Jesus Christ, hippie.

In addition to his long hair, beard, sandals, and conspicuious lack of material posessions, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that Jesus was a hippie.

The following makes an argument that Jesus was a hippie. I challenge anyone to prove it wrong:
www.gnosticliberationfront.com...

Below I will summarize the main arguments.


1) Christ preached "Live For Today, Be Here Now"
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. -- Matthew 6:25-26

2) Christ was considered "Dirty, Unclean, Unwashed, Defiled, Offensive"
When he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. -- Luke 11:37-38

Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you. -- Luke 11:39-40


3) Christ preached "Tolerance and Other Liberal Virtues"
Do not judge, lest you be judged. For, by the judgement you render you will be judged, and, by the standard you use to measure you will be measured. -- Matthew 7:1-2

4) Christ preached "Peace, Love, Justice, and Understanding"
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." -- Matthew 5:9
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." -- Matthew 5:5

5) Christ did not hesitate to drink, eat, make merry, and consort with ruffians
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. -- Matthew 11:18-19

6) Christ was homeless, poor, and distained wealth
Jesus said to him: Foxes have holes, and birds of their air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." -- Matthew 8:19-20

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also. -- Luke 18:32-34

You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. -- Mark 10:21


7) And in closing, I leave you with this tale to contemplate:

It seems there was a hippy who had a personal revelation of Jesus Christ, believed and got saved. After reading his bible, it became clear to him that he needed to fellowship with other believers and join a local church. The hippy chose the local independent, fundamentalist Baptist church. Upon arriving on Sunday, he was met at the door by a deacon who informed him, "You can't come in here looking like that." The young man replied, "But sir, I'm a new Christian and I want to come in and worship my God." The deacon sternly told him, "Well son, go cut your hair and come back next Sunday looking respectable."

The hippy left, rather disappointed, but determined to do whatever it took to get to worship his God. And on Monday morning, he got a haircut. The next Sunday arrived and again the hippy was met at the door by the old deacon who said, "You can't come in here looking like that." The young man replied, "But sir, I'm a new Christian and I have come to worship my God." The deacon sternly told him, "Well son, shave that beard, loose those bell bottoms and the love beads and come back next Sunday looking respectable." The hippy left, rather disappointed, but determined to do whatever it took to get to worship his God. On Monday, he went out and bought a new suit and a new razor and he shaved his beard.

The following Sunday arrived and again the hippy was met at the door by the old deacon who said, "You can't come in here without a bible." The young man replied, "But sir, I'm a new Christian and I want to come in and worship my God." The deacon sternly told him, "Well son, you ought to know that you can't come to church without a King James bible."

The hippy left, rather disappointed, but determined to do whatever it took to get to worship his God. On Monday, he went out and bought a brand new twelve pound, King James bible like he had seen the other church people with. Sunday finally arrived and the hippy was convinced that he would finally be allowed into the church to worship his God. Again he was met at the door by the old deacon who said, "You can't come in here." The young man replied, "But sir, I'm a new Christian and I want to come in and worship my God. I've done everything you've asked. I cut my hair, shaved my beard, bought a suit like yours and a bible like yours." And then the deacon said, "Son, don't you understand? We just don't want your type in here."

In tears of anger and frustration, the hippy left and began to call out to God, "Father, I've followed your word and sought out other believers to fellowship with and I've done everything they've asked and still they won't let me in. What have I done wrong?" Suddenly, a light shined down from the sky and a voice from heaven saying, "Don't worry my son - you have done nothing wrong. I've been trying to get in there since they built the place and they won't let me in there either."

-- heard on a tape from Quail Ridge Bible Church in Baton Rouge - Pastor Frank Friedman.

There was plenty that Jesus wasn't "hip" with in his day. Jesus was a healer first and foremost and a carpenter, he was a teacher secondly, and a leader. He sacrificed much for the greater good; so much so that he ended up forfeiting his life for a cause he believed in. Something hippies have trouble doing as the draft dodgers proved.

