Is this a New Age of Spirituality?

[eschator83]

In our local Barnes and Noble, the entire shelf area that was devoted to Religious publications last year is now devoted to New Age (whatever that means). But on the bright side (from my perspective), the area now devoted to Christian publications has grown to approximately 10 times the size of the whole previous Religious area. And the areas for Orthodox, Eastern, and other religions have also grown substantially.
I have friends who insist that the Mayans, and perhaps others, predicted that 2012 would begin a new era of spirituality.
Is this happening in your bookstores? Is it significant? Is it good news? I’m thinking, as long as it’s not demonic, it’s in the right general direction and may be hopeful and helpful.

 

[CB_Catholic]

In our local Barnes and Noble, the entire shelf area that was devoted to Religious publications last year is now devoted to New Age (whatever that means). But on the bright side (from my perspective), the area now devoted to Christian publications has grown to approximately 10 times the size of the whole previous Religious area. And the areas for Orthodox, Eastern, and other religions have also grown substantially.
I have friends who insist that the Mayans, and perhaps others, predicted that 2012 would begin a new era of spirituality.
Is this happening in your bookstores? Is it significant? Is it good news? I’m thinking, as long as it’s not demonic, it’s in the right general direction and may be hopeful and helpful.

Perhaps B&N is just rearranging the store. Happens all the time. I wouldn’t consider it anything but an attempt to be more efficient or change the presentation of it’s stock. Normal business stuff, ya know.

 

[LoyalViews]

Our book stores recently changed too. Not Barnes and Noble, we don’t have any here, but the religious section changed to ALL New Age Spiritualist stuff, while there’s a new section called Religion: CHRISTIAN with a WHOLE lotta Catholic books

 

[Vouthon]

Throughout his twenty-seven-year papacy John Paul II often employed the image of spring in a similar vein. In his 1990 Redemptoris Missio, he wrote: “As the third millennium of the redemption draws near, God is preparing a great springtime for Christianity, and we can already see its first signs.” In his 1995 address to the United Nations, he added, “the tears of this century have prepared the ground for a new springtime of the human spirit.” And in his 1998 remarks to pilgrims gathered in Rome for Pentecost, he spoke of the Holy Spirit’s bringing “a new springtime in the Church.”…The first significant sign of spring does not involve twittering birds and pink buds. What we see first is slush and mud: The world in spring gets uglier before it gets prettier. That, after all, is why T.S. Eliot called April the cruelest month: Winter kept us warm, covering earth in forgetful snow.

I believe that there is a growing spiritual awareness in the 21st century. Have you noticed that New Atheism as typified by the likes of Dawkins and Sam Harris seems to have passed its peak? It is no longer as “virulent” as it seemed to be say 2004-2009.

It is natural, given that human beings have an inherent orientation for the transcendent, that periods of spiritual decline (namely the 20th century) will be followed by - to use the words of Blessed Pope John Paul II - “new springtimes for humanity”.

The Church itself has been through a tough, hard time.

I feel that the winds of change are coming. I’m not sure that your bookstore is an example of that mind you (it might just be a re-arrangement ) however the general idea of what you are saying, I get.

The world seems to be a more dangerous place now than it has ever been, at least since the dark days of the Cuban Missiles crisis. And yet, I sense a great undercurrent of hope welling up amidst the darkness of these days.

Mankind is growing from adolescene into full maturity. I have hope.

"…**Interviewer: **

*John Paul II in his talk before the United Nations in New York in 1995 on the foundations of a new world order, also spoke of a new hope for the Third Millenium. “We shall see,” said the Pope, “that the tears of this century have prepared the ground for a new springtime of the human spirit”. What might he mean by this “springtime”? A new identity of man? *

**Pope Benedict XVI: **

The Pope does indeed cherish a great expectation that the millenium of divisions will be followed by a millenium of unifications…The emergence of ecumenism at the Second Vatican Council is indeed a sign of a sort of renewed approach to a new unity. It is thus filled with the hope that the millenia have their physiognomy; that all the catastrophes of our century, as the Pope says, will be caught up at the end and turned into a new beginning. Unity of mankind, unity of religions, unity of Christians - we ought to search for these unities again, so that a more positive epoch may really begin. We must have visions…"

***- Pope Benedict XVI, Salt of the Earth (1997 when still Cardinal Ratzinger, republished in 2005 as by the pope) ***

We’ve been through the long, hard winter and I feel that it is in its last, vicious stages - with lots of rain, snow and hail - but ultimately the spring will come.

