All Comments (265)

The proper use of money is approved by God. For example, Jesus said: "Make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous riches." (Luke 16:9) This includes contributing toward the advancement of the true worship of God, for we definitely should want God as our Friend. Solomon himself, following the example of his father, David, contributed large amounts of money and valuables toward the building of Jehovah's temple. Another Christian mandate is to give material assistance to those in need. "Share with the holy ones according to their needs," said the apostle Paul. He added: "Follow the course of hospitality." (Romans 12:13) This often involves spending some money.
What about the love of money? Paul discussed extensively "the love of money"—or literally, "fondness of silver"—when he was writing to his younger fellow Christian Timothy. Paul's council can be found at 1 Timothy 6:6-19. He commented on "the love of money" as part of his broader consideration of material things. Paul's inspired comments are useful in view of the emphasis today's culture puts on money.
Paul warns: "The love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains." (1 Timothy 6:10) This text does not say that money itself is evil—nor does any other scripture. Neither does the apostle say that money is the fundamental cause of "injurious things" or that money lies at the root of every problem. Rather, the love of money can be a cause—even if not the only cause—of all kinds of "injurious things."
Christians who begin to love money are vulnerable to all kinds of problems, the worst of which is that of straying from the faith. This truth is reinforced by what Paul said to the Christians in Colossae: "Deaden, therefore, your body members that are upon the earth as respects . . . hurtful desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5) How may covetousness, greed, or "love of money" amount to idolatry? Does this mean that it is wrong to want a bigger house, a newer car, a more profitable job? No, none of these things are evil in themselves. The question is: What is the heart attitude that makes one want any of these things, and are they really necessary?
Wholesome and well-placed desire can be constructive. It motivates us to work and to be productive. Proverbs 16:26 says: "The soul of the hard worker has worked hard for him, because his mouth has pressed him hard." But greed is dangerous and destructive. It is desire out of control.

"The love of money is the root of all evil"
or
"money is the root of all evil"

Is there a difference?

I understand that Mr.Chopra is a media personality, but this is a website for intelligent people to “engage in conversation about faith…in a way that sheds light”. I’m sorry he had to resort to a sad stand-up routine, which is insulting and dismissive of Christianity, instead of adding some real insight.

Mr. Chopra’s comments do reveal he is wholly ignorant regarding Jesus. Jesus never ran for president. When he was offered political power he refused it. (John 6:14&15)
“ Hence when the men saw the signs he performed, they began to say: “This is for a certainty the prophet that was to come into the world.” 15 Therefore Jesus, knowing they were about to come and seize him to make him king, withdrew again into the mountain all alone.”
And rightly so, because Jesus knows Jehovah God’s purpose for the earth will not be realized through human governments but through God’s heavenly government.

(Matthew 6:10&11) “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. 10 Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”

Mr. Chopra trivializes the expression “Love your enemies”. During his ministry, Jesus Christ gave his disciples a command that could be an antidote to many of the world's ills. Jesus said: "I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34) The solution to many of mankind's problems is love. When, on another occasion, Jesus was asked which commandment is the greatest, he answered: "'You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this, 'You must love your neighbor as yourself.'"—Matthew 22:37-40.

