Jesus loves me! (This I know)

I was looking at a few pages on Google about this and that, and came across some stuff about Jesus that gave me hours of fascinating reading

(Fascinating, as in "Holy shit, I can't believe it!")

There were the usual claims and warnings of what Jesus said and did and wanted and required of us etc. etc. (Now you have to realize that none of this came from Jesus Himself, just things that these know-it-all's said about him.)

BUT....... I ran across a piece where Jesus actually spoke to someone and gave this lady some advice and predictions.

Now we're cookin! Straight from the source, you might say! (This is the same as successful drug dealing......... always try and get to the source!)

I will let you read it without any comments from me!

Jesus appeared to me on March 17, 1984. I was 28 years old at the time.

He instructed me to spread His solution for the achievement of world peace and to work towards it.

He instructed me to tell people the precise location of Heaven, and he instructed me to share the cure for cancer.

BUT He told me NOT TO TELL ANYONE!

He would appear to me after the dawn of the new millennium when at that time I would receive a sign.

The sign would be a huge natural disaster.

For a brief while I thought the events of September 11, 2001 were the sign that it was OK to tell people that Jesus had appeared to me.

However, I knew that Jesus had said it would be a NATURAL DISASTER so I remained silent.

Then the tsunamis of December 2004 hit.

I realized that it was time for me to come forward.

I have been trying to ‘go public’ since then.

I am a practicing, licensed registered nurse. I am married and we have two wonderful children. I am not posting a photo of myself on this website as I will need to remain anonymous a bit longer.

But I am available to answer all questions that come to me.

My name is Jill.

JESUS CHRIST APPEARED TO ME!

He revealed four specific things to me:

#1: The precise location of Heaven

#2. The cure for cancer

#3. The solution for the achievement of world peace.

#4. He revealed the future to me.

I will briefly discuss each of the four revelations now.

#1. THE PRECISE LOCATION OF HEAVEN: When we die we will become stars... Literally stars! Jesus Christ is our Earth's sun. That is why we are His... Because we come on one of His planets. When we die and become stars we, too, will be blessed by wonderful special planets which orbit us and bring us great happiness. God the Creator is also a star... The first and the greatest. Two thousand years ago Jesus said "I am the Light of the World." Jesus now wants us to understand that this means He is the Sun and that when we die, we will become stars too.

#2. THE CURE FOR CANCER: The cure for cancer is actually the knowledge of the precise CAUSE OF CANCER. We already know the cures for cancer, mainly prevention and early detection. Also chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and alternative medicine. We also are acutely aware of the roles of carcinogens, environment, heredity and diet. But what is the PRECISE AND SOLE CAUSE OF CANCER? CANCER OCCURS WHEN WE EAT OUR OWN FLESH. (Two very simple examples of eating our own flesh are biting our cuticles or biting our lips.) When a piece of our own flesh is digested, microscopic fragments of our own DNA enter the bloodstream. If a piece of this DNA enters a vulnerable cell, the nucleus of the cell identifies the 'food' as 'self' and this causes a 'circuit' to be blown in the nucleus. When (and if) that cell goes to divide, it does so in a haphazard fashion, dividing into four instead of into two and the mutation continues. There is an interesting correlation to Christianity here. Jesus told us to "take His flesh and eat it." Now he wants us to know not to eat our own flesh in any way because it is deadly.

#3. THE SOLUTION FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF WORLD PEACE: This is so simple! According to Jesus, the way to achieve world peace is this: An AMERICAN president has to set a goal for WORLD PEACE BEFORE 2021. (President Kennedy did something similar when he set a goal for the USA to land a man on the moon in the 60's.)

#4. JESUS REVEALED TO FUTURE TO ME: The future will go one of two ways: If world peace is not achieved before 2021 the world will destroy itself. If world peace is achieved before 2021, there will be no more natural disasters.

I have given a very very brief overview here. You may have questions. I will gladly answer your questions.

I want to speak in public about my experience. Please send your invitations or requests to me: peaceful@hawaii.rr.com

Until I begin to speak in public I am establishing this Web Page in order that I may receive questions. Please feel free to ask: xilliontherockopera@hawaii.rr.com

Send requests for prayers or miracles to me, Jill, at: peaceful@hawaii.rr.com

GOT THAT KIDS?

Apparently some other guy got it all too well because he turned around and claimed it was HIM that Jesus talked to and now he was going to sell it on E-Bay for Fifteen Grand! ($15,000)

A guy called Lester Haines followed this one up:

The winner of this auction will receive my handwritten journal where I have described in detail the four messages of Jesus Christ who has appeared to me.

Jesus revealed four specific things to me:

#1: The precise location of Heaven
#2. The cure for cancer
#3. The solution for the achievement of world peace.
#4. He revealed the future to me.
I will briefly discuss each of the four revelations now. HOWEVER, I HAVE DISCUSSED THESE IN DETAIL IN THE JOURNAL.

Jesus revealed four specific things to me:

The guy, (His name is Daniel Watts) then gave a word for word description of Jill's revelation and followed it up with a biography that was starting to sound familiar.............

Jesus appeared to me on March 17, 1984.

I was 28 years old at the time.

He instructed me to spread His solution for the achievement of world peace and to work towards it.

He instructed me to tell people the precise location of Heaven, and he instructed me to share the cure for cancer.

BUT He told me NOT TO TELL ANYONE!

He would appear to me after the dawn of the new millennium when at that time I would receive a sign. The sign would be a huge natural disaster.

For a brief while I thought the events of September 11, 2001 were the sign that it was OK to tell people that Jesus had appeared to me.

However, I knew that Jesus had said it would be a NATURAL DISASTER so I remained silent.

Then the tsunamis of December 2004 hit. I realized that it was time for me to come forward. I have been trying to ‘go public’ since then.

I have decided to go with eBay in an effort to spread the messages of Jesus.. The winner of this auction will be given my hand written journal which tells in detail the messages Jesus revealed to me.. The person who wins this journal will have the right to copy it and distribute it in any way he or she desires.. I will seek no royalties.

GOOD LUCK BIDDING AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU.

Isn't that nice, these people are always thinking about us and our welfare. (Or were they on welfare and thinking they needed the money.......? I don't know, I keep getting confused on the small details!!!)

And there you have it!

I have been trying to find out how Danny boy made out with his auction and if someone was actually stupid enough to pay money for this revelation but all I get is a note from E-Bay saying that the site has been taken down!

