This is how I see JESUS

Audreyab - thank you for putting the link on here. It was beautiful. Happy Easter.

Thank you york Happy Easter to you too so glad you liked it

I too find it amazing how the gospel spread out over so much of the world. And how the Christian religion has stood the test of time.

Those disciples did a grand job.

From the few contemporary records it seems that Jesus must have been an extremely charismatic personality and a wonderful speaker. Of course some religions are much older than Christianity but the message of love and kindness which Jesus appears to have preached must have been revolutionary at the time. I don't know whether he believed he was divine, or whether he simply allowed the masses to believe it, as it was a very good way to get his message across. If the records are correct, he was a very brave man too.

Just had en e-mail from DD telling me that the 3 year old asked today who 'Cheeses' was. They tried to explain it was nothing to do with the Easter Bunny and when they got to the bit about him sacrificing himself for us, decided that, possibly, it was easier at this stage to go down the Bunny route. We obviously, young and old, have our own view of how we see Jesus

The picture looks pretty good to me. If Jesus existed he might well have looked like that - a bit. But with a carpenter for a father, he would most likely have been one himself - with a bit of fishing on the side!!

Funny how most portraits and statues of Mary show her as a blue-eyed European!

Not in Africa they don't Greatnan.

Or in parts of Spain and South America, Mary is almost swarthy! Jesus wasn't a shepherd but a carpenter of course - the shepherd pertains to the fact that man is his flock. Like a lot of things Christians pinched a lot of customs from other religions - the Easter Egg was used by pre-Christian Britons to denote the arrival of Spring, the bunny is a fairly new custom not known in earlier times. Xmas was pinched from the winter festival of early Brition too - he wasn't born in December there is still discussion regarding that. Easter is celebrated at the same time as Passover.
In order to persuade the Britons to convert to made it more attractive if their customs were adapted into Christianity.

Actually, I don't think there is an "of course" about Jesus being a carpenter. Following his encounter with John the Baptist, all the Synoptic Gospels record Jesus preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth (to no good effect) and give an account of his itinerant preaching (more effective).

Saint Joseph (Jesus' earthly father) is described as a tektonbut only St Mark describes Jesus in the same way. While tekton is traditionally translated as a carpenter and Jesus, I think, is described as making ploughs, it can mean an artisan who works with other materials, an intinerant worker or even some sort of master craftsman. I don't think the other gospels ascribe a profession to Jesus.

It has been said that Yeshua (nobody was called 'Jesus') would not have been welcomed by most of today's Christians, if he sat next to them on a bus...