JESUS’ ACTUAL TEACHINGS NOT ‘SPIRITUAL’?

After careful voting and debate across multiple meetings, the Jesus Seminar concluded that only 18% of the sayings attributed to Jesus in the Gospels are authentic. This equates to roughly 270 sayings (out of ~1,500 total). (GROK3)

The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 biblical criticism scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute. The seminar was very active through the 1980s and 1990s, and into the early 21st century. (Wikipedia)

None of the 18% of sayings were spiritual. They were human moral and ethical parables or admonishments on improving human life.

The 18% included, for instance, the parables of the good Samaritan, the mustard seed, the blessing of “you poor”, and the admonition to turn the other cheek.

There was nothing of the experiences of the mystics throughout history who have had the true knowledge of Reality revealed to them.

In my mystical experiences there was nothing in them that were human at all, not even the body or mind of the human ‘me’.

Is the ‘human spirit’ of the religions just that, merely human, nothing more?

All Is Well.

Mysticexperiences.net

4 Comments

  1. I would say though that most spiritual teachings say a lot about being good to others. And of course in Buddhism, you cannot expect to achieve nirvana without rights actions, right thinking and so forth. So I would argue that such teachings as the Sermon on the Mount or Plain are in fact essentially spiritual. They may not be about reality or god, but you are perhaps more likely to reach those by living a virtuous life.

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  2. In my experience, all the teachings you mention are human, not spiritual. Spirituality is ineffable. Only Reality can confer exposure to It.

    You can’t preach, teach or prostylize or study the joyful, infinite, all knowing existence of Reality’s spiritual immanence without experiencing it.

    The rest you mention is only human morality and ethics.

    All best wishes.

    Keith.

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  3. I would only mention that I have been unable to find joy without taking notice of such teachings and trying to put them into practice. Something about peace, I think. I have not found peace without making peace with the rest of the world. I have not found peace without completely letting go of almost everything except what I might call kindness, but what some may call love. And I think reality IS about love, human or otherwise. I don’t think you can separate out humans or animals, minerals or anything else. I think it all forms a continuum, all integral parts of reality. Anyway that’s my own interpretation of it all. Just the way I see it I suppose!

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