John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

– John 3:16 (KJV)

I am by no means a ravening fanatical Catholic--I go to church a couple of times a year, and use my own Zen Buddhist study and meditation as a replacement for prayer. I'm sure most other Catholics would consider me a heretic for combining Zen with my Catholic faith, but it works for me, and I think that's what's important.

I've been meditating on John 3:16 lately, treating it as something of a koan. No true enlightenment yet (I'm afraid I have many more years of work before I become a good Christian, OR Zen Buddhist) but something struck me today.

One of the big issues I have in trying to find common ground amongst my spiritual influences is the idea that one must believe in Christ to be saved. Is it not enough to be a good person, and live as Christ taught us? Must we also believe he is the son of God, risen to the Lord's right hand to wash away the sins of the world? (point of fact, I do believe this, but I question if I should have to.)

But today it struck me--John 3:16 says only that we must believe in 'Him' (one would assume to be Jesus), not what we must believe about him. I wonder if the belief and faith in Christ's teachings (see the Beatitude for those teachings in a nutshell) would not also be a belief in 'Him', and would lead one to conclude that following the teachings of Christ (so similar in many ways to Buddha and other enlightened persons) and living as Christ lived might also count as belief in him. And that would see one with everlasting life.

I have a hard time believing that if God loved us so much he would send his only son to be crucified, he'd toss us away over not 'believing' enough even if we lived humble and righteous and 'Christian' lives.

Then again, I also wonder what is everlasting life, truly? But that's a meditation, and a post, for another day.

Cheers,

Sean