In The Name Of All The Jealous Gods ...

Let us pause for a moment, and reflect on two unusual moments in the life of Jesus Christ, whose teachings have been glossed over and mostly ignored, especially by those who professed to be his followers. Let us reflect on ‘love thy enemy’ and the act in which Jesus cleaned the feet of the people.

These acts are the purest expressions of love and compassion towards those who are different and who may harbor opposing views.

Now, reflect on the statements found in 3 major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They all state that God is a jealous being, who demands your pledge and allegiance, and who claims to be the Truth. So, for those who do not believe in Him shall rot in hell. These statements are drummed into every member of these religions. Whether the members are fundamentalists or moderates (whatever that term means), they see no conflict between believing in such a God and being taught ‘love’ and compassion. They reason that one should in fact love and be compassionate only to those who are willing to follow their jealous God. See how they perennially and selectively forget about the two unusual moments of Jesus (or any religious person for that matter, be he Lao Tzu, Gandhi, etc).

Love and compassion defies any religion that wages war on behalf of the jealous God. Love and compassion, therefore, is disruptive and subversive in the eyes of the members of organized religion.

It is no wonder that Jesus had to be silenced.

Except for some moments in history, love and compassion have been successfully crucified - in the name of a jealous God.

Jesus was "Out of Touch with Reality"

Of all the teachings of Jesus Christ, the very best and the one that gives life to all his teachings and practices, is “Love Thy Enemy.”

Love your God, he says, with all one’s heart and mind and soul. To do so, you should also love your enemy. Otherwise, it is meaningless and hypocritical of you.

"They" say: Love your neighbor. That’s easy because your neighbor shares the same likes and dislikes (perhaps, even biases and prejudices). No effort in linking up with her. But, if there's no effort, then there's little or no moral value in loving a neighbor. Former US president Bush and Bin Laden love their kinds, but hate their enemies.

Loving your enemy is the greatest act of love - following Jesus's line of thinking and life. It demands that you put aside your biases and prejudices, and reach out to the one who holds different views and beliefs. In that case, Loving one’s enemy is an extreme act of self sacrifice, for love is an expression of self sacrifice.

If you truly love God, then the best way to show that is to love one’s enemy. But, if you think that’s too idealistic, too impractical - way out of touch with reality - too idiotic, then stop pretending to believe in Jesus Christ. He's way out of touch with reality; and you claim not to be.

Or, is he?

Who is out of touch with reality, Jesus or you?