Jesus made very clear who our neighbor is through his illustration of the Samaritan.
(Luke 29-37)
“But, wanting to prove himself righteous, the man said to Jesus: “Who really is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who both stripped him and inflicted blows, and went off, leaving him half-dead. 31 Now, by coincidence, a certain priest was going down over that road, but, when he saw him, he went by on the opposite side. 32 Likewise, a Levite also, when he got down to the place and saw him, went by on the opposite side. 33 But a certain Samaritan traveling the road came upon him and, at seeing him, he was moved with pity. 34 So he approached him and bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine upon them. Then he mounted him upon his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend besides this, I will repay you when I come back here.’ 36 Who of these three seems to you to have made himself neighbor to the man that fell among the robbers?” 37 He said: “The one that acted mercifully toward him.” Jesus then said to him: “Go your way and be doing the same yourself.”
Jesus showed us by words and deeds how to love God and fellow humans.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples how to show love for fellow humans. He said: "All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them." (Matthew 7:12) The word "men" that Jesus used here includes even one's enemies. In the same sermon, he said: "Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you." (Matthew 5:43, 44) Such love would solve many of the problems that we face today. Hindu leader Mohandas Gandhi thought so. He is quoted as saying: "When [we] shall get together on the teachings laid down by Christ in this Sermon on the Mount, we shall have solved the problems . . . of the whole world." Jesus' teachings about love, if applied, can solve many of mankind's ills.
Mr. Chopra also revealed his ignorance of the Bible. “Money is the root of all evil” is not what the Bible states. It is the love of money that is the problem.
(1Timothy 6:9-10)
“However, those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires, which plunge men into destruction and ruin. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.”

Jesus has already demonstrated what kind of Ruler he would be. He has not only the power to help people but the desire as well. (Matthew 8:1-3) He is unselfish, compassionate, courageous and humble. The record of his life on earth is there in the Bible for all to read.

The more interesting question is not what kind of candidate Jesus would be, but why would a true Christian be involved in politics at all.

It is regrettable for two reasons, that Chopra trots out the old misquote about money and evil. The Bible actually says, "the love of money is the root of all evil." Money itself is neither good nor bad but only a tool of exchange. Since I expect that Chopra is quite wealthy, his misquote would seem to hit him in the center of his life and lifestyle. The second reason is that the misquote focuses on the material aspect (money) not the spiritual aspect (our relationship with money, wealth, material goods.)

Dear Dr Chopra

I'm delighted that you are now one of the panelists on the On Faith forum and I look forward to your essays on the topics posted for each weeks.

It is amusing to read how most bloggers here have completely failed to recognize the humor in your essay and the wisdom you sought to express through it.

Many years ago it was a well known American Buddhist lady, who was my spiritual teacher for a while, who told me about you. She said that I ought to work with you! However despite my great interest and profound admiration for your ideas and work, the fact that you presented Hinduism as the only supreme source of wisdom (at least that is the way I understood it since you referred only to Hindu religious texts) put me off a bit. I'm deeply respectful of the spiritual genius of Hinduism and it remains a part of my heritage. As a Christian I value the spiritual wealth of the Judeo-Christian tradition and know the areas in which it differs with the Hindu spiritual tradition and know exactly why I am a Christian by conviction and not a Hindu. One Hindu blogger suggested that my Nambudiri Brahmin ancestors probably did not know Hindu Scripture well enough, otherwise they would have converted Apostle Thomas to Hinduism rather than give up their Hindu faith to adopt Christianity. If it was ignorance that led to the conversion, blessed be the ignorance that led my Hindu ancestors to convert!

Now your development, your interest in Jesus, your immense contribution in bringing a Hindu perspective to Jesus with your new book, so that Jesus may be understood by Hindus, and from a different perspective by Christians, suddenly makes you a person I would love to meet if the chance should ever present itself! I send out this wish in the hope that it may be fulfilled in God's time and way.

Wishing you a wonderful Easter in advance!

Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia

s_j_thaikattil@yahoo.com.au

I let the voters go about their business while Chopra penned his porkified wit. Beautiful! Those are definitely the guys if anyone ever chooses to ride upon the master with his crimson mantel and glittering sword.

“Wisdom is vindicated of her children”, so why are we displaying, for all the world to see, such impeccable, such utterly enviable insight into the way we think?” Sam put it best when he told Frodo, ‘One more step and this is the farthest I've ever gone from home'.

Face it: Deepak backwards is Kapeed. And that goes for some of the rest of us, too.

Forever, for all the puny, precious people,

Formerly Me

It seems many have misinterpreted this article just as they have misinterpreted much of the bible.

If your local pastor or priest had written the article you would probably be more inclined to try to understand it.

