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The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore | 
| Author: Deepak Chopra
Publisher: Harmony
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $13.94
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Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 1972
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Number Of Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307338312
Dewey Decimal Number: 232
EAN: 9780307338310
ASIN: 0307338312
Publication Date: February 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081008211534T
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Product Description
Who is Jesus Christ?
In The Third Jesus, bestselling author and spiritual leader Deepak Chopra provides an answer to this question that is both a challenge to current systems of belief and a fresh perspective on what Jesus can teach us all, regardless of our religious background. There is not one Jesus, Chopra writes, but three.
First, there is the historical Jesus, the man who lived more than two thousand years ago and whose teachings are the foundation of Christian theology and thought. Next there is Jesus the Son of God, who has come to embody an institutional religion with specific dogma, a priesthood, and devout believers. And finally, there is the third Jesus, the cosmic Christ, the spiritual guide whose teaching embraces all humanity, not just the church built in his name. He speaks to the individual who wants to find God as a personal experience, to attain what some might call grace, or God-consciousness, or enlightenment.
When we take Jesus literally, we are faced with the impossible. How can we truly “love thy neighbor as thyself”? But when we see the exhortations of Jesus as invitations to join him on a higher spiritual plane, his words suddenly make sense.
Ultimately, Chopra argues, Christianity needs to overcome its tendency to be exclusionary and refocus on being a religion of personal insight and spiritual growth. In this way Jesus can be seen for the universal teacher he truly is–someone whose teachings of compassion, tolerance, and understanding can embrace and be embraced by all of us.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 73 more reviews...
 Nothing new, may be offensive to some February 21, 2008
Viet Do
185 out of 219 found this review helpful
First, let me say that I am Asian, and was born and raised as a Buddhist. The reason why I state that is because my review may cause some to accuse me of being a "Christian fundamentalist." Now onto the review. The Third Jesus is a decent book- with the basic premise being, that we all have a God-consciousness, like Jesus himself. In fact, the author, argues that the true teachings of Jesus, was to allow his followers to see and understand that grand idea, but it is the distortion of his teachings by organized Christian faiths, that has robbed the world and Christ's followers of this truth. The idea that we all have the power within ourselves to be God-like, is nothing new. Its a great idea, and one we should all strive towards to be all that we can be.
My problem with this book however, is that Chopra picks and choses the words of Jesus to show us what he thought Jesus meant. He does this to support his argument, and at the same time, criticizes Christianity as misinterpreting Jesus' teachings.
Chopra also takes jabs at organized Christian faiths, telling stories of his Christian/Catholic friends who have lost their faith because of the Molesting Priest scandal as if that is somehow, an official Catholic teaching. Chopra also takes political jabs at the United State's War on Terror instead of "turning the other cheek," as Jesus would have done- something he considers a double standard from "right wing hawks."
I thought this book would have been much more effective if it stayed true to its intent which is to show that we all have the power to become Jesus-like, instead of taking the occasional shots at politics and organized Christianity. A much better book is Thich Nhat Hanh's "Living Buddha, Living Christ."
 Spiritual Growth February 24, 2008
Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)
165 out of 177 found this review helpful
Deepak Chopra's new book is not quite as controversial as I expected it to be. "The Third Jesus" seems to be written with a sense of compassion. Through verses from the Bible and the Gospel of Thomas Deepak weaves a story of Jesus' life as a teacher.
For the first half of the book he expounds on Christ's teachings. I was impressed with his insight, wisdom, research and knowledge. He also shows some striking similarities between some Eastern beliefs and Jesus' message, like the idea of karma. For the most part this seems to make Jesus available to a larger audience.
My only disagreement with this book came while reading the first section. I've always thought it was a bad idea to tell people that there is no hell or satan (Although in this book Deepak now seems to believe in both?). Deepak takes this one step further by trying to convince the reader that Jesus is not the Son of God or the Saviour. Instead he asks the reader to consider a third option: Jesus as an enlightened master. This works well if you just consider this to be another side of Jesus. After all the idea is not really new. Jesus can still be the Jesus of the Bible or the historical Jesus without lessening the effect of his teachings.
Personally I found this book to be comforting and intellectual. The words of Christ glow on each page with a spirituality that is refreshing and real. Deepak makes many valid points and explains where we should take Jesus literally and where we should seek for a deeper spiritual meaning. In the end, this book is about spiritual growth. The section with exercises will lead seekers to a higher place of awareness.
If you enjoy this book you may also want to read: Jesus: An Intimate Portrait of the Man, His Land, and His People.
~The Rebecca Review
 The Gospel of Love February 20, 2008
Lissa Coffey, Host of coffeytalk.com (Los Angeles, CA)
132 out of 152 found this review helpful
Christianity is a beautiful religion, and yet the true meaning of Jesus' words are often lost in dogma and misinterpretation. Deepak Chopra does a wonderful service by showing us some of the most wonderful passages in the bible, and how Jesus' words can still have a resonating influence in our lives. It's all about love. It's not about politics or arguments or disagreements or debate. It's about love, pure and simple. Thanks, Deepak - I love this book!