If you have any personal knowledge about his please let me or one of the staff in the "Perspective Research Department" know about it.

In the meantime, we are pleased to report that George Bush has already been talking to Jesus about their shared vision of how to achieve world peace.

Since this heaven-sent guidance surely guarantees the eventual success of the US's holy crusade against evil, we advise all readers who wish to live beyond 2021 to stop biting their nails immediately.

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://Allans-Perspective.blogspot.com

Let's get things back into perspective here!

I get so downhearted when I run into people like the guy on the previous post.

I have, as one of my major flaws, very little patience with ignorance, (the classical ignorance, as in lack of knowledge) prejudice or intolerance.

This guy that wrote me a sweet little love note about my book that rambled on for sentence after sentence with utter disregard for grammar or logic. I got a whole lot of dogma that I am not even going to attempt to argue against, since first of all, not all that much of it made sense anyways, and secondly he is so mired in his ways that nothing I could say would have any impact on him.

The only thing that really caught my eye was the statement that Jesus had such an im-pact on the people around him that withing a few short years 500 souls were willing to sacrifice themselves for his cause.

Listen my friend, a lot of other prophets had as great or even greater impact on the populous of the time.............. they just didn't make it for the long haul.

And If you want to use deaths of adherents as your main yardstick then Jim Jones has got Christ beat by about 2 to 1!

Tomorrow.... why the 18 TERRORIST in Toronto got arrested for playing "Paintball!"

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://allans-perspective.blogspot.com

I love you Jesus, but I'm not so crazy about some of your followers

Product Description
Allan W. Janssen has published: "The Plain truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know)." God-101 presents a fascinating insight into how the original “cult” teachings of Jesus were altered by Greek philosophy, Pagan beliefs and Pauline thought to become the sayings of “The Christ,” and the basis of our modern Bible. God-101 gives an analysis of how the “priesthood” has corrupted Christianity and the other major religions. It shows how “Dogma” has led to the polarization of different sects within the same religion, (Catholic/Protestant – Shiite/Sunni) and how religious strife affects society as a whole, including the upcoming world - wide clash between Christianity and Islam! The book can be reviewed at http://www.God-101.com or http://groups.msn.com/God-101

From the Publisher
Book Description This book comes in two parts. The first half looks at how we as a civilization got to where we are now in our physical and spiritual development.
The second half allows us to take a long look at ourselves as a people. It examines our beliefs, and the practices of the "priesthood and organized religion," that has made our world here in the twenty first century the way it is!

This book has attempted to separate the fact of a "God" from the myths of humanity that have so shaped our lives.

Now,here we go!

The author, Allan W. Janssen, is seriously deprived of Biblical, historical, and archeological knowledge. God is not mocked, nor subject to personal views. The Dead Sea scrolls though not Christian, do produce a fact, Isaiah was written approx. 700 years before Christ, and are perfectly precise and accurate. Of course anyone who doesn't know, the Qumran(dead sea tribe) scrolls were found in the 1940's and have exact letter for letter manuscripts of Isaiah's prophecy of Christ! This is not, nor could be a "church" cover up. Before one does an undertaking to seriously mislead people as knowledgable, one MUST actually do their homework and make sure what they are stating is fact. The fcats we know are this: Pontius Pilate was a Roman Curator and governor, and did have Jesus from Nazareth crucified (Josephus, The Works of Josephus). Jesus of Nazareth was a human, whom did exist during the reigh of Herod the Tetarch (fact). After the crucifixion of Jesus, he was placed in a sealed tomb with a stone weighing close to 2 tons or more (fact) and placed under Roman elite guard (Josephus). Jesus of Nazareth did compel many, many people with diverse miracles (fact). Fact, the tomb is still empty! And of course one last fact, many many witness saw Jesus after the resurrection, close to 500 witnesses who went to their deaths, being burned alive, eaten alive, or tortured to death for their faith in the only One who can give salvation...why did they do this...fame? (I think not, Rome didn't like that)...legacy (I think not, they're dead)...Riches (no way, you can't take it with you)..then what? perhaps what they said is truth, they saw dead raised, sick healed, blind people see, deaf hear, and prophecies so long ago taught them totally true.
Think again Janssen.

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://Allans-Perspective.blogspot.com

The Chuch of Allan - The Plain Truth About God

A serialization of the book, The Plain Truth About God.

Chapter 11. “THE JESUS TAPES”

The Council of Nicea – What Christianity is really about!

As we have seen, there are many gods with similar stories to those that are found in the Christian Bible. By far the most significant event in the early history of European Christianity was the conversion of Emperor Constantine.

The Emperor was a follower of Mithra until he declared December 25th the official birthday of Jesus in 313 C.E and adapted the cult of Christianity as the state religion.

Constantine found he had several problems with his new faith.

First among these was that Jesus had proclaimed his faith as being staunchly anti-political. Jesus has insisted that his way was a non-worldly, individualistic and non-political way of life.

As a result the Christian texts were not only Anti-Roman (Judea was part of the Roman Empire during the life of Jesus), but since Jesus was also part-Rabbi and part Cynic he was also dismissive of human worldly authority.

If Christianity were going to work as a religion in a state ruled by a monarch who demanded worship and absolute authority, it would have to be changed.

The early Christians had tolerated the emperors and regarded them as a kind of necessary evil.

However, Constantine demanded their obedience both temporally and in terms of faith.

To this end, he merged the office of Emperor with the Christian faith and assumed authority over doctrinal matters.

Constantine’s belief that he was Divine presented a new and unsolvable problem for Christianity.

As long as the Emperor was a pagan, there was no question of the relationship between the church and the state.

The old rule was that the church and the state essentially each did their own thing.

However, the presence of Christian imperial authority led to severe conflicts and disruption.

(In fact, the question of the relationship between the church and a Christian government has yet to be resolved in the West.)

Constantine had other problems as well.

In his view, the Christian church was a powerful tool for unifying the Empire socially and politically.

If the church could become unified, that would provide a balance against the forces pulling the empire apart. The only problem was that there was no established or unifying doctrine.

In fact, there were as many forms of Christianity as there were communities of Christians. (Just like today)

The Vatican itself is built on the papacy of Mithra, who shared many qualities with Jesus and who existed as a Deity long before the character of Jesus was formalized.

(The Christian hierarchy is nearly identical to the Mithraic version it replaced.)

The church was also severely divided over some fundamental questions.