Anyone who has actually read Deepaks books knows he is not against Jesus teachings, but seeks to clarify what he actually taught. Anyone who seriously wishes to be as true a christian as possible should welcome this new clarity.

People need to work on themselves and follow their own spiritual path, sooner or later we will all make it to the Kingdom of God, this im sure.
Those of you who claim that its all gonna be a great massacre soon are only fearful of God and are projecting that fear onto others. Either that or you are trying to brown nose your way to Heaven
, sorry that dont work.

It was Peter, a Gnostic who wrote some time in the second or third centuries something to the effect that "Man created god in his image and has worshiped that image ever since"
We assign human attributes to a divine force that no one on earth really knows or understands in the vain hope that it will assume human form.
Jesus was the son of man. A great, great Teacher but not god and no more the son of god than you or I.

I renounce the Holy Spirit.

Jacquie, Jacquie, Jacquie,

You apparently suffer from the Three B syndrome i.e. Bred, Born and Brainwashed in orthodox Christianity.

After much research by many contemporary NT exegetes, your orthodox Jesus has been reduced to the historical Jesus i.e. a simple preacher man who had no powers to heal or change water into wine and definity not part of any deity or kingdom.

Here is a Five Step Method to start your deprogramming:

Repeat the following Five times:

1. There was no physical resurrection (i.e. Heaven is a Spirit State).

2. And it therefore follows there was no ascension and no assumption.

3. There is/was no original sin. A&E were fictional characters living in mythical land.

4. And it therefore follows, baptism does not erase original sin since there is no sin to erase. Limbo therefore is a non-issue.

5. Jesus was crucified but details of the deed have little historic verification.

How sad that a person like him with influence on society was given the "right" to disparage the Name that is above ALL NAMES ~ The KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS.

How dare he take his position to voice such untruths and get away with it ~and how dare he write such a column without even having his "facts" straight.

A person who does NOT know Jesus Christ personally does NOT in my opinion have a right to voice their opinion what our Savior would do in ANY circumstance.

Actually Jesus DID NOT run for PRESIDENT ~ HE was ALREADY crowned the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Jesus did NOT say that "money was the root of all evil" he said that "THE LOVE OF MONEY" was ~ because then people would compromise their principles to do whatever it took to have it.

and he did not say to not resist evil ~ HE SAID, to resist the devil and he would flee from us ~

and on and on I could go ~ but how sad that a man like this would have a platform to disparage the NAME THAT IS ABOVE ALL NAMES ~

We need to pray for him.

I'm not too sure that a certain "christian" way of thinking is actually good. One can take the point of view that there are no evil people, but that the system somehow makes them evil, or puts them in positions where they will do evil, just by virtue of being who they are, rather than consciously wishing to do evil.
But where does responsibility for evil events go then? To the system, i.e. everyone? This would make everyone evil.
Hence, forgiving one's enemies can in itself be extremely evil, if viewed as understanding their evil as a product of the environment, circumstances, being misguided or nature.

How sad that a person like him with influence on society was given the "right" to disparage the Name that is above ALL NAMES ~ The KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS.

How dare he take his position to voice such untruths and get away with it ~and how dare he write such a column without even having his "facts" straight.

A person who does NOT know Jesus Christ personally does NOT in my opinion have a right to voice their opinion what our Savior would do in ANY circumstance.

Actually Jesus DID NOT run for PRESIDENT ~ HE was ALREADY crowned the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Jesus did NOT say that "money was the root of all evil" he said that "THE LOVE OF MONEY" was ~ because then people would compromise their principles to do whatever it took to have it.

and he did not say to not resist evil ~ HE SAID, to resist the devil and he would flee from us ~

and on and on I could go ~ but how sad that a man like this would have a platform to disparage the NAME THAT IS ABOVE ALL NAMES ~

We need to pray for him.

Did you write this Deepak? If so it is very good political comedy. I enjoyed it. Showed another side to your writing abilities. Quite comedic, your witticism is dashing.

