Sing4Him
December 7th, 2007, 10:52 PM
MARCUS BORG: JESUS AND BUDDHA WERE EQUALS AND CHRISTIANITY IS A WAY
Marcus Borg tells us in Jesus And Buddha: The Parallel Sayings of which he is editor:
I write as a Jesus scholar and a devoted non-exclusivist Christian. Buddhists might see matters differently and I know that some Christians would. But the cumulative product of my thinking and experience is the conclusion that Jesus and the Buddha are the two most remarkable religious figures whom have ever lived. Moreover, there are striking similarities between them. I have sometimes said if the Buddha and Jesus were to meet, neither would try to convert the other–not because they would regard such an effort as hopeless, but because they would recognize one another.
(Editor’s Preface, v., emphasis added):tsk
Men and women, Marcus Borg has just equated the LORD God Almighty in human flesh with the Buddha, one of His creations. Below you will see the opposite side of the coin from someone like a Dr. Walter Martin as “Christian” scholar Marcus Borg “discusses the nature of Christianity as a spiritual ‘path’ or ‘way,’ particularly as it compares to other religions such as Buddhism.” Borg opens by saying, “Christianity as ‘the way’; and I don’t mean that in the sense of Christian exclusivism, but for Christians, Christianity is the way…”
Now I ask you, why would ostensibly orthodox Christians like Rob Bell and Brian McLaren lend their credibility in evangelical circles to this type of despicable blasphemy? The Body of Christ simply does not need this Emergent Church conversation gaining any more ears and becoming entrenched even deeper within our Lord’s Church.
[YOU TUBE VIDEO]bPmPsTAMZKM[/YOU TUBE VIDEO]
Lexie
December 9th, 2007, 09:24 AM
Marcus Borg and the other spirituality teachers, promote the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. They are getting closer to their goals, which they planned to be in operation by 2010. Rick Warren has plans for 2010 as well. They are all interconnected in business, education, media, government, teaching diversity, inclusion, many paths to God spirituality. They have been very powerful in working towards Israel, giving away their land, for false peace, and turning Israel into their world capital, under the Abrahamic path initiative.
The World servers have had a huge impact, spreading the global world religion, using their access at the United Nations and in the education system, selling books, teaching seminars, making documentaries claiming humans are all interconnected to the animals, earth, and a force the call God or the becoming One. They call themselves the world servers, Gnostics, new thought, Theosophy of H P Blavatsky and Alice Bailey. They all share the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas Jesus and Contemplative ritual practices in common. Harvard, Yale, and most of education are big promoters of the global green, many paths to God, UN religion.
Some of the pluralism movements teachers, Ken Wilber, Thomas Keating, Matthew Fox, Marcus Borg, Karen Armstrong, Grace Cathedrals William Swing, John Shelby Spong, Diana Eck Pluralism project, Deepak Chopra ,Barbara Marx Hubbard, Michael Beckwith, ect.The Jesus Seminar, Pluralism project, Snowstar, and the integral interfaith groups.
Snippets from the pluralism UN religion teachers below.
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The Jesus Seminar is a group of about 200 individuals who include "scholars with advanced degrees in biblical studies, religion or related fields [as well as] published authors who are recognized authorities in the field of religion founded in 1985 by the late Robert Funk and John Dominic Crossan under the auspices of the Westar Institute.One of the most active groups in biblical criticism, the seminar uses controversial methods (votes with colored marbles) to determine what Jesus, as a historical figure, may or may not have said or done. In addition, the seminar popularizes research into the historical Jesus. The public is welcome to attend the twice-yearly meetings. They produced new translations of the New Testament plus the Gospel of Thomas to use as textual sources. They published their results in three reports The Five Gospels (1993),The Acts of Jesus (1998), and The Gospel of Jesus (1999). They also run a series of lectures and workshops in various U.S. cities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Seminar
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The Abrahamic Program: Beyond the Season and Beyond the GatesLong committed to taking the Chautauqua philosophy of life-long learning and the Chautauqua method of dialogue and engagement beyond the Season and beyond the gates, the Board of Trustees has encouraged the formation of partnerships with such organizations as Trinity Church Wall Street and the Trinity Institute, which co-hosted with Chautauqua the first of the Abrahamic Conferences, entitled “God at 2000” -- held in Corvallis, Oregon, and beamed via satellite to audience groups in more than 25 cities throughout the US. A book edited by Ross Mackenzie was subsequently published summarizing the insights of the speakers, who included such notables as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Sister Joan Chittister, Seyyed Hussein Nasr, Diana Eck, Karen Armstrong, and Marcus Borg.
