Knowing what Jesus taught

  • Thread starter Thread starter Presurmksdimnds
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Presurmksdimnds

Guest
Yesterday, the question was posed, “Does anyone in here know what Jesus taught?”

And no one, not one person, out of a room full of self professing Christians (of different denominations) were able to rattle his teachings off of the top of their head.

They are all familiar with the Bible. They all are familiar with his parables, and clearly understand his message, so my question is:

Why is this such a difficult question to answer?
 
But we do know what Jesus taught. We know the parables he used, and we know the words that were spoken. Perhaps I don’t understand your question, but it seems simple to me. What did Jesus teach? He taught that of all of the commandments, it boils down to two key elements: love your God with your whole heart, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. Everything that he taught falls into these categories. He taught not to judge one another, lest we be judged with the same scrutiny ourselves. He taught that compassion was as important as it gets, he taught that in caring for those in need we are indeed caring for Him… He taught many, many things. I don’t know the original thread you are talking about, but I find it very unlikely that nobody here could talk about what Jesus taught.
 
Ophelia23 said:
But we do know what Jesus taught. We know the parables he used, and we know the words that were spoken. Perhaps I don’t understand your question, but it seems simple to me. What did Jesus teach? He taught that of all of the commandments, it boils down to two key elements: love your God with your whole heart, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. Everything that he taught falls into these categories. He taught not to judge one another, lest we be judged with the same scrutiny ourselves. He taught that compassion was as important as it gets, he taught that in caring for those in need we are indeed caring for Him… He taught many, many things. I don’t know the original thread you are talking about, but I find it very unlikely that nobody here could talk about what Jesus taught.
Click to expand...
As do I. The people here seem very well educated in their faith.

Maybe it’s being able to communicate Christ’s teachings in a clear and distinct way.

For example, you ask what Moses taught and you have a list of 10 commandments that you can easily read/tell someone.

You ask what are the teachings of Judaism and you have a list of something like 613 beliefs or laws, what have you.

Now, if someone were to ask what Catholics believe, we’d have quite a bit to say thanks to the Catechism of the Church, that has expanded upon Jesus’ teachings…and of course that is all well and good and rooted in Truth, but Jesus never said, specifically, ‘Do not take contraception’.

So when the question is asked, ‘What did Jesus teach’, I see two problems:
  1. Not enough Christians are educated in their faith.
  2. Being able to clearly state what Jesus himself said as a basis for the other beliefs and teachings.
Maybe in way like this:
  1. "If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
  2. IDK, but you see now where I am going with this? :o
 
If you are asking for a list if teachings, what about the Beatitudes? Many non Christians, including Ghandi, study(ied) the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Follow that up with the Golden Rule and The Lord’s Prayer (all from the Sermon on the Mount). Jesus’ teachings cover all the Ten Commandments, but expand on them to include not just the actions of a person but the intensions/attitude of the person. The Sermon On The Mount is a pretty good summary of His teachings. The Lord’s Prayer is said by Christians of all (or most?) denominations partly for this reason. It explains how we are to speak to God, trust in God, obey God, and even how we are to treat on another (forgive us as we forgive others). Forgiveness, love, hope and trust are key teachings.

If you are looking for teachings of the Catholic Church (and many Protestant denominations also profess as well) the Apostle’s Creed lists our core beliefs
 
Christ taught a way of life, not a couple of soundbites. All the various teachings fit together in a way that makes it difficult to pull one or two out to answer a question like that.

Talking about loving your neighbor ignores the sacraments, emphsizing justice would ignore mercy, etc. It is not that the people did not *know, *it’s just that that is a badly-put question.
 
St_Francis said:
Christ taught a way of life, not a couple of soundbites. **All the various teachings fit together in a way that makes it difficult to pull one or two out to answer a question like that.

Talking about loving your neighbor ignores the sacraments, emphsizing justice would ignore mercy, etc. It is not that the people did not *know, ***it’s just that that is a badly-put question.
Click to expand...
EXACTLY!

We’ve got to remedy that…:hmmm:
 
I’'d have thought anybody, after a moment or two’s thought, would come up with the Golden Rule (Do unto others), the Our Father and the Beatitudes.

Not a complete summary, of course, but a fair beginning.
 
Jesus taught how to get to heaven.

This may be emblished to any degree we feel appropriate.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top