Peace,

Question everything.

John A. Lockley,

Words from Paul??? Actually, most contemporary NT exegetes believe after exhaustive research that the epistles to Timothy (and Titus) were not written by Paul but by "wannabee" Pauls. See Father Ray Brown's analyses in his 878 page book, An Introduction to the New Testament pp. 639, 654, 673,
an excerpt:

"Authenticity: Probably written by a disciple of Paul or a sympathetic commentator of the Pauline heritage several decades after the apostle's death. "

See also Professors Crossan and Reed's book, In Search of Paul and Professor Bruce Chilton's book, Rabbi Paul.

Talk about bringing the darkness into the light?

I agree with the overall message of the article. Christ does thinkdifferently from mankind. However, Jesus would have never said that "Money is the root of all evil."

But, He would have agreed with what the Apostle Paul wrote to his friend Timothy:

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (I Tim. 6:10, NKJV).

Actually, money is neutral. Our love of money is what gets us into trouble : - )

Deepak Chopra, I find what you say on this blog very clever and a lot of fun. Thank You Oh yes, If indeed Jesus returned whether to run for pres or not he will be crucified for his ideas, ideals and philosophy as he was before.

Anonymous,

Sadly, you have been trapped by your superstitions. You can't imagine how we could be unafraid because you can't imagine not being afraid yourself. So sad. But all you have to do is let go of the ghost stories that haunt you and they will fall away like the illusions they are. There is no hell. There is no judgement. There is no God. It's all just a terrible, frightening story. A grim illusion. A bad dream. Let it go and you'll be fine. Trust me, I'm fine, and the rest of the non-superstitious people here are fine too. It's going to be OK. You're going to be OK. Just let go.

Anon, Anon, Anon whomever you are,

Your bible thumping and threats of hell are, to say the least, amusing.

their were parties together before mistake.(bk)
well coined story ,u can not undrestand sprit by flesh deepak.
u do not know otherside or u are making money
by opposition of a great man.
i think u have no practicals in jesus teaching.
if jesus has to run presidential election he would have become king of the jews when ben hur offered him with his army.
deepak u belong to koran how u can undrestand jesus with koranic eye,yes u can undrestand allaudin.
i too as jesus wish not to reveal the secrets in parables before its opt.

JB.

Repent....repent....repent.....repent....repent!!!

For what.....for what.....for what??????

God, you people are scary!!!!

"I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice when they pierced his side
But I've seen love conquer the great divide"

U2, When love comes to town

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH81Klu1FAw

As an intellectual fundamentalist Christian (yeah, I know, go figure), I found the post amusing in places, challenging in places, and incorrect in places. Dr. Chopra is not making fun of Jesus; he is making fun of the U.S. electorate (in particular, those who call themselves Christians, both Dems and Repubs). Truthfully, we deserve a bit of ridicule.

My take is that IF Jesus wanted to run for President, He would run as an independent and easily win, for the following reasons:
1) He was born about 2000 years ago, making him far and away the most experienced candidate.
2) He founded and runs a worldwide organization of several billion people, which has changed the entire course of history, despite the gross incompetence (not to mention malfeasance) of many of His followers.
3) Being omniscient, He could promise to tell us how to get totally green power generation, thus solving all of our energy and global warming issues.
4) Being omnipotent, He could eliminate all crime and war, thus saving us a bundle on police and defense.
5) Being the Great Physician, He could eliminate all disease, so we wouldn't need either private or nationalized health care.
6) On welfare, He would implement with perfect wisdom the contrasting Biblical policies of "let every man bear his own burden," "bear one another's burdens," "if a man will not work, then let him not eat," and "if anyone does not take care of his own, then he is worse than an infidel."