In particular, the speculations by the Eastern Churches on the nature of divinity were considered grossly heretical by the Latin churches.

This is what would finally call Constantine into action to unify the church. It was the schism between the Arians and the Athanasia’s.

Perhaps the most important task that Constantine undertook was the Council of Nicea.

That was convened to arbitrate a conflict between the Western Church and the Arians to decide the question of the relationship between imperial power and the church.

This council made major doctrinal statements that applied to the whole Christian world, and was the first to centralize doctrinal authority among Christians.

This was known as the Nicene Creed and began the long struggle, lasting to this day, between the anti-political views of Jesus of Nazareth and the views of human authority, which manifests itself as the “Christian Church.

Faced with the task of determining what was to go into the bible out of the thousands of manuscripts available by this time was a daunting task that was taken on with great trepidation.

By compiling a book of sacred writings that they could all agree on, Constantine thought this would give authority to the new church.

Composed of about 300 religious leaders, this council was given the task of separating the Divinely inspired writings from those of questionable origin.

The actual compilation of the Bible was an incredibly complicated project since it came three hundred years after the death of Jesus and involved churchmen of varying beliefs, in an atmosphere of dissension, jealousy, intolerance, and bigotry.

To add to the dissention, they were split into two groups that questioned the divinity of Jesus.

The purpose of the Council was to settle the dispute over the teachings of Arius - that Christ was not equal in divinity to God.

The council (in their wisdom) declared that Jesus WAS equal in divinity to God by a majority vote and declared Arianism a heresy.

Here is another example of human arrogance – they decided….Who was actually Divine? And who was not! What belonged in the bible- and was the actual word of God. And what was not!

A typical headline in the local newspaper would have looked like this!

Dateline - Middle East Times: “Jesus declared equal by majority vote!”
“Jesus relieved, would like to thank all his supporters!”

Sects and Cults;

While we can use the mainstream church as an example of religion that has gone wrong, let us be kind and just look at cults and sects for a minute!

At any given time there are between 500-600 cults and sects operating in North America.

Worldwide that number grows to the thousands, and their basic philosophy and code of conduct is as varied and diverse as their numbers.

It is at first, important to recognize the meaning of the words cult and sect.

We shall discuss cults presently but a sect is primarily an offshoot of an established religion or denomination. It holds most beliefs common with it’s religion of origin plus a number of novel concepts that differentiate and set it apart.

The most obvious North American example of a sect that evolved into a denomination is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons.

Their founder, Joseph Smith, had a revelation from God that the ministry of Jesus Christ continued after his crucifixion and is told in the book of Mormon.

The Mormon sect has since evolved into the Mormon Denomination due to the passage of time and increased number of members.

Within the next few decades, it is even expected to develop into the dominant faith group in the American North-West.

Even though the Mormons have been somewhat integrated into mainstream religious movements of North America, it has not been without a few impediments to their beliefs and practices.

The state of Utah had a lot of trouble achieving statehood due to the large Mormon population and their practice of polygamy.

In due course there was suddenly a new revelation from God that banned the practice of polygamy and so “lo and behold” Utah became a state and everybody was happy.
[Except a few male members who wanted to keep their multiple wives!]

(Of course, there was an answer to this dilemma. The males who were in favor of polygamy broke away from the church to form their own sects of the Mormon faith, and, although excommunicated, continue to this day in the United States and Canada.)

There is a belief amongst these Mormons that men must accumulate “plural wives” in order to achieve salvation! (As opposed to the Muslims who get their “virgins” after salvation!)

Sects can then be considered a process by which a new religious movement is generated.

Most die out quickly, a few linger, and one or two grow into an established denomination of a major religion.

Cults on the other hand, automatically have a negative connotation with most of society, and must be looked at in the context of how the word is used.

In the sociological use of the term, a cult is also thought of as a small religious group that is in a state of tension with the predominant religion.

Therefore, Hinduism could be considered a cult in North America while Christianity would be a cult in India.

A cult is also, in the general religious usage, termed a “small, recently created, religious organization which is often headed by a single charismatic leader and is looked upon as a spiritually innovative group.”

This means that early Christianity and Islam were definitely cults.

In fact, it took the early followers of Jesus nearly 200 years before they had progressed to the point of having an established hierarchy and doctrine that became known as the Holy Roman Church.

Tomorrow: Jihad Inc.

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

The Chuch of Allan - The Plain Truth About God

A serialization of the book, The Plain Truth About God.

Chapter 11. “THE JESUS TAPES”

From all the evidence we have about the spread of early Christianity it might be fair to say that without Paul, the fledgling movement might not have ever got off the ground.

Above everything else, Paul was a masterful compromiser.

He knew when to hold them, and he knew when to fold them.

He knew when issues mattered and when something should be let go in favor of expansion of the Church.

Although this gave his writings a sense of indecisiveness, contradiction and opportunism, Paul’s ultimate goal was the expansion of the central teachings of Jesus of Nazareth throughout the Roman world.

As long as Paul felt the “spirit of the teachings” was being adhered to, he was willing to compromise on other things, or even tolerate one situation while he wouldn’t another.

So much for the infallible and literate word of God!

** “Never let a sense of morals prevents you from doing what is right!” - Asimov

About the same time that Jesus and Paul where spreading the message of what was to become known as Christianity, there was a whole host of different religions and beliefs that had been traveling around not only the Middle East, but also most of the known world for hundreds and even thousands of years.

This proliferation of ideas and beliefs took many forms and names but they all seemed to fit a general mold that was repeated time after time!

Religions and religious sects are a lot like a family business. Most come and go within three generations! This has been true throughout most of history, but never more so than at the time of Jesus in the Middle and Far East.

There seems to have been numerous contenders for the throne.

We do not know with certainty how much of the lore from these competing religions was borrowed from, and incorporated into Christianity, but there is a remarkable similarity between them and I will leave it up to you to draw any conclusions from them.

Gnosticism;

Gnosticism (Greek for knowledge) was popular throughout most of the Greek world at the time of Christ. Although we do not know much about the origins of this sect, the first recorded Gnostic was Simon Magus who lived at the time shortly before the first Jewish uprising against the Romans about 30-40 years after the death of Jesus.

Gnosticism was based on an old Canaanite religion that goes back to at least the seventh or eighth century B.C.E.

One of the remarkable features about Gnosticism is that it was like almost every other belief system prevalent in the area at that time. The Gnostic religion centered on the figure of Sophia (or Wisdom), who was believed to have been disgraced, but raised up again by God.