While hippies may have some redeeming qualities, I find they can be extremely self centered, generally lazy, often self medicated. There biggest contribution is getting everyone in the circle stoned.

By the way everyone in Jesus's day had long hair, beards and sandals.

like the poster above me said everyone looked like that back then. I guess all the jews were hippies then in appearance.

oh and Jim Morrison>Jesus, and Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band>the bible, Grace Slick>Mary Magdelene

S&F For the story at the end of the post...

As an ex old hippie, I often wondered where it all started, after all our famous catch phrase was "Peace"

Have a great day.

Perhaps you've mislabeled things.....

Considering that Jesus lived a couple of milenia before the "hippie" movement, wouldn't it be more accurate to say that the hippies took their cue from Jesus?

Which I don't necessarily agree with, either, but it makes a little more sense.

Anyway, thanks for an interesting read.

reply to post by silent thunder


I suspect some of the OP is, well, just a trifle tongue-in-cheek. But many a true word is spoken in jest...

It's a question of definition. Some who saw themselves as hippies were in it more for the sheer unbridled hedonism. At the other end of the spectrum we see a fearless resistance to violence, injustice and oppression. Jesus was in the latter mold.

Those who study the life and teaching of Christ with a desire to follow know full-well he was no establishment figure. Even Pilate recognized those Jewish leaders that delivered him up for crucifixion (-NB: not all of them opposed Christ-) did so out of jealousy for his popularity as a 'man of the people', (and thought he could get one over on these leaders he so despised by offering the crowds the chance to call for Jesus' release - while it hadn't occurred to him the cabal had brought along/cajoled the mob to join their manic cry for blood).

Here's the irony: those who follow Christ as he really is - and not a sanitized caricature - are often assumed to be conformists. Nothing could be further from the truth:

reply to post by sparrowstail

By the way everyone in Jesus's day had long hair

Where oh where did you read that ? Men typically DIDNT have long hair there at the time.

How did a jew from 1st century CE Palestine look like? The bible says little about it, except "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.”

So we can assume he looked like a typical peasant with dark olive skin, short curly hair and a prominent nose.

The result is most likely something like this:



Using archaeological and anatomical science rather than artistic interpretation makes this the most accurate likeness.

I remember the above picture of Christ as compared to the Christ that I have grown accustom to seeing portrayed and it made me feel somewhat startled into reality.

Anyhow....the thing that often causes me to wonder about the Ministry of Christ concerns his appearance.

If I was a Jewish person at the time of Christ living in Palestine I am sure that I would have been looking for a Messiah in the military sense. A Son of David so to speak rather then a person with a trade.

So I often surmise in my minds eye that Jesus who was not attractive in the physical sense must have had a incredible attraction in the spiritual sense.

His sheep heard his voice yet I am sure that in the years before Jesus came upon them in the physical sense that their heart must have cried out for deliverance in the same way they Jews cried out for deliverance under the thumb of pharaoh

The differance is one is of the earth the other is a matter of the heart.

lol

Originally posted by sparrowstail
There was plenty that Jesus wasn't "hip" with in his day. Jesus was a healer first and foremost and a carpenter, he was a teacher secondly, and a leader. He sacrificed much for the greater good; so much so that he ended up forfeiting his life for a cause he believed in. Something hippies have trouble doing as the draft dodgers proved.

While hippies may have some redeeming qualities, I find they can be extremely self centered, generally lazy, often self medicated. There biggest contribution is getting everyone in the circle stoned.

By the way everyone in Jesus's day had long hair, beards and sandals.

So the draft dodgers proved that hippies are unwilling to forfeit their life for something they believed in?

You are aware that the hippies were against the Vietnam war?

And as for self medication, I would take that any day over being medicated by a psychiatrist.

reply to post by MrVertigo


A lot of hippies were drug abusers. And while occasional self medication is something within the realm of possibilities, copious daily consumption is quite another. Whether or not pysch drugs are worse or not is another debate. I wouldn't want to be hooked on either.

