Guest guest Posted April 22, 1999 Report Share Posted April 22, 1999 > And then they get > offended if someone else gives Jesus more respect than they > think he deserves. Because they are in ignorance about Jesus' > personality, his actual mission, his activities, his relationship > with Krsna. Another point that might be interesting to consider is that Jesus preached before the advent of Lord Caitanya, who broke open the store house of love of God. So time and place are certainly important factors. Previous to Lord Caitanya even the Vaisnava acaryas where somewhat 'limited' in their presentation as compared to those who followed after Him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 1999 Report Share Posted April 22, 1999 On 21 Apr 1999, Janesvara Dasa wrote: > "Mr. O'Grady: ...when you say Krsna consciousness is there any difference > between that and Christ consciousness? > Srila Prabhupada: No, there is no difference. Christ came to preach the > message of God. If you actually become Christ conscious, you become Krsna > conscious." SSR pg 262 Yes, and the letter from Srila Prabhupada to Bhagavan das said that the devotees of Jesus who follow the teachings of Jesus do not go back to Godhead, but just go to a higher material planet. Thus, if these 2 quotes are understood to be logically consistent, we can only come away with the conclusion that those who "become Christ conscious" and achieve the same results as those who become Krishna conscious are different from the "devotees of Jesus" that Srila Prabhupada spoke of in the letter to Bhagavan das. There may be a question as to who are the individuals who become Christ conscious, but that is irrelevant. So, even with this quote one cannot provide convincing evidence that Jesus taught bhagavat-dharma. Yours, Vijay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 1999 Report Share Posted April 22, 1999 On 21 Apr 1999, Mahanidhi das wrote: [lots deleted] Prabhu, let me make this very clear for you; I thought it was straightforward enough, but apparently it wasn't. I have only questioned the underlying philosophy in the NT, not the accuracy of its presentation. Thus, I can fully use the NT as evidence of the existence of Jesus and of the tenor of his preachings without a logical self-contradiction. Stitha-dhi prabhu, on the other hand, questioned not the philosophy of Jesus, but rather the accuracy of the presentation in the NT. If one questions the accuracy of the NT, then one cannot use the NT to show anything, including the existence of Jesus. Since even the existence of Jesus is not known to us today through any source not derived from the NT, one who questions the accuracy of the NT cannot logically accept even the existence of Jesus. Thus, this form of questioning suffers from self-contradiction. Srila Prabhupada called the NT a temporary yavana scripture. However, I have never seen a quote in which he said that the NT (in Greek or Syriac) was an inaccurate presentation of Jesus' teachings. (If you have such a quote, please present it.) Thus, if we accept the existence of Jesus based on the NT, we have no reason to reject its underlying accuracy in presenting Jesus' teachings. From that, we can only conclude that Jesus taught temporary, contradictory yavana philosophy. Regards, Vijay S. Pai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 1999 Report Share Posted April 22, 1999 On 21 Apr 1999, Sthita-dhi-muni Dasa wrote: > On 21 Apr 1999, Vijay Pai wrote: > > This same argument can be used to call the Bhagavatam into > > doubt; after all, Shukadeva Goswami preached, but others compiled > > it into the Bhagavatam. > I disagree - the Bhagavatam was compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, who is not only > considered a shaktya-vesa avatara, but a direct disciple of Narada Muni. The only way that you know that Vyasadeva was a shaktyavesha avatara is through the Bhagavatam. Thus, using this as evidence suffers from circularity. > > The ground-level reality, though, is that we do not even know of > > the existence of Jesus without the New Testament -- we do not even > > have Roman crucifixion records or Jewish written histories of the > > time from which we can gather evidence. > There is historical evidence--I recently read up on this issue in the > Encyclopedia Britannica. I can research it again and relay the info if we want > to pursue this one further. I would be very pleased if you found some historical evidence. I have full access to the EB through my university; here is what the EB says specifically: "The history of the life, work, and death of Jesus of Nazareth reveals nothing of the worldwide movement to which he gave rise. He lived and taught in a remote area on the periphery of the Roman Empire. His life was of short duration, and knowledge of it remained hidden from most of his contemporary world. None of the sources of his life and work can be traced to Jesus himself; he did not leave a single known written word. Also, there are no contemporary accounts written of his life and death. What can be established about the historical Jesus depends almost without exception on Christian traditions, especially on the material used in the composition of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, which reflect the outlook of the later church and its faith in Jesus." In particular, note