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Posts tagged ‘Jesus’

Jul 27

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You’re Already Dead

I’m not sure how the dream started but I found myself in the middle of a worldwide panic. I think I was watching the news. There was some sort of catastrophe approaching. In my dream it seemed to take the form of an earthquake. I was in a large city and the buildings were collapsing everywhere around us. I was somehow able to jump from building to building. A friend was always there with me but I’m not sure who. I saw another friend and his kids. I tried to get him to leave with me but he said that he needed to stay with his family. A moment later we were all underwater. I was looking for a little girl’s stuffed animal. I found it and gave it to her but it was the wrong one. It belonged to some other kid. She died holding some other kid’s teddy bear. My friend and his family were gone and somehow I moved on to the next place.

I was standing on the edge of a large window while a building was falling backwards and I jumped and somehow floated to the next building and then ended up on the street. People were flocking to priests of all sorts on the street corners. Each priest was trying to help people by quoting words from each of their scriptures. Donald Trump was on another corner selling cars and gasoline for ridiculous amounts of money so that people could try to escape. I remember looking at the crowd and thinking of a quote from Moby Dick about Jonah: “He thinks that a ship made by men will carry him into countries where God does not reign…” I ran to a gas station where I found a puppy and I held on to him. I think it was a bulldog. We jumped to a parking garage, a big ship floating through the middle of the city, and other strange places. And, after what seemed like an endless journey of jumping from building to building I finally said, “This is it” as I looked up and saw the side of a skyscraper falling on us.

The next thing I knew I was standing in a garden with Vishnu, Buddha, and Jesus. I asked why I was there and they said it was because I truly believed. I said that of course I believed. Then credits started rolling like it was the end of a bad religious movie. Next, I found myself floating just above the chaos as if taking a tour of the devastation. Some people were still barely alive but most were dead. The people that were still alive were like zombies. One of the barely alive zombies saw me floating by and tried to shoot me. The bullet went through me and I said, “you missed me.” But they responded by saying, “No, you’re already dead.” Then I woke up.

Mar 27

Tourists Flock to Jesus’s Tomb in Kashmir

There is talk of the missing years of Jesus, unmentioned in the gospels, when he was between the ages of 12 and 30. Some say he was in India, picking up Buddhist ideas. These aren’t notions that have entirely died out. The US-based Christian sect, known as the Church Universal and Triumphant, is the best-known modern supporter of the belief that Jesus lived in Kashmir, though they don’t believe he died there.

And in Islam, in which Jesus is the penultimate prophet, there is also a minority tradition adopted by the controversial Ahmeddiya sect, that Rozabal does contain the grave of Jesus. Professional historians tend to laugh out loud when you mention the notion that Jesus might have lived in Kashmir – but his tomb is now firmly on the tourist trail – and a growing number of credulous visitors believe that he was buried in the Rozabal shrine.

BBC News – Tourists flock to ‘Jesus’s tomb’ in Kashmir.

May 3

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Religious Misunderstandings

Religions are predicated on some profound or miraculous event that requires blind faith to believe in. From an objective point of view, these events are usually quite incredible and sometimes sound plain silly. Did you know that…

  • Christians believe that Jesus was born to a virgin mother and that the universe was created in 6 days
  • Mormons believe that God lives on a planet near the star Kolob and that the Garden of Eden is in Missouri
  • The Kaaba – that Muslims walk around – contains a black stone that they believe is a special divine meteorite that fell at the foot of Adam and Eve
  • Hindus believe that every 40 billion years all things dissolve and nothing exists for an equivalent time – then it all begins again
  • Hindus also once believed that the Earth rested on four elephants and those elephants stood on a giant tortoise floating on the universal ocean
  • Buddhists believe that all life is suffering and that the only way to escape suffering is to eliminate all desire and attachments by becoming a monk and meditate
  • Xenu, according to Scientology, is the dictator of the Galactic Confederacy who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of his people to Earth in a DC-8-like spacecraft
  • Wiccans believe in magic that can be manipulated through the form of witchcraft or sorcery

A religion is more than just a belief in the incredible though. I haven’t found a single case where there isn’t a strong sense of community. Most people are just looking for a place to belong and a way to give their life some meaning. Most of our lives have very little meaning so it’s no wonder we are attracted to the fantastic with promises of another life, after death, that will be much better than this one. Though each religion may be based on a myth that requires a stretch of the imagination, what you get in return is not so bad, is it?

Mormons believe that God was once like humans and that humans can become like God. How empowering is that? Christians believe that we all have the power to be saved and go to Heaven after we die. Muslims believe in a rich afterlife and are required to give a portion of their income to the poor. Scientology has rallied against the power of pharmaceutical companies and also setup some of the best drug rehabilitation centers in the world. Hindus have developed a religion and cosmology that is remarkably close to modern science and cosmology.

Of course, depending on where you were born and what language you speak, someone else’s religion always seems a little silly. But remember that your religion also seems a little silly to them, too. Instead of condemning one another for not believing as we do, it seems better to embrace these differences in the marketplace of ideas. In the end, they are all trying to accomplish the same thing – to give your life and your eventual death meaning in a universe that often feels completely meaningless.

Aug 19

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What Would Jesus Say?

Where Is God?
Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Love for Enemies
Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Read more

Jun 2

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John 3:16

Today seemed full of strange coincidences. Jung used to call this synchronicity – like the popular 80′s tune by The Police. I decided to come up to Philly on a trial basis to see just how messed up this organization is. If it’s beyond repair, I told them I would give them some recommendations and be on my way.

Anyway, as I get into the heart of Philadelphia, ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ starts playing on my iPod … out of the 8,000 + songs. There were some other weird things, too, but none of these events seemed to contain any real meaning. These seemed more to make sure I was paying attention. Then, I check into my hotel room – room 316. Last night I was reading an old yearbook.

My freshman science teacher was a retired minister. He signed my yearbook, John 3:16. He was always trying to preach to me … in a good way. I was never turned off by his message. His intentions were too pure. So, here I am … hit over the head with 316′s. Obviously, synchronicity only works if you’re paying attention and making connections. Whether they are caused by something supernatural is another discussion. The key is that the connections are meaningful to us. It usually means that something deep inside of us is trying to communicate a thought or an idea. So, why would the one key passage to the New Testament be a message that something inside of me wanted heard?

3:16 is too literal to be taken as purely symbolic, though the passages before it are about being born again: dying to our past and being reborn. Nicodemus asks how it’s possible for an old man to be born again. Jesus’ response is that being reborn is dying to the flesh and being reborn to spirit … only then does 3:16 apply. I think that means that you have to be willing to die, yourself, before you can be reborn. I guess that makes sense. Those that stop short of really being willing to die, are never really saved. Of course, only God would know who the tricksters are. I guess baptism could be a sort of symbolic drowning. So, back to me… I’ll keep you posted. I’m not sure what it means. ;-)