A criminal was sanctioned heaven by Lord Jesus. How?

[attofishpi]

I'm Brian - and so is my wife!!!

ffs!! I'M BRIAN!!!

No.
I AM BRIAN..
Brian Spartacus.

BRIANS BRAIN says other_wise.

[Sculptor]

ffs!! I'M BRIAN!!!

No.
I AM BRIAN..
Brian Spartacus.

BRIANS BRAIN says other_wise.

I am Brain and so is my amygdala

[Agent Smith]

Our views are congruent on some matters and not on others. That's not to say you're wrong in any way though. So you're a theist? How did you come to be so mon ami?

God is giving experience to us in every walk of life about His existence. But, such experiences become weak in course of time due to the petty minds of the human beings. The human mind always takes logic and interprets such experiences as mere accidental situations. Therefore the faith of the theists is not strong. The human preachers are unable to answer the doubts of these human beings and this further weakens the faith. Therefore, God comes down in the form of a human being as the divine preacher.

Thus, there is a bare neccesity for such incarnation. Veda says ‘Yat Saakshat Aparokshat Brahma’, which means that Brahman comes down before the eyes of the human beings. Gita also says ‘Maanusheem Tanumaasritam’ which means that Brahman comes down as a human being. But the human body follows the rules of the nature and is not different from any other human body. The shirt of a king is not different from any other shirt.

It can be cut with the help of a blade like any other shirt. The speciality is in the king but not in the shirt. If God wishes, He could take the human body, which has neither birth nor death. It can be a divine body, which appears before all the human beings at different places and preaches, in different languages in the sametime. But, such creation of divine body means that God is going beyond the rules of the nature, which are created by God

Dear dattaswami,

You seem to be on the right track!

[ThinkOfOne]

On the cross, when Jesus is present in such a horrible condition, the two theives who were also crucified got the same universal doubt that how the Lord in human form is crucified who is crying loudly asking "Oh! Lord! Why did you leave Me?" This scene will clearly establish the doubt in the heart of any human being that Jesus cannot be the Lord. The doubt comes with a main point that why the Lord was unable to protect Himself and that How can He protect others? But the doubter should also think the scene in which Lord Jesus asked a dead body to become alive. Only the Lord has the power to give the life. Thus we find both the contradicting concepts of the Lord and the human body of the Lord.

The concept of the Lord attracts the human beings. The concept of the human body tests the human beings and filters the real devotee out of them. The second thief believed Holy Jesus as the Lord even in that pathetic condition. Such devotion is great and real. He did not show this belief when he saw the Holy Jesus raising the dead body. When a girl loved the son of a king who is in the disguise of a beggar, such love is great. When the king declares himself as the king, every girl loves him to marry and become the queen. The thief did not ask any worldly desire. He could have asked Holy Jesus to give Him the life itself and Holy Jesus could have given it because He is still the Lord even on the cross. The thief asked only protection in the upper world and did not ask for any materialistic boon.

Thus he is certainly a higher devotee also. He did not see any miracle and believed Holy Jesus as the Lord, who placed Himself in such a worst situation. The human incarnation is a game of the Lord (Narayana) and human body (Nara). The thief showed correct understanding of the human incarnation. The internal Lord is great and the external human body follows all the natural rules. A blade can cut even the shirt of a king. Even though his shirt is cut the king does not loose his powers and quality of kindness. The thief approached the internal Lord and the internal Lord assured the thief. This shows how realized soul the thief is? That is the highest test for the faith in the spirituality and so the thief deserves complete grace of the Lord. The other thief got confused the Lord with the human body. Like all the other human beings he thought if the shirt of a king is torn, the king lost all his powers.

Gita says that even the highest criminal is blessed by the Lord if he is a real devotee (Apichet Sa duracharah…..). The Lord considers the faith and devotion as the criteria and not the qualities of the devotee. We pay for the contents in the cup and not for the colour or material of the cup. Kannappa, a hunter was given salvation by Lord Shiva. The Lord sees the selfless sacrifice and faith, which are the fruits of real devotion and real knowledge. When Lakshmana became unconcious Rama was weeping. Hanuman brought the Sanjeevi Hill and saved Lakshmana. Rama expressed His gratefulness to Hanuman. In this scene even the audience will believe that Hanuman is God and Rama is a devotee. But Hanuman Himself declared that He could do the service by the grace of the Lord Rama only. This is a test for His faith and faith is the fruit of determination that comes out from the divine knowledge. Sacrifice is fruit of the devotion or love. Lord tests your faith and your sacrifice so that you will know in what stage of divine knowledge and devotion you are.

A recurring theme in the teachings of Jesus is that ultimately what is required from the unrighteous for "eternal life" / "the kingdom" is transformation into a righteous being: from a "slave" to a "son", from one "born of the flesh" to one "born of the spirit", from a "bad tree" to a "good tree". A "son" does not commit sin, one "born of the spirit" does not commit sin, a "good tree" does not commit sin. In short, one must become one with God as He was one with God. One must become a son of God as He was a son of God.

As such, only those who are righteous are the "true devotees". NOT those who merely profess devotion. Those who profess devotion yet are not righteous are what Jesus termed "white-washed tombs" if not "wolves in sheep's clothing".

You've taken an ambiguous passage about the "criminal on the cross" and read into it what you will. An interpretation of the passage that is consistent with the teachings of Jesus as a whole is that Jesus saw the "criminal on the cross" as having been transformed into a righteous being.

[Impenitent]

a whistle solo is always appreciated...

-Imp

[attofishpi]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SJUhlRoBL8M

[Agent Smith]

Dismas, the penitent thief begged for mercy.

Gestas, the impenitent thief mocked Jesus because Jesus couldn't save himself, forget about saving others.

[Agent Smith]