that "there are no contemporary accounts written of his life and death" -- we do not even have Roman crucifixion records or Jewish written histories. The only sources of "Jesus history" are based on the Gospels of the New Testament. If you have some contrary evidence, please present it; I'm sure you could revolutionize the history world just by such a presentation. Incidentally, to tie together the various threads on the VAD conference right now, the early Xn theologian most closely associated with belief in reincarnation (Origen of Egypt) was voluntarily castrated. He thought it would help him serve God better. Yours, Vijay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 1999 Report Share Posted April 22, 1999 On 21 Apr 1999, Sthita-dhi-muni Dasa wrote: > I am not sure why this debate is so crucial to devotees who feel secure in the > Vaisnava siddhanta. The sincere followers of Jesus Christ will progress in > their relationship with the Supreme Lord, whether they get our personal > approval or not. Exactly. So, let's not go out of our way to give them our personal approval, as devotees so often try to do. -- Vijay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 1999 Report Share Posted April 22, 1999 On 22 Apr 1999, Mahanidhi das wrote: > Thanks, Janesvra. But you didn't really had to let me > endeavor so much, defending this same Srila Prabhupada's > understanding of what Christ preached actually, did you? Sorry, Prabhu. But you were doing a fine job without my insignificant help. ys, Jd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 1999 Report Share Posted April 22, 1999 > > "Mr. O'Grady: ...when you say Krsna consciousness is there any > > difference between that and Christ consciousness? > > Srila Prabhupada: No, there is no difference. Christ came to preach the > > message of God. If you actually become Christ conscious, you become > > Krsna conscious." SSR pg 262 > So, even with this quote one cannot provide convincing > evidence that Jesus taught bhagavat-dharma. No, Jesus didn't taught bhagavat-dharma, the philosophy and doctrine of Vaisnava school. But he preached the message of Godhead. Evidently. Or is it the burden of providing the convincing evidence on what Jesus preached still on me? mnd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 > > > > From that, we can only > > conclude that Jesus taught temporary, contradictory > > yavana philosophy. > > Jesus preached according the receptivity of the audience. I don't find he changed the message of sanatana-dharma in any significant way, just that he could only present so much under the circumstances he was dealing with. Prabhupada suggested the Bible presented the 'abc' of spiritual life, while the Srimad Bhagavatam was a post graduate study, like that. If someone has attachment for God's message as presented through the Christian Gospel, I am not sure how as Hare Krishnas we are going to increase their attachment by saying we think it's low class. I must admit, I never could make sense of the Bible until I became a devotee. But now I find there is alot of powerful stuff in there. I don't find it particularly contradictory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 On 22 Apr 1999, Vijay Pai wrote: > > The only way that you know that Vyasadeva was a shaktyavesha > avatara is through the Bhagavatam. Thus, using this as evidence > suffers from circularity. > I wasn't trying to 'prove' the Bhagavatam in an academic way, just presenting the tradition as it presents itself. > > I would be very pleased if you found some historical evidence. > I have full access to the EB through my university; This is what I came up with from the EB 1998 CD standard edition. This is an excerpt from a section of non Christian accounts from the ancient world that refer to Jesus. They are not particularly significant from a historical perspective, but then the Christ and his followers were not considered significant back then. There were a number of other references noted besides this one. Here goes: Jesus: The Christ and Christology Non-Christian sources. Non-Christian sources are meagre and contribute nothing to the history of Jesus that is not already known from the Christian tradition. The mention of Jesus' execution in the Annals of the Roman historian Tacitus (XV, 44), written about AD 110, is, nevertheless, worthy of note.... The passage only affords proof of the ignominious end (crucifixion) of Jesus as the founder of a religious movement and illustrates the common opinion of that movement in Rome.... Anyway, I don't think this touches on the main point concerning the potency and depth of Jesus as a servant of the Supreme Lord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 > > Exactly. So, let's not go out of our way to give them our personal > approval, as devotees so often try to do. > I am not sure if our approval or disapproval is of any significance to the average Christian, or anyone else for that matter. Still, as individual devotees, it is natural to find a sense of happiness in encouraging others to purue their God conciousness to whatever degree they can. As for being a devotee of Jesus, I suspect it would be Jesus' opinion better to be a devotee of God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 On 22 Apr 1999, Sthita-dhi-muni Dasa wrote: > Vijay wrote: > > > > Exactly. So, let's