We have still a little while to go yet, through slush and mud. The world might become a harsher place first but in the end it will only be the first throes of springtime, and what a glorious season for the human race that will be!

 

[Vouthon]

This is an extract from my favourite prophecy by the Catholic mystic Venerable Holzhauser:

Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser (17th century)

“…[After a world war] will come a new period, in which two mighty ones will face each other. The wrangle between these two will begin in the second half of the twentieth century. It will overthrow mountains and silt up rivers. A great change will come to pass, such as no mortal man will have expected; Heaven and Hell will confront each other in this struggle, old states will perish and light and darkness will be pitted against each other with swords, but it will be swords of a different fashion. With these swords it will be possible to cut up the skies and split the earth. A great lament will come over all mankind…And neither of the two adversaries will conquer nor be vanquished. Both mighty ones will lie on the ground, and a new mankind will come into existence. God possesses the key to everything. Blessed is he who will then be able to praise him, having obeyed all his commandments. And the great monarch of the world will create new laws for the new mankind and will cause a new age to begin, in which there will be only one flock and one shepherd, and peace will be of long, long duration, for the glory of God in heaven and on earth…The Sixth Age of the Spirit commences with the powerful Monarch and the Holy Pontiff…This will be an age of consolation in which God will console His Spirit of the affliction and the great tribulation of the preceding age. All the nations will be united in the Catholic faith. The sacerdocy will flower more than ever, and men will seek the kingdom of God in all solicitude… Many saints and doctors will flourish in the earth. Men will love reason and justice. Peace will reign in all the universe, because the divine power will bind Satan for many years, until the son of perdition will rave anew…It is in that age that the relation of the sixth Spirit of the Lord will be known, that is to say the Spirit of Wisdom that God diffuses over all the surfaces of the globes in those times. For men will fear the Lord their God, they will observe the law and serve it with all their heart. The sciences will be multiplied and complete on the earth. The Holy Scriptures will be unanimously understood, without controversy and without the errors of heresies. Men will be enlightened, so much as in the natural sciences and in the celestial sciences. Finally, the Sixth Church, the Church of Philadelphia, is the type of this sixth age, for Philadelphia signifies friendship of brothers, and again guarding the heritage in union with the Lord. Now all these characters convene perfectly in the sixth age, in which they will have love, concord and perfect peace and in which the powerful Monarch will have to consider almost the entire world as his heritage. He will deliver up the earth, with the aid of the Lord his God from all his enemies, of ruin and of all evil…For likewise, in this epoch, the people of Israel will be consoled to a very high degree by the Lord, our God, who will deliver them from the captivity of Babylon. The kingdoms, the nations, and the people will submit to the Roman Empire [new global structure], furiously vanquished by the very powerful and very illustrious monarch who will govern during fifty-six years, rendering the peace of the universe…Thus, in the Sixth Age, God will delight his Church with the greatest prosperity…this monarch will reign in the orient and in the occident. All the nations will come and adore the Lord their God…for all nations will be brought to the unity of the True catholic faith…”

Thats the kind of springtime I feel that John Paul envisioned for this century and third millenium. Its firmly rooted in the Catholic tradition.

A new mankind; unimaginable to all but God.

It reminds me of the famous words of Teilhard de Chardin:

“The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides, and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire …Love alone can unite living beings so as to complete and fulfill them… for it alone joins them by what is deepest in themselves. All we need is to imagine our ability to love developing until it embraces the totality of men and the earth.” - Pierre Telihard De Chardin (Catholic mystic of 20th century)

This is the civilisation of love predicted by Pope Paul VI and Blessed Pope John Paul II.

 

[Vouthon]

You might be interested in this (in fact I’m quote sure that you will be):

unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-prophecy-of-bl-tomasuccio-de-foligno.html

The Prophecy of Bl. Tomasuccio de Foligno

It looks like the Maya don’t hold a complete monopoly on the prophetic significance of the year 2012. An interesting prophecy connected to the year 2012 was supposedly made by a Franciscian monk named Bl. Tomasuccio de Foligno, who lived between the years 1319-1377. I’m still in the process of attempting to validate this prophecy, but so far there are several factors pointing to its authenticity. The prophecy is cited in a book called Miscellanea Francescana 1, edited by M. Faloci Pulignani, dating to 1886 - long before the prophetic significance of the year 2012 for the Meso-American cultures was discovered after the decipherment of the Mayan glyphs in the mid-20th century. This book in turn appears to base at least some of its information on a facsimile dating to the late 15th century called Legenda de’ Beati del Terzo Ordine Sancto Francisco, (ed L. Temperini, Rome: Editrice Franciscanum, 1996), which contains the Legenda of Bl. Tomasuccio de Foligno - as recorded by his companion and disciple Giusto della Rosa. Although I don’t have access to this particular book to confirm that the prophecy is actually included there, so would be grateful if anyone else out there can confirm this. Known as The Worthy Shepherd Prophecy, Bl. Tomasuccio’s vision is a variation of the Angelic Pope prophecies, which details how a future pontiff will heal the Church of schism following a time of turmoil:

“One from beyond the mountains shall become the Vicar Of God. Religious and clerics shall take part in this change. Outside the true path, there will be only disreputable men; I shrug my shoulders when the Bark of Peter is in danger and there is no one to lend it help… The schismatic shall fall into the scorn of the Italian faithful… By about twelve years shall the millennium have passed when the resplendent mantle of legitimate power shall emerge from the shadows where it was being kept by the schism. And beyond harm from the one who is blocking the door of salvation, for his deceitful schism shall have come to an end. And the mass of the faithful shall attach itself to the worthy Shepherd, who shall extricate each one from error and restore to the Church its beauty. He shall renew it.”

Of course the most interesting aspect of this prophecy is the fact that it points to the time of the Second Pentecost to twelve years past the millennium - the year 2012. This would thus correspond with the contention of various commentators on the 2012 phenomenon that the Maya believed that this period would mark a major shift in spiritual thought, rather than being the date of a world-destroying cataclysm.

Given that the above prophecy foretells the emergence of the Worthy Shepherd (who is equated with the Angelic Pope) to restore the Church twelve years after the turn of the millennium, it would thus appear to suggest that a papal election would take place during this year. This leaves us to wonder if this prophecy is the true source of the “assassination plot” furore concerning Cardinal Romeo brought to light by the Vatileaks scandal at the start of the year? In the earlier post concerning this controversy which you can find here, I suggested that Cardinal Romeo may have based his musings that a new pope would be elected sometime in 2012 on a prophetic source of information, rather than being privy to the details of some assassination plot, as was suggested by certain elements within the Italian media. At the time, I pondered if there was a date pointing to the year 2012 in the theoretical “hidden text” of Fatima. Now in retrospect, it seems that if Card. Romeo did base his speculations on a specific prophecy, it would almost certainly be that of Bl. Tomasuccio de Foligno.
If we look at the exact wording of the prophecy however, it doesn’t necessarily imply that a papal election would take place during the course of this year. The only thing it explicitly states is that the Church would be renewed at this date, and that this would mark the beginning of the return of schismatics to the Church at the Second Pentecost, under the leadership of the Worthy Shepherd/Angelic Pope. I suppose the only real way of authenticating this prophecy is by waiting until the end of the year to see if anything takes place.
Of further interest is the fact that the Worthy Shepherd Prophecy also depicts the Church as the Bark of St. Peter being battered by storms during this time period - which is highly reminiscent of St. John Bosco’s Dream of the Two Pillars.

Don Bosco’s Dream of the Two Pillars

These prophecies also allude to Christ’s calming of the storm, which in many respects appears to be another example of “enacted prophecy”:

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
(Mark 4:35-41)

For the rest see the link above.

 

[Rainaldo]

I predict the same sort of shelf-shuffling is going to happen on the other side of the store where they put the computer books upon this month’s release of Microsoft Windows 8 - and depending on how things go this November, you may see an expansion of the Mormonism shelf.

I only have enough reason to believe it’s due to good old fashioned market trends that the management has detected in sales reports.

 

[Rainaldo]

Our book stores recently changed too. Not Barnes and Noble, we don’t have any here, but the religious section changed to ALL New Age Spiritualist stuff, while there’s a new section called Religion: CHRISTIAN with a WHOLE lotta Catholic books

They didn’t change the section, they changed the location. If you have a topic that has a lot of books in it, it’s better to shelve these books together on the same wall or same side of a free-standing bookcase instead of continuing it around to the other side. If you can’t help it, then you need to overhaul the shelf allocations and brace yourself for the inevitable customer complaints.*Bemused customer: *“I see you people got rid of the inspired Word of God and replaced it with Tarot Cards.”

*Jaded clerk struggling to reshelve a stack of eleven Philosophy of Science titles rescued from the coffee shop: *“No, Ma’am, that side is all New Age and Judaica now; we shifted Bibles and expanded Christianity on the other side of the bookcase to make room for the release of the ESV last month.”

