The teachings of Jesus.

[Elijah John]

How practical are the teachings of Jesus in the real world?

Which aspects of his teachings are realistic and readily do-able, and which are not?

Did Paul, and/or the Church filter the teachings of Jesus in order to make them more realistic?

How so?

[Divine Insight]

How practical are the teachings of Jesus in the real world?

Which aspects of his teachings are realistic and readily do-able, and which are not?

Did Paul, and/or the Church filter the teachings of Jesus in order to make them more realistic?

How so?

Why would the teachings of Jesus need to be realistic?

If Jesus was teaching people what it takes to obtain "eternal life" in some afterlife, then if his teachings were totally impractical on Earth and even led to a person's imminent demise that wouldn't matter at all. To the contrary, they would simply move on to eternal life in heaven that much sooner.

So there is no need for the teachings of Jesus to be practical or realistic in terms of Earthly life.

[Jagella]

How practical are the teachings of Jesus in the real world?

Not very. Even most Christians ignore the gospel's injunctions and for good reason. It's against human nature to love one's enemies (whatever that might mean), and it's downright foolish and dangerous to invite an assailant to attack again!

Which aspects of his teachings are realistic and readily do-able, and which are not?

Prayer is easy enough and a cheap way to "help" others. Some people might have faith in what they have no reason to believe while others just can't buy it. Giving away to anybody who asks is not feasible for most people who need their money to pay the bills.

Did Paul, and/or the Church filter the teachings of Jesus in order to make them more realistic?

How so?

I don't think Paul could "filter" what was only later attributed to Jesus. The gospels were written decades after Paul got involved in Christianity. So what little Paul's writings had in common with the gospels is probably a result of the gospel writers being influenced by Paul rather than the other way around.

But yes, the church probably later tampered with the gospels for political reasons. The church in Rome, for example, is probably responsible for Jesus saying he granted the "keys of heaven" to Peter whom the Roman church saw as the apostle it was "built upon."

I don't think anybody distorted the gospels to make anything in them more "realistic." If anybody did so, then what they commanded must really have been crazy!

[PinSeeker]

LOL! Some day, every unbeliever is going to say out loud, "Ohhhhh.... CRAP! All this stuff was really true all along! Hey, God... um... I'm sorry!" Here's hoping that's sooner rather than later...

[marco]

LOL! Some day, every unbeliever is going to say out loud, "Ohhhhh.... CRAP! All this stuff was really true all along! Hey, God... um... I'm sorry!" Here's hoping that's sooner rather than later...

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[Overcomer]

All of Christ's teachings are doable. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taught them.

Here's how it works. When somebody accepts Christ as Lord and Saviour, he fills that person with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in and with the believer to empower that person to grow more Christ-like. It's a life-long process of sanctification which will only be completed in the next life.

However, in this life, believers can and should be maturing all the time, leaving sin habits behind, learning to respond and behave as Christ would in any and all circumstances.

Sadly, some churches don't understand the power and purpose of the Holy Spirit to help us in the maturation process. That means people are trying to be better human beings in their own puny human power. They're missing out on the help the Holy Spirit offers.

And, of course, all of us still have what they call "the old man" in us, that is, the fleshly side of us that gets in the way of our spiritual growth. That's why I always say there are no perfect Christians but there are Christians in the process of being perfected.

I have heard it said that the 10 commandments are just that for non-believers -- they're commandments. But for born-again, Spirit-filled believers, they're not commandments, but promises, because, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can keep them all. But, as I said, it's something all believers have to work at in cooperation with the Lord and the growth can be slow.

[Divine Insight]

Here's how it works. When somebody accepts Christ as Lord and Saviour, he fills that person with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in and with the believer to empower that person to grow more Christ-like. It's a life-long process of sanctification which will only be completed in the next life.

Where exactly do you get this idea from? It sounds like nothing more than Christian superstition.

Christ himself told the woman at the well to "Go and sin no more". He didn't tell her that it would require a lifetime of sanctification to stop sinning. So your claim here isn't even in harmony with the teachings of Jesus.

However, in this life, believers can and should be maturing all the time, leaving sin habits behind, learning to respond and behave as Christ would in any and all circumstances.

The Bible teaches that those who are born the spirit of God cannot sin. I'd post the verse but I'm sure you can find it yourself. I will hint that it's in the New Testament.