The worship of Sophia easily found itself at home with Zoroastrianism and its battle between good and evil, Judaism with its concept of a supreme God, Mithraism, with its story of the descent and resurrection of the sun-god, and above all else with Christianity and its story of the descent and resurrection of Christ.

At one time there were Zoroastrian Gnostics, Jewish Gnostics, Mithra Gnostics and of course Christian Gnostics.

Christian Gnosticism was a major competing religion for early Christianity.
One of its most popular manifestations was the assertion that the Divine spirit of Christ dwelled in the body of the man Jesus.

In this respect, then, the spirit of Christ did not die on the cross with Jesus.

There is now a belief that Jesus himself was a Gnostic.

Some of the other competing beliefs at the time of Jesus:

MITHRA, Sun God of Persia.

Official recognition of sun worship in the Roman Empire began when they instituted the cult of “Sol Invictus.” (The cult of Sol Invictus and that of Mithra are virtually the same.)

The story of Mithra precedes the Christian Jesus by over a thousand years.
It first appeared as an Aryan sun god in Sanskrit and Persian literature, circa 1400.
Mithra was introduced into the Roman Empire in the 4th century BCE.

The cult was, shortly before the Christian era began, the most popular and widely spread “Pagan” religion of the times.

Mithra has the following in common with the Christ character:
**Mithra was born of a virgin in a stable on the winter solstice, frequently December 25 in the Julian calendar.
**Attended by shepherds who brought gifts.
**Shown with a nimbus, or halo, around his head.
**Believed not to have died, but to have ascended to heaven, whence it was believed he would return at the end of time to raise the dead for a final judgment.
**Granted his followers immortal life following baptism.
**He had 12 companions or disciples.
**He performed miracles.
**He was killed for his views.
**After three days, he rose again. His resurrection is celebrated every year.
**Mithra was called, “The Good Shepherd.”
**He was “the Way, the Light, the Redeemer, the Savior, and The Messiah.”
**His sacred day was Sunday, “The Lord’s Day,” hundreds of years before the appearance of Christ.
**Mithra had his principal festival on what was later to become Easter, the time he was resurrected.
**His religion had a Eucharist or “Lord’s Supper.”
**Followed a leader called a ‘papa’ (pope), who ruled from the Vatican hill in Rome; celebrated sacramenta (a consecrated meal of bread and wine).
**Had a Myazda -corresponding exactly to the Catholic Missa {mass}.
**Used chanting, bells, candles, incense, and holy water in remembrance of the last supper of Mithra.

HORUS of Egypt

The legends of Horus go back thousands of years, and he shares the following in common with Jesus:
**Horus was born of a virgin on December 25th in a cave/manger.
**His birth was announced by a star in the east and attended by three wise men.
**He was a child teacher in the Temple and was baptized when he was 30 years old.
**Horus was also baptized by “Anup the Baptizer,” who becomes “John the Baptist.” –
**He had 12 disciples. **He walked on water.
**He performed miracles and raised one man from the dead.
**Horus was transfigured on the Mount.
**He was crucified, buried in a tomb and resurrected. **He was “Way, the Truth, the Light, the Messiah, God’s Son, the Son of Man.”
**He was the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, and the Word, etc.
**He was “The Fisher,” and was associated with the Lamb, Lion and Fish. **Horus was called “The KRST,” or “Anointed One,” long before the Christians duplicated the story.
**In the catacombs at Rome are pictures of the baby Horus being held by the virgin mother Isis - the original “Madonna and Child.”

KRISHNA of India

The similarities between the Christian Jesus and the Indian messiah are many.
**It should be noted that a common earlier English spelling of Krishna was “Christna,” which reveals its relation to ‘”Christ.” –
**Krishna was born of a Virgin -His father was a carpenter. –
**His birth was attended by angels, wise men and shepherds, and he was presented with gold, frankincense and myrrh. –
**He was persecuted by a tyrant who ordered the slaughter of thousands of infants.
**He was baptized in the River Ganges.
**He worked miracles and wonders.
**He raised the dead and healed lepers, the deaf and the blind.
**Krishna used parables to teach the people about charity and love.
**He was transfigured in front of his disciples.
**In some traditions he was crucified between two thieves.
**He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.
**Krishna is called the “Shepherd, God” and “Lord of lords,” was considered “the Redeemer,” and “The Word.”
**He is the second person of the Trinity, and proclaimed himself the “Resurrection” and the “Way to the Father.”
**His disciples called him “Jezeus,” meaning “pure essence.”
**Krishna is to return to do battle with the “Prince of Evil,” who will desolate the earth.

Tomorrow; The Council of Nicea – What Christianity is really about!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

The Chuch of Allan - The Plain Truth About God

A serialization of the book, The Plain Truth About God.

Chapter 10. - Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up!

With all the different views presented in the various Gospels and Sayings we have looked at so far it makes sense to try to find out how many in total actually came from Jesus.

We do not know exactly how the texts in the bible were chosen but we do know that whatever happened occurred principally in the middle of the second century up until 325 C.E. when the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea was convened by Emperor Constantine.

He established the Nicene Creed as the fundamental statement of Christian doctrine........................

In his book “The Silence of Jesus,” James Breech takes an in-depth and impartial view of the words that have been attributed to “Christ,” and compared these with the words that composed the core material said by the historical “Jesus.” (See previous chapter!)

According to Breech, all the thoughts attributed to Jesus, a collection of eight sayings and eleven parables, can definitely be followed back to (Q) and do not have the taint of something said by “Christ.”

Modern day scholars would agree that these sayings, at least, are authentic.

They are remarkably free of the language and concepts of the early Christian movement, and show a purity of thought and concept, that upon close examination, reveals a simplicity and universal message not constrained by time or culture.

To truly understand the sayings that were uttered by the historical Jesus, we must keep an open mind and not make assumptions, or at least keep them to a minimum.

To do otherwise would be to fall into the same trap that ensnared the early “Christians.”

They created a body of work that first collected, then glossed over and distorted the sayings of Jesus to provide a basis for their own teachings.

One of the most basic assumptions that Breech examines is the concept of Christian “love” that forms the basis of most of the teachings of Jesus.

Let me explain:

** The foundation of Christian ideology revolves around “Love” for one and another.

To understand this we need to define exactly how the term or meaning of “Love” is used when compared to (the small L) love!!

In the first instance, there is the true “Love,” which means it is rooted in the power of the kingdom of God.

