THE CENTRAL TEACHINGS OF JESUS

Tolstoy's translation of Jesus Gospel as found in the original Greek Texts is that which seems the most clear and Truthful by far: "The Gospel in Brief." Two books that grew out of "The Gospel in Brief" proved monumentally important: "The Kingdom of God is Within You" created Gandhi / became his bible; "The Law of Love and the Law of Violence" deeply influenced Dr. Martin Luther King at Crozier Seminary when he was young. From "The Gospel in Brief," I find these to be the essential teachings of Jesus:

p58 "...my teaching ... works of love to one's neighbor."

p58 "The external worship of God cannot be combined with works of love. The old teaching of the external worship of God cannot be combined with my teaching of works of love to one's neighbor."

p67 "He gave the spirit to the world, and the spirit itself lives in men, and men who liveby the spirit make up the kingdom of God."

p67 "A woman puts yeast in the kneading trough and mixes it with the flour; she then stirs it no more, but lets it ferment and rise. As long as men live, God does not interpose in their life."

p67 "For the spirit there is neither death nor evil. Death and evil are for the flesh, but not for the spirit."

p72 "If all praise them [the rich], woe to them, because only deceivers get everybody's praise."

p73 "...he who shall fulfill [the commandments I give], and shall thereby teach others, shall be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

p75 "All sensuality destroys the soul, and therefore it is better for you to renounce the pleasure of the flesh than to destroy your life."

p75 "... the soul ... your life."

p79 "All men are His children, and therefore all are brothers to you."

p80 "All these commandments are contained in this one: All that you wish people should do for you, do even so to them."

p80 "I. Do not be angry, but be at peace with all men. II. Do not seek delight in sensual gratification. III Do not swear anything to anyone. IV. Do not oppose evil, do not judge, and do not go to law. V. Do not make any distinction among men as to nationality, and love strangers like your own people."

p80 "... love strangers like your own people ... "

p82 "The light of the body is the eye, and the light of the soul is the heart. If your eye is dim, then all of your body will be in darkness. And if the light of your heart is dim, then all your soul will be in darkness."

p89 "My food is to do the will of Him who gave me life, and to fulfill that which He intrusted to me."

p94 "... the fulfillment of the Father's will depends on each man's effort and striving to make people see that life is given, not for oneself personally, but for the fulfillment of the Father's will, which alone saves from death and gives life."

p99 "... the nourishment of man is the spirit descended from heaven. This it is which gives life to the world."

p102 "... Our flesh is the true food for the real life."

p106 "I drive out evil by summoning people to fulfill the will of the Spirit, the Father, who gives life to all."

p118 "That which stands high in the eyes of men, is abomination in the eyes of God."

p118 "Now the kingdom of heaven is attainable on earth, and great are they who enter it. But they enter it, not the rich, but those who have nothing."

p121 "Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not lie. Do not steal. Further, honor your Father, and fulfill His will; and love your neighbor as yourself ... One small thing you have left undone. You have not fulfilled that which you say. If you wish to fulfill these commandments ... above all, the comandment: Love your neighbor as yourself - then, at once sell all your goods, and give them to the poor. Then you will have fulfilled the father's will."

p121 "... sell all your goods, and give them to the poor ..."

p121 "... above all ... love your neighbor as yourself ..."

p124 "See now, this poor widow has put in two forthings in the boc. She has put in more than all. Because they put in that which the did not need for their own livelihood; while this woman has put in all that she had; has put in her whole life."

p124 "... put in [all that you have] ... put in [your] whole life ..."

p128 "... God should be served not in the temple and by sacrifices, but in the spirit, and by deeds."

p128 "...God should be served ... in the spirit, and by deeds."

p129 "Your law of Moses is not the Father's law ...."

p135 "If your father were one with me, you would love me, because I came forth from that Father."

p136 "I am from the Father of good, from God; but you [Orthodox] are from the devil, from the father of evil."

p136 "... the Father of good ... God ..."

p139 "There are shepherds to whom the sheep are the chief interest in life, and who give up their lives for the sheep. These are true shepherds. And their are hirelings who do not care about the sheep, because they are hirelings, and the sheep are not theirs; so that if a wolf comes they abandon their charge and flee from them, and the wolf devours the sheep."

p140 "My teaching is this - to give up one's life for the life of men."

p142 "Every man in the spirit is the son of God."

p151"... Men do not love even a reminder of the spirit which lives in them, and declares to them that it is eternal and they are not eternal; and they have killed, as far as they could, the consciousness of the spirit; they have wrapped in a cloth and burried in the ground the talent that was given them."

p166 "I am teaching ... how to save people."

p172 "... Christ is that same Lord, our Ruler, whom we know in ourselves as our life. Christ is that understanding which is in us."

p172 "... Christ... in ourselves as our life."

p172 "... Christ ... that understanding which is in us."

p173 "From [the orthodox] comes all the evil in the world; because they hide the good, and instead of it uphold evil."

p173 "[The orthodox] do the easiest thing, the external thing; that which is needful and difficult - love, compassion, truth - they leave undone."

p173 "... that which is needful and difficult - love, compassion, truth ..."

p174 "There is one temple of God, that is, the hearts of men when they love each other."

p181 "... the present society of men is condemned to destruction. From now that which rules this world shall be destroyed."

p182 "... my Father, the living spirit in me ...."

p182 "... my Father ... the spirit of understanding ..."

p182 "He who believes in my teaching believes not in me, but in that spirit which gave life to the world."

p187 "Seek to be only thus distinguished from other people - Love one another."

p194 "My commandment is, that you love one another as I have loved you."

