27 Yeshua and his disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and he was asking his disciples in the road and he said to them, “What is it the people are saying about me as to who I am?” 28 Some said, “Yohannan the Baptizer”, and others “Elijah” and others, “One of The Prophets.” 29 And Yeshua said to them, “But what is it you are saying about me as to who I am?” Shimeon answered and he said to him, “You are the Messiah, The Son of the Living God.” 30 And he admonished them that they should not speak about him to anyone.
Mark 8::27-30 Aramaic Bible in Plain English C2010
Sometimes, of late, I feel (not think) that maybe we modern Christians need to do just that—not “speak about him to anyone”!
Why?
Because the word/image Jesus has become such an ‘empty bucket’ that means almost anything!
Here I am not dealing with millions of humans who use the name as a curse word, meaning nothing, but am speaking of the millions who speak seriously of Jesus.
Yet there is such an endless modern babel of voices disagreeing about who Jesus is. In this I am, also, not speaking about the new atheists or the new agers or any-and-all-kind of secularists or any adherents of various other religions.
It’s many Christians who claim, seemingly, almost ‘diabolical’ differences about who Jesus is!
Such babel-mania must be abysmally confusing for most people who come in contact with various Christians groups who claim opposing, even contradictory, images/descriptions/qualities/essences for Jesus.
I am tempted to give a few of the more unusual examples, but as the book of James says to do, I will resist temptation. Giving examples will surely side track us down endless theological rat holes (to vary the allusion to Alice In ‘Wanderland’)
In fact, at this aged point in my life as I said above, I’m even wondering—Heaven do help—us if we need to stop using the words “Jesus” and “Christ” because they mean so many different descriptions and different ideas and different concepts that like the words “Christian” and “God,” they basically mean nothing or anything.
What do YOU think?
Who is Jesus?
Would you share your view?
Do the very many contrary views of “Christians” bother you, or is this only my own particular theological packrat problem? (My wife thinks I think theology too much;-)
In the Light,
Daniel Wilcox
2 comments:
What do I think... I think Jesus (Yeshua) was a man that talked to people about a possibility of a different world, a world without hatred, without judgement, and without - government. He believed that all people are good, and that eventually government will not be necessary, because innately every individual knows right from wrong. He also showed people the power of kindness.
But the government of Jerusalem felt threatened by his views and prosecuted him as a political criminal. That is what I think.
As for people talking about Jesus and having all kinds of different views... Come on, nowadays people can fight over where to fill their prescriptions, and passionately! How can any of them agree on a subject so vast as personal beliefs?
Hi Katya5,
Thanks for sharing your view of who is Jesus is.
Much appreciated,
Daniel
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