About the draft dodgers, I was quick to accuse there and posted in haste. I guess I was trying to demonstrate that some times hippies would shirk their responsibilities for the care free dreamer lifestyle. I agree with why they dodged the Vietnam war.

reply to post by Daniem


Have you considered that many Jews of that time and perhaps Jesus himself may have taken the vow of the Nazirite. Like Sampson, "No razor shall come upon thy locks or upon thy beard" It says that Delilah cut Sampson's 7 locks that gave him his strength. If that were the case then Jesus and many of his followers may have looked more akin to these two

www.essene.org...

[edit on 13-2-2010 by sparrowstail]

reply to post by sparrowstail


The world self medicates all the time be it the mall, t.v, video games, chocolate, soda, fast food, alcohol, cigarettes, prescriptions, or a flowering plant or two. All life is forms of escape. There is much i admire of the hippies but the vanity that sprung up around the fashion it became is what I deride most. I could care less if they smoked a joint in fact I'd rather people did than have a drink but thats my oppinion. If someone wants to consume cannabis all day every day its not my place to judge. Its someone elses value system that say they are lazy or have things wrong. I look at the world around me and consider what we value and strive for to be vain, self serving and ugly. Even now as I type this I am aware of the contradiction as I must use a computer, a tool born of that culture to express my distaste with the consumer lifestyle but I suppose that is why the hippies failed to change anything either. They couldn't continue their journey when one needs to work (and most unmeaningful work at that) to survive.

Hippies didn't go far enough in my book.

Cheers

reply to post by thebulldog


Hippies didn't go far enough because no one wanted to take initiative. Just because you disagree with the "shi#stem" doesn't mean you shouldn't have some kind of purpose in life and make a contribution to what ever you deem important.

Hippies only cultural contribution to life was a reputation of protesting TPTB, not being overly productive and being overly carefree. So much so that most people have associated a negative connotation to the lifestyle.

Most original hippies will tell you the, "And then I got a real job" story and they see how unrealistic they were in their ideals.

That being said, I appreciate the peaceful, loving, non violent sentiments, but they didn't take them far enough either.

[edit on 13-2-2010 by sparrowstail]

Hey man, I'm right there with you. I'm about as fundamental and conservative a Christian as there is, BUT I'm also a believer in love and peace and turn the other cheek and "live and let live" and live off the land with respect to nature...kind of a hippie that got old and grumpy. LOL...

It's the hippies that are like Jesus, not Jesus like the hippies. It is a good life and philosophy...and I'm trying to loosen up and get back to my laid back ways... too many years being the "manager/go getter." If only pot was legal, and we still had 72 Chevy vans... with shag carpet...and moon bubble windows...and black light posters.

Seriously, you make a valid point and there are those that will attack you for it, but you are right. If you read the Bible, many would be suprised how socially liberal Jesus is. Now there are some constraints... strong family, fidelity, respect of all life- especially children. But His truths, if studied, would exclude the majority of "stained glass steepled" churches and it's members. That is why in Matthew 7 at the end of His Sermon on the Mount, he tells many that did works in His name..."Sorry, I never knew you."

I pursue membership in The Church, the unorganized church made up of true believers in His Word. We are constrained not by traditions and laws of man, but set free by the word of Lord God Jesus. PEACE

Jesus was def a liberal. His teachings of non-violence, tolerance, peace and love are anathema to today's conservatives.
But they will howl like screech monkeys in heat that he was not only conservative, but would support all the current wars, watch Fox News and would vote Republican.

Just goes to show you... the people that believe the Bible utterly are usually the ones that have never read it.

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
Hey man, I'm right there with you. I'm about as fundamental and conservative a Christian as there is, BUT I'm also a believer in love and peace and turn the other cheek and "live and let live" and live off the land with respect to nature...kind of a hippie that got old and grumpy. LOL...