This is the “Love” that the historical Jesus preached to his followers.

The second type of Christian “love” (small L) is defined solely as an ethical idea that was propagated by the spreading Christian faith in trying to define the words of Christ.

Nietzsche probably best defined this form of Christian ‘love’ as a masked feeling of pity or charity.

In other words, we feel sorry for others and from this superior moral ground, we lend a helping hand.

Nietzsche claims that Christian ‘pity’ (love) is a device used by those who are not themselves truly vital and alive to obtain a perverse elevation of their own position by undermining others.

In other words, “I can make myself feel better by thinking you or someone else is worse-off and deserving of love.”

We often confuse the feeling of Christian “love” for someone with:

1. Pity for them.

2. Humanitarianism-or a love of Mankind.

3. Altruism, or self denial, and:

4. Sentimentalism, or wanting to be with others.

** These concepts of “love” have been re-enforced over and over again through one story or another.

What Jesus actually said was something more basic and infinitely harder to achieve.

The historical Jesus did not urge us to love humankind or to feel pity for someone else. He did not tell us to deny ourselves for someone else’s sake, or flagellate ourselves, or even to enjoy another’s company!

What He did say was pure and simple and straight to the point, “Love one another!”

This sort of Love is not the altruistic love of humanity, nor the possessive love for our mate, but rather something that requires hard work, tenacity, and sacrifice.

It is easy to love your wife or husband, child or parent, but to Love your neighbor (or stranger) is a task that is never ending and always requires effort.

It is a Love that seems to have no immediate benefit and is therefore not practiced by many people.

However, in the end, this is what will make Humanity rise up to it is potential and approach what Jesus referred to as the “Kingdom of God.” (The Father)

This is not something that is to be expected in the near, or far, future. Rather, it was a state of being that is present at this time, and only has to be observed and followed in order to achieve a state of Grace.

One of the core sayings of Jesus was “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For behold, that kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Jesus tells us quite clearly that the “Kingdom of God” is not a coming kingdom, or a future kingdom, but rather something already in and amongst his disciples. It is not a place, but rather a state of mind!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

The Chuch of Allan - The Plain Truth About God

A serialization of the book, The Plain Truth About God.

Chapter 10. - Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up!

This leads us to another question: “Does the Gospel of Thomas really reflect the views of Jesus?” ……………..Maybe!

There was once a “Q” gospel and a Mark gospel. These were revised and combined into a Matthew gospel and a Luke gospel. Therefore, four interrelated texts testify to a single view of Jesus.

That in turn leads us to the further question of what is “Q” and what does it have to do with Thomas since none of this material existed in a written, coherent, or universal form for several decades after the death of Jesus.

At some point, scholars believe that a written text of only the sayings and teachings of Jesus was in circulation. This was probably in an effort to standardize the proliferating teachings attributed to Jesus in the oral tradition.

If you realize that Matthew and Luke are revised versions of Mark you will see that an extended set of sayings are in Matthew and Luke that do not occur in Mark.

Both Matthew and Luke, it is generally agreed to in scholarship, took those sayings from a mid-first century document that consisted of a list of Jesus’ sayings. That document, called “Quelle,” has come to be known as Q.

It does not exist any longer, but it can be recovered by analysis of Matthew and Luke. Simply put, Q was the written list of sayings that we find common and not too apocalyptic in Mark, Matthew, and Luke.

In other words, things that have a high probability of being said by the historical Jesus, instead of the apocalyptic sayings of “The Christ” that we find in the Gospel of John.

** At the end of the first century C.E. The “Alexandrian School of Thought,” of which Origin and Clement of Alexandria were part, taught that there were three possible approaches to be taken to the scriptures.

(That there were already discussions of this magnitude and significance tells us a lot of the early Christian movement.)

The first approach was the literal translation, the second was symbolic, or allegorical, and the third was spiritual.

1. The first/ literal was described as simplistic and solely for the un-educated.

2. The second/symbolic was the use of parables to convey a deeper meaning.

3. The third/spiritual transcended the mortal plane and bought us closer to God.

Unfortunately at that time, as now, the un-washed masses cried out for a ready-made, simplistic, popular faith. A faith that can best be described as closer to a romance novel than any serious attempt at theology, history and philosophy.

This is also the reason that the “Resurrection” was proclaimed as the basis for Christianity.

This version of the “Faith,” when combined with the Roman gift of organization and brute force, led to the “Christianity” that has been handed down to us.

It seems to be the consensus among New Testament scholars that “Jesus” preached a message that teaches a way of behaving and living that applied to a first century reality.

However, the words of “Christ” are another matter.

If the sayings and parables of “Christ” are examined closely with the purpose of separating those words that were actually uttered by “Jesus” from those that were later attributed to him, we see a vast difference in the context, meaning, and purpose between the two.

The sayings of “Christ” display a metaphorical and allegorical context that suggest someone slightly removed from the everyday world.

The biblical words of “Jesus,” however, were indeed a direct reflection of their place and time. (Just as today, we are all products of our own time and age)

The actual sayings of the historical “Jesus,” which upon close examination shows only a handful of thoughts and parables, are so simple and basic, with such underlying truth, that they can be applied to the human condition of any age.

The origin of Thomas is a question hotly debated by scholars. Many scholars say that it was written at about the same time, or even somewhat before, the gospels in the bible.

Their argument is that most of the sayings in Thomas show no signs of having any dependence on, or knowledge of the Biblical gospels and so Thomas’ sayings derive from oral tradition and not from written Biblical texts.

This does not seem to have been possible after the end of the first century. This is when the Biblical texts began to be authoritative.

Other scholars find bits of evidence that indicate Thomas was indeed dependent in part, on Biblical texts. They surmise that the author of Thomas must have edited out almost all indications of the particular styles and ideas of the Biblical authors.

(Those scholars date Thomas in the mid second century C.E. and are suspect.)

However, the choices for a compilation were made at this time, it could well have been that Thomas was unknown to those who made them.

Alternatively, there might have been elements of Thomas that were distasteful to them.

On the other hand, given a preference for narrative biographical gospels, Thomas might have been thought dry and irrelevant.

We know hardly anything about the process of Canonical gospel choice except that biblical canon is not open for debate, it is a closed entity.

A church that adds Thomas to its collection of scriptures would move outside the margins of orthodox Christianity and no well-known denomination has the slightest intention of adding Thomas to its scriptures.

