The first and the last Jesus:

There is a book titled The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra. According to some critiques, it is a sensitive treatment of Jesus from one outside the Christian and Western traditions, and it helps to move religion itself out of its tribal past and into what must surely be a universal future. Below are some excerpts that one can find on the internet regarding this book.

In The Third Jesus, Chopra tries to provide an answer to the question of who Jesus is. There is not one Jesus, he writes, but three.

First, there is the historical Jesus, the man who lived more than two thousand years ago and whose teachings are the foundation of Christian theology and thought. Next there is Jesus the Son of God, who has come to embody an institutional religion with specific dogma, a priesthood, and devout believers. And finally, there is the third Jesus, the cosmic Christ, the spiritual guide whose teaching embraces all humanity, not just the church built in his name. He speaks to the individual who wants to find God as a personal experience, to attain what some might call grace, or God-consciousness, or enlightenment.

When we take Jesus literally, we are faced with the impossible.

How can we truly “love thy neighbor as thyself”? But when we see the exhortations of Jesus as invitations to join him on a higher spiritual plane, his words suddenly make sense.

Ultimately, Chopra argues, Christianity needs to overcome its tendency to be exclusionary and refocus on being a religion of personal insight and spiritual growth. In this way Jesus can be seen for the universal teacher he truly is–someone whose teachings of compassion, tolerance, and understanding can embrace and be embraced by all of us.

It sounds good, but what about the truth about Jesus, his teachings, his mission and his identity? We will refer to God’s revelations in the Quran, the Final Testament for clarification because there is no conjecture in it. The Quran contains nothing but God’s words, as we now have the physical proof in the form of its mathematical structure to prove it. Therefore, when God relates to us the history of the messengers, we know that it is the truth. When God talks about Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus or Muhammad, it is the truth. Thus the Quran is the dispute resolver.

[16:64]  We have revealed this scripture to you, to point out for them what they dispute,

and to provide guidance and mercy for people who believe.

Although the previous scriptures of God contain the truth, inevitably one has to sift through the confusing and conflicting elements to get it. So, if there is any discrepancy in the message because of human injection or any dispute on specific matters, the Quran is the ultimate reference.

[5:48]  Then we revealed to you this scripture, truthfully, confirming previous scriptures, and superseding them. You shall rule among them in accordance with GOD’s revelations, and do not follow their wishes if they differ from the truth that came to you. For each of you, we have decreed laws and different rites. Had GOD willed, He could have made you one congregation. But He thus puts you to the test through the revelations He has given each of you. You shall compete in righteousness. To GOD is your final destiny - all of you - then He will inform you of everything you had disputed.

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