. Turns out he wasn’t the Messiah after all. We were wrong. He couldn’t even save himself.

Good Friday? There was nothing good about it.

So why call it this? Why is it Good Friday?

Because of Easter. Because two days later he rose from the dead. Friday is only good because we are able to observe the future of the events. We are able to see that Jesus died, but he died for a reason, a reason only seen on Easter morning. We reinterpret the past events based on the later events. All was wrong on that first Friday… except that it was all right because of what would happen two days afterwards.

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Fighting Temptation

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

’Odysseus and the Sirens’. Herbert James Draper, 1909. Ferens Art Gallery, Hull.
'Odysseus and the Sirens'. Herbert James Draper, 1909. Ferens Art Gallery, Hull.

In the story of Ulysses, from Homer’s Odyssey, he is on his ship, trying to make his way home? He knows he will pass by the Isle of the Sirens, those voices sing out across the sea in such enticing tones that many sailors are led to their deaths on the jagged, rocky shores, never to see home or their destination. Ulysses commanded that his men put wax in their ears so they could not hear those voices and so be led to their destruction. But for himself, he was tied to the mast so that he could hear their singing. He commanded that none of his orders while hearing them were to be obeyed. The voices almost drive him mad until finally the ship passes by, the voices are stilled, and once more his ears are filled with the voices of his wife and son, with home, with his true destination. So many voices crying out to us on our journey,

Temptation has that effect on everyone. When we set sail towards temptation we are fighting a battle that is far greater than our human capacity to endure. Had Ulysses not had himself tied to the mast and told his sailors to ignore his desire to set off after the tempting allures of the forbidden island he too would have made shipwreck along the shores of life’s many temptations.
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God’s Ways are not Our Ways

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him.

Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened. Everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger.

“God, how could you do this to me?” he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was wakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.

It had come to rescue him.

“How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers.

“We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.

It’s easy to get discouraged sometimes when things appear to be going badly. But we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

— Author Unknown