If you take the set of sayings that are in common in Thomas and either “Q” or the gospels of Mark or Matthew or Luke (no sayings in Thomas are repeated in John) then you have a pared down set that could have come from Jesus himself.

These we will list at the end of the chapter.

The only thing that is known about Thomas for sure is that it will never be included in the Bible.

There is even more conjecture about the lost years of Jesus, between the time when he was in his late teens until he began his ministry at about the age of thirty.

During this time, it must be assumed that he followed the normal Hebrew custom of learning a trade and getting married.

Yes, married! It would have been highly unusual - even suspect, for him to be in that society and not be married!

Mary Magdalene, by the way, was his wife.

She was only drastically reduced in her role much later by the church hierarchy.

They could not stand the thought of a woman with that much influence on the “Son of God” so they reduced her to the status of a whore!

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com

Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

I found Jesus!

Today is a good day because I found Jesus.

(He was behind the sofa the whole time!)

And let me tell you something else. I FOLLOW JESUS!

And I will continue to follow him until I get back the five bucks I lent him!

(That night I had a dream that I died and went to heaven. When I got to the Pearly Gates St. Peter met me there, gave me five bucks, and told me to get lost!!!!!)

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God at www.God-101.com and the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com

Stand Up For Jesus, Damn It!

In an attempt to clarify a statement he made over the weekend, Jesus issued a news release today in which he said " Oh, excuse me, but I thought you said erection, not Resurrection.


Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) www.God-101.com

Jesus Takes the Fifth!

In a news conference today Jesus responded to James Cameron's documentary this past weekend about his final resting place and the whole issue of Resurrection.

A nervous Mr. Christ said he was forced to "take the fifth" on that question, and was then seen going behind the podium to drink a fifth of scotch!!!

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) www.God-101.com

Words to live by!

Excerpts from the book "The Plain Truth About God-101"
(what the church doesn't want you to know!)

I've found Jesus!
He was hiding behind the sofa the whole time!

I believe in God!
I just don't trust anyone that works for him!

“I look after the big picture, son.” Said God!
“Life is a crap-shoot. You take your chances like everyone else!”
-George Burns as God-

”Life is what it is!” –Anonymous

God inspired the bible, he didn't write it. People base their lives around the manic scribbling of a bunch of desert baked primitives who ate bugs and honey! Of course they saw God! -Anonymous

Muslims have their holy day on Friday, Jews on Saturday and Christians on Sunday. Since we are all "Theists" and "people of the book" it would be nice to find a way to harmonize all three beliefs. Aside from the obvious results of an end to religious strife, one of the most immediate benefits would be a three-day weekend!
-A.W.J.

The bible states clearly that nobody can earn his salvation through morality and good deeds (Gnosticism) since we are all sinful by nature. We have the perfect catch 22 situation were only in the blind acceptance of Christ atoning for our deeds can we be saved. In other words, we are in a no-win situation against the so-called logic of the shaman; if we do not take his word for it then all is lost! –A.W.J.

When I look at the arrogance of Islam with the way they treat women and the brutality they exhibit towards others under the direction of their Imam’s, it seems very disturbing that a major world religion can exhibit such barbaric acts.
That is until we realize that Christianity is guilty of just as many, if not more infractions against humanity through its history. Islam is one of the youngest of the major religions and still rooted in its origins. Let’s face it, almost everyone in the six and seventh centuries held comparable views to what Islam does today, including the Christians. -A.W.J.

“Consciousness is the physical manifestation of God within us!” -A.W.J.

"Conscience is God's presence in man.” -Emanuel Seidenberg

If faith were the result of logical reasoning, we could expect that most intelligent people would by now be converted to one ideology or the other! –A.W.J.

A Hinduism and Zen truism: “A person is like a drop of water separated from the sea. To fall as rain, it considers itself distinct from the world soul. Then, through hill and dale, its destiny is to return to the sea!”

"I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” --Lao-Tzu

You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
--Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

"The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning."-Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986)

I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and by men who are equally certain that they represent the Divine will. I am sure that either the one or the other is mistaken in the belief, and perhaps in some respects, both.
I hope it will not be irreverent of me to say that if it is probable that God would reveal his will to others on a point so connected with my duty, it might be supposed he would reveal it directly to me. --Abraham Lincoln

"I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure. That is all that agnosticism means.” - Clarence Darrow.

There seems to be an abundance of GOD'S on this planet. There is the God of Abraham, the God of Muhammad, and the GOD of Jesus. Then there is the loving GOD, the all-powerful GOD, the vengeful GOD, the GOD of grace, the GOD of peace and the GOD'S of war. There is also the “Holy Trinity,” which is actually “three for the price of one,” and even a "dead" GOD. -A.W.J.

”What can you say about a society that thinks God is dead and Elvis
is alive!” -- Irv Kupcinet

“If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators
would be dead!” --Johnny Carson

Sacred cows make the best hamburger. -- Mark Twain

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” -Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

"One of my objections to religion is that it prevents the search for
God.” --Arthur C. Clarke

AND FINALLY:

Perhaps the greatest sin of the Western churches (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) has been the particular brand of narcissism that impels so many to feel they have God all sewn up and put in their back pocket. People who think that they not only have a ticket to heaven, but anyone who disagrees with them is going straight to hell! They believe in God, but do not believe that God is bigger than their own theology. In their arrogance they do not realized that God is not theirs to possess! -Paraphrased from M. Scott Peck.

Your "That's all Folks!" scribe;
Allan W Janssen

Jesus or Christ? or just Jesus Christ!!

Since this is Christmas day and we are supposed to be celebrating the birth of Jesus, let's see what history really has to say about the birth of "Christ." (Even though the historical Jesus was probably born on April 6, 6-A.D. Christmas is actually a Pagan Festival and celebrates the Winter Solstice, which means that it is more of a cultural phenomenon than a religious one.)

Remember, this is not Jesus, but rather the Christ of myth!

Note: As explained in the book The Plain Truth About God-101(what the church doesn't want you to know!)

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com

Jesus Christ, I was only kidding, honest!

This is the tale of Bahaa El Din Al Akkad, a 57 year old Egyptian, ex-Muslim Sheikh who converted to Christianity more than a year ago and was arrested by Egyptian State Security and thrown in Jail.

No real charges except "Blasphemy against Islam!"

While not every Christian convert is arrested and thrown in jail in Egypt, it would make sense for the State Security Agency to arrest this guy. He used to be in Tabligh and Daawa (which is the movement to spread the word of Islam and convert people) and he used to preach in a Mosque.