How do we live as the Family of Abraham?Opening up to other faiths means conversation with no intention of conversion. It means learning and then coming back to one’s own faith with a larger vision. It is a process of opening up, making room without defensiveness, cultivating compassion, and imagining the faith and feelings of the other. The challenge is to overcome fear of difference and explore the richness of difference. From an appreciation of our own particularity, we enter into the universal and look for similarity. Through our own lens we see the universal idea in the other faiths. The goal is to maintain a good balance between loyalty to our faith and allegiance to the human family. The transformative journey of Moses to Mt. Sinai, Paul on the Damascus Road, and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)on his Night Journey :twitch (Mi’raj) is an experience of being transformed and then coming back to one’s faith with new insight into God and into life itself. It is this transformation that will ultimately save and define the human family. It is this transformation of understanding and compassion that the Chautauqua Institution Abrahamic Community Program intends to foster.
Abraham Path Initiative
Could the path to peace in the Middle East lie in walking in the ancient footsteps of Abraham?* Dr. William L. Ury, co-author of Getting to Yes, is Executive Director of the Abraham Path Initiative, a visionary effort now underway that is seeking to answer this question by creating a path of tourism and pilgrimage in the Middle East that could serve as a catalyst for co-existence.* Dr. Ury, also Director of the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School, presented a program on the Abraham Path Initiative on July 30, 2007 in the Hall of Philosophy.* Chautauqua is subsequently in the process of discerning a collaborative relationship with the Abraham Path Initiative.* For more information, please visit www.abrahampath.org.
http://www.chautauquaabrahamic.org/
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The Network of Spiritual Progressives: Foster a New Bottom Line of love, generosity & ecological sensitivity in our economy, education, media, & government
www.spiritualprogressives.org
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The New Group of World Servers Websites: Stories about the ideas and processes brought forth by people who are changing the world www.ngws.org | www.share-international.org | www.theelders.org
Learn more about the New Group of World Servers through searching www.lucistrust.org. The Mantram of the New Group of World Servers can be copied here. Make Poverty History: International coalition working towards poverty reduction, pressure WTO and rich nations
www.makepovertyhistory.org | www.one.org Millennium Development Goals: Set in 2000, goals by 2015, halving extreme poverty and hunger, instituting universal primary education, eradicating curable disease, gender equity, environmental sustainability. See Global Marshall Plan above
www.un.org | www.developmentgoals.org |www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/2015/
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new group of world servers pluralism project
http://www.ngws.org/service/Religious-list.htm
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TCPC Partners with Jesus Seminar interfaith pluarlism, World Social Forum and World Economic Forum
Mark Your Calendars: Pluralism Pentecost Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Center for Progressive Christianity sponsors the second annual PLURALISM PENTECOST SUNDAY on May 11, 2008, in churches around the world, to celebrate religious diversity and reveal a form of Christianity that does not claim to be superior to other faiths.
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Did the Apostle Thomas Make an Independent Stand Becoming Jesus' only Buddha-like Missionary?
By John Mitrosky
This article asks Progressive Christians to read and reflect on the Gospel of Thomas found in 1945.* Undoubtedly, one of the legends having the most historical truth to back it up is that Thomas was the first to scatter. It is said he...
