Theos-Talk Archives (September 1995 Message tl00419)

>As a man who chooses to follow the teachers such
>as Paul and then I am confronted by the teachings
>of Zen or any other New Age beliefs and they are
>at absolute contradiction to my established faith
>and established truth then what is a man in time
>supposed to do?

I think what you are doing is just fine. You are continuing in the path
that you have found. Yet you are questioning the satisfaction that others
have found. I think this is the correct approach. Here you are sharing and
wondering despite all of the criticism and ridicule. I myself am very happy
that you are here on theos-l and I hope you can continue (that the other
members will permit you to write).

>
>Can anyone tell me who Jesus is? And if he is not
>God declaring Himself Savior of a broken people
>that are destined to HELL if they do not accept the
>advocates declaration of emancipation through the
>shed blood of Jesus Christ...then he is an idiot with
>delusions of grandeur.
>
>Why can't anyone on this list tell me who Jesus is?
>And how do you know what you say about Him is
>the truth?

It's true we don't say much about Jesus and I suppose as long as there is a
group, i.e., the Christians, who prefer an exclusive right to know Jesus,
then we will continue to investigate in other ways. I would like you to know
though that Jesus is considered to be the teacher, master, and friend of
many theosophists. However, they do prefer something more scientific in
terms of blood and saving. I think I have been saved. My life was a wreck
even though I knew what I wanted to do with it. Through the outreach of many
"good samaritans" I was able to get on my feet and make some progress
towards my goals. Where did these good samaritans come from? Many of them
learned how to live from Christian upbringings. Jesus is an inspiration and
an example of wisdom and compassion.

Two of my dearest theosophical friends are members of a church that is
largely composed of theosophists or theosophical-minded. The church is
called The Liberal Catholic Church and many among our numbers have an
acquaintance with it. However, as you have probably seen, The Theosophical
Society doesn't limit our choices. "Worship, service and study" are the
mottos of many. Worship is done in many forms. Right now I still working on
the preparation of a description of holidays in other religions. I am
particularly interested in the Jewish holidays because in my 40 years of
living, I was never really exposed to what it is their holidays are about.
I profess ignorance of a great tradition in today's world and wish to learn
more. I don't know how many people are also interested in these holidays,
but I imagine they will at least try to look at what I have to say objectively.

How do you feel about our Jewish population?

Brenda