Hinduism / Hare Krishna / Krishna Consciousness, part 9 of 10

This parsed essay comments on the writings of a proponent of the Hare Krishna or Krishna Consciousness Movement.[1] Hereinafter, “Parker/Prabhupada” refers to the author of the article upon which I will comment.

This segment will serve as the Christ the Temporary???

This essay will be parsed into the following segments:
Part 1: What’s In A Name???
Part 2: What is Prayer???
Part 3: Teach Us How to Chant???
Part 4: Is There a Magic Word???
Part 5: Let My People Conform???
Part 6: Thou Shalt Not “Kill” or Not “Murder”???
Part 7: Is it All Our Fault???
Part 8: What Do You Mean “Suffer”???
Part 9: Christ the Temporary???
Part 10: Does the Bible Say???

Parker/Prabhupada wrote:

“Of course, the message that Christ preached was just according to his particular time, place, and country, and just suited for a particular group of people. But certainly he is the representative of God. Therefore we adore Lord Jesus Christ and offer our obeisance’s to him….Christ can take the sufferings for the previous sins of his devotees.”[2]

It appears that Parker/Prabhupada is speaking out of both sides of his mouth. Jesus is called an adored representative of God. This is said in order to make nice, as it where. Although, Parker/Prabhupada labors to prove Jesus inadequate to our present day he is kind enough to allow Jesus obeisance. When John saw Jesus he said,

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). If Parker/Prabhupada is correct, then John should have said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away only the previous sins of His devotees.”

Jesus is presented to us as an outdated teacher with outdated teachings. However, the very scriptures that teach us who Jesus is paint a vastly different picture of Him,

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines…” (Hebrews 13:8-9).

“Thus says the LORD, the king of Israel, and his redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6).

Jesus Himself did not claim to be just another teacher or just another ascended master or just another representative of God. In many ways He claimed to be God Himself in the flesh. Jesus said,

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end…who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

See my essay Did Jesus Say “I am God”? - The Faulty Premise for more on the issue of Jesus’ deity.

The Bible states,

“And this is His commandment; that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1st John 3:23-24).

Here we are told “who keeps His commandments” instead of “those of us in our generation, who live at this time and at this place, temporarily keeps His commandments.” Moreover, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He (Jesus) walked” (1st John 2:6). Again, we are not being told “If you are in this time and place you ought to walk as He walked.”

Jesus also said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” and, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Clearly, Jesus Christ is not the temporary, the momentary and the fleeting (see Revelation 22:13; John 14:6; Isaiah 44:6, 48:12; Revelation 1:8, 11, 21:6, 22:13).

[1] The whole article that is being commented on is called “Christ, Christians, & Krishna by Nathan Parker. Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out: On Christ, Christians, and Krsna.” (BTG—Vol. 12, No. 12, Dec. 1977)
[2] Ibid.