If word of his conversion ever came out it could cause a huge ruckus in Egypt and inflame lots of people. Hell, he could get killed and that would spark the debate on why Muslims can't convert to Christianity to begin with. (Apostates)

The Christians would get up in arms, the Islamists would one-up them in violence and voila, you get yourself a nice case of secterian strife and conflict.

So, instead of addressing the situation or trying to fix the problem, SSI decided to employ their usual quick and dirty solution and jail the guy.

Silencing him would be far easier and less work for them than to actually confront this very real issue.

Said one blogger from Egypt:

After contacting a couple of people who are involved in such cases in terms of human rights, the word came back that this story is actually true. They have known about it for a while now and have been in contact with the guy's lawyer. They plan on coming out soon with their own statements.

So I figured I would tell you guys first. This is for real. The guy got arrested for converting to Christinaity and has been rotting in prison for the past 18 months for it.

I don't think I need to tell you how much of a violation to his rights this is, but then again this is Egypt and we really have no rights to speak of. But yeah, spread the word and maybe we can create enough pressure on the authorities to get this guy out!

Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html

Should we take the Bible literally or figuratively!

The best answer I can give is to take a quote from my book "The Plain Truth About God-101" (what the church doesn't want you to know!)

**At the end of the first century C.E. The “Alexandrian School of Thought,” of which Origin and Clement of Alexandria were part, taught that there were three possible approaches to be taken to the scriptures. (That there were already discussions of this magnitude and significance tells us a lot of the early Christian movement.)

The first approach was the literal translation, the second was symbolic, or allegorical, and the third was spiritual.

The first (the literal) was described as simplistic and solely for the un-educated. The second (symbolic) was the use of parables to convey a deeper meaning, and third (spiritual) was to transcend the mortal plane and bring us closer to God.

Unfortunately at that time, as now, the un-washed masses cried out for a ready-made, simplistic, popular faith. A faith that can best be described as closer to a romance novel than any serious attempt at theology, history and philosophy.

This is also the reason that the "Resurrection" was proclaimed as the basis for Christianity.

(It was a con thought up from ancient Greek mythology by Paul. He's the one responsible for the Christianity we have today. Not Jesus!)

This version of the "Faith," when combined with the Roman gift of organization and brute force, led to the "Christianity" that has been handed down to us.

It seems to be the consensus among New Testament scholars that "Jesus” preached a message that teaches a way of behaving and living that applied to a first century reality.

However, the words of "Christ" are another matter.

If the sayings and parables of "Christ" are examined closely with the purpose of separating those words that were actually uttered by “Jesus” from those that were later attributed to him, we see a vast difference in the context, meaning, and purpose between the two.

The sayings of “Christ” display a metaphorical and allegorical context that suggest someone slightly removed from the everyday world.

The biblical words of "Jesus," however, were indeed a direct reflection of their place and time. (Just as today, we are all products of our own time and age)

The actual sayings of the historical "Jesus,” which upon close examination shows only a handful of thoughts and parables, are so simple and basic, with such underlying truth, that they can be applied to the human condition of any age. -A.W.J.

Please, Please pay attention to this> It is probably the closest you will ever get to the truth behind Jesus and the whole religious thing.

Don't blindly accept what other people try and tell you, go and find out for youself.

"Faith" can very well turn out to be a false God!

Your Humble Scribe;
Allan W Janssen

Talk about shooting your mouth off!

You're humble servant has been surfing the net to see just how ridiculous people can get.

The latest site I came across had sixteen pages on "How the bible says it's O.K. to have a gun and use it when necessary" (which by the way, is a lot of times!)

No it wasn't written by Charlton Heston but might as well have been.

I did not know they had guns back in the time of Jesus, although I must say it would be hard to find anyone else of his calibre! ;-)

You're Faithful Scribe - Allan

The true message of salvation!

To get a better handle on exactly what Jesus meant in the sermons to his followers we can look back to the Gospel of Thomas.

Thomas represents a Jewish "Wisdom" philosophy that was embraced by Jesus and the Gnostics. - “That the kingdom of God is not something we must await for - but is in fact already here, if only we can become spiritual enough to see it”.

One of the documents found at Nag Hammadi begins with a note in the margin, "The Gospel According to Thomas." The first sentence of that document says, "These are the secret words which the living Jesus taught and which Judas Thomas Didymos wrote down." Then they start over 110 sayings, each introduced with "and Jesus said."

Now this is very reveling since some of those sayings have parallels in the gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke, and some not. However, we can state that sayings or parables that are repeated two or more times in any of the early Gospels have a much higher chance of being an actual utterance by the historical Jesus.

These sayings may go back to a very early period of Christianity; some of them may have been added later. The document itself comes from the fourth century and as with all gospel text, we have to remember that these texts were fluid.

Remember, scribes could add, could leave things out, or could add comments and even their own interpretations.

They not only could, but also did!

Now what is typical about these sayings is that in each instance, they tell us that if you want to understand what Jesus said, you have to first recognize yourself. You have to know yourself, know who you are.

It begins with a saying about the Kingdom of God, which is probably one of the most important, and reveling proclamations.

"If you seek the Kingdom of God in the sky then the birds will precede you, ad if you seek it in the sea, then the fish will precede you, but the Kingdom is in you, and if you know yourself, then you know the Kingdom of the Father.”

However, if you do not know yourself, you live in poverty, not knowledge! That which is understood to be the knowledge of one's divine origin. “The fact that one has come from the Kingdom of the Father”.

What does it mean really to know oneself? To know one is to have insight into one's own ultimate divine identity.

"Know yourself" is a very old Greek maxim... That is, you have to know that your own soul is divine, and then you know that you are immortal. Whereas, the body is the mortal part of human existence.

Now this is radicalized in the Gospel of Thomas into saying that everything that is experienced physically and through sense perception, everything in the world that you can perceive in this way is nothing. It is, at best, chaos and, at worst, it does not even exist in reality. The only thing that really exists is your divine spirit or your divine soul, which is identical in its quality with God himself.

This, in many ways, exactly reflects the philosophy of the Eastern Religions. (There is even a lot of conjecture about the lost years of Jesus, between the time when he was in his late teens until he began his ministry at about the age of thirty. There are unsubstantiated reports of his having visited a monastery in India and studied Eastern Philosophy!)

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book "The Plain Truth About god-101" (what the church doesn't want you to know!)

