The Cosmic Citizen

As we approach Christmas, The Cosmic Citizen will be exploring the meaning and value of Jesus’ life and teachings. Week one, we’ll discuss: What was the purpose of Jesus’ life?  Week two, we’ll ask the question: What is the gospel of Jesus?  Week Three we’ll look at: What Jesus meant in using the term ‘The Kingdom.’  For this series we've asked several friends and scholars, special guests, to call in and share their insights with us. We're not publicizing who they are, you'll just have to tune in to see.  Week Two we ask: What is the gospel of Jesus? If you were to ask 100 different people what the Gospel of Jesus is, you would likely get 100 different answers.  This is true because the word "gospel" simply means "teachings." Jesus' many teachings are impossible to put into a nutshell but they do have an essence and that is what we hope to explore. Consider the following quote from the Urantia Book: "And now do we know God as our Father in heaven. Our teaching provides a religion wherein the believer is a son of God. That is the good news of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven." "When you are the subjects of this kingdom, you indeed are made to hear the law of the Universe Ruler; but when, because of the gospel of the kingdom which I have come to declare, you faith-discover yourselves as sons, you henceforth look not upon yourselves as law-subject creatures of an all-powerful king but as privileged sons of a loving and divine Father." "Sonship with God, by faith, is still the saving truth of the gospel of the kingdom." "In preaching the gospel of the kingdom, you are simply teaching friendship with God." How do you define the gospel teachings of Jesus? Please join us as we explore and learn from His remarkable teachings.

An Investigation into The New Testament Bible The Story of Jesus  From 3 perspectives * The Biblical world viiew * The Academic/Scholastic * The Urantia Book Notwithstanding the favorable reception of Jesus and his teachings by the common people, the religious leaders at Jerusalem became increasingly alarmed and antagonistic. The Pharisees had formulated a systematic and dogmatic theology. Jesus was a teacher who taught as the occasion served; he was not a systematic teacher. Jesus taught not so much from the law as from life, by parables. (And when he employed a parable for illustrating his message, he designed to utilize just one feature of the story for that purpose. Many wrong ideas concerning the teachings of Jesus may be secured by attempting to make allegories out of his parables.) Email:  [email protected] On facebook: Godss GumshoeTwitter: @godsgumshoe  YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/godsgumshoe?feature=mhee

As we approach Christmas, The Cosmic Citizen will be exploring the meaning and value of Jesus’ life and teachings. Week one, we’ll discuss: What was the purpose of Jesus’ life?  Week two, we’ll ask the question: What is the gospel of Jesus?  Week Three we’ll look at: What Jesus meant in using the term ‘The Kingdom.’  During this time we've asked several friends and scholars, special guests, to call in and share their insights with us. We're not publicizing who they are, you'll just have to tune in to see.  Week One we ask: What was the purpose of Jesus' life? If ever there was an ambassador from God and the heavenly estate, it's Jesus. To get the juices flowing, we listed below what Jesus said about why he came:  "I have come into the world to put love in the place of fear, joy in the place of sorrow, confidence in the place of dread, loving service and appreciative worship in the place of slavish bondage and meaningless ceremonies." "The way from the earth life to the eternal estate has not been made plain to you, but there is a way, there always has been, and I have come to make that way new and living." "I have come, not to reveal the Father to the children of Israel, but rather to bring this knowledge of God and the revelation of his love and mercy to the individual believer as a genuine personal experience." "I have come into the world to proclaim spiritual liberty to the end that mortals may be empowered to live individual lives of originality and freedom before God." "Mortal man cannot see the spirit Father; therefore have I come into the world to show the Father to your creature eyes." "I have come from the Father to declare and reveal him to you." Please join us as we explore and learn from His remarkable teachings.

An Investigation into The New Testament Bible The Story of Jesus  From 3 perspectives * The Biblical world viiew * The Academic/Scholastic * The Urantia Book The Jews devoutly believed that, as Moses had delivered their fathers from Egyptian bondage by miraculous wonders, so would the coming Messiah deliver the Jewish people from Roman domination by even greater miracles of power and marvels of racial triumph. And amidst all these details of time, technique, and function, they almost completely lost sight of the personality of the promised Messiah. They were looking for a restoration of Jewish national glory—Israel's temporal exaltation—rather than for the salvation of the world. It therefore becomes evident that Jesus of Nazareth could never satisfy this materialistic Messianic concept of the Jewish mind. Many of their reputed Messianic predictions, had they but viewed these prophetic utterances in a different light, would have very naturally prepared their minds for a recognition of Jesus as the terminator of one age and the inaugurator of a new and better dispensation of mercy and salvation for all nations. Email:  [email protected] On facebook: Godss GumshoeTwitter: @godsgumshoe  YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/godsgumshoe?feature=mhee

Paula, Christilyn and Andre are off for the long holiday weekend but we wanted to replay one of our favorite shows: Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, philosopher, mega church pastor, and public theologian. Named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 most influential people. FR. Richard Rohr calls him a spiritual genius. McLaren's writings include his acclaimed trilogy, A New Kind of Christian, also A Generous Orthodoxy, and more recently, Naked Spirituality. Brian joins us this week on The Cosmic Citizen to discuss his most Interfaith friendly book to date: Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road?Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World. "It is not merely our differences that divide us, but a profound similarity--the oppositional way in which we build strong identities. It's an easy shortcut that takes us places we never intended to go." This paradigm shifting book speaks with clarity to both laymen and clergy. It reaches a place of understanding inside each of us to expand the boundaries of our faith relationships and communities. It is relevant to people of all faith traditions or no faith tradition. "I welcome this important contribution to showing the path through which all religions can become an emancipatory force for human liberation." Rabbi Michael Lerner Dr. McLaren doesn't shy away from the difficult topics and questions that plague clergy in today's changing faith scene. He takes the most confusing personal faith questions and answers them with lighthearted reason. His keen insights allow one to deeply consider important issues of faith while not taking oneself too seriously.  His ability to open himself up to his readers reveals his humility and sincerity in his own struggles with truth seeking.

