Points To Ponder:
http://www.logoschristian.org/rainbow.html
Just One Man's Opinion:
Each year, throughout The United States, a group of Viet Nam Vets, Veterans, gypsies, hippies, yippies, cults, communes, Catholics, Christians, pagans, Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus, Hari Krishnas, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Episcopalians, Seventh Day Adventists (almost every religion & denomination), medicine men, shamans, alcoholics, runaways, dropouts, druggies, the homeless, the displaced, the disenfranchised, the disillusioned, the depressed, and those on the run from the law, meet to celebrate their independence or desire for independence from Babylon and to pray for World Peace.
Originally they were mostly Viet Nam Veterans, like myself, and anti-war protesters meeting to pray for World Peace.
God loves you and You are not forgotten!
They typically see Babylon, "the system", as the government, or religion, or society, or the new world order, that seeks to control, dominate, manipulate, exploit, and destroy the best of mankind, nature, and the planet.
Many of them are seekers looking for completion--wholeness with people of a like attitude, nature, mother earth, god or God. Many of them question the emptiness and loneliness of this world. But the important note is that they are seekers. Jesus said, "Seek and you shall find...Knock and the door shall be opened to you."
Many of them are very sensitive and spiritually talented people that know in their spirit that something is wrong with our civilization and that something great is about to happen to this planet and humankind. Often times they are simply seeking alternatives in interpersonal relationships, alternative medicine, and religion for the betterment of mankind. And yet, sometimes they seem to be so overwhelmed with personal problems they just want and deserve a break.
They are from every tribe, tongue, and nation. They are black and white, Hispanic and native American, Semitic and Chinese. As in the song, "They are red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world." This potpourri of mankind is affectionately referred to as the 'Rainbow People'.
BeachOfEden: What does Christ's teachings and the hippie concepts have in commom? That we should love one another?
From Kevin Cloud of
www.HippieChristian.org
"HIPPIE CHRISTIANS"
A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS OR
A PERFECT MATCH OF PHILOSOPHIES?
JUST ONE MAN’S OPINION:
HOW CAN ONE BE BOTH A HIPPIE AND A CHRISTIAN?
If we strip away all of the politics and materialism that has crept into the modern church and go back to First Century Christianity we will find an interesting parallel between true Christianity and Hippiedom sans the drugs and free love. Rather than reducing Jesus to a long hair Hippie cliche complete with beard and sandals I would prefer to focus on Jesus’ message and its relationship to Hippie culture. It is important to note that the banner of peace, love and cosmic connection under which most Hippies gather is at the very heart of Jesus’ teachings.
We can find the core of Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel chapters 5 through 7. If only these three chapters of Jesus’ words survived the past two millennium we would have all the truth necessary to live in peace and harmony with both our Creator and our fellow pilgrims here on planet Earth. The Sermon on the Mount is what could be called the “Hippie Christian Manifesto”. It contains such treasures as The Beatitudes, The Lord’s Prayer, The Golden Rule, and Turning the Other Cheek.
But beyond those treasures, beyond the call to avoid hypocrisy, beyond the mandate to shun materialism, beyond the proclamation that peacemakers are God’s children, greater than all these we find in the Sermon on the Mount a theme that offers a connection to the Creator of the universe. Jesus does something totally revolutionary and unheard of before His time, He presents God as our Father.
Jesus is the consummation of our Hippie quest for not only peace and love but also Jesus provides the cosmic connection that binds all of us together as Children of The Light.
WHY THE NEED FOR A SEPARTE TITLE OF "HIPPIE CHRISTIAN"?:
The title Hippie Christian explains not only my personal belief in Jesus as Savior, but also my cultural ideation as a Hippie. Growing up my family didn’t have any strong cultural identity, we were just White Anglo/Saxon Protestant middle-class suburbanites. Just fully blended American Mutts, you know, white bread - no crust. Although I have a strong desire to explore my English (possible Irish) ancestry, Celtic Christian may become my future ideation, at this time I see Hippie as my cultural identity
Many Americas use this dual method of describing their ethnic and national heritage, for example, African American, Asian American, Native American. It can also be used to describe an ethnic origin and religious orientation, such as Irish Catholic or Black Muslim. If a person’s cultural heritage, national origin, religious orientation, or ethnic pride has a strong meaning to the individual, then to couple them together is very natural and helpful for that person and those with whom he/she interacts. Doing so gives that person a sense of identity and place in history and society.
CONCLUSION:
Going to church does not make you a Christian nor does wearing tie-dye make you a Hippie any more than sitting in a garage changes people into automobiles. Christianity and Hippiedom are both “heart things” and together they become a lifestyle more true to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount than what modern Christianity offers today.
Being a "Hippie Christian" is possible, and it is most likely less of a contradiction than being an "American Christian". If we all were to follow the truth contained in the Sermon on the Mount there would be less of a distinction between “Hippie” and “Christian”.
Peace, Love, and Light Through Jesus the Christ! (John 14:6)
No One Come To The Father Except Through Me.", How 2 Explain Jesus As Gateway To God WithOut Egocentricism
Here is a question that has been on my mind for sometime...How does one explain the view of Jesus being the Gateway to God withOUT ego and haughtyness? Also, how can one combat the egocentric "My Way Or The High"../Mine brand of faith is THEE TRUE one and your's is false and doomed"..mentality? How does goes about answering the religious far right Scripture quotes: "No one comes to the Father (God) except through me (Jesus.)" and Yahweh our God is a jealous god."
Here's an great article I found on Beliefnet that I had saved on this topic...