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The Living Spiritual Elders Project
Details: The Living Spiritual Elders Project! an eight-week discovery and discussion series * Sarasota, Florida 2008 Sessions: *January 7th thru February 25th and March 10th thru April 28th
*
*Psychotherapist,*spiritual director and author Meredith Jordan offers two inspiring opportunities in 2008 to participate in The Living Spiritual Elders Project, an eight-week discovery and discussion series.*
Series # 1 runs from January 7-February 25, 2008. Series # 2 runs from March 10-April 28, 2008.*The programs are designed as*back-to-back discussion groups using new elders for each series. Participants may take one series, or both. (For former Elders Project participants, each series*continues*our study of the elders*and does not*repeat*last year's event.) *Both*series*will be held in*Sarasota, Florida at New College, 5800 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota**in the Sudakoff Classroom, Sainer Auditorium. *
The Living Spiritual Elders Project uses rare DVD films and audio CDs to explore the teachings of revered spiritual elders from diverse faith and spiritual traditions. In this eight-week series, we*will plumb the*wisdom of the elders of our human family: wisdom that*assists us in renewing our personal lives and*shaping our common destiny.
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what* people are saying... "Thanks to Meredith Jordan and the Living Spiritual Elders Project, I was introduced to amazing men and women whose teachings will comfort, inspire and guide me well into the future. But of even more importance, I was shown a window into my own soul and discovered qualities and abilities I never suspected I possessed. What a marvelous gift." (Burt Kempner, Dreamkeepers Media)
* *"The Living Spiritual Elders Project awakened in me a feeling of great responsibility to share deeply with my daughters and grandchildren the fragile beauty of our environment and the need to nurture it in an outspoken and protective way. It also encouraged me to make them aware there is nothing they cannot undertake or accomplish; not to be uncertain or afraid to express their deepest feelings and to honor them fully." (Elaine Tobler)
About the Project...
Using audio-visual DVDs and audio CDs, our study circle will share in the sacred wisdom teachings of multi-cultural and interfaith living elders including Father Thomas Keating, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks Chan Kong and Thich Nhat Hahn, Diana Eck of The Pluralism Project, Huston Smith, Nelson Mandela, Pema Chodron, Arun Gandhi, Parker Palmer, Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Byron Katie, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Kofi Annan, David Whyte, Sydney White*and Marion Woodman.
Now in the second half of their own lives---some in their last years---these inspiring multi-cultural teachers provide a rich source of*collective wisdom to those of us poised to inherit the role of elder within our families, communities, workplaces, organized religions and the world. This is a rare opportunity to experience and*assimilate the richness of their stories: now, when humanity aches for wise counsel from the elders who walk a wisdom path and mark the way for all of us!
ABOUT MEREDITH JORDAN Acclaimed psychotherapist and interfaith spiritual director Meredith Jordan is founder of The Wisdomkeeper Center, The Living Spiritual Elders Project, and co-founder and director of Rogers McKay, a non-profit, multi-faith, spiritual-educational organization. Jordan is author of two books, Standing Still: Hearing the Call to a Spirit-Centered Life and Embracing the Mystery: The Sacred Unfolding in Ordinary People and Everyday Lives.
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Event Calendar: Jesus and Buddha: Paths to Awakening
Details: Jesus and Buddha: Paths to Awakening
Finding the Four Noble Truths in the Heart of the Gospel
The Four Noble Truths are the distilled essence of Buddhist teaching. In this retreat, each of the Four Noble Truths will be introduced and explored, with emphasis given to the presence of each Noble Truth at the heart of Jesus' call to awaken to God's presence in every detail of our daily lives.
Join James Finley and Richard Rohr, OFM, in Albuquerque for this contemplative and enlightening weekend.
http://www.tcpc.org/global/index.cfm?topic_id=7
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TCPC Partners with Jesus Seminar interfaith pluarlism Sabeel, friends of Al Aqsa Mosque, interfaith group
The second sign of hope received less attention. Two days after Rice's announcement, at a Washington, D.C., press conference Leila Sansour announced the formation of the Open Bethlehem Project, an organization designed to develop the economy of the city of Bethlehem and rescue the birthplace of Christianity from economic stagnation. Sansour, a member of a prominent Bethlehem family and an accomplished documentary film director, called on the world's Christians to pledge support for the city's future. She also stressed the need to lift barriers, including Israel's security wall, which completely surrounds Bethlehem. Her project has the backing of Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas, Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem Michel Sabah and Bethlehem mayor Victor Batarseh, as well as the endorsement of Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu.