However, Jesus would eventually have to suppress a rebellion against His presidency, for the following reasons:
1) He would insist that sinners be forgiven, no matter how many times they've sinned.
2) However, He would insist that forgiven sinners "go and sin no more."
3) He would define marriage as between one man and one woman for life, and would outlaw all extra-marital sex, all pornography, and all divorce.
4) He would outlaw drunkenness, gluttony, lewd speech and dress and behavior, gambling and every other sort of greed, cursing, name-calling, back-biting, gossip, lying, and every kind of violence.
5) He would show favoritism by appointing only His faithful followers to positions of authority, and then would alienate any who breached His trust by severely punishing them.
6) He would not allow people to foist on others the nurturing of their children or the care of their aged parents, nor would He allow minor children to disobey their parents (or authorities designated by the parents, such as teachers).
7) He would outlaw abortion.
8) He would outlaw selfish overconsumption, such as too many pets, too much meat, too many clothes, gas-guzzling cars, oversized houses, most spectator sports, etc.
9) He would insist on being President of the entire world, not just the U.S.
10) And most critically, Jesus would offend all non-Christians and all mamby-pamby Christians by insisting that He is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," and that "no one comes to the Father except through Him."

It's the "Love of money" not "money" is the root of all evil.

There is so much to dispute but what sticks out is his misinterpretation of money is the root of all evil. What is meant is the love of money- in other words lying ,cheating,stealing and anything unlawful to justify making money. There is nothing wrong with money itself, we all need money in this society to live our daily lives.I would hope in the future he would study the correct translations as not to mislead the American public. Resist not evil? In no way, I believe, does it imply we should not defend ourselves. As far as running for President, because of the amazing teachings and miracles, many times they tried to make Him their king. He walked away every time.

I believe, fear is the point where I begin to learn something new. I don't fear your statements. I've traveled the road of having "solved the mystery of this existence" several times from different angles. I've used insults and taunts to show how great I was to have solved this mystery.

But, each time I have been humbled like when Krishna told Indra that the ants were all former Indra's.

So, as you throw your lightning bolts at the "idiots who don't listen", I tell you:

Love.

Now that Hillary/Obama are headed for the White House, and the country has decided that we don't want a leader with Christian Conservative underpinnings, the Religious Right are out in droves, making a desperate last ditch effort to be heard, reaching deep into their dogmatic pockets to play their trump cards of "hell-and-damnation-if you don't think like me", and "Jesus is coming and then you will be sorry, for in Heaven their will be topless photos of Ann Coulter and it won't be a sin to look at them", and " there is a special deep hole in Hell for tree-hugging Prius owners who blasphemed God by believing that oil was not being continually secreted from the bowels of the earth as a gift to His children"

Arguing about religion is like dancing about architecture.........

Cheers.

CCNL,

Please read the parable again and again. Aren't you afraid that if you don't repent, there's very high probability, to the tune of 100%, that you would forever burn in hell?

I beg you, please read the parable again and again till it opens up your mind.

With respect to the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids/Virgins (Matt 25: 1-12)

Many contemporary NT exegetes after a thorough review have concluded that this parable was a later addition to Matthew's gospel and was not said by the historic Jesus.

e.g. http://wiki.faithfutures.org/index.php/164_The_Closed_Door

Gerd Lüdemann

Lüdemann [Jesus, 234] :

"The narrative is inauthentic since the semi-allegorical form derives from the needs of the community to find themselves in the parable. Furthermore the parable reflects the delay of the coming of the bridegroom Christ."

"The commentary in The Five Gospels (p. 347) notes that Luke's brief saying is reminiscent of the longer parable of the ten maidens in Matthew 25.

On the Matthean parable, the commentary observes:

This story does not have any of the earmarks of Jesus' authentic parables. it does not cut against the religious and social grain. Rather, it confirms common wisdom: those who are prepared succeed, those not prepared will fail. Consequently, it does not surprise or shock; there is no unexpected twist in the story; it comes out as one expects, given the opening statement that five of the maidens were wise and five foolish. The story lacks humor, exaggeration, and paradox: it is straightforward, unimaginative, and moralizing ..."