Bemused customer: “God will not be mocked.”

*Jaded clerk tidying up Buddhism: *“No Ma’am, but foxes have holes, birds have nests, and Bibles have the first three shelves on the other side. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

 

[mdgspencer]

The predictions about a new age of spirituality which will begin this year, when it comes to those I have met who are followers of this, never speak of God, or of Christ in particular. How can there be such a great advance without God? Frankly, I wonder if perhaps there will be some charismatic leader or movement that will arise this year outside of Christianity that will lead people away from Christ, if, actually, this involves a widespread temptation from the Evil One. But perhaps not, for all I know.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

During my life I wish to do what I can, as a “harvest worker,” to a) bring about true spiritual unity at a human being level, in a way that transcends belief systems, and b) finding and networking with others who wish to join me as a “harvest worker.”

Soon Jesus may look down and smile, “the harvest is ready, and the workers are many.” At least I hope He does, and not, “WHAT were you THINKING?”

If the notion there is a spirituality that transcends belief systems is New Age, then perhaps I’m guilty of it. In fact, I have several FB friends (whom I don’t know in person) who promote this sort of thing. They post memes and ideas from many religions, including Christianity. Sometimes when they quote other religious authorities, I will comment on the post with what Jesus said on the same topic. And it seems these people are growing in number every month.

That said, some of those same FB friends (the ones who are not Christian) like to talk about all sorts of things that are definitely what most would call “New Age.” By that I mean crystals, pyramids, Kundalini, tarot readings, DNA “awakening” etc. What I see is that the kids have good intentions and even good thoughts about how people might treat life and each other. But when they talk about crystals, etc. then to me, they are not “transcending” belief systems in a true spiritual unity effort, but in fact they are creating one of their own. The way I see it, is I keep tabs on these people and when I get a chance, introduce Jesus into the picture. The Good News is that these same people have no problem at all posting quotes from and images of Jesus. So one minute they might post some video about a kid talking about crystals, and the next minute they are posting the Words of the Lord.

In conclusion, I support “new age” in the context that with communications the way they are, and other things I won’t go into the way they are, that there is a commonality that we share as sons of Adam that is the basis of true inter-religious unity – unity of ALL the members of the Mystical Body of Christ, which would of course be all human beings past, present and future. There are Catholic outreaches that do this work, too. But I do not support “new age” when it comes to crystals, etc. I see that these people actually use these items as communication devices but I stay with them and gently nudge them toward Jesus when I can, and support them when they say things that are clearly right, and let the Holy Spirit take it from there…

Here’s an example of something I consider “unity that transcends belief systems.” It’s a meme that a “new ager” posted on Facebook:

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/424329_344602108961962_80577165_n.jpg

So we can all relate to this idea, regardless of whether you’re Christian. So to me this is a message that “transcends” religious belief systems.

Now, here’s another meme from a “new ager” that might be interesting:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...767303_253054451450062_656439_362828380_n.jpg

Here’s another quote posted by a “new ager”:

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone else that their path is wrong.” - Hindu Teaching

I hope that helps show that a) not all sometimes called “new age” is anti-Catholic, although we know that b) not all new-age is pro-Catholic either, perhaps obviously, and c) I wish we could co-opt the term “New Ager” to mean those from all faiths and walks of life that want true spiritual unity. This means they may believe different things, but still acknowledge all people as being spiritually connected – again as the mystical Body of Christ. Or maybe we can use our own term, such as “universal spiritual unity.” That’s probably better, anyway.

Alan

 

[beehumble]

You might be interested in this (in fact I’m quote sure that you will be): unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-prophecy-of-bl-tomasuccio-de-foligno.html

Besides Unveiling the Apocalypse, another book you might be interested in is A While Longer.

God bless you.

 

[beehumble]

Originally Posted by A “New Ager” Facebook friend
“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone else that their path is wrong.” - Hindu Teaching

Actually no, there is only one path up the mountain, the one walked by Jesus. “I AM THE WAY, the Truth, and the Life…”, said Jesus Who is God. Jesus leads and we are to follow. The picture with the other religious figures alongside Jesus, who are shown on an equal footing with Jesus, is acceptable to a Buddhist or Hindu, but is blasphemous to a Christian. Jesus is God, there is no other, and none are His equal. All others are mere creatures. Buddha, who lived 500 years before Jesus reportedly said that ‘my teaching is but the light of a candle compared to the one to come some 500 years after me - his teaching will be like the light of 10,000 suns.’

