Quote:
Originally Posted by batair
I like your view better but some would say you have to accept Christ as your lord and savior according to the gospel of John.
I didn't like it much either. Jesus is all me me me in it. Plus he says verily a lot.
They are right, but not in the way they sometimes mean it (at least according to John’s Gospel). You cannot recognize Christ or Jesus by his name: The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.6:63 His name is the name of flesh, someone might call his dog Jesus Christ, do we have now to believe in that dog? Jesus on his own shows us the right way how to recognize him: “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God “? 5:44 In which way did God praise him? Did God praise him in front of the eyes of the Jews? He praised him by giving him the works that he did. “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”5:46 Moses didn’t write about him as a flesh named Jesus Christ, he did write about him through describing what are the works of a man of God. Even when he talks to the Samaritan Woman, Jesus says: "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."4 First he rejects the Smaritans worship and afterwards he doesn’t say salvation is from me, he says, salvation is from the Jews and at the end, there is no difference between Samaritans, Jews or those who believe in Jesus, there is only one thing left: worship in spirit and in truth.
Afterwards Jesus again and again points out that the only way to recognize him, it is through his works: “For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.”5 And what are his works? He left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 4:4-6
1) A long Journey to save a Samaritan Woman. And not for taking a woman: Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"4:27
2) He doesn’t do anything for his ego (TV Shows, lol) “He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.” 7:18 And what does prove this about Jesus? 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.6:1 (He doesn’t gather money, cars, homes, women…)
3) "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”10:11 How does he prove this? Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light." After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 11: 7-13
4) He is able to open your eyes: 25He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" 9:25-27 He opened his eyes to recognize what is important and what is not. I was blind but now I see! What does it matter to me if he is from China, Jerusalem or New York. What does it matter to me if he is a human or a dog? When someone makes me see, I will praise him, even if he should be a dog from Seoul. He did open his eyes to see what people’s real intention is: You don’t want to become his disciples, so why do you want to hear it again and again? Your intention is to accuse me and him. The interest that you are showing is a lie. You don’t want to be honest, you want to gather, you want to hold on to your (relative) power, you want to live in lie, therefore your intention is to accuse us.
This has been only some examples. And those who still would say that it is only possible to be “good” through Jesus Christ and they wouldn’t mean this figurative, than I would ask them: So you mean, you can see and others cannot? Cause Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”9
I would also ask them: Will you say that someone who does the work of God is false, when he shouldn’t be a Christ? Cause Jesus said: ”He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.” 7:18
I would also ask them, do you think others cannot be God? Cause Jesus said: "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods?”10
I guess partly I did also anwer to your second point, that he always says: me, me….. A teacher cannot say I am not a teacher, when he is teaching. But take a look at his works. He washes others their feet. He goes from here to there for saving and healing. In his mind is only truth and love. Truth not in the way that a chair is a chair, and time is time, and past is past. Truth in this way: don’t lie to the people for that you sell your products, don't defend someone who is doing wrong, just because he is your sister or father, don't justify all the wrong things that you do for that you can maintain your ego, at least be honest to yourself…
It was long, but I hope it was clear.
(Where is Pletho? And where are those who claim that Christianity is bad.)
Last edited by shahrad; 07-31-2010 at 09:16 AM.