"Thou shalt not take The Name of The Lord in vain".

Atheists/liberals, aren't you afraid?
Deepak, aren't you afraid?

"Lord, Lord, open to us". But He answered and said " I don't know you".

"...and the door was shut." The doors of hell will be shut and the burning would be forever.

The parable has now been exposed. Judgment is very near.

Profound this is not.

One more thing: Jesus never ran for president and doesn't have to! He is the master of this entire universe. He has always been and always will be! And all of you people who think that Mr. Chopra's comments are so amusing and right-on, remember, when the devil was kicked out of heaven a 3rd of the angels went with him. I guess we now know that that 3rd has been posting commments on this message board. You can hide behind a board right now but when Michael comes back, you will cry out for the rocks to fall on you.

Jesus refused to get envolved in worldly politics. John 6:15, 18:3

Not money, but the love of money is “a root of all sorts of injurious things". 1 Tim 6:9,10

Jesus said : “Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword..." Matt. 26:52

Inscription on the United Nations Building is from the book of Isaiah 2:4... And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore...

What I find even more offensive than the writer's intellectual dishonesty, and shallow humor is the disrepect he shows for not only Jesus, but the millions upon millions who believe Jesus is the greatest man that ever lived.

The historic Jesus would have a very hard time running for any political office since any opponent would simply note the following about about him:

"My opponent, Jesus of the maybe spirit state of heaven is illiterate with only a basic background in peasantry and carpentry. He apparently suffers from "visions" and hallucinations of devils aka the demons of the demented. Some have characterized him as the "holy roller" from Nazareth, PA to a mythical character from Nazareth, Wherever, to a mamzer from Nazareth, PA. Analyses of Jesus’ background by many contemporary political scholars have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' commentaries are authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles made-up by his political speech writers to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.)

The 30% that is "authentic Jesus" was plagiarized and/or borrowed from speeches of other politicians.

His supporters like followers of Luther, Calvin, Joe Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley et al also suffer from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingy talking flying fictional thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immaculate conceptions

Jesus would never run for anything as He owns everything and has authority and power over everything. I am sure this is a sore point to many reading this humble information but I assure you that in "due time" you will change your mind. The Bible says that "every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord". Does the word "every" exclude anyone? For the first 45 years of my life that was the case but now that I am in the light it is amusing to contemplate the stupidity of anyone that pretends to live without Him. You see the Sun that warms you and feeds you, He created it. "He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous..." (Matt 5:45)

The religious right whether it be Moslem or Christian has lost its moral compass. Religion for them is nothing more than an eye for an eye. Do unto others before they do it to you, including torture, seems to be in their books. Where is the outcry against the greed,the corruption, the inhumanity, and destruction of our youth? Religion no longer saves people, it is the weapon of choice to detroy people. God bless America worn on the sleeve of this president is a mockery of Christianity, of religion.

THE LIGHTS IN THE OVAL OFFICE FLICKER, AND THE DOORS SWING SHUT AND LOCK. DISTRACTED FROM HIS MERCENARY MIKE NINTENDO GAME, GEORGE BUSH LOOKS UP TO SEE A CLOUD OF GLOWING ETHER COALESCE INTO A RECOGNIZABLE PRESENCE…