We are to be one in Christ, not alongside Christ. All is His, He is the King of Kings and the Blessed Lord our God, Master of the universe, and He will present all of everything to the Father after He returns.

True peace is found in Christ, and no other. “My peace I give you, My peace I leave with you, not as the world gives it do I give it to you…”

God bless you.

 

[CB_Catholic]

Actually no, there is only one path up the mountain, the one walked by Jesus. “I AM THE WAY, the Truth, and the Life…”, said Jesus Who is God. Jesus leads and we are to follow. The picture with the other religious figures alongside Jesus, who are shown on an equal footing with Jesus, is acceptable to a Buddhist or Hindu, but is blasphemous to a Christian. Jesus is God, there is no other, and none are His equal. All others are mere creatures. Buddha, who lived 500 years before Jesus reportedly said that ‘my teaching is but the light of a candle compared to the one to come some 500 years after me - his teaching will be like the light of 10,000 suns.’

We are to be one in Christ, not alongside Christ. All is His, He is the King of Kings and the Blessed Lord our God, Master of the universe, and He will present all of everything to the Father after He returns.

True peace is found in Christ, and no other. “My peace I give you, My peace I leave with you, not as the world gives it do I give it to you…”

God bless you.

AMEN

 

[AlanFromWichita]

Dear beehumble,

Thank you for your time and energy responding. I can totally understand how you would think the way you’re saying about this, but please at least consider a less “dualistic” viewpoint.

Actually no, there is only one path up the mountain, the one walked by Jesus. “I AM THE WAY, the Truth, and the Life…”, said Jesus Who is God. Jesus leads and we are to follow.

He did say that. But the Church teaches that not being Christian does not necessarily prevent salvation. (If you are of the mind that you automatically go to hell if you’re not baptized RC, then you won’t agree with me and I probably can’t help you – but that’s NOT what the Church teaches.) The salvation is “through” Jesus, though they may not even “know” Jesus.

So if even one person makes it to the top, without “INTELLECTUALLY” knowing Jesus, although clearly at the top you know the HEART of Jesus, then we have to expand our understanding of what Jesus was saying. To what? You have to feel it in your heart – if you don’t then I can’t explain it better in fewer words than Jesus.

The picture with the other religious figures alongside Jesus, who are shown on an equal footing with Jesus, is acceptable to a Buddhist or Hindu, but is blasphemous to a Christian. Jesus is God, there is no other, and none are His equal.

Here I ask you to take a second look at what you are seeing, and what you are saying about it. First, there is nothing in the photo that suggests Jesus is or isn’t any better than the others. Whether He is God and the others aren’t, is not depicted one way or other. It shows Jesus and the other leaders enjoying time together in peace. The caption says nothing blasphemous. If you think “let peace prevail” or “to be one” is blasphemous, then I suggest you don’t read anything else I write.

But now let’s get real about this. Jesus ate with criminals, prostitutes, drunkards, tax collectors, and that was part of what got Him killed. The “righteous” people got on His case for doing so, and he kept right on doing it. A prostitute was making physical contact with him, rubbing His feet, and a righteous person called Him down for it and what did He do? Let her keep RIGHT ON GOING, and defended the prostitute above the self-righteous.

Now why is it so blasphemous to think Jesus would sit down with these other people? I think it is actually a terrible insult to Jesus to say He would be above such a meal. How do we know He isn’t about to give Himself in the Eucharist to the others?

All others are mere creatures. Buddha, who lived 500 years before Jesus reportedly said that ‘my teaching is but the light of a candle compared to the one to come some 500 years after me - his teaching will be like the light of 10,000 suns.’

So Buddha prophesied the coming of Jesus, and that makes Jesus to good to sit down at a table with Him? See what this sounds like when I word it this way? But what other way is there to look at it? If my Savior can go into leper camps, eat with the rich and the outcasts both, I think He can sit and chill over a few tunes with Buddha. I, for one, would love to see a video of Jesus and the Dalai Lama having a discussion.

I’m not trying to pick on you, but your reaction is about like I expected from quite a few posters here. We see a photo that shows Jesus and other leaders, and I guess since they’re all sitting at the same level then we’re taking away His divinity. What does He want? A higher chair placed at the center or off to one side? Would that have been better? But what did Jesus say about the greatest and least? If He is the greatest, it is because He made Himself a servant to others, because the first shall be last and the last shall be first. That’s the reason He became man. I think this is a sign that we are reactionary and defensive about our own religion, to the point where we would exclude the very people Jesus would have included just because we apparently don’t think He likes to get His hands dirty or something.