not go out of our way to give them our personal > > approval, as devotees so often try to do. > > Srila Prabhupada wrote: "... anindaya is that we should not criticize others methods of religion. There are different types of religious systems operating under different qualities of material nature. When people are mostly under the modes of passion and ignorance, then their system of religion will be of the same quality. A devotee, instead of criticizing such systems, WILL ENCOURAGE the followers to stick to their principles so that gradually they can come to the platform of religion in goodness. Simply by criticizing them, a devotee's mind will be agitated. Thus a devotee should tolerate and learn to stop agitation." Srimad Bhagavatam 4.22.24 > > > I am not sure if our approval or disapproval is of any significance to the > average Christian, or anyone else for that matter. Still, as individual > devotees, it is natural to find a sense of happiness in encouraging others to > purue their God conciousness to whatever degree they can. Confirmed above! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 At 17:51 -0800 4/22/99, WWW: Janesvara (Dasa) ACBSP (Syracuse - USA) wrote: >Srila Prabhupada wrote: "... anindaya is that we should not criticize others >methods of religion. There are different types of religious systems operating >under different qualities of material nature. When people are mostly under the >modes of passion and ignorance, then their system of religion will be of the >same quality. A devotee, instead of criticizing such systems, WILL ENCOURAGE >the followers to stick to their principles so that gradually they can come to >the platform of religion in goodness. Simply by criticizing them, a devotee's >mind will be agitated. Thus a devotee should tolerate and learn to stop >agitation." Srimad Bhagavatam 4.22.24 > What a wonderful quote! Inspiring and crystal clear. Srila Prabhupada, ki jaya! Ys, Madhusudani dasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 On 22 Apr 1999, Sthita-dhi-muni Dasa wrote: > I wasn't trying to 'prove' the Bhagavatam in an academic way, just presenting > the tradition as it presents itself. Then you should have no difficulty doing the same with the NT. > This is what I came up with from the EB 1998 CD standard edition. This is an > excerpt from a section of non Christian accounts from the ancient world that > refer to Jesus. They are not particularly significant from a historical > perspective, but then the Christ and his followers were not considered > significant back then. There were a number of other references noted besides > this one. Here goes: > Jesus: The Christ and Christology > > Non-Christian sources. > > Non-Christian sources are meagre and contribute nothing to the history of > Jesus that is not already known from the Christian tradition. The mention of > Jesus' execution in the Annals of the Roman historian Tacitus (XV, 44), > written about AD 110, is, nevertheless, worthy of note.... The passage only > affords proof of the ignominious end (crucifixion) of Jesus as the founder of > a religious movement and illustrates the common opinion of that movement in > Rome.... This is not an acceptable primary source for history; by AD 110, all who had ever dealt with Jesus in any way, shape, or form (even those who crucified him) were already dead. Thus, there was no opportunity for witnesses to corroborate or correct anything written. It may be possible to use such a document as a secondary source, but we would need to know the primary sources upon which the document was based. This was not given. As a side note, Christians were already present in various parts of the Roman Empire by AD 110 (and also in other places; they came to India by AD 54); thus, popular history even as viewed by the Romans may have already been influenced by the history presented in the gospels, even if the Romans were not thoroughly affected by their underlying message. So, there is still no acceptable historical source that can corroborate the existence of Jesus without reference to the New Testament. As a result, we still cannot accept the existence of Jesus without accepting the accuracy of presentation in the New Testament. Yours, Vijay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 On 22 Apr 1999, Janesvara Dasa wrote: > > Vijay wrote: > > > Exactly. So, let's not go out of our way to give them our personal > > > approval, as devotees so often try to do. > Srila Prabhupada wrote: "... anindaya is that we should not criticize others > methods of religion. There are different types of religious systems operating > under different qualities of material nature. When people are mostly under the > modes of passion and ignorance, then their system of religion will be of the > same quality. A devotee, instead of criticizing such systems, WILL ENCOURAGE > the followers to stick to their principles so that gradually they can come to > the platform of religion in goodness. Simply by criticizing them, a devotee's > mind will be agitated. Thus a devotee should tolerate and learn to stop > agitation." Srimad Bhagavatam 4.22.24 Are you suggesting that Srila Prabhupada's quote contradicts my statement? If you are, perhaps you can consider the difference between "encourage" and "approve". The OED meaning of encourage that best fits here (e.g. a