In my personal spiritual life, I have come to certain conclusions about what must be true. When I first watched videos from Jesus, there were several things he had to have said before I could believe he was who he said he was.
1. There is a God, He/She has male and female characteristics, and is a being with personality and not just an unconscious energy source. Many New Agers believe that God is a substance that does not emote or have independent thought. They often refer to God as the Source. I could not believe that as it did not coincide with my experiences with God or my personal beliefs. If Jesus did not also say this, I would not keep following his teachings.
2. Jesus is the son of God in the same way you and I and everyone else are sons and daughters of God. I had the special gift to be raised in a faith that taught that Jesus was a prophet of God and not a part of God or God Himself. The Muslims believe this but sadly, most Christians do not. There is no trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This makes sense to me because I believe very strongly that we all have the same potential as Jesus. We can heal ourselves and others. We can talk to spirits and cast out evil ones. We can divine what is in the heart of a person despite what they say. We can become happy and joyful all the time and be devoid of sadness, fear, and pain. We can become perfect as God is perfect. We can grow in wisdom and be free from doubt. The only thing holding us back from these gifts of the spirit is our own choice. I did not call that choice our desire as Jesus calls it. I just believed it was connected to our free will somehow.
3. There is some connection between our own personal choices and our moral degradation and hellish condition. We would not be in such a horrible state in our individual lives or in the world at large were it not somehow for our own unloving choices. Unlike Buddhists who claim that you ought to release all of your desires and attachments to reach an enlightened condition, Jesus claims the opposite: follow the loving desires of your heart, and develop evermore desires. This is our birthright, our destiny, and God’s plan for us. Without this cogent explanation, I would not have believed Jesus is the dude he says he is.
4. Jesus had to be a vegan or at least a vegetarian. This may seem a little petty as it just has to do with what you put in your mouth. Even Jesus said in the first century that it’s not what you put in your mouth but what comes out of it that sullies you. Well, that being said, it’s still a pretty big deal to me how we treat the animals.
5. Jesus would have to explain what life was like after death. I could not believe that our physical existence is all there is. I did not know for certain what existed beyond. I had certain beliefs like there was a spirit world with many different levels and that you could upgrade based on your choices rather than be condemned to hell forever. The fact that this was also true and coincided with Jesus’ teachings was icing on the cake but not necessary.
6. Honesty. If Jesus did not believe in total, absolute honesty one hundred percent of the time, I would have a hard time following what he says. In this area, he has exceeded my expectations! He not only says that you should never tell a lie but that you ought not tell white lies, obfuscate, or tell partial truths. Like, for instance, if your boss asks you if you’re completely committed to the values of the company, and you weren’t, you wouldn’t say, “I think our company values are excellent and I attempt to work them into everything I do.” That is a white lie. Love would dictate that you are honest. You would say something like, “I think our company values are good for the most part but I disagree with this aspect and that aspect.”
Telling the truth is so important that Jesus often likes to explain how you are breaking a myriad of God’s other laws when you choose to lie. This makes absolute sense to me as I know God would always tell the truth, would never lie to us, and would want us to make the same choice.
7. Two facts that contradict each other cannot be true at the same time. This may go without saying but I think it is nonetheless important. There cannot be a God and no God at the same time. The Earth cannot be a spinning ball and be flat at the same time. I believe the Earth is a flat disc. Jesus believes and claims to know it is a spinning ball or globe. One of us has an accurate grasp of what it is and one of us does not. But we can’t be both correct at the same time.
1. There is a God, He/She has male and female characteristics, and is a being with personality and not just an unconscious energy source. Many New Agers believe that God is a substance that does not emote or have independent thought. They often refer to God as the Source. I could not believe that as it did not coincide with my experiences with God or my personal beliefs. If Jesus did not also say this, I would not keep following his teachings.
2. Jesus is the son of God in the same way you and I and everyone else are sons and daughters of God. I had the special gift to be raised in a faith that taught that Jesus was a prophet of God and not a part of God or God Himself. The Muslims believe this but sadly, most Christians do not. There is no trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This makes sense to me because I believe very strongly that we all have the same potential as Jesus. We can heal ourselves and others. We can talk to spirits and cast out evil ones. We can divine what is in the heart of a person despite what they say. We can become happy and joyful all the time and be devoid of sadness, fear, and pain. We can become perfect as God is perfect. We can grow in wisdom and be free from doubt. The only thing holding us back from these gifts of the spirit is our own choice. I did not call that choice our desire as Jesus calls it. I just believed it was connected to our free will somehow.
3. There is some connection between our own personal choices and our moral degradation and hellish condition. We would not be in such a horrible state in our individual lives or in the world at large were it not somehow for our own unloving choices. Unlike Buddhists who claim that you ought to release all of your desires and attachments to reach an enlightened condition, Jesus claims the opposite: follow the loving desires of your heart, and develop evermore desires. This is our birthright, our destiny, and God’s plan for us. Without this cogent explanation, I would not have believed Jesus is the dude he says he is.