We are to be one in Christ, not alongside Christ. All is His, He is the King of Kings and the Blessed Lord our God, Master of the universe, and He will present all of everything to the Father after He returns.

I think I missed something here. I’ve never heard a Christian say we are not supposed to be “alongside” Jesus. Jesus called His people “his friends.” The whole point to the Incarnation was so that Jesus could come walk beside us.

True peace is found in Christ, and no other. “My peace I give you, My peace I leave with you, not as the world gives it do I give it to you…”

Yes, the peace of the world is conditional and temporary. Temporary as long as the conditions “giving” the peace persist but no longer. The peace of Christ is eternal and unconditional! :heaven:

But it’s available to all humans, not just those baptized RCC. :grouphug:

Peace and love,
Alan

This posted while I was typing my message here:

AMEN

I hereby direct my comments to you as well.

Peace and love,
Alan

 

[Razanir]

Actually no, there is only one path up the mountain, the one walked by Jesus. “I AM THE WAY, the Truth, and the Life…”, said Jesus Who is God. Jesus leads and we are to follow. The picture with the other religious figures alongside Jesus, who are shown on an equal footing with Jesus, is acceptable to a Buddhist or Hindu, but is blasphemous to a Christian. Jesus is God, there is no other, and none are His equal. All others are mere creatures. Buddha, who lived 500 years before Jesus reportedly said that ‘my teaching is but the light of a candle compared to the one to come some 500 years after me - his teaching will be like the light of 10,000 suns.’

1. Just remember that– we are (I think) the ONLY religion whose founder “IS a Way, Truth and Life” not just “HAS a way, truth and life”
2. Other people mentioned it already, but the RCC DOES teach that there is SOME truth in other religions
3. That is an awesome quote.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

1. That is an awesome quote.

Buddha, who lived 500 years before Jesus reportedly said that ‘my teaching is but the light of a candle compared to the one to come some 500 years after me - his teaching will be like the light of 10,000 suns.’

It really is an awesome quote. I’m afraid in my last letter I might have been too defensive to acknowledge that.

Thank you, Razanir, for being there where my manners weren’t.

Alan

 

[JaredR]

But now let’s get real about this. Jesus ate with criminals, prostitutes, drunkards, tax collectors, and that was part of what got Him killed. The “righteous” people got on His case for doing so, and he kept right on doing it. A prostitute was making physical contact with him, rubbing His feet, and a righteous person called Him down for it and what did He do? Let her keep RIGHT ON GOING, and defended the prostitute above the self-righteous.

I think the only person at that table Jesus would talk to is Siddhartha Gautama (“Buddha”) because he is the only other human depicted. He would never eat with false gods. Remember your OT, God hates all other gods. They steal the affections (and souls) of His creatures. I am all for interfaith cooperation, but I disagree with that message. Denying the kingship of Christ is not a necessary condition for peace.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

I think the only person at that table Jesus would talk to is Siddhartha Gautama (“Buddha”) because he is the only other human depicted. He would never eat with false gods. Remember your OT, God hates all other gods. They steal the affections (and souls) of His creatures. I am all for interfaith cooperation, but I disagree with that message. Denying the kingship of Christ is not a necessary condition for peace.

That’s an interesting and thoughtful way to look at it.

Alan

 

[JaredR]

That’s an interesting and thoughtful way to look at it.

Alan

But is it true? That is most important to me.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

But is it true? That is most important to me.

Ah, you caught me being evasive!

I really don’t know. I just have to trust in the Holy Spirit that He has brought us together to share these different views. I have my opinions; I think Jesus would meet other gods, because they aren’t “true” gods like God, so to Him they’d be no threat.

I could make up things supporting your opinion or mine, and I’d be happy to kick it around some more if you want.

But we don’t have to agree on things that aren’t necessary for salvation, such as speculating how Jesus would behave in a contrived hypothetical circumstance. In fact, I think we learn a lot more about our own faith by discussing them and having our views challenged. :slapfight:

I figure if we think alike, that’s like mono – two speakers, same sound. If we think a little bit differently, then we are like stereo – two speakers, slightly different sound. Stereo gives a whole new dimension, which is why I say I trust the Holy Spirit brought us to this thread for a Good Reason that we may or may not ever understand. :getholy:

Alan