SwimmingRock said:
TheTaco007 said:
...and meeting Jesus on a train once. Cartoons can't match that, yo, even if they are hilarious.
Please, do tell. It's rare when someone mentions Christianity, let alone Jesus, in a serious,
positive tone on this site. So if you don't mind, please elaborate.
I may have unintentionally set you up for disappointment, particularly in regard to being serious, but here goes:
I had a two and a half hour train ride after a friends graduation party in a different city. It was the last train going that way on a friday night, so drunks aplenty. I grabbed the first seat near the door and sat down. After about 10 minutes, shortly before the train would depart, this guy wearing a robe and turban gets on and starts doing vertical splits (I think that's what it's called) in front of each individual passenger; ending with me. Note that, because he was wearing a robe, he essentially flashed his underwear to everybody.
He then sat down in the chair across from me and told me:"I'm Jesus and I'm here to tell you oxygen is your mother and she loves you." To tell you the entire story of what happened in those two and a half hours (he was heading to the same city I was) would take really damn long, but the long and short of it is that he made a lot of insane claims (my favourite:"I could fly if I wanted to, but then the heads of all humans would explode simultaneously.") and kept going on about how all religions are one and you reap what you sow.
I know this may come across as me mocking this man, and I certainly didn't take most of the things he said seriously, but he also mentioned the Kingdom of Love and the Kingdom of Fear, stating that the actions of people who live their lives in the KoF (these 'Kingdoms' are ofcourse not physical places, but more like shared states of living amongst groups of people) will always have bad intent behind them and, as a result, frequently have bad consequences. Conversely, those who act out of love for their fellow humans are less likely to cause harm, more likely to take responsibility if they screw up and more honest.
I'm not saying I agree with him completely and I recall writing an e-mail to a friend explaining what had happened and calling him a nutbag, but many years have passed and I'm a much calmer, nicer, more tolerant and loving person now. Also, having seen the standup of Bill Hicks since then, I think I understand where he got the idea. I like to think the Kingdom of Love is an idea-place (this is probably not a real word) that exists in the hearts of all good people and those who choose to make it their home strive to maintaing and grow it. I guess I'm kind of a hippy, basically.
So, yeah, that's pretty much the abridged version of that story. In the end, the guy claiming to be Jesus whom I met didn't have much effect on me, but the sense that, nutty though he may have been, he had no ill intent towards anybody did leave some impression on me. I don't actually believe he was Jesus nor am I a Christian, but I don't think personal beliefs or claims should take away from anybodys message, if it's a good one. And I don't know the guys real name, so I don't have much choice other than to refer to him as Jesus.
EDIT: Oh, I forgot to mention the best part. He eventually proclaimed me his second apostle to accompany him once he's announced his return and starts traveling the world to spread his message. The first apostle is apparently some guy called René who lives in the Phillipines.