Sadly, some churches don't understand the power and purpose of the Holy Spirit to help us in the maturation process. That means people are trying to be better human beings in their own puny human power. They're missing out on the help the Holy Spirit offers.

Perhaps because it's not a biblical idea?

Jesus told the woman to "go sin no more", he didn't tell her to go seek guidance from a Holy Spirit. So perhaps those churches are right, and you are the one who is wrong?

And, of course, all of us still have what they call "the old man" in us, that is, the fleshly side of us that gets in the way of our spiritual growth. That's why I always say there are no perfect Christians but there are Christians in the process of being perfected.

But it's not up to you to say this. We need to go by what the Bible says and the Bible says:

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

There I went and looked up the verse for you after all. A Christian can't claim to have accepted Jesus as their LORD and continue to sin, because once they have accepted Christ as their LORD they are born again in the spirit of Christ and therefore cannot sin.

So if anyone claims to be a "Sinning Christian" you should point them to First John 3:9 and tell them that they had better think twice about claiming to be a "Sinning Christian".

I have heard it said that the 10 commandments are just that for non-believers -- they're commandments. But for born-again, Spirit-filled believers, they're not commandments, but promises, because, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can keep them all. But, as I said, it's something all believers have to work at in cooperation with the Lord and the growth can be slow.

But according to First John 3:9 you have no business claiming to be "born-again and spirit-filled" if you are still sinning.

So perhaps the "believers" need to recognize the folly of their own beliefs before preaching to non-believers.

If you aren't totally sin-free after having been born-again in the Holy Spirit, then you really need to question whether you actually are born-again in the Holy Spirit. According to 1st John if you're still sinning, there's something wrong. Because according to him you cannot sin once you are born of the Holy Spirit of God.

In fact, you have a contradiction in your own claims, you said:

All of Christ's teachings are doable. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taught them.

Christ's teaching with the woman at the well is to tell the woman, "Go and sin no more".

According to you he wouldn't have told her to do that if it wasn't doable. Therefore it must be possible to just stop sinning altogether if a person so chooses.

According to the Gospels Jesus also taught:

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Here Jesus is teaching people to be as perfect as God himself.

According to you this must then be doable.

If the teachings of Jesus are true and doable, then you are without excuse for not being as perfect as God because this is precisely what Jesus has taught us to do.

There is no excuse for anyone to ever sin. No excuse at all according to Jesus.

There is absolutely no reason at all why you can't be as perfect as God himself because Jesus taught that this is precisely what you should be.

Unless you want to backtrack and concede that not everything Jesus taught is doable.

[Jagella]

LOL! Some day, every unbeliever is going to say out loud, "Ohhhhh.... CRAP! All this stuff was really true all along! Hey, God... um... I'm sorry!" Here's hoping that's sooner rather than later...

"And Bible god--if only I listened to that guy you sent to warn me in that online forum! You know, the one who kept getting into trouble. But why couldn't you send somebody I could actually believe?"

Seriously, I'm very familiar with the Christian apologetic: Someday God's gonna getcha! He'll be oh so real then that you cannot deny him. But it'll be too late, so convert now when you still have the chance.

We see this kind of apologetic in Jesus. Jesus is a shadowy figure portrayed in books written long ago by anonymous authors. The basic idea is to put one's faith in somebody who is hard to put faith in. It's like a game: overcome your natural tendency to doubt what is doubtful, and you win eternal life! If you cannot overcome your incredulity, then you will lose BIG time.

I think this is a good way to see Jesus' indoctrination.

[JehovahsWitness]

How practical are the teachings of Jesus in the real world?

Which aspects of his teachings are realistic and readily do-able, and which are not?

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses I believe that all of Jesus teachings (as we understand them) are practical in the real world.

There are none which I find impractical or "undo-able".


JW



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[Divine Insight]

How practical are the teachings of Jesus in the real world?

Which aspects of his teachings are realistic and readily do-able, and which are not?

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses I believe that all of Jesus teachings (as we understand them) are practical in the real world.

There are none which I find impractical or "undo-able".

What about

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Do you simply pretend to understand this to mean something other than what it says?

Obviously if you ignore what Jesus taught by pretending that he wasn't teaching what he says, then you could get away with quite a bit.