JESUS DECLARED WAR AGAIN. This time through Dave Dellinger

Is this the most important essay ever written? You decide:

Revolutionary Nonviolence essay: QUOTATIONS FROM "DECLARATION OF WAR" 1945

Gandhi - Give me a military man

"My non-violence does not admit of running away from danger and leaving dear ones unprotected. Between violence and cowardly flight, I can only prefer violence to cowardice. I can no more preach non-violence to a coward than I can tempt a blind man to enjoy healthy scenes. Non-violence is the summit of bravery. And in my own experience, I have had no difficulty in demonstrating to men trained in the school of violence the superiority of non-violence. As a coward, which I was for years, I harboured violence. I began to prize non-violence only when I began to shed cowardice.... A rabbit that runs away from the bull terrier is not particularly non-violent. The poor thing trembles at the sight of the terrier and runs for very life. (YI, 28-5-1924, p178), M.K. Gandhi.

It remains a fascination to me that military terms is how I so frequently conceive of the anti-violent war for humanity, the war of total brotherhood and Love that I have been crudely waging for much of my adult life.

I think there is extreme similarity between the best military men and the best soldiers of anti-violence (what in the case of Gandhi is horribly translated as non-violence.) The similarities include:
* Rise above selfishness to Otherishness;
* Live out of their imagination;
* Live out their vision;
* Give their life for others without hesitation;
* Love waging Life.

Gandhi was shown this by John Rustin's, "Unto This Last," one of the two books to spawn the heroic leader we all came to see.

I think that our central hope is to exhibit such personal courage and purposeful sacrifice that the few military men and women of courage see themselves in us and join the ranks of the anti-violent wagers of a Total War of Love.

I must try to remember that my only hope can be, and my entire focus must be to inspire those of courage. If and when there are enough of us waging Love together then, and only then will the involvement of the masses be other than a mortal distraction.

Dave Dellinger Quotations Blog

Dellinger is a Jesus of our day. Now deceased, this one time seminarian, life long nonviolent revolutionary hero must be studied and understood by any would-be champion of Love, Justice, Christianity, Brotherhood....

A new blog dedicated to the quotes and quotations of David Dellinger is beginning here:

David Dellinger Quotations

THE WORDS THAT COULD SAVE THE WORLD

Oh my, I've received the gift of reading some of the great books, some of the great authors of the world: Jesus, Tolstoy, Gandhi, Alfred Adler, Dr. King, Zinn, Barbara Demming, David Dellinger, Teresa of Calcutta, Pitirim Sorokin, Saul Alinsky, Ashley Montegue, Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, Abraham Maslow....

The words I've quoted recently from David Dellinger strike me as the words that could save the world: "Very few people chose war. They chose selfishness and the result was war. Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or total war. "

Yes, absolutely these words stand on their own. They are a miracle of Truth, of insight, a Revelation.

But these words explode in my mind, and I hope that maybe they will explode in your mind. These words of Dellinger explode into the entire thing, they explode into a statement of the entire problem!

Every EVIL STEMS FROM some form of SELFISHNESS. Here are some examples; they are arbitrary; YOU CAN THINK OF BETTER ONES:

Very few people chose global warming. They chose capitalism and the result was....

Very few people chose 18,000 kids starving PER DAY. They chose Starbucks and the result was ....

Very few people chose divorce. They chose alcohol and the result was ....

Very few people chose Darfur Genocide. They chose a safe neighborhood and comfortable house for THEIR "family" and the result was ....

Very few people chose U.S. child health being ranked 19th among the richest nations. They chose "health" clubs and games and the result was ....


Very few people chose 80% of the world in abject poverty. They chose "normal" life style and the result was....


Very few people chose 650,000 murdered in Iraq. They chose "Christian" hypocrisy and the result was ....


Very few people chose 3-6 million slaughtered in Congo. They chose high tech electronics, the Internet and video games and the result was ....

Very few people chose...

Very few people chose...

Very few people chose...

Very few people chose...

Dellinger also told us the only solution: "Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or ... "

Dorothy Day told us, "The only solution is love."

Jesus told us, "Love as I have loved... Do unto others ALL that you would have them do unto you."

Dr. King told us, "We [will] be extremists for love or extremists for hate."

"The Golden Rule is to steadfastly refuse to have what millions cannot have," Gandhi.

Ignoring these words is murder.

"SELFISHNESS IS MURDER," brother jay.

"WAGE LOVE, OR YOU WILL WAGE MURDER," brother jay.