An Investigation into The New Testament Bible The Story of Jesus  From 3 perspectives * The Biblical world viiew * The Academic/Scholastic * The Urantia Book Jesus understood the minds of men. He knew what was in the heart of man, and had his teachings been left as he presented them, the only commentary being the inspired interpretation afforded by his earth life, all nations and all religions of the world would speedily have embraced the gospel of the kingdom. The well-meant efforts of Jesus' early followers to restate his teachings so as to make them the more acceptable to certain nations, races, and religions, only resulted in making such teachings the less acceptable to all other nations, races, and religions.   Email:  [email protected] On facebook: Godss GumshoeTwitter: @godsgumshoe  YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/godsgumshoe?feature=mhee

The last two decades have been an exciting time for witnessing emerging expressions of faith across the entire religious landscape.  Worldwide we’ve seen new churches started, new religious organizations formed, theologies advocated, books written, websites started, and existing institutions changed; some diminished and many made stronger.  Risk taking and innovation has been at the cost of great personal sacrifice by many individuals. Some have said, "It is Christianity doing its cyclical 500 year reinventing of itself." The movement is making real effort to hear the new generation of voices, while at the same time being supported by seasoned elders to help create a sustainable infrastructure.  The Cana initiative has made a serious effort to support this movement and help create stronger networks which  embody the positive, courageous, and compassionate reformation of the religious value systems within modern Christianity. "Religion does need new leaders, spiritual men and women who will dare to depend solely on Jesus and his incomparable teachings. ... And then will these spirit-born souls quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world." (The Urantia Book 195:9.4) Thus does the so-called Christian church become the cocoon in which the kingdom of Jesus' concept now slumbers. The kingdom of the divine brotherhood is still alive and will eventually and certainly come forth from this long submergence, just as surely as the butterfly eventually emerges as the beautiful unfolding of its less attractive creature of metamorphic development. (170:5.21) It is our contention that Christianity is attempting to unify its diversity in a dynamic appreciation of shared faith and mutual goals. We've invited a few of the movers and shakers in the Cana Initiative to share their experience, join us.

An Investigation into The New Testament BibleThe MIRACLES of Jesus   From 3 perspectives* The Biblical world viiew* The Academic/Scholastic* The Urantia Book But religion is never enhanced by an appeal to the so-called miraculous. The quest for miracles is a harking back to the primitive religions of magic. True religion has nothing to do with alleged miracles, and never does revealed religion point to miracles as proof of authority. Religion is ever and always rooted and grounded in personal experience. And your highest religion, the life of Jesus, was just such a personal experience: man, mortal man, seeking God and finding him to the fullness during one short life in the flesh, while in the same human experience there appeared God seeking man and finding him to the full satisfaction of the perfect soul of infinite supremacy. And that is religion, even the highest yet revealed in the universe —the earth life of Jesus of Nazareth. Email:  [email protected] On facebook: Godss GumshoeTwitter: @godsgumshoe  YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/godsgumshoe?feature=mhee

We're taking a break this week but wanted to give you a reprise of one of our very favorite shows: Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, philosopher, mega church pastor, and public theologian. Named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 most influential people. FR. Richard Rohr calls him a spiritual genius. McLaren's writings include his acclaimed trilogy, A New Kind of Christian, also A Generous Orthodoxy, and more recently, Naked Spirituality. Brian joins us this week on The Cosmic Citizen to discuss his most Interfaith friendly book to date: Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road?Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World. "It is not merely our differences that divide us, but a profound similarity--the oppositional way in which we build strong identities. It's an easy shortcut that takes us places we never intended to go." This paradigm shifting book speaks with clarity to both laymen and clergy. It reaches a place of understanding inside each of us to expand the boundaries of our faith relationships and communities. It is relevant to people of all faith traditions or no faith tradition. "I welcome this important contribution to showing the path through which all religions can become an emancipatory force for human liberation." Rabbi Michael Lerner Dr. McLaren doesn't shy away from the difficult topics and questions that plague clergy in today's changing faith scene. He takes the most confusing personal faith questions and answers them with light hearted reason. His keen insights allow one to deeply consider important issues of faith while not taking oneself too seriously.  His ability to open himself up to his readers reveals his humility and sincerity in his own struggles with truth seeking. Originally aired on 10/06/12. Hear it again - 10 AM Mountain time, Sat. 11/16/13

An Investigation into The New Testament Bible The MIRACLES  of Jesus  From 3 perspectives * The Biblical world viiew * The Academic/Scholastic * The Urantia Book The Mediterranean Roman Empire, the Parthian kingdom, and the adjacent peoples of Jesus' time all held crude and primitive ideas regarding the geography of the world, astronomy, health, and disease; and naturally they were amazed by the new and startling pronouncements of the carpenter of Nazareth. The ideas of spirit possession, good and bad, applied not merely to human beings, but every rock and tree was viewed by many as being spirit possessed. This was an enchanted age, and everybody believed in miracles as commonplace occurrences. Email:  [email protected]  On facebook: Godss Gumshoe Twitter: @godsgumshoe  YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/godsgumshoe?feature=mhee