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Christianity

More background and discussion to appear here in the future. For now, here are some thought-provoking excerpts from pop-cultural music and literature about Jesus. Of course, Jesus (Yeshua ben Nazaret) wasn't white, he was Jewish. Also a Libertarian and a Socialist. How about that for starters? Also see a few Links.

Songs:

Heaven On Their Minds from Jesus Christ Superstar  © 1973 MCA Records, Inc. P 1973 MCA Records, Inc. JUDAS:  My mind is clearer now. At last all too well I can see where we all soon will be. If you strip away the myth from the man, You will see where we all soon will be. Jesus! You've started to believe The things they say of you. You really do believe This talk of God is true. And all the good you've done Will soon get swept away. You've begun to matter more than the things you say. Listen Jesus I don't like what I see. All I ask is that you listen to me. And remember, I've been your right hand man all along. You have set them all on fire. They think they've found a new Messiah. And they'll hurt you when they find they're wrong. I remember when this whole thing began. No talk of God then, we called you a man. And believe me, my admiration for you hasn't died. But every word you say today Get's twisted 'round some other way. And they'll hurt you if they think you've lied. Nazareth, your famous son should have stayed a great unknown Like his father carving wood He'd have made good. Tables, chairs, and oaken chests would have suited Jesus best. He'd have caused nobody harm; no one alarm. Listen, Jesus, do you care for your race? Don't you see we must keep in our place? We are occupied; have you forgotten how put down we are? I am frightened by the crowd. For we are getting much too loud. And they'll crush us if we go too far. Listen, Jesus, to the warning I give. Please remember that I want us to live. But it's sad to see our chances weakening with every hour. All your followers are blind. Too much heaven on their minds. It was beautiful, but now it's sour. Yes it's all gone sour.

Superstar from Jesus Christ Superstar  © 1973 MCA Records, Inc. P 1973 MCA Records, Inc. JUDAS: Every time I look at you I don't understand Why you let the things you do get so out of hand You'd have managed better if you'd had it planned Now why'd you choose such a backward time  and such a strange land? If you'd come today you could have reached a whole nation Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication Don’t you get me wrong… I only want to know… Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ Who are you? What have you sacrificed?… Jesus Christ Superstar Do you think you're what they say you are?… Tell me what you think about your friends at the top Now who'd you think besides yourself's the pick of the crop? Buddha was he where it's at? Is he where you are? Could Mahomet move a mountain or was that just PR? Did you mean to die like that? Was that a mistake or Did you know your messy death would be a record-breaker?… Jesus! I only want to know Tell me tell me tell me Tell me don't you get me wrong I only want to know…     Portrait (He Knew) from the album Point of Know Return by Kansas © 1977 Don Kirshner Music, Inc (BMI) He had a thousand ideas You might have heard his name He lived alone with his vision Not looking for fortune or fame Never said too much to speak of He was off on another plane The words that he said were a mystery Nobody's sure he was sane He was in search of an answer The nature of what we are He was trying to do it a new way He was bright as a star But nobody understood him "His numbers are not the way" He's lost in the deepest enigma Which no one's unravelled today But he knew, he knew more than me or you No one could see his view Oh, where was he going to And he tried, but before he could tell us he died When he left us the people cried Oh, where was he going to? He had a different idea A glimpse of the master plan He could see into the future A true visionary man But there's something he never told us It died when he went away If only he could have been with us No telling what he might say But he knew, you could tell by the picture he drew It was totally something new Oh, where was he going to?

Quotes from Jesus The Son Of Man by Kahlil Gibran:

"Behold the brook and listen to its music.  Forever shall it seek the sea, and though it is for ever seeking, it sings its mystery from noon to noon."
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"Your neighbor is your unknown self made visible. His face shall be reflected in your still waters, and if you gaze therein you shall behold your own countenance.  Should you listen in the night, you shall hear him speak, and his words shall be the throbbing of your own heart.  Be unto him that which you would have him be unto you.... You and your neighbor are two seeds sewn in the field. Together you grow and together you shall sway in the wind. And neither of you shall claim the field.  For a seed on its way to growth claims not even its own ecstasy."
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"There are no miracles beyond the seasons, yet you and I do not know all the seasons. And what if a season shall be made manifest in the shape of a man?
In Jesus the elements of our bodies and our dreams came together according to law. All that was timeless before Him became timeful in Him.
They say He gave sight to the blind and walking to the paralyzed, and that He drove devils out of madmen.
Perchance blindness is but a dark thought that can be overcome by a burning thought. Perchance a withered limb is but idleness that can be quickened by energy. And perhaps the devils, these restless elements in our life, are driven out by the angels of peace and serenity.
They say He raised the dead to life. If you can tell me what is death, then I will tell you what is life.
In the field I have watched an acorn, a thing so still and seemingly useless. And in the spring I have seen that acorn take roots an rise, the beginning of an oak tree, towards the sun. Surely you would deem this a miracle, yet that miracle is wrought a thousand times in the drowsiness of every autumn and the passion of every spring.
Why shall it not be wrought in the heart of man? Shall not the seasons meet in the hand or upon the lips of a Man Anointed?...
I have spoken of these miracles which I deem but little beside the greater miracle, which is the Man Himself, the Wayfarer, the man who turned my dross into gold, who taught me how to love those who hate me, and in doing so brought me comfort and gave sweet dreams to my sleep.
This is the miracle in my own life. My soul was blind, my soul was lame. I was possessed by restless spirits, and I was dead. But now I see clearly, and I walk erect. I am at peace, and I live to witness and proclaim my own being every hour of the day."
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"Though He knew the depth of beauty, He was forever surprised by its peace and its majesty; and He stood before the earth as the first man had stood before the first day.
We whose senses have been dulled, we gaze in full daylight and yet we do not see. We would cup our ears, but do not hear; and stretch forth our hands, but we do not touch. And though all the incense of Arabia is burned, we go our way and do not smell.
We see not the ploughman returning from his field at eventide; nor hear the shepherd's flute when he leads his flock to the fold; nor do we stretch our arms to touch the sunset; and our nostrils hunger no longer for the Rose of Sharon.
Nay, we honor no kings without kingdoms; nor hear the sound of harps save when the strings are plucked by hands; nor do we see a child playing in our olive grove as if he were a young olive tree. And all words must needs rise from lips of flesh, or else we deem each other dumb and deaf.
In truth we gaze but do not see, and hearken but do not hear; we eat and drink but do not taste. And there lies the difference between Jesus of Nazareth and ourselves
His senses were continually made new, and the world to Him was always a new world. To Him the lisping of a babe was not less than the cry of all mankind, while to us it is only a lisping. To Him the root of a buttercup was a longing towards God, while to us it is naught but a root."
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On a day when Jesus went to the lake to be with the fishermen, she (Mary) said to me, "What is a man but this restless being that would rise from the earth, and who is man but a longing that desires the stars?  My son is a longing.  He is all of us longing for the stars."

© 1928 Kahlil Gibran
From Jesus The Son Of Man Pocket Library Edition
Alfred A. Knoph, New York, 1995
http://www.randomhouse.com

I guess that's enough.  If you want more, buy the book!
 

Links

Other quotes, and some jokes:

On Catholicism: You mean I have to do all that for each one of these beads?  Yup. Well, it's not a religion for wusses! --Cheers