Jesus
It is perhaps because I follow a Pagan path, but most people are surprised when I tell them I follow many of Jesus’s teachings quite strongly. It is also the main reason I stay away from strictly organized religion, most Christians take issue that I don’t believe Jesus was the Son Of God in the traditional sense. I care more about his teachings then family tree. Jesus also had is own issues with organized religion, I think he would be horrified to see the things that have been done in his name.
To me “God” is simply a universal energy (Great Mystery/Manitou/Qi) that connects us all, from which we create facets that form our individual deities (Yahweh, Aphrodite, Isis, Three Pure Ones, Olorun, Ninhursag etc. Spaghedeity?) to help us better understand our present situation. In that light, I think we are all part of “God”.
Anyhow, about Jesus. To me he was a great spiritual teacher, like Buddha, and when you strip away all the dogma that now surrounds him (and who knows what that was lost in translation) Jesus’s teachings are mostly very basic and immensely powerful concepts.
Jesus taught love. There is no commandment greater than this. He taught this concept through compassion towards others, healing the sick, washing his disciples feet, stopping the stoning of a woman etc. Our actions speak louder the words and compassion is an amazing force I try to live my life by. It is certainly not always easy, especially when it comes to loving your enemy. I try to remember that my enemies can be my greatest teachers though. (This teaching is what drives a huge wedge between me and some Christians who spew hatred towards people who don’t follow their exact flavor of Christianity.)
Jesus taught forgiveness. Beyond requesting forgiveness from God (which I don’t do) Jesus said we must first learn to forgive those who have wronged us, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” This is another exercise in compassion, it can be hard to keep forgiving someone, and sometimes we must determine if they are truly sorry for their actions or if it ourself imposing our own beliefs on them. It is hard to be the judge of such things… which leads to the next point.
Jesus taught us not to be hypocrites. We have all done bad things (”sinned” if you prefer) and it is hypocritical to take an eye for an eye. Our love and compassion should be our guide on how we treat others, not man-made rules. I try to always live what I believe, leading by example? Ultimately I believe we win people over by love, not force (which is probably why threats of damnation and hell never work on me.) We should live and love not “for show” but because we truly want to live by that virtue.
Jesus taught prayer. Yes I pray, though I may not call them that and they are also not directed towards any deity. For me a prayer is simply a silent or vocal acknowledgment of gratitude. It is easier to me to remain in a place of wholeness and love if I take time to remember the things I am thankful for. Whether I am saying a blessing over dinner or taking time each day to list things that bring me joy, I see them all as prayers.
Jesus taught generosity. There is one story in the New Testament, where Jesus and his disciples are watching people donate to a temple. An old woman gives a couple coins, which is nothing next to other donations, but it is everything she had. Jesus says she is the most charitable of them all. When you give with love and expect nothing in return you open yourself to receive a multitude of gifts. I know this to be true in my life through experience, when I give, even in difficult times, new and unexpected ways to flourish open to me. Jesus never said that it is bad thing to be wealthy, but it is a bad thing to become blinded by the need for possessions. When you cannot part with your wealth to share even a little compassion, you become a slave to it.
My beliefs are pretty much a mishmash of everything I have read, which is probably why the Pagan path is so appealing to me. We have no doctrine and are free to make our own and adapt it as we learn and grow. My main spiritual focus has always been around being a steward of the Earth, whom I refer to a Mother Earth, and intrinsic part of that is the practice of compassion because if we show compassion for all things it is easier to nurture healing and growth (in my opinion at least.) Jesus’s teachings certainly are filled with compassion, hence they are solidly integrated with my personal beliefs.
I didn’t realize such a diverse crowd read my blog, thanks for all you comments on my last post!
August 5th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
The mishmash is its power I think, it shows a bit of honesty that none of the fundamentalist religions and beliefs really have.
Enough honesty to tell yourself and others that you don’t know the truth of everything, or that you are still searching or that you are just looking around even ^^.
And being open like that basically opens the door to a lot more experiences and in science its sometimes said that:
“We don’t try to be right about things, we’re trying to be less wrong about things.”
And this perfectly applies to what you are explaining ^^, you learn from all kinds of religions and beliefs, for the sake of learning and becoming a better person mentally and spiritually.
Its awesome
and I’ll stop babbling now XD
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August 5th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I agree with much that you say in this interesting blog. Granddad adds - “Christian doctrine is man’s understanding of God’s word that they become adherers to . We realize that this makes many diverse doctrines - not all wrong nor all right but different.”
Your interpretation of the basic characteristic of Jesus are right on. How different the world would be if all could follow His teachings in the Beatitudes. (Matthew 5,6,7) which you included.I once was ready to teach thiese to a group of women and I felt the Lord say to me - not yet. You’re not living them. I was embarrassed but it was the truth.
Love you. Nana T.
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August 5th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Very interesting blog indeed. As a fellow pagan, I have to say I can relate to a lot of this, especially being brought up as a Christian. I never did, nor ever will denounce Jesus or God, because I do believe they exsist/ed, but rather I denounce the way that many (not all) christian religions choose to practice, with the dogma and so on. I really like how you stripped it all down to the naked beginning of what he was really trying to teach back in the day. That is the Jesus I would choose to believe in and I agree that he would be offended to see how the world is twisting his ways now.
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August 6th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
A couple things about this good post. First off, what people don’t understand is that there is very little originality in Christianity. Most of it’s practices, and even all of Jesus’ teachings like the Beatitudes, have roots in some other belief.
The other thing is how much it always surprises me to see how many Pagans refuse or resent the word ‘prayer’. The act is basically the same even if the aim is directed in a different direction.
As for practicing ‘an eye for an eye’…wasn’t it Ghandi that said “An eye for an eye leaves the world blind”? Whoever said it was spot on.
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August 7th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I think Pagans are afraid of the word prayer, when in all reality the act was around long before Christianity made its appearance. We really need to reclaim the term as one of our own.
Have you seen Man of the Earth? I think it might be a movie we could agree on loving. Your comment about Jesus’s teachings being rooted in old faiths reminded me of it.
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August 6th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Well put.
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August 7th, 2008 at 6:28 am
I can’t tell you what this essay means to me! You said so much what I feel! Thank you.
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August 7th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Your comment means a lot to me too. Thank you!
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