A New Jesus?

Last July, the Washington Post sent a reporter, Kevin Sullivan, to Siberia to research a story on a man who asserts that he is the new coming of Jesus to the earth. Yesterday, in the Post's On Faith section, the paper presented a Q&A with this man who is called "Vissarion," which means "he who gives new life," by his followers.

Sergei Torop, a middle-aged former Siberian traffic cop, lives in a remote village some 2000 miles from Moscow with a few hundred of his followers and with around 5000 more of his followers in neighboring villages. Torop said that when he was 29 he had a spiritual awakening and realized his divine nature. To quote from the July 2007 story, "He said he then understood that God had sent him to Earth because hatred and war and environmental degradation had become rampant." Torop said, "This is the first time I have been needed in 2,000 years. This is a critical point. Only when mankind becomes one family on Earth will the doors to the universe become open to them."

The Q&A session published on Wednesday was fascinating for me. Let me share one exchange.
"Q: Would you consider that you were a revolutionary the first time around? Do you think you are now? A: I’ve never thought about it this way. What I am to pass to people is opposite to the life that they are living now. People’s existence today is based on animal principles. They live with each other not because they love each other and want to support each other, but because it is easier to survive in the “pack”. At the same time each “pack” tries to live in accordance with its own interest and doesn’t take other “packs” into their account. But a human is more complicated than an animal, and the ways of achieving his interests are much more perverted. No one on earth does as much harm as a man. It should not be like this."

Many religions believe that there will be a spiritual leader who will come to the earth in times of great crisis. Obviously, I do not think that Vissarion is the new appearance of Jesus on earth, but many thousands of Russians, many of them highly educated people, do.

That made me wonder. If Jesus were to return to earth before the End of the World as we know it, what do you think he would want to teach the people of the earth? What his message be? Would it be a re-statement of what the gospels say or would there be new teachings pointed to particular contemporary issues?

Let me invite you to post your thoughts about this. I will share your insights, anonymously of course, in an upcoming post.