The Third Jesus

Redeeming the Redeemer

Jesus is in trouble. When people worship him today--or even speak his name--the object of their devotion is unlikely to be who they think he is. A mythical Jesus has grown up over time. He has served to divide peoples and nations. He has led to destructive wars in the name of religious fantasies. The legacy of love found in the New Testament has been tainted with the worst sort of intolerance and prejudice that would have appalled Jesus in life. Most troubling of all, his teachings have been hijacked by people who hate in the name of love.

"Sometimes I feel this social pressure to return to my faith," a lapsed Catholic told me recently, "but I'm too bitter. Can I love a religion that calls gays sinners but hides pedophiles in its clergy? Yesterday while I was driving to work, I heard a rock song that went, 'Jesus walked on water when he should have surfed,' and you know what? I burst out laughing. I would never have done that when I was younger. Now I feel only the smallest twinge of guilt."

No matter where you look, a cloud of confusion hangs over the message of Jesus. To cut through it we have to be specific about who we mean when we refer to Jesus. One Jesus is historical, and we know next to nothing about him. Another Jesus is the one appropriated by Christianity. He was created by the Church to fulfill its agenda. The third Jesus, the one this book is about, is as yet so unknown that even the most devout Christians don't suspect that he exists. Yet he is the Christ we cannot--and must not--ignore.

The first Jesus was a rabbi who wandered the shores of northern Galilee many centuries ago. This Jesus still feels close enough to touch. He appears in our mind's eye dressed in homespun but haloed in glory. He was kind, serene, peaceful, loving, and yet he was the keeper of deep mysteries.

This historical Jesus has been lost, however, swept away by history. He still lingers like a ghost, a projection of all the ideal qualities we wish for in ourselves but so painfully lack. Why couldn't there be one person who was perfectly loving, perfectly compassionate, and perfectly humble? There can be if we call him Jesus and remove him to a time thousands of years in the past. (If you live in the East, his name might be Buddha, but the man is equally mythical and equally a projection of our own lack.)

The first Jesus is less than consistent, as a closer reading of the gospels will show. If Jesus was perfectly peaceful, why did he declare, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword"? (Matthew 10:34) If he was perfectly loving, why did he say, "Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"? (Matthew 25:30) (Sometimes the translation is even harsher, and Jesus commands "the worthless slave" to be consigned to hell.) If Jesus was humble, why did he claim to rule the earth beyond the power of any king? At the very least, the living Jesus was a man of baffling contradictions.

And yet the more contradictions we unearth, the less mythical this Jesus becomes. The flesh-and-blood man who is lost to history must have been extraordinarily human. To be divine, one must be rich in every human quality first. As one famous Indian spiritual teacher once said, "The measure of enlightenment is how comfort

Share your thoughts on the The Third Jesus ebook with other internet viewers!

Title of ebook: The Third Jesus
ISBN: 9780307407412
parent-ISBN: 9780307338310
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 02-2008
Released online for download: 02-19-2008
Author of eBook: Chopra, Deepak

Format

Encrypted

Sku

ISBN

File size

Security

Printing

Copying

Read aloud

Devices

Digital Editions

Yes

5551766535

9780307407412

966 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirments

Download reader

Mobipocket

Yes

9780307407412

275 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirements

Download reader

Microsoft

Yes

0307407411

9780307407412

278 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirments

Download reader

eReader

Yes

5551766527

9780307407412

183 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirments

Download reader

The Third Jesus

The Christ We Cannot Ignore
Redeeming the Redeemer

Jesus is in trouble. When people worship him today--or even speak his name--the object of their devotion is unlikely to be who they think he is. A mythical Jesus has grown up over time. He has served to divide peoples and nations. He has led to destructive wars in the name of religious fantasies. The legacy of love found in the New Testament has been tainted with the worst sort of intolerance and prejudice that would have appalled Jesus in life. Most troubling of all, his teachings have been hijacked by people who hate in the name of love.

"Sometimes I feel this social pressure to return to my faith," a lapsed Catholic told me recently, "but I'm too bitter. Can I love a religion that calls gays sinners but hides pedophiles in its clergy? Yesterday while I was driving to work, I heard a rock song that went, 'Jesus walked on water when he should have surfed,' and you know what? I burst out laughing. I would never have done that when I was younger. Now I feel only the smallest twinge of guilt."

No matter where you look, a cloud of confusion hangs over the ... read full excerpt from: The Third Jesus ebook

Other Deepak Chopra ebooks:

receive alert on new Deepak Chopra ebooks

Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul

DeePAK CHOPRA is the author of more than fifty books translated into over thirty-five languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers in both the fiction and ...more

Best price: $21.94

The Way of the Wizard

The author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and Ageless Body, Timeless Mind now presents a guide to using spiritual alchemy for ...more

Best price: $14.88

Jesus

The New York Times bestselling author of Buddha captures the extraordinary life of Jesus in this surprising, soul-stirring, and page-turning novel. ...more

Best price: $11.99

Why Is God Laughing?

DeePAK CHOPRA is the author of more than fifty books translated into over thirty-five languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers in both the fiction and ...more

Best price: $19.26

See full listing:

Top eBooks in "Spirituality"

Celebration Of Discipline - 25th Anniver

by Foster, Richard J.

Incorporates "Richard J. Foster's Study Guide for Celebration of Discipline," a 78-page text only available in print in a standalone edition. Praised by many as the most ...more

Best price: $17.51

Conversations with The Mysterious One

by Parikh, Amitt

Conversations with The Mysterious One - Practical Wisdom For everyday evolutionary Living Conversations with The Mysterious One...more

Best price: $8.92

Addiction and Grace

by May, Gerald G.

Addiction and Grace offers an inspiring and hope–filled vision for those who desire to explore the mystery of who and what they really are. May examines the "...more

Best price: $11.99

Being in Love

by Osho

OSHO, known for his revolutionary contribution to the science of inner transformation, continues to inspire millions of people worldwide in their search to define a new ...more

Best price: $19.31

Celestine Vision

by Redfield, James

When James Redfield wrote The Celestine Prophecy and The Tenth Insight, he crystallized a new spiritual vision for millions of people around the globe. Since ...more

Best price: $13.15

Counterfeit Gods

by Keller, Timothy

The New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God and The Prodigal God and a nationally renowned minister, Timothy Keller exposes the error ...more

Best price: $19.95

A Cry for Mercy: Prayers from the Genesee

by Nouwen, Henri J. M.

A reissue of one of Henri Nouwen's most powerful and most personal books: prayers that 'reveal a fearful heart, a cry for mercy, rays of hope, the power of the Spirit, the ...more

Best price: $9.60

Becoming a Whole Person

by Davidson, Cid

It...more

Best price: $5.42

Are Muslim Women OPPRESSED?

by Sarwari, Zohra

Learn about the dignified and well-managed lives of Muslim women and know the reasons why they dress the way they do. 'Are Muslim Women Oppressed?' answers your questions: Why...more

Best price: $11.00

Other Religion eBooks Categories

Religion General (1426)

Bible (619)

Christianity (745)

Christian Life (948)

Genera (55)

Comparative Religion (73)

Devotional (104)

Eastern (173)

History (90)

Inspirational (309)