Who would Jesus be today???

I think if Jesus was here today he would be in the form of someone that no one has heard of. Maybe a poor beggar on the streets of Manhattan, or one of those people selling hot dogs on the corner.

Nah, Jesus wpuld be a big celebrity. He'd have huge endorsement contracts with Pepsi - "The Savior drinks Pepsi - shouldn't you?". He be selling cars - "What kind of car does Jesus drive? A Toyota of course!" and he'd be having affairs with big name starlets and we'de read about him in the National Enquirer - "Jesus turns water to wine as JLo smiles". None of that crucifiction stuf this time.

If Jesus were here among us, I think he would be a teacher and spiritual guide (not religious leader). He would not be rich or famous, but rather, live a humble lifestyle and help everyone he met on the street and also be kind to all living creatures big and small.

There is no reason to believe that Jesus would play any different role now than he did then. They had celebrities in Jesus' day. He wasn't one of them (in the Pepsi sense anyway ).

Jesus was not born in the dominant nation of the time (Rome) nor was he a citizen.

Rather he was an unwanted troublemaker in an land under occupaton-- Palestine at the time was very like Iraq and the Jews were thought of as "troublemakers" by the Romans much as we think of Moslems today.

Jesus was kind of like a non-violent Sadr. He attracted a following of the dispossessed dregs of an occupied nation.

If he were alive today he would end up in Guantanemo. No one would particularly care and we would never hear from him again.

I think the odds are high he'd be something like a part-time carpenter.

When he wasn't working, he might be homeless, walking the earth.

Spreading love and goodwill to those he met.

Actually, I have met people like this. Though the "sinless" part might differentiate them from Jesus.

I think CarbonSystem was listening to Joan Osborne when he was making this thread :wink: (and replaced God with Jesus)

Who would Jesus be?



Uh, Jesus?

I've often thought that too, extra medium, but with strangers. Some person passes you and you just get a feeling of love, kindness, gentleness radiating off of them. I've only had it happen a couple of times but it stopped me dead in my tracks. Then I had to fight myself not to run after them to talk to them. They probably woulda thought I was nuts.

I came up with this songtext, I just have to share it with you:

WHAT IF GOD SMOKED CANNIBUS

(Not 100% sure, but I think this is from a Bob Rivers album...It's not Joan Osborne, but just a parody of her hit song "One Of Us")

If god had long hair-and a goatee,
and if eyes were pretty glazed-if he looked spaced out,
would you buy his story,
would you believe he had an eye infection.

and yeah yeah, god looks baked,
yeah yeah, god smells good,
yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah.

what if god smoked cannibus,
hit the bong like some of us,
drove a tye-dyed microbus,
and he subscribes to rolling stone(d).

when god made this place in the beginning,
did he plant any seeds or did he put them there
for adam and eve, so they'd be hungry
for the apple that the snake was always offering.

and yeah yeah, god rolls great,
yeah yeah, god smells good
yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah.

what if god smoked cannibus,
do you s'pose he had a buzz,
when he made the platypus,
when he created earth - our home...

...does he like pearl jam or the stones...

...and do you think he rolls his own...

...up there in heaven on the floor...

...and when the saints go marching home...

...maybe he sits and smokes bowl...

Source

squinney,

Yep, I've had that. I didn't follow them too. Figured I'd eventually be disillusioned. Maybe not!

I had this really strange experience: In 1998, I was walking in Central Park. This seemingly homeless long haired guy dressed in robe and sandals approached me. He had the vibe like you describe. He said something like: "See all these buildings? Everything you're working for? These will come down one day. Its all coming to an end one day. All these buildings will fall down relatively soon. But eternity, that will live on. That is what is important. You need to rearrange your priorities. Take a walk with me, and we will discuss it. Don't you want to take that walk?" I didn't take the walk. I hurried off, I was "late for some important appointment."

Every few months after that, I would think back on this peculiar person, and wondered why I kept remembering him. We only spoke to each other less than 60 seconds total, yet it stays with me. Of course, after certain events in the past few years, that incident surfaces in my memory even more. Not that I believe it was anything that significant, really. But, admittedly, very Peculiar.

