Sannhetseeker

I attended a viewing for an old friend Sunday night. She passed away last week. She was 79 and was quite a character for most of her life. When I arrived at the mortuary, I was immediately struck by how upbeat people were. There were people standing around – lots of friends and most of her family laughing and sharing stories about her. There were no tears. There was no crying, only laughter and smiles. This was because that is how my friend would have wanted it. My friend created joy. She was... Sign in to see full entry.

Spiritual maturity. Yeshua believed in it. He said as much. The concept is pretty simple. Not every one is ready to hear the gospel, let alone understand it. Does this mean then that we don’t share the “good news” that is Yeshua’s message? I don’t think so. But I think it needs to be approached in a particular way. Yeshua taught in parables. Many spiritual masters did (do) this. And they did this mainly to help those who were spiritually ready to learn their message without insulting the rest of... Sign in to see full entry.

Tolerate – to recognize and respect other’s beliefs, practices, etc. Respect – to show honor and courtesy; to show consideration for. Courteous – polite and gracious; considerate of others. Intolerant – unwilling to tolerate others’ opinions; bigoted. Bigot – a narrow-minded person who is not tolerant of others’ opinions or beliefs If one is to be tolerant, one behaves in a respectful in courteous manner to other beliefs and opinions. One cannot be tolerant if one is not displaying those... Sign in to see full entry.

John Dominic Crossan, a distinguished author of more than 20 books on the historical Jesus and Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at DePaul University, asks the question: What exactly is the correlation of the kingdom and a mustard plant? This is, of course, in reference to Matt. 13:31. In that verse, Yeshua likens the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed. Crossan points out that Pliny the Elder, a revered man of science who wrote the tomb, “Natural History”, pointed out that the mustard... Sign in to see full entry.

I sit and read various blogs on a daily basis. I read the comments that go along with most of these blogs as well. I also make some comments. And I find it fascinating that for a blog site that is about religion and spirituality, I find so much Ego everywhere. I find it fascinating because Ego is about as far from religion and spirituality as my waist is from fitting into some jeans from my high school days (why we have these in the house, I have no idea). One blogger claims that Christianity is... Sign in to see full entry.

Wisdom (n)1. The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight. 2. Common sense; good judgement. Since wisdom means "common sense", let's use some to discuss Yeshua's message and judge what is true and right: Old laws no longer apply - Matt. 5:38-39, 43-44 God does not judge - Matt. 5:45 Love everyone - Matt. 5:46 Forgive everyone - Matt. 6:14-15 Don't judge anyone - Matt. 7:1 There is a theme here. Yeshua's message is love and forgiveness. And common sense tells us this... Sign in to see full entry.

Forgiveness is the hardest thing to do in this world. Even for those whom it is expected that forgiveness is easy (clergy, religious leaders, etc.), it is not. And it is not for one reason: To forgive someone, one must forgive one’s self. Unfortunately, most people can’t do that. This is the power of the Ego. This is the power of “attachments” to the world, as Meister Eckhart calls them, and not attachments to the soul. Eckhart, a 13 th /14 th century Christian mystic who was a Parisian... Sign in to see full entry.

I’ve been looking for a way to describe part of Yeshua’s message. I think I have found it. We all know that most of it is one of love and forgiveness. But there is more to it than that. Earlier posts on this blog and others have discussed the "kingdom of God" and it’s location within an individual, not "outside" or "up there" somewhere. And this blog has described many mystics of many different faiths speaking of "going within" as well. This is the other part of Yeshua's message. Marcus Borg has... Sign in to see full entry.

Marcus Borg, Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University, presents an interpretation of the story of the Prodigal Son that has offered me another glimpse at the true message of Yeshua. In his book, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Borg describes this story as one not about the standard interpretation of Father (God) yearning for his son (sinner) who has left and joyous upon his return. Borg sees it as much deeper in meaning. Borg’s argument (and one... Sign in to see full entry.

As I continue my reading of the Book of Thomas the Contender (one of the Apocrypha), I've found more interesting comments related to reincarnation: Toward the end of the document, Yeshua is speaking to Judas Thomas about the "hidden things" when he says, "Watch and pray that you not come to be in the flesh, but rather you come forth from the bondage of the bitterness of this life." Now, as I read this, it is pretty clear that the choice that Yeshua is telling Thomas to take is the path that is... Sign in to see full entry.