Interview with Bishop Carlton Pearson
Bishop Carlton Pearson, a minister, is the founder of the Azusa Interdenominational Fellowship of Christian Churches and the pastor of Higher Dimensions Family Church in Oklahoma. Pearson preaches the "gospel of inclusion," a controversial doctrine claiming that Jesus Christ saves all people no matter what their interpretations. He spoke with Beliefnet recently about what his theology means for non-Christians.
Could you describe your message--the "gospel of inclusion"--in a nutshell?
"This gospel says that Jesus Christ, in the finished work of the cross, redeemed the entire world to God against the sin of Adam. Jesus did not just die for Christians, he died to save the world. God's not Jewish or Christian or Hindu or Buddhist-he's all of that, and none of that, because he can't be limited by that. He's spirit. He loves everybody, he understands everybody, and he has a covenant with everybody".
"It's just like the sun's rays reach Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, and backsliders. How do you receive sunlight? Even on an overcast day, the solar rays reach the planet. The Son of God is as inclusive and non-discriminatory in his light and warmth as the sun is."
"You can be born blind, but the sunlight will still shine on you. God is greater and bigger than the s-U-n."
So how do you answer critics who quote the gospel verse "No one comes to the Father except through me"?
"When Christians say that, they mean "no one comes to the Father except you get down on your knees, confess Jesus, and jump through all the Christian hoops."
But that scripture doesn't mean that. The door you entered to get into your office building: Did you kiss it? Did you acknowledge it? Thousands of people may walk through that door and not pay any attention at all. But the door is open, so they go through it."
Beach: I think the majority of people, be they Native American, Hindu or Buddhist DO have some sort of Savior belief..they may call him a different name like Maitreya, or Krishna or in Hopi call him The Great Nephew instead of The Son...but the belief is still there...
I would liken it this way...Let's say your name was Verna and someone sent you a thoughtful greeting called but they addressed it to "Vera", or some other name..Would you get all hateful and through the greeting card in the trash just because they pronounced your name different? Then why would we expect like of the Savior who is the perfect reflection of God? Besides, Jesus name is pronounced different ways. in English we say Jesus and in Hebrew it is Yeshuah, and in Spainsih it is pronounced Hey-sus.
"Jesus is the open door through which all of humanity accesses God, including Buddha and Muhammad. We all go through him, the same way the sun shines on us all. He is the way."
"Just to push your "door" metaphor one step further, what if someone does pay attention to the door and says "Hey, this door is Jesus! I've read the Bible and I don't accept Jesus"?
"You can say, "I don't accept the sun," you can put on sunscreen and wear shades, but the sun still shines on you. God is is still here, all around us, whether one acknoweldges God's presence or not. A person simply NOT acknowledging God's presence does not cause caused God presence to leave the earth. A person says, "I'm not going to accept this air." How can you not accept air? Jesus came to redeem humankind back to God. He did that without your vote or permission.
Even if people don't agree with the gospel, the gospel agrees with them...whether they know it or not. Jesus said, "You did not choose me, I chose you."
Beach: Taking my own turn at answering this questioning...I think a GREAT number of Christians, especially the extreamists ones, make it sound like, "Grieving the Holy Spirit," means if they try and win you over to join 'their' church and you turn them down..then by so doing this you have rejected 'their'church...and NOT Christ..though I note that a great number of Christian extremists seem to have a problem clearyfying one from the other, that is, differating 'their' church from Jesus and in this I think they are dead wrong.
Yet many religions maintain that we are free moral agents--that we do have choices that have consequences.
"Being kind on earth makes earth kind. If we would all do that, it would be a peaceful planet. Our behavior here affects our planetary experiences. It doesn't necessarily affect the externals, because that's where perfection is".
Yes. Why we should be good is because Jesus wants his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
"Thy Kingdom come, thy will be come ON EARTH..as it IS IN HEAVEN."
"When you say Jesus is the answer, you obviously mean something much more broad than many Christians do."
"[God is] so inclusive, it's hard to believe. He put the versions of himself in the reflection of Christ. There's a version of God that's Hindu. There's a version of God that's Jewish, Native American, Christian, Baha'i. Christians are hung up on "You got to believe in Jesus." Christians forget that it's not about somebody believing in Christianity, it's about Christ believing in humanity. God created all humanity through Jesus and understands the diversity of humanity. God and Christ accepts us as we are."
The "faith vs. works" debate & views about conversion and proselyting, witnessing
"My objective is not to convert but to convince. If you convince people they're absolutely, unconditionally loved, that will alter their behaviors. Christians have tried to convert people based on "If you don't convert, there is a customized torture chamber called hell that this God of love will send you to." Beach: (Or zap your rear off at Armageddon...-) That I'd like to correct. You can't tell me God says to love my enemies--but the same God that says that will smite people who hold different views of him."
Hell..The Kind That People Create
"There are people that are so tormented right now-a hell that we created for them or that they created for themselves".
The Bible's 'Hell' Actually Means 'Grave'
Hell actually is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word SHEOL which means simply death or the grave. Thus Jesus saves us from the Second Death.
Interview by Laura Sheahen from Beliefnet
JosephM From The Center For Progressive Christainity:
Very Interesting Beach,
Thanks for posting.
Love in Christ,
Joseph
An Old Hippie Christian,
Kevin (or as I was known in my Long Hair Hippie Jesus Freak days... Cloud)
DISCLAIMER: I am only an individual doing my best to follow the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. I do not claim to be a spokesperson or representative of any group including the Rainbow Family. I am only trying to share the Love & Peace of God with those who are in need, whoever they are, and wherever they may be found.