If you're thinking of Jesus as a symbol of wisdom or an avatar, then there have been people like him or perhaps there are now. One person I can think of is the late J. Krishnamurti who died 30 or 40 years ago or so.

It would take a person not only with the humility of wisdom, but the strength of character to fulfil the destiny of that wisdom. Not many people like that.

I think he'd be dead.

Nah. Jesus would be a fitness guru. All those pictures of him on the cross show he's got terrific abs.

Well duh, he was a cross-trainer.

I've had two moments I felt I had been in the presence of Jesus, or an angel.

A young, man and his pregnant wife came into the restaurant my husband and I operated--it was next to a bus-stop. He said they had been travelling a long time, and had about twenty minutes to wait for their connecting bus--they were hungry and he asked if I had any food for them.

I felt sorry for them, especially her, and gave them half of my Club sandwich and half of my fries.

Even though we were running the place, we did have to pay for everything we ate, and if there were any discrepancies, we could easily be fired. I hadn't brought any extra money.

I sort of reconciled that I'd be hungry for the rest of the day, but I knew I couldn't send them off with nothing. I made them a place to eat, and brought them drinks.

Didn't talk to them, and ate my half of my sandwich--mildly worried that news would circulate at the bus stop that we were handing out food.

The man lead his wife to me after they had eaten and looked me in the eye, and something caught in my stomach. I don't remember the words he used to thank me for the food, but I remember being mortified at my greed. I should have given them everything, and I didn't feel that way until he thanked me. I felt very strongly that I was in Christ's presence.

Whether this man 'was Jesus'...he certainly represented Jesus to me--and in that way, he was ... "Anyone who asks, give to them as if it was me asking".... I'll never forget this lesson. I can't understand why I didn't give them the whole meal. I could have eaten later at home.

Another time, my children and I were travelling a three hour trip in a miserable car. It had several things wrong with it, but it was all we had, and we thought we had it patched together for the trip.

On a busy interstate, it died on me. I had two small children and no ideas or money.

I prayed with my children. They were scared, and so was I, actually. As people will do, I opened the hood, as if I knew what to do next...?

An 18 wheeler pulled up behind me within five minutes. Thrilling! Out of the cab came an incredibly frightening looking person. I'd seen truckers, but this man scared me. Oddly, right behind him, pulled up a police officer. In the course of the next thirty minutes, the trucker had to set off to find water to put in my car,and he had to actually cut some cord-like thingies and practically re-make something under my hood before the car would start. He wasn't sure he could fix it--and he lost 30 minutes off of his trip.

When he was off, looking for water, I told the officer he didn't have to stay--He said he did, because the law enforcement types had reason to believe some truckers were using this MO to gain access to women in my situation for nefarious purposes.

Lots of different things can be made of all this, I imagine. But, my daughter said the trucker was the angel she asked God to send for us--and I felt the same way.

Maybe this is why I see a modern Jesus as a truckdriver, or a vagrant. Sort of like Bill Bixby...but He doesn't turn into the Hulk; He just offers a few words to some, some automotive help to others...

Interesting Sofia.

So, following your line of thinking, he could actually be present a bit in each of us, esp. when we do good deeds, go out of our way to help others in need, etc.?

Well considering my search for jesus has taken me all over the world well not all over but around it a few times. I still feel I found the last replica of Jesus as a merman on the island of Crete. He or she or a creature of possible selffertilizationshould be part fish to get the right enlightened mind required to delve into ares the human mind might have imagined.

Extra medium--

Yes. But I see Him mostly in those who test us--'the least of us'...an insolent child, a prostitute, a nursing home resident, a nasty looking trucker, a young, black man begging for food at a bus stop; people we like to put away.

"What you do to the least of my children, you do to me..."

In that case we are all partof the greater picture,but besides that we are all of mixed genetic DNA. They oneday might be able to isolate the incursion and see what we truely were.

Sofia - That is exactly how I feel. Perhaps there is some of that in all of us but, I'm not sure I've ever been seen by someone else as an angel or Jesus. While trying to do the right thing, help others anytime I see they need help, etc., I doubt they later thought there was anything spiritual about my help. They may have said God answered their prayers by sending someone to help, but not an angel. My experiences have been such that I actually FELT like it was an angel / Jesus in my presence, not just another person helping me out in a time of need. I hope that makes sense.