Among us we hold a range of different views of Jesus and about Jesus, and there are those among us who may rarely think about Jesus at all. So whatever the name 'Jesus' means to you, you will probably find someone in our group who appreciates your perspective.
For those among us who muse on Jesus, perhaps this can be said about what we think: the message OF Jesus, i.e. Jesus' teaching, is that we were all loved into being, we are all sustained by love throughout our lives, and that every single one of us is received in love at our ending. If he indeed lived and was a figure in history, he lived as if it were both task and gift to strive to echo that love, right up until his life's end. It seems Jesus aimed especially to associate with the people at the margins of society, those who were oppressed and whose voices were not listened to, by those in charge. We may think of ourselves as following Jesus and the motifs associated with his life and words, if we too accept that grace-filled task and gift, in all our dealings with others and in our struggle to live with ourselves.
The message ABOUT Jesus — in other traditions — is that he was divine redemption embodied in the world, and that he transcended death and redeemed all human lives, by his dying on the Cross. These perspectives are not often adopted by many Unitarians, though that is a private matter for each one.
The message ABOUT Jesus — in other traditions — is that he was divine redemption embodied in the world, and that he transcended death and redeemed all human lives, by his dying on the Cross. These perspectives are not often adopted by many Unitarians, though that is a private matter for each one.
The Unitarian community is a natural home for people who see Jesus as an example for their lives but who do not subscribe to many of the things that more well-known churches say about him.
Everyone is free to make what they can of the Bible and the New Testament books in particular, which comprise the main source of wisdom about Jesus.
(One Unitarian version of the Bible can be downloaded from this link:
http://www.unitarian.org.uk/docs/publications/1963_GoldenTreasury.pdf)
But academic scholarship over the past couple of centuries has also drawn out much more historical source material. Fragments of other scripts from the time, discovered in the 20th century, show that even in the early days there were a range of different views about what Jesus was and what he can mean. Every Unitarian will come to their own conclusion about Jesus, what it was he proclaimed to the people of Galilee and Jerusalem in his time; and whether, and how, his life matters.
A number in our group particularly value the perspective on Jesus and what that means for Unitarians today, expounded by Stephen Lingwood, in his recent book Seeking Paradise. To hear Stephen's view, try this YouTube talk:
But academic scholarship over the past couple of centuries has also drawn out much more historical source material. Fragments of other scripts from the time, discovered in the 20th century, show that even in the early days there were a range of different views about what Jesus was and what he can mean. Every Unitarian will come to their own conclusion about Jesus, what it was he proclaimed to the people of Galilee and Jerusalem in his time; and whether, and how, his life matters.
A number in our group particularly value the perspective on Jesus and what that means for Unitarians today, expounded by Stephen Lingwood, in his recent book Seeking Paradise. To hear Stephen's view, try this YouTube talk:
JESUS was not a Christian, but a radical Jew of great wisdom. It is sad then that the main references to him are found in the Christian Bible, and it is a very good thing that additional gospels and other works have been discovered.
ReplyDeleteThe Muslim world accepts Jesus as a prophet and I find it easier to accept it that way as well. It is recounted in Matthew that 'When Jesus entered Jerusalem the whole city was stirred and asked 'Who is this?' and the crowds answered. 'This is Jesus,the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee'.
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