David Dellinger, a Saint in our Time

More than Dr. ML King except in his last few years, more than Gandhi, more than Teresa of Calcutta... David Dellinger is the most relevant Saint of our age, our greatest model, I think. His autobiography is one of the three most important books I have ever read: "From Yale to Jail." #1 for me is "The Gospel in Brief," Tolstoy; and #2. "The People's History of the United States," Howard Zinn.

Quotes:

"Very few people chose war. They chose selfishness and the result was war. Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or total war. "

"Our nonviolent activism would be more positive if we stressed reaching out with love for our fellow human beings--love not only for the victims, but also for those who defend the existing system, including those who think they benefit from it, even toward the police and other security forces. Love for those who defend the system, including the police who harass and arrest us? Is that unrealistic? Let me testify that this kind of love makes a difference. In 1987, twenty of us invaded the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, protesting against U.S. sponsorship of the terrorist Nicaraguan Contras. When we were arrested and taken downstairs to be fingerprinted, an officer recognized me and introduced me to the other officers. He said, "This is Dave Dellinger, who I want you to meet because his actions are based on love for everyone, including us." I also recognized him: The second time he had arrested me he had grabbed the arm of another officer, who was about to hit me on the head with a club, and said, "Stop. This is a good guy who doesn't need to be hit like that." Love for every human being is necessary for our individual growth and fulfillment. Those who practice this love benefit spiritually as they help others. While there are still badly needed changes in our anti-democratic society, I see positive signs that acting with love for other people and their needs does succeed."

"I see the illness when people take pleasure in beating out their fellow humans in the competitive pursuite of private success that produces winners and losers, victors and victims. So it is not just the suffering of the victims that upsets and moves me, but also the illness of the victors."

"There is nothing more fulfilling than to work in a Beloved Community of people who are laboring to cure that illness [striving for domination/exploitation], in ourselves and in the society, and do not demand a sterile conformity of ideology and action among those who share that goal. In such a community, the members are working, each in her or his own way, to create the "proper capability" of living a sisters and brothers in a world in which everyone will be equal - a world in which people are really born equal and will never cease to be treated as equal, whatever their individual diversities and failings; a world that will not make a mockery of the U.S. claims that we live "with liberty and justice for all."

"For a long time, the demonstrations played a crucial role, not just in showing the public, the traditional peace organizations, the government - and the Mobe (Mobilization) - how widespread and serious the oppositon was but also in giving heart to the demonstrators... When [the citizens] became so upset over teh war that they finally set aside this conditioning [that marching was making a spectacle of oneself] and marched in their first demonstration, it frequently led to a psychological breakthrough, one that I observed ina number of people... The main effect of participating was energizing and empowering. They went back to their local communities ready to play a more confident and active role... After a while, though, the demostrations tended less and less to work that way. Periodic demnstrations bagan to take on a life of their own as the be-all and end-all of the movement. The line got bluurred between participating to end the war and participating in order to enjoy the exhilirating experience of experessing one's antiwar views in solidarity with thousands of like-minded people. There were indications that some people were going to a demonstration much as some people go to a church, synagogue or meditation center. For them, the marches and rallies had become periodic self-satisfying rituals that weren't consistent enough in leading to follow-up activities elsewhere. Instead of helping people to gain new insights and energy to go home and express them in new relationships and practices, they [demonstrations] were becoming almost a substitute for doing so."

Man must discover fire for the second time.

“The day will come when after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire."
This is a quote of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The notion of "fire" as an element of our Christian quest haunts me, in a very positive way. It will not leave me.

The Christian (always when I say this I mean in Jesus' eyes) may best understand her/himself as a flame, a Sacred bit of fire.
The Christian is charged with:
* Maintaining the flame - protecting it at the cost of one's life if necessary.
* Growing the flame as though the fate of the entire planet depends upon it, which it does.
* Spreading the flame to the soul of others with every bit of speed possible, at every conceivable opportunity, spending every second on this task as the only hope for humankind, which it is.

Spirit is Fire is Spirit is Fire....

Oh, there is much work to be done. Let's get on with it.

Peace Pilgrim

Peace Pilgrim: "This is the way of peace: Overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love." ....Peace Pilgrim

“To attain inner peace you must actually give your life, not just your possessions. When you at last give your life - bringing into alignment your beliefs and the way you live then, and only then, can you begin to find inner peace.”

“We are all cells in the same body of humanity.”

“Many people profess Christianity. Very few live it-almost none. And when you live it people may think you're crazy. It has been truthfully said that the world is equally shocked by one who repudiates Christianity as by one who practices it.”

“Most of us fall short much more by omission than by commission. While the world perishes we go our way: purposeless, passionless, day after day.”

“No one can find inner peace except by working, not in a self- centered way, but for the whole human family.”

“Keep your feet on the ground and your thoughts at lofty heights.”

"I've met a few people who had to change their jobs in order to change their lives, but I've met many more people who merely had to change their motive to service in order to change their lives.”

“Make food a very incidental part of your life by filling your life so full of meaningful things that you'll hardly have time to think about food.”

"people have found inner peace by losing themselves in a cause larger than themselves, like the cause of world peace, because finding inner peace means coming from the self-centered life into the life centered in the good of the whole."

More Peace Pilgrim Quotes!!!!!