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Originally Posted by Amilius777
The awakening of the Kingdom of God is what Jesus brought. Jesus awakened to his own divine nature and began to share the message and social consciousness that the Divine wished for the human race.
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No doubt.
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Jesus demonstrated this "kingdom", this collective consciousness by helping the poor, healing the sick, exorcising the crazed, resuscitating the dying, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those in prison, etc These were the outward actions to make the world aware of the inner Christ-consciousness (The Holy Spirit)
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Again no doubt, but he wasn't the first. There is a beautiful idea that the ancient Celts and Picts had (which they themselves inherited from people's and cultures that came before them). One per year, and what is now called Samhain (roughly, but not always exactly, Halloween - one happens on a given date in the Gregorian calendar, the other more aligned to equinoxes and phases of the moon). On the evening, everyone would extinguish the fires in their own hearths, and then go out to the festival. Then they'd all have a massive party right into the night, around a bonfire (probably this is fuel for the church propaganda about witches dancing round the fire). At the end of the party, one person from each household would light a torch from the bonfire, and they'd all go home, lighting their fires at home from the torches they lit in the bonfire. The symbolism is very profound. Whether they are together at the party, or apart in their own little houses, they are all warmed by the same fire. If Jesus wanted to tell us this same thing (which I have no doubt he did) and the church wanted to teach this through the teachings of Jesus, then why did they ridicule and oppress those that had the same message?
Possibly because if people knew it anyway, then the church would have no power over them? Or possibly because in the pre-Christian pagans didn't judge based on social standing or gender but the church wanted an all male chain of command? We can only guess.
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When we give grace, compassion, kindness, love, forgiveness, tolerance, etc we are manifesting the Christ consciousness, and that Spirit is working within us. This is the awakening to the consciousness of the Way, the Truth, and the Light.
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Again, no doubt. And many cultures and established belief systems go along with this idea. Perhaps two of the best known examples are Buddhism and Taoism, both of which pre-date Christianity. In fact in Buddhism, it was foretold that at intervals, the teachings would be forgotten, and a new Buddha would come to reaffirm the message. As Buddha is not somebody's name, but just means enlightened one, there are some Buddhists that believe that Jesus was simply one the sequence of enlightened ones that were foretold. I believe this Buddhist (and Hindu as it happens) idea also exists in Christianity, where I believe it is foretold that Christ will return one day.