It's the hippies that are like Jesus, not Jesus like the hippies. It is a good life and philosophy...and I'm trying to loosen up and get back to my laid back ways... too many years being the "manager/go getter." If only pot was legal, and we still had 72 Chevy vans... with shag carpet...and moon bubble windows...and black light posters.

Seriously, you make a valid point and there are those that will attack you for it, but you are right. If you read the Bible, many would be suprised how socially liberal Jesus is. Now there are some constraints... strong family, fidelity, respect of all life- especially children. But His truths, if studied, would exclude the majority of "stained glass steepled" churches and it's members. That is why in Matthew 7 at the end of His Sermon on the Mount, he tells many that did works in His name..."Sorry, I never knew you."

I pursue membership in The Church, the unorganized church made up of true believers in His Word. We are constrained not by traditions and laws of man, but set free by the word of Lord God Jesus. PEACE

That my friend was an awesome and insightful post. Star for you.

Why is everyone so persistent in trying to classify and label things ??

can't we just accept his teachings for what they were.


although if there's one thing Jesus knew how to do, .... and knew how to do right .....

it would be PARTYING !! get down lord !!! get on tha floor !!

reply to post by silent thunder


I don't know how relevent this is but here's my story.

A few weeks before I was deployed to Desert Storm, a few buddies of mine were discussing religion over a few beers when one of the guys jokingly referred to Jesus as a "long haired hippy-looking mother F'er". We all got a good laugh out of it at the time.

A few weeks later while out in the field in Saudi Arabia, he was climbing on his tank, one foot on the ground, when a bolt of lightning hit the tank. He was thrown about 20 feet from the tank and for a few minutes after the lightning strike he found himself unable to talk. He said it felt like he forgot how to speak for those few minutes. Luckily for him, he suffered no further ill effects from the lightning strike.

Everyone remembered his "long haired hippy-looking mother f'er" remark and teased him that God was getting even. I don't think I ever heard him say anything bad about God after that, even in jest.

reply to post by silent thunder


Right on, dude. It's hard to even recognize the modern incarnation, isn't it? I like it to the sarapalin intravenous injection to the 'tea party', something done deliberately to 'own' the ideas therein. I'm guessing JC would have a few things to say about modern times (hey no problem just let the military industrial complex lop off your brainwaves whenever they get too 'out there', and don't forget to 'love' those who are behind the silent assassins...)

He may have been a 'hippie' but there's nothing like a hippie whose party is crashed by a bunch of black op jackals using an amerikan flag to raid your visions and dreams...once jarred from the spirit of the party.

In short, ol JC was co-oped by the guys who think he'd wear a Rolex™ and have a fleet of Citations and Harley's in the name of God. I watched bennie hinn stand his wife in front of an audience, and start announcing how he had to 'change her' to get her to dress the way she now dresses and now wears her hair etc.... I saw this live, in Orlando, and was a little put off by it. But whenever my hair got longer than a few inches, a holy screed was usually directed at me. Why in hell does someone think they can make a living from twisting God's spirit around to suit their thirst for material gain? My guess is that it's all they have...

So, would Jesus play a '59 Les Paul? You bet he would. In fact he'd own scads of them. It says here in scripture that blah blah...

Jesus said enough contradictions to have a conference on bi-polar disorder, and I stand by his seeming inconsistencies. The world has many flaws, and for every situation, he had a response. I have a lot of trouble forgiving as he forgave, because technology has invisible machine guns that do not stop once they begin to do their work, and most church people cannot grasp this. Also, he was able to see the larger picture, not let the party get quashed just because a bunch of Marconi scientists were offed so their secrets would never get out....remember...."sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof...". I guess for one to worry about a super secret scalar weapon guided by satellites which cannot be brought down is sort of like worrying about a scratch on your guitar when you should be dancing....




[edit on 20-2-2010 by davidmann]