ON CHRISTIANITY
Janardana Dasa

        "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth.  I came not to
        send peace, but a sword.  For I have come to set a man at
        variance with his father, and the daughter against her mother,
        and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.  And a mans
        foes shall be they of his own household."

                                        Jesus Christ
                                        The Bible, Matthew 10:34-36

        And such it has been in the Christian world, where divorce is
planned before marriage, newborns [sic] aborted (killed) before birth,
patricide, matricide, fratricide and suicide.  To say that these aren't
prevalent is to ignore the world around us, the world dominated by
Christian ideals and thought.

        Devotees of Lord Krishna are not generally willing to "bash"
anothers faith.  Rather, devotees of Lord Krishna hope that the
Christians will someday accept all the commandments of Christ and stop
the slaughter of innocents, stop the illicit lifestyles, and learn to
truly love the Lord.  Christ demands this, although the Christians have
another idea.

        The purpose of this essay is not to bash Christians, although
I can see no other way to drive certain points home than to point out
the great fallicies of Western idealism and this may seem, and probably
is, an attack against present-day Christianity.  So be it.  If one takes
offense at this, then perhaps they fit into the scenario I find fault
with.

        Is there a Christian who can tell me who God is?

        Jesus Christ prayed to his Father, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.  He begged his Father, confided in his Father, surrendered to
his Father, and took shelter of his Father.  "In my Father's Name..."

        Moses took instruction from this same Father.  The Father told
Moses "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me!"

        Adam and Eve were chastised by the same Father.  Noah was given
direction by this same Father.  So who is He?

        The Christian ideology claims that Christ himself is the Father
of Christ.  They purport that "In My Father's Name" actually means "In
My Name."  "Jesus is God!"

        The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are, in Biblical theology,
attributes of the Godhead.  Three separate personalities.  No one can
get to the Father without first going to the Son.  This is a reasonable
argument.  The Son, as spiritual master, guru, teacher, must first
explain who his father is before attempting to introduce us to Him.  He
must first foster within our hearts a pure love of God in order that we
may qualify to approach Him.

        Christ the Son could not even begin to teach Love of God because
he had to first teach humans the very basics of moral and ethical codes.
He was vague on questions about heaven, but more precise about questions
of hell.  His audience was rebellious, hedonistic, corrupt and unworthy
of his very presence, let alone his mercy.

        The Christian teachers today are fond of telling us we have to
love God with all our heart and soul.  To love anyone with all our heart
and soul, or with even our mere minds, we must first find some endearing
qualities, some PERSONALITY to love otherwise its simply dry sentiment.

        We can love Christ sincerely for his qualities, his mercy and
his teachings, and by loving the Son, the Father will surely be pleased,
yet still He is anonymous.

Belieeeve and yeee are sayvedddd!

        The only way to get into the heavenly kingdon, according to
Christian thought, is to ask for Jesus' forgiveness for our past sins.
Then WHAM!  No more sin, no more karma, no more hell, we are
automatically awarded the key to heaven and it doesn't matter what we do
for the rest of this life.  The Lord's GRACE is such that by his
promise, you are saved, you have achieved liberation, God consciousness.

        This is cheap sentiment.

        If I grow up stealing all of my Father's money, throwing away
His food, depriving Him of my offerings, hurting His friends and
associates, I'm doomed.  If I ask Him one day for forgiveness, and truly
repent, because He is my Father, I am sure to be forgiven.  But if after
He forgives my offenses I continue on in the same way, slighting Him at
every opportunity, without even considering Him, how long do you think
this forgiveness and mercy will last?  You're still doomed. "Oh Jesus,
forgive me for I have sinned" has become a magic-mantra for sinners.

        Krishnas tu bhagavan svayam.  Lord Krishna is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.  Krishna, the Father to Whom Jesys prayed and
from Whom Moses received the Ten Commandments, is exactly that, the
Supreme PERSONALITY of Godhead.  The mistakes Christians make in their
non-conception of God is that God has no personality, no feelings, no
pastimes.  They think that God is simply sitting in some cloud with a
clipboard looking down upon the fallen souls and counting, "this one's
a sinner, this one's a sinner, this one is SAVED."   When a Christian goes
to heaven then to be WITH God, I suppose he helps God count, or
sharpens His pencils?

        This entire material universe is created by God because we, His
rebellious children, hoped to enjoy independently from Him.  We wanted
to enjoy like Him, rather than enjoy Him.  Christian philosophy, and not
necessarily the Bible itself, perpetuates this desire to enjoy and lord
over material life independently from God.

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This has been part one in a series "On Christianity" by Janardana Dasa