sentiment, etc.) is "To allow or promote the continuance or development of (a natural growth, an industry, a sentiment, etc.); to cherish, foster." On the other hand, the appropriate meaning of approve is "To pronounce to be good, commend." Thus, the former is merely facilitating, while the latter actually puts one's own credibility on the line. We see a clear difference between these two in the practical world as well; for example, consider the US government. Programs like the NSF and DARPA give lots of money to research in various fields; however, the conclusions of those studies are not to be considered the opinions of the US government (many such studies have explicit disclaimers saying so). Thus, such agencies simply encourage academic work; they don't necessarily approve of the end results. Yours, Vijay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 1999 Report Share Posted April 23, 1999 On 22 Apr 1999, Mahanidhi das wrote: > VSP wrote: > > Note > > that I have not questioned Jesus as a pure devotee of the Lord; I have > > only referred to his preaching. > ... And I will not dare to start aplying my reason&logic (to > speculate) why the Lord would send his dear pure devotee to this > world. And what such pure devotee's actual business might be. There is no need for your speculations in this regard; we already have the example of Sri Shankaracharya. He is an incarnation of the topmost Vaishnava, Lord Shiva. He was dispatched by Lord Vishnu for the purpose of preaching an unacceptable philosophy, thoroughly opposed to Krishna Consciousness. Nevertheless, the Chaitanya Charitamrita says "tAnra doSa nahi" -- Shankaracharya has no fault in the matter; he was sent by the Lord. Thus, we can uphold Shankaracharya as a pure devotee without accepting the bulk of his preaching. > I suppose the same "non-Xs" would not be reactig on the same > way if it would be for Lord Buddha, for exemple. The teacher > who publicly rejected the autority of the Vedas, and the > teachings of bhagavad-dharma (what worse is there?). Indeed, one Chinese devotee once asked HH Tamal Krishna Goswami at a program here why we don't celebrate Lord Buddha's appearance day. (Actually, I have forgotten the details of the incident; it may have been another sannyasi actually.) The answer came immediately: because Buddha rejected the Vedas. I don't know the exact source for this answer, but I have read in one of Hari Sauri prabhu's books that when Srila Prabhupada was walking in Buddha Jayanti park in New Delhi, he told his disciples to make a Krishna Jayanti park. Srila Prabhupada didn't simply settle for glorifying the Supreme Lord's form preaching against the Vedas, but wanted to glorify the Supreme Lord's original form as the goal of all the Vedas. > And why > they would react differently? I've heard that Srila Prabhupada said that it would be ok to have a Deity of Buddha in a temple in Sri Lanka. I don't think that that's ever been practiced anywhere in ISKCON, though. Since it was conditioned on being in Sri Lanka, it does seem to be a concession. After all, if he wanted his disciples to glorify Buddha, he could have ordered them to make a temple at his birthplace in Gaya. However, he didn't do any such thing. > Becuse they *know* who Lord Buddha > actually is, and that his actual mission was to somehow or > other lure the degraded people to on one or other way start > again worshiping and glorifying the Lord - by worshiping > and following Him, Buddha, Krsna Himself. Then it would be correct to disassociate oneself from a temple with Buddha as the main Deity. After all, as you have just stated, Buddha came for a specific mission -- to end animal slaughter in the name of the Vedas and to cause the atheists to glorify the Lord. Well, we don't slaughter animals in the name of the Vedas and we are already trying to glorify the Lord, so Buddha worship is not for us as devotees (except to glorify Krishna for taking on such amazing forms and pastimes). Yours, Vijay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 1999 Report Share Posted April 24, 1999 On 23 Apr 1999, Vijay Pai wrote: > > Then you should have no difficulty doing the same with the NT. > As a matter of fact, I was comparing how the two traditions presented themselves in my original comment. Somehow that seems to have been overlooked from the original post 3-4 posts previous. > > So, there is still no acceptable historical source that can > corroborate the existence of Jesus without reference to the > New Testament. As a result, we still cannot accept the existence > of Jesus without accepting the accuracy of presentation in the New > Testament. > > Similarly there are no 'acceptable historical sources' for Vyasadeva writing the Vedas or Sukadeva Goswami speaking to Maharaja Pariksit, etc etc. I am missing your point other than that you feel you need to make a point about other religious traditions. As for the AD 110 date, is was about 70-80 years after Jesus' death, which is sort of like us refering to an event that happened during the Great Depression. I don't believe they kept records in those days to the extent we do today, and even if they did, it is difficult to expect anyone to save them for the 3-400 years which it took for Christianity to take hold, what to speak of the 2 milleniums that have passed till the present. Any record, no