JESUS: Truthfully, George, I don’t know where to start.
GEORGE: Don’t be gettin’ on me about the Surge, cause it’s working.
JESUS: Indeed. I have reports that a real surge of Iraqi civilians has entered Paradise the past few months. And now that you mention it, yes—your war has been troubling me deeply. But it’s more than that.
GEORGE: Well, if it’s about Peter Popoff, I just ain’t making any more big donations to that guy. I practically took a bath in that holy water he sells, and it didn’t help my arthritis a bit.
JESUS: How can I put this… George, think about Satan for a moment. One of the things that makes him evil—and dangerous—is his capacity for deceit.
GEORGE: Well, of course. If he was honest and above-board in all his dealin’s he wouldn’t get very far, would he?
JESUS: I expect deception from the Devil, but when you make it the principle strategy of your presidency, it’s very disappointing. In the name of freedom, you invaded and occupied a foreign country. You condemned government spending while you authorized billions of dollars in war expenses and ran up a 9 trillion dollar national debt. The support you claimed for Education and the Environment was name-only, your real allegiance always being to wealth and big business. And especially troubling, George, is your claim to being a champion of Democracy while you covertly strengthened the Executive Office, shut out Congress, and created a Monarchy in the White House. It’s like your whole presidency has been saying one thing while doing the opposite.
GEORGE: Well, to be honest, I don’t know why you’re bringin’ all this stuff to me. It was Karl that made me do it.

This is total blasphemy. How dare you make fun of Jesus' time here on earth and God's plan of salvation!! I feel sorry for you because when Michael stands up..... Go read your bible and figure out the rest!

I think I see how this could have been smart humor if Chopra had interlaced actual sayings of Jesus. Jesus never said the latter two of Chopra's three "quotes." In Chopra's misty world, actual accuracy may not matter. It should.

The parable is now exposed.

Judgment is coming and the time to repent is now. Once that door is shut, it would be forever.
Forever in agony and no rest.

Ahh, what idiocy if you don't listen.

Deepak, aren't you afraid?
Liberal/atheist, aren't you afraid?

"Lord, Lord, open to us". But He answered and said " I don't know you".

Are you kidding me? Mr. Chopra, please attain a greater understanding of Christianity than that which one might get from reading "Christianity for Ultra-Dummies", BEFORE getting witty about it.

friend,

Can you quote me at what exact words did I say that has too much hate? You are the one who's judging. Maybe you should look at yourself and stop acting like a "holy person" coz actually, it's you who have no idea what wrath means in the Bible.

If you don't believe in hell, you make the Lord a liar. Well that makes you one of the foolish virgins I guess.

Make your own Bible and let the Bible speak for itself.

You can't get much more wrong than this blog. I'll ignore the factual errors, such as "Money is the root of all evil," which is a gross distortion of the biblical verse "The LOVE of money is the root of all evil."

The important thing is that we've had eight years of theocracy and "faith-based" rule from the Bush regime. There is no reason to think that Jesus himself could do any better.

No, what we need now and forevermore are truth-based initiatives, reality-based initiatives.

As an aside, Jesus was not a native citizen of the U.S. Furthermore, there is much in the U.S. Constitution and the U.S.C. that contradicts his teachings, so he couldn't take the oath of office in any case.

"Lord, Lord, open to us". But He answered and said " I don't know you".

Deepak certainly doesn't know that the Lord spoken here is Jesus Christ. How he degrades Christ in his writing illustrates he doesn't know the Lord and neither does the Lord know him.

Jesus, the Lord said " I don't know you".

Deepak, aren't you afraid?

You cannot judge other people, Anonymous, there is too much hate in your heart. You cannot interpret the Bible for everyone, everyone must find their own way.

Even if you interpret this beautiful book as you do, you should speak with compassion and not with hate.

It is possible that you, Anonymous, misinterpreted this parable. While you are content with the oil you have, others have continued to store away gallons of oil. Maybe when you wake up to this day of judgement, for all days are judgement days, your lamp went out.

Love.

Jesus knew how to ask the incisive questions of his enemies; something about which you seem to know very little.

Puts you right there on the Axis of Evil.

Could you possibly be more sophmoric?

Jesus never said "Money is the root of all evil." The verse you are misquoting is I Timothy 6:10: "The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil." So it isn't the money that's evil, it's the love of it.

That said, I agree that Jesus would never win an election, and neither would anyone who espouses these true Christian teachings.

If Jesus ran for office, republicans and specially neocons definately will call him a coward and a traitor. Democrats will like always be background noise and uninteresting.

friend,

what are you talking about? Please clarify. Don't you believe in Hell or Judgment day? What's your interpretation of the parable?

