The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore | Deepak Chopra

The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore | Deepak Chopra | Conscious Love

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The Third Jesus: T...

	The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore Deepak Chopra Harmony, 2008 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 76 reviews view larger image
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Who is Jesus Christ?

In The Third Jesus, bestselling author and spiritual leader Deepak Chopra provides an answer to this question that is both a challenge to current systems of belief and a fresh perspective on what Jesus can teach us all, regardless of our religious background. There is not one Jesus, Chopra 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.

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Chopra and Jesus

Finally after covering every possible subject related to God and the spiritual path, Chopra finally takes on his relationship with Jesus. This is a wonderfully written account of his own struggle with the Jesus he encountered in school as a youth, then following his own cultural spiritual path as an adult, and eventually spiraling around to encounter Jesus in a whole new way. For those who are looking to find a new look at Jesus rather than the picture portrayed by the historical church, Chopra provides some insight. This is well worth the read for "worn-out" Christians as well as those of other faiths who intuitively are drawn to the wisdom of Jesus, but can't relate to the tainted version presented by some factions of the Christian faith. This book was so refreshing to me that I bought a copy for a friend's birthday as I didn't want to pass on my own copy. Its a keeper.

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Conscious Love

What I like most about any book that Deepak writes is his depth of wisdom and his committment to living a contemplative life. One clear sign of this wisdom is his appreciation and agility in being able to contemplate his subject from multiple points of view. Thus, whatever he concludes is born out of this desire for a deep and broad understanding...an intuition to the wholeness of Spirit.

I was raised Catholic, well educated and inspired by the story of God, Paradise, Jesus and his profound love and sacrifice for all Being. A few priests and nuns were also inspiring. Yet for myself and many other baby boomers, the religious culture of our time barely registered on any scale of true Love, Peace or Wisdom. Far more important than what we are told to believe when we are young and open is the energy signature of the environment in which the teaching happens. Unfortunately, our modern Western model of a sane and loving world viewed from within our organized religions offers very little for those of us with precocious natures. We need more than platitudes, dogmas, rules of engagement sourced in fear and hypocracies that anyone with a modicum of insight can plainly see.

I believe that Deepak is more credible than most spiritual teachers in that he appears truly interested in your spiritual unfolding and fulfillment. He is also wise enough to perceive that there are significant resistences and challenges to the heightening of the human awareness of the Christ Consciousness or any enlightened state of being. Deepak has clearly brought Jesus into his own unfolding through his research, contemplation and sharing. Yes...this book is Deepak's interpretation of the meaning and purpose of the Jesus story, the Jesus life and Christ Consciousness. He writes it as he sees and intuits it. I for one, simply resonate with his insight and inspiration. He offers many practical ways that every lover of Jesus can explore their own state of consciousness in a context inspired by Jesus himself, as far as we can know him from the past. No one can make dogma (past) out of wisdom or love (Presence). All Truth is alive and flowing throughout each moment of life and the form of life changes as we unfold. Anyone who is willing to inspire and add to this unfoldment has my deepest admiration for their efforts. I can also consciously appreciate the sign of our times that is found in the merging of the spiritual wisdoms from East and West. Common sense should never go unnoticed. The Third Jesus has added to my appreciation and love for the Spirit we call Jesus. For this I am deeply grateful.

Sundance Burke, Author Free Spirit: A Guide to Enlightened Being

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Spirituality

Am only about a quarter of the way into this book but it seems well written and resonates well with me. Aside from what has been taught by religious doctrine and supported by many scriptures, Deepak talks about what he believes Jesus really meant when he said many of the things we remember and quote all the time.

Insightfull

I like to feel led by Jesus's teaching. I think this book really explains what was going though his head, and how we might attempt to be like (close) to him.

another perspective

Third Jesus was thought provoking. Good historical research? No. A threat to Christianity? Hardly. A definitive interpretation of the meaning of the life of Jesus of Nazareth? Certainly not. It does however, give the author's interpretation of some aspects of the life of Jesus as reported in the New Testament. Anyone, including the many bloggers here, who purports to know beyond a shadow of a doubt and with total objectivity who a man who lived over 2,000 years ago was, how he lived each moment, and what that man's exact thoughts were is kidding herself. We cannot say for certain who the person Jesus was or what his life meant. His existence (finite, infinite, or both) has meant a lot to very many people. His life has been interpreted many times in many ways. Chopra, an author who makes a living giving his opinion, explains his own interpretation in Third Jesus. Neither Third Jesus nor Chopra are a threat to Jesus or Christianity. Neither are they definitive explanations for how existence works. If you are of a mind to ponder Chopra's take on Jesus, then Third Jesus is a fun interesting read. If you are not, simply don't read it or stop at the point you no longer enjoy it. Both the glowing reviews and the venomous ones are disturbing for what they imply about the writers. Third Jesus is a philosphical opinion. If you have trouble understanding that, read the Bible and try to do some objective, factual research on Jesus, the Christian church, the origin of the Bible, world history, etc., etc., and form your own opinion. Third Jesus may be thought-provoking but is unlikely to bring anyone to enlightenment or to threaten God, whatever you conceive God to be. I liked the book on CD. I listened to it a couple of times in rapid succession to keep me alert on a long car ride alone. I bought it primarily because I've read some other Chopra books and they always seemed to make me feel good and assume a more positive outlook. For me, Third Jesus is the equivalent of watching someone smile - it makes you more likely to smile yourself - nothing more. Chopra's book got me to think about Jesus and God and that nearly always brightens my day.

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