matter how accurate, will always have its skeptics. Before Constantine, it appears that situations involving Jesus Christ and his early followers were considered somewhat irrelevant by the establishment. In any event, the Encyclopedia Britannica was impressed by the reference from the Roman historian who had a low opinion of the Christian phenomena. Whether we wish to agree or not, modern scholars acknowledge a number of non-NT references from the ancient world concerning the life of Jesus. I could post them, but I doubt you will find them satisfying. As I don't recall myself personally being there, I admit I can't personally vouch for these sources. It might seem you are on a mission from God concerning this issue. In my mind the words attributed to Jesus as found in the modern NT still prove to be quite impressive -- even more so when compared to much of the stuff posted on COM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 1999 Report Share Posted April 24, 1999 > > Are you suggesting that Srila Prabhupada's quote contradicts > my statement? It is becoming more and more difficult for me to imagine Srila Prabhupada considering the possibility of contradicting any of your statements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 1999 Report Share Posted April 24, 1999 > > > ... And I will not dare to start aplying my reason&logic (to > > speculate) why the Lord would send his dear pure devotee to this world. > > And what such pure devotee's actual business might be. > > There is no need for your speculations in this regard; we already have the > example of Sri Shankaracharya. He is an incarnation of the topmost > Vaishnava, Lord Shiva. He was dispatched by Lord Vishnu for the purpose of > preaching an unacceptable philosophy, thoroughly opposed to Krishna > Consciousness. I suppose that there is no need for anybody's speculations in this particular instance; we already have the explicit words of Srila Prabhupada regarding the reasons for Krsna's dispatching Jesus Christ. It was definitely not for the purpose of preaching an unacceptable philosophy. So, yes, let's not speculate unnecessarily, I agree. mnd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 1999 Report Share Posted April 24, 1999 On 23 Apr 1999, Sthita-dhi-muni Dasa wrote: > On 23 Apr 1999, Vijay Pai wrote: > > Then you should have no difficulty doing the same with the NT. > As a matter of fact, I was comparing how the two traditions presented > themselves in my original comment. Somehow that seems to have been overlooked > from the original post 3-4 posts previous. Is this a reference to your statement, "Nope, Jesus preached, and than [sic] others compiled it as the Gospel, whcih [sic] became regarded as scripture," or some other statement? I think the above statement has been dealt with at some length by now as insufficient to cast doubt on the validity of the NT while still using the NT as evidence of Jesus' existence. > > So, there is still no acceptable historical source that can > > corroborate the existence of Jesus without reference to the > > New Testament. As a result, we still cannot accept the existence > > of Jesus without accepting the accuracy of presentation in the New > > Testament. > Similarly there are no 'acceptable historical sources' for Vyasadeva writing > the Vedas or Sukadeva Goswami speaking to Maharaja Pariksit, etc etc. I am > missing your point other than that you feel you need to make a point about > other religious traditions. I agree that there are no primary historical references outside of the Bhagavatam (or related texts) that describe the events you've mentioned. If we want to accept the existence of such personalities, we must do it through reference to the Bhagavatam. Similarly, if we want to accept the existence of Jesus, it can only be done through the NT (or derivative sources). That's the point. Thus, one cannot question the accuracy of the New Testament while still believing in the existence of Jesus. > As for the AD 110 date, is was about 70-80 years after Jesus' death, which is > sort of like us refering to an event that happened during the Great > Depression. If we were to refer to such an event, we would have to do it with ample citations to actual primary sources; we could not just make up our own mumbo-jumbo about the Depression and expect anyone else to believe it. Similarly, the only way that we can accept a history of Jesus written in AD 110 is through reference to primary sources; such were not included in that EB article. > In any event, the Encyclopedia Britannica was impressed by the reference from > the Roman historian who had a low opinion of the Christian phenomena. Hmmm... perhaps your definition of impressed differs from mine. EB started that very paragraph with the caveat, "Non-Christian sources are meagre and contribute nothing to the history of Jesus that is not already known from the Christian tradition." > Whether > we wish to agree or not, modern scholars acknowledge a number of non-NT > references from the ancient world concerning the life of Jesus. I could post > them, but I doubt you will find them satisfying. If they are primary sources, I will definitely find them satisfying. > It might seem you are on a mission from God concerning this issue. My "mission" is to force the "Jesus-freaks" of our online devotee community to deal