Deepak I love you, but we really should not compare Christ to politicians. However, your point is well take and I only wish somebody would listen to the best speech ever made in Matthew 5-7 (The Beatitudes).

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

[ There were ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five
of them took their lamps and took no oil with them. The other five took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, " behold !, the bridegroom cometh; go out and meet him". And all the virgins arose and lighted their lamps. The five virgins who didn't have oil said unto the other five, give us of your oil for our lamps are gone out. But the other five answered, saying, "not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but rather you go to them that sell, and buy for yourselves". And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut. Afterwards, the other virgins also came, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us". But He answered and said " I don't know you".]

Parables are fables representing something real in life. The virgins that the parable is talking about represents us while the bridegroom represents God.

Interpretations :

1. All the virgins slept.

All of us will die.

2. The bridegroom came and the virgins were all awakened.

In time, God will awake all of us from death.

3. The five foolish virgins asked for the oil to be shared but the other five, though they might be willing, can't share.

On Judgment Day, those who lived on earth for God cannot bail out the doomed ones even if they are dear to them. (Now is the time to bail out our loved ones while they are alive and urge them to direct their goals for God.)

4. When the ten virgins awoke, the five virgins who have no oil were told to buy oil for themselves and while they went to buy oil, the bridegroom came and the doors were shut from them.

After we're awakened from our death, those who are not ready to meet God would try to compensate by doing good things in their spirit form but it is not acceptable to God. (We're lucky to read this article in our physical self so whatever we can do for God now is very much acceptable to Him. Don't be a foolish virgin who didn't care until it's too late. After our death, there is no more chance. Thank God, we're still alive to serve Him.)

5. "Lord, Lord, open to us". But He answered and said, " I don't know you".

No amount of prayers from the doomed ones will be heard. (Now is the time to pray and not after we die.)

There are many questions that we can't answer while we are still alive, but it is most safe to believe on somebody who can multiply the fish and the bread, calm a storm, raise a dead, and even raise Himself alive rather than believe on our doubtful self who, for an infinite time, will not and cannot turn water into wine. If you believe that someday we can turn water to wine, read again because I'm sure you didn't understand.

Kerusso:
Allaaaah!!! Goddammit, what the Jehova is wrong with you?!! Jeeeezus!!! You Son of a Bhudda......
lol.

PS: GASH!!
(ie, Get A Sense of Humor)

It is possible that you, Anonymous, misinterpreted this parable. While you are content with the oil you have, others have continued to store away gallons of oil. Maybe when you wake up to this day of judgement, for all days are judgement days, your lamp went out.

Love and compassion are my wishes for you.

I realize that this is Mr. Chopra's attempt at parody, but it also reflects the junk theology (or Christology, in this case) that has become the norm for the blogosphere. First, the most common use of Jesus these days is the idea that his teachings on loving your enemy, turning the other cheek, etc. should be understood in pacifist terms. The truth is that both the 10 Commandments ("Do not kill") and Jesus' teachings on violence and self defense have nothing to do with capital punishment or the rights of the civil authorities of government to wage war and "resist" the enemies of the country. They are prohibitions on personal vengeance. Jesus, in fact, acknowledged the right of government to take up the sword to defend itself and God actually ordered Israel to go to war many times. The commandment is rightly understood as "Do not commit murder." Can you imagine a country that adhered to the musings of Mr. Chopra and proclaimed to its enemies that they could invade at their leisure and should expect no resistance whatsoever since there were no defensive forces to begin with?

Second, "money" is not the root of all evil. the LOVE of money is the root of all evil...and this was Paul's warning to Timothy.

Third, the "Kingdom of Heaven" actually came...in the hearts of those who have trusted Him by faith. Jesus repeatedly said that he, his kingdom and his followers were "not of this world". In fact, he said something that actually acknowledges the rightful use of force: "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)

Jesus Nomination Obituary By The Devil

Indeed, what would Jesus do?