http://www.axiommedia.org/
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Bruce D Chiton Jesus seminar member also interconnected Barbara Marx Hubbard, Jean Houston, Matthew Foxes wisdom university
https://www.wisdomuniversity.org/faculty.html
Mapping World Religions in the Hudson Valley
Friday, December 21, 2007
"Mapping World Religions in the Hudson Valley." Having studied the religious diversity of our area, students from Kristen Scheible's class, present their research, along with images, according to a template engineered by the Pluralism Project (headquartered at Harvard University).
“THE GNOSTIC JESUS” TOPIC OF INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED THEOLOGY 2006 FALL LUNCHEON LECTURE SERIES AT BARD COLLEGE Weekly series with the Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton runs October 13 through November 3
http://www.bard.edu/iat/events.php
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*Themes and meeting times for upcoming lectures and programs *Possibility of earning graduate degrees (MA and D.Min) in association with Wisdom University in San Francisco
"Toward Open Christianity: A Symposium on Christ in a Pluralistic World"
April 13–15, 2007
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Session I.** Keynote Address *Matthew Fox "Reinventing Christianity for Our Post-Modern Times"
*Session II. Historical Perspectives
Bruce D. Chilton: Christianity's Road Not Taken: James, the Brother of Jesus, and the Christian Judaism of the Early Centuries
Paul E. Capetz (Because of illness the speaker's address was read by Ginger Grab)
"What Has the Enlightenment to Do with the Reformation? Religion as Revealed, as Rational, and as Historical"
Session III. ( Not taped at request of the speaker)Congressman Maurice D. Hinchey
Maintaining Religious Principles in Public Life
Session IV. Paul E. Murray "'Open' Christianity? Open How? How Open?"
Session V. Homosexuality in Contemporary Christianity
Jeffrey J. Kripal : "On the fiction of a straight Jesus, or why homosexuality is splitting the churches and will continue to do so."
Christine E. Gudorf: "Homosexuality, Ideology and Science."
William E. Hood: "What Does Love have to do with It?"
Session VI. Christian Participation in Pluralistic Communities
Scott Holland: We Contain Multitudes *
Sidney Callahan: Open to the Future in Faith and Unity
Session VII* Closing Session *Roundtable discussion led by the Chaplaincy of Bard College
http://www.theservices.org/chilton.htm
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This site has a good article, explaing what's been happening.
GOD IN THE MIRROR: EVIL, SIN, AND SALVATION
(page 3 of 8)
The narrator’s vision of creation in the New Age bestseller, The Celestine Prophecy, is that energy transformed into ever-higher vibrations until conditions existed for man, and the narrator realizes he is part of creation; God is not mentioned in this account, though later God is acknowledged as being within man [James Redfield, The Celestine Prophecy (NY: Warner Books Inc., 1993), 98-101, 239]. This identification of man with creation is echoed by bestselling author Deepak Chopra who teaches, "Your body is not separate from the body of the universe," and the "larger quantum field – the universe – is your extended body" [The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Publishing and New World Library, 1994), 69]. The result of this is a man-centered universe where God is so remote or so depersonalized an energy -- the permeating "Divine Intelligence" as defined by Chopra -- that God becomes almost irrelevant, leaving man to be God. God can also be changeable and incomplete in the New Age. Chopra states that "the source of all creation is pure consciousness" and "when we realize that our true Self is one of pure potentiality, we align with the power that manifests everything in the universe" [Chopra, 7]. In contrast, the Biblical God is perfect and unchanging; he lacks nothing in his perfection and so has no potential, since having potential means a need for something more or something else. If Chopra’s God is pure potentiality, then he is a changing and imperfect God. In his introduction to the Kabbalah, one writer says that God is not static, but is "dynamic becoming" who is incomplete without man, and that "it is up to us to actualize the divine potential in the world. God needs us" [Matt, 1-2]; in other words, we have a needy God who depends on man for completion.
http://cana.userworld.com/cana_GodMirror3.html
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