I was all screwed up on drugs until I found Jesus -now I'm all screwed up on him

Well it's started. I am getting all sorts of mail telling me that to be saved the only thing I can do is give myself over to Jesus. Not only that, but nothing else can or will do it. All I have to do is belive, and that's the only thing I can do.

Here I am thinking the logical thing- what Jesus taught was a way to live. By following that way the "Kingdom of God" was not some far off thing that was a reward at the "end time." Rather it was a "state of grace" that was to be given to us in the present.

(Remember these Jews thought the "end time" would come while they were still alive. In some aspects they were a dooms-day cult.)

Whatever you think the church is telling you, - salvation and its reward in the afterlife was not the intention of Jesus. Rather he preached a way of living that afforded us the "kingdom of God" here and now.

Please don't tell me that the only way to live is to blindly follow YOUR way of thinking. As I said earlier, the Human Race needs to grow-up and start taking responsibility for its actions.

Remember, living and showing by example leads to a "state of grace" while trying to convert others to your way of thinking, (Do as I say, not as I do!) could be called the proverbial "devils work."

This means evangelism is not the way, and to travel down that road is self- defeating from a spiritual point of view.

To try and convert the "unbelievers" or the "infidels" is only the religious heirarchy telling us what to do. Believe me - anything they tell you is self-serving.

Even to this day the official doctorine of the Catholic church is "No Salvation outside the Catholic Church!"

If you want to find God, look inward, not outward. This is the real message of Jesus, -not the Pauline thought that morphed into the modern church.

Your humble servant
Allan W Janssen

The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!)

In the teachings attributed to Jesus, it is abundantly clear that he was an apocalyptic teacher who believed that the world would end within the lifetime of the people to whom he was speaking.

The foundation of these teachings was that human beings could be saved by both believing his word and by modeling their lives on the higher moral law of God.

That higher moral law was the foundation of Jewish law. To this end, he believed that pharisaical teaching was an appropriate guide to following this higher moral law.

His criticism of the Pharisees was that they did not live by what they taught.

In line with this higher moral law, Jesus of Nazareth preached an ethics of selfless concern for the welfare of others, rejection of material wealth, and non-retribution, all of which were standard in Jewish ethics.

In his statements, Jesus of Nazareth explicitly rejects government and politics as a legitimate sphere of human action.

The religion that he taught was an intensely individual religion.

Righteousness, which means the performance of right actions, was not a quality of actions but rather a quality of the interior state of the individual. This was not really a break with the Jewish tradition, but it was the core of the way Jesus defined the human relationship with the divine.

There is abundant evidence in the Gospels that Jesus considered his teachings to be for Jews only. This is a curious tradition to maintain in the face of the massive spread of Christianity into the Gentile world, but nowhere does Jesus of Nazareth construct his teachings or the religion he is espousing as anything other than for Jews. In one place explicitly says that his mission is only to the Jews.

Included in the gospels are a number of miraculous events, many of which correspond with shamanic practices of curing the sick and casting out demons.

In the gospels, Jesus is perfectly comfortable with many of the superstitions of the popular Judaism of the time, such as belief in demons. His followers, however, are less comfortable with these stories and present these miracles as arguments for the divinity and special mission of Jesus rather than in the shamanic tradition from which they are derived.

Ultimately, the Jesus who emerges from the gospels is concerned with preparing the Jews for the last event in history, and who actively preaches that human beings can individually enter into a correct relationship with God. They can do this through faith and trust in God and through an active, ethical concern with both the material well-being and the suffering of others.

The Christian religion was at first, obviously, a Jewish religion. It was a movement amongst the population in the immediate area of the land Jesus lived in. Its message aimed directly at a Jewish audience by Jews.

However, with the advent of the Prophet Paul the message changed and was geared towards a Gentile population that was also eager for the “Word.”

Allan W Janssen is the author of the book "The Plain Truth About God-101" (what the church doesn't want you to know!

Christianity is Idol worship!

Let's Get Things Back Into Perspective Here!

We have to keep in mind, and never loose site of the fact that the historical "Jesus" was culturally a product of the ancient Near East, and in an area under Roman sovereignty.

"Christ" was a product of the people and times that came after him; most notably Pauline thought, as well as a Greek influence.

The parables and stories of the historical Jesus were the product of a first century Jewish "rabbi-sage-cynic" from Galilee who had an enormous influence on a handful of people around him.

We will refer to the historical figure as "Jesus" from now on and the person of mythology as being the "Christ" of our modern religion.

"Christianity," in its simplest terms, is the result of previous centuries of Jewish and Greek myth and conjecture about the coming of a “Messiah,” and revolves around the resurrection.

The teachings of Jesus were altered to fit the legend, but definitely took a secondary role.

The gospels were composed many years after the death of not only Jesus, but even of most of the people that knew him directly. Not only were these Gospels displaced in time, but also displaced culturally since Greek speaking Christians composed them.

- And then even further meaning was lost in translation from the Aramaic.

There are now two main, and disparate, schools of thought about the origin of Christianity. The first, and mistaken belief is that Jesus himself, as well as his teachings, was the founder.

The other is that the Christ or "Anointed One" of the Resurrection, as well as Pauline thought, is the bases of this religion. This may seem to be a small distinction upon first inspection, but in the end a very crucial one.

If it is based on the teachings, and more importantly, the example of Jesus, then his words take on enormous significance.

If, on the other hand, the "resurrection" and "Pauline thought" is taken as the bases for Christianity, then it is based on the ideas and beliefs of the people who came after him!

Remember a very important fact! Jesus never personally claimed to be conducting his Ministry to "erase man's sins,” just as he never claimed to be divine himself. Jesus constantly referred to himself as the "son of God,” just as we all are!

The early Christian gospels are not historical biographies of Christ, and do not really give us insight into the life of Jesus. These gospels proclaim a message about Jesus, and express a significance that the early Christians found in Jesus.

They are written in a way that appeals to historical truth, but they are not history in any actual sense.

The gospels expressed what people experienced about Jesus in the context of the first century Near East.

This experience was taken as a "revelation" of the divine, and they tell us what the early Christians eventually came to believe about Jesus!

Until the recent deciphering of the Gospel of Thomas and the discovery of the "Q" sayings, this knowledge of Christ was the only bases we had to explore the historical Jesus.

As a result, it was very difficult to differentiate between the actual words of Jesus and the words attributed to him by his followers. (Christians) ............................Fortunately, this is changing.