with facts they might otherwise conveniently ignore or find unpalatable. > In my mind > the words attributed to Jesus as found in the modern NT still prove to be > quite impressive While you found the NT to be "quite impressive," Srila Prabhupada considered it "not very sound and transcendental" and "unacceptable" to "modern people advanced in science and philosophy." Yours, Vijay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 1999 Report Share Posted April 25, 1999 > My "mission" is to force the "Jesus-freaks" of our online devotee > community to deal with facts they might otherwise conveniently ignore or > find unpalatable. Boy, if I would had known earlier for this "mission" of yours, I wouldn't even think on picking any discussion of a kind with you - I have had enough of similar forceful "missioners", be they "yavana-dharmis", or "bhagavad-dharmis" or "Hindu-dharmis". They all got the same type of "mission": To force other people (this or that "freaks") to accept their "facts". mnd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 1999 Report Share Posted April 25, 1999 On 24 Apr 1999, Vijay Pai wrote: > > Is this a reference to your statement, "Nope, Jesus preached, and > than [sic] others compiled it as the Gospel, whcih [sic] became > regarded as scripture," or some other statement? I think the above > statement has been dealt with at some length by now as insufficient > to cast doubt on the validity of the NT while still using the NT > as evidence of Jesus' existence. > I believe the reference I was referencing is that the tradition of the the Gaudiya Vaisnava in particularl is presented in a manner we would certainly consider as practitioners more thorough (sic?), offering both detailed knowledge and a straighforward process. But because we consider ourselves 'better' does not suggest others are 'irrelevant'. Your obsession with the NT seems kinda funny to me. In one sense, all one has to do is examine the speach of a man to understand his character. But if one is wanting to identify with a ritualistic path, then maybe there could be some confusion as to which is the best ritual to been seen associating with. > Thus, one cannot question the accuracy of the New Testament > while still believing in the existence of Jesus. > Even if we accept your point, whoever the words of Jesus can be attributed to in the NT seems to have had some very substantial realizations about his eternal service realtionship with God. I believe uncovering that truth is the underlying purpose of all theistic rituals. > > If they are primary sources, I will definitely find them satisfying. > Primary or shrimary, it is really a silly point, in my mind. The importance of the preaching of Jesus is not that he was referenced in the EB as noteworthy to modern scholars, but that people have become inspired to experience their relationship with God by hearing his words, or at least the words attributed to him for, those who wish to remain Jesus NT agnostics. None-the-less, the EB material can be posted, or possibly better that you look them up at your college library so you can take the time to maturely study them. > > While you found the NT to be "quite impressive," Srila Prabhupada > considered it "not very sound and transcendental" and "unacceptable" > to "modern people advanced in science and philosophy." > > There are many quotes sugesting that Srila Prabhupada found the life and preaching of Jesus Christ quite substantial and more than important enougth (sic?) to mention in his Bhagavatam purports time and again. He also used that ABC/post-graduate analogy. As I was born Jewish, (just like Jesus, I might add!) I don't have any particular ethnic stake in defending the Christian church. But seeing that others are feeling inspired by the theistic conclusion will always remain impressive to me. Sthita 'Jews for Jesus' dhi-muni dasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 1999 Report Share Posted April 25, 1999 > > My "mission" is to force the "Jesus-freaks" of our online devotee > > community to deal with facts they might otherwise conveniently ignore or find unpalatable. > > Freaky! Hindu-dharma ki jai! .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 25, 1999 Report Share Posted April 25, 1999 > > > I suppose that there is no need for anybody's speculations in this > particular instance; we already have the explicit words of Srila > Prabhupada regarding the reasons for Krsna's dispatching Jesus > Christ. It was definitely not for the purpose of preaching an > unacceptable philosophy. So, yes, let's not speculate unnecessarily, > I agree. > > Next time Jesus wants to preach to the fallen souls in the material world, maybe he should first check with Bhakta Vijay Prabhu. Sort of like Xena (or at least the words and deeds attributed to Xena) probably should have first checked with Tusta Krsna at WVA before she decided to offer her obeisances and chant to Lord Krsna before millions of TV viewers. Sometimes it seems it is the 'religious' people who feel the most threatened by the presentation of sanatana-dharma. Curiously, that appeared to be one of the more substantial challenges faced by Jesus Christ circa 33AD. He, too, seemed to attract many of the 'hippies' of his day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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