4. Jesus had to be a vegan or at least a vegetarian. This may seem a little petty as it just has to do with what you put in your mouth. Even Jesus said in the first century that it’s not what you put in your mouth but what comes out of it that sullies you. Well, that being said, it’s still a pretty big deal to me how we treat the animals.
My first experience of vegetarianism besides hearing about vegetarians in the world was with my sister. She had chosen to stop eating meat when she was fourteen and I was ten. I thought it was fascinating. The idea was planted firmly in my mind since that time. Then another close family member went vegan a few years later. I was shocked. Then I got a pamphlet from a woman going to my college with pictures full of animals being abused, mistreated, and slaughtered in our factory farms. This wasn’t the exception but the norm. I did further research and seriously searched my soul. Because of my own immorality, I never went fully vegan. But it remains a consistent goal in my heart to one day become vegan.
Besides the cruelty that is all around us, I knew that in a perfect world, we would be interacting with the animals in a way where they were our close personal friends, not livestock to exploit for their labor and flesh. If Jesus did not uphold this morality, it would call everything he said into question.
5. Jesus would have to explain what life was like after death. I could not believe that our physical existence is all there is. I did not know for certain what existed beyond. I had certain beliefs like there was a spirit world with many different levels and that you could upgrade based on your choices rather than be condemned to hell forever. The fact that this was also true and coincided with Jesus’ teachings was icing on the cake but not necessary.
6. Honesty. If Jesus did not believe in total, absolute honesty one hundred percent of the time, I would have a hard time following what he says. In this area, he has exceeded my expectations! He not only says that you should never tell a lie but that you ought not tell white lies, obfuscate, or tell partial truths. Like, for instance, if your boss asks you if you’re completely committed to the values of the company, and you weren’t, you wouldn’t say, “I think our company values are excellent and I attempt to work them into everything I do.” That is a white lie. Love would dictate that you are honest. You would say something like, “I think our company values are good for the most part but I disagree with this aspect and that aspect.”
Telling the truth is so important that Jesus often likes to explain how you are breaking a myriad of God’s other laws when you choose to lie. This makes absolute sense to me as I know God would always tell the truth, would never lie to us, and would want us to make the same choice.
Sincerity is another aspect that I will include here. It is so important that you are sincere in everything you do. This is especially the case when you pray to God where you long for something. If you want God’s love, for instance, it must be a pure desire or you will not get it. If you want a million dollars, the desire must be pure and not full of a lot of fears or doubts. The more fear and doubt, the less of a chance you have of getting the thing you desire.
7. Two facts that contradict each other cannot be true at the same time. This may go without saying but I think it is nonetheless important. There cannot be a God and no God at the same time. The Earth cannot be a spinning ball and be flat at the same time. I believe the Earth is a flat disc. Jesus believes and claims to know it is a spinning ball or globe. One of us has an accurate grasp of what it is and one of us does not. But we can’t be both correct at the same time.
You might be surprised that some people think that two opposing things can be true at once but you may not be familiar with the New Age community. In the New Age, you will often come across people who talk about one’s own “personal truth” as if truth is personal and you can choose what is actually part of reality. People say, “My truth is this,” and “Your truth is that.” That can’t ultimately make sense. The falsehood often comes out of the idea that we can create something and our perception can dictate our reality. While it is true that we have the ability to create things within God’s Creation, we don’t have the ability to create something that God has not already wrought. Also, our perception does make or break our reality in the sense that it can bring us joy or sorrow. We can attract certain events into our lives based on our faith and how well we practice our desire. But every possibility that could exist is already within the fabric and framework of God’s Creation.
It may surprise some people that I had so many qualifications for a supposed Jesus figure before I was willing to believe and attempt to follow his teachings. But it’s true. I hope this shows that I’m not a crazy, wild-eyed believer but have a mind of my own. There are actually many other qualifications that I have not listed. One that comes to mind is the fact that I do not believe that it is in God’s plan that we slowly age and become ever more decrepit year after year. It turns out that Jesus agrees. There are hundreds of little things he says like that which uplifts my soul and proves even further that he is who he says he is.
It may surprise some people that I had so many qualifications for a supposed Jesus figure before I was willing to believe and attempt to follow his teachings. But it’s true. I hope this shows that I’m not a crazy, wild-eyed believer but have a mind of my own. There are actually many other qualifications that I have not listed. One that comes to mind is the fact that I do not believe that it is in God’s plan that we slowly age and become ever more decrepit year after year. It turns out that Jesus agrees. There are hundreds of little things he says like that which uplifts my soul and proves even further that he is who he says he is.
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