Third Jesus: WWDD? February 24, 2008
Luigi Guadagnino (New York, USA)
117 out of 124 found this review helpful
I could not possibly recommend this book enough. Firstly, it was easy and enjoyable to read which considering the subject and the potential political fallout (see scathing reviews), I'm sure was no simple task. Lesser authors could of easily fallen prey to the temptations of self-defense with pages of endless details or by reverting to emotionalism but to his credit, Dr. Chopra does neither. Instead, he keeps a steady hand as he navigates us through unexplored waters. And just in time I might add. The `one size fits all' Jesus, fed to us by right wing extremists, has been stretched beyond recognition, being used to justify all sorts of atrocities these days. Jesus needs to be extracted from those who have quite wittingly and intentionally kidnapped him for their own motives. - Lest history look back and find that Jesus' poor and sufferable death was the least of his troubles.
The Third Jesus enlightens its readers in several ways. It helps bring our feet back to the earth by reminding us of historical fact - "Historically, 390 AD is early for a surviving scripture, which allows the Nag Hammadi scrolls to lay claim to as much authenticity as various versions of the four gospels; the scrolls are an esoteric jumble." Dr. Chopra's point here not being that the world should unquestionably accept the Nag Hammadi or other Gnostic Gospels but that their historical legitimacy sheds light on how much evidence or lack thereof exists for the traditionally accepted four gospels. It's not a matter of discrediting them; it's a matter of putting them into perspective.
The book of Revelation, perhaps the single most often referenced book, to justify exclusionary interpretations of Jesus' words and world model, has never been historically connected to John. - "We do not know who wrote this book; it is traditionally credited to the same John who wrote the Gospel of John, supposedly when exiled for his beliefs to the Greek island of Patmos. But no real proof of that exists." Again Chopra's point is not intended to be inflammatory but to shed light on the actual historical relevancy of ideas that have been handed down as dogma for centuries.
While examining the concept of heaven in a Jewish culture, which is where Jesus came from and lived, history and an understanding of the Jewish faith prove revealing - "Let's ask the most basic question first. Where is the Kingdom of God located? Jesus's listeners were Jewish, and traditionally an afterlife wasn't part of their religion, much less Heaven where rewards are meted out to the righteous." Personally, I was particularly happy to read this section since a number of Jewish friends have politely pointed out the same to me during conversation. I found it odd as a young adult that Christianity high jacked Judaism while at the same time declaring it proof of it's own relevancy - not very good manners. Of course, Deepak Chopra's intention here is to show there is very good reason found in the New Testament for the view that Heaven is found within ourselves just as Christ told us.
This is the point where The Third Jesus begins to take shape. If Dr. Chopra's book simply stopped at being another critical analysis of the gospels his contribution would be limited but thankfully he knows his forte. He attempts to show his readers that Jesus is perfectly accessible to anyone, no matter their background, religion, ethnicity, worldview or politics and then expands on both the experiential and philosophical possibilities of such an assumption and the methods and insights that would assist in the process. It's hard to imagine that Jesus would want to be seen in any other light but he has many followers dedicated to just such a proposition.
One of Dr. Chopra's premises is found in his quote, "Reality changes in different states of consciousness, and the same holds true of love." This idea didn't originate with Deepak of course but it can be found in his heritage in the form of Vedic literature, a thousand years prior to Christianity. In many ways this is the kernel of his message and the key to connecting with The Third Jesus. We perceive reality, including God, according to the level of our own consciousness - "For those who have ears to hear let them hear," as Jesus put it. The idea that consciousness is paramount, primary and evolves is not some kind of New Age thing but dates back to the first writings of humankind. I would like to add here that this is exactly why Dr. Chopra is one of the only authors that could've written this book. He has three unique qualifications: Personal and cultural integrity, education and personal experience.
Personal and cultural integrity is particularly important to a book like The Third Jesus because it helps move the cause and scope of the book out of the New Age and Consciousness categories and squarely places it where it belongs, in the religious section. Dr. Chopra comes from a culture where religion was the epicenter of every facet of life and where as I stated earlier, the oldest scriptures in the world originate. We can see this in his life, which has been dedicated to exploring, understanding, and living a sacred existence. Education is also important to a task such as this, because after all, Dr. Chopra is an accomplished physician, who is educated and experienced in both Western models and Ayurveda. That makes him more familiar with researching facts and understanding history. He has also been a student of meditation and a disciple, so he has gained personal experience and is not just shouting from the halls of academia.
This is a fantastic book, and if you're anything like me, you'll probably read it numerous times because it's a tool for renewal and contemplation. Of course there are many people who won't get it. That's one of the reasons it had to be written.
Third Jesus is great for Everyone February 29, 2008
Henry Lee Bates (Palm Springs, California)
110 out of 122 found this review helpful
In this timely book, Deepak Chopra has brought Jesus to our attention, and that in itself is good. This book is not so much about agreeing or disagreeing with Chopra's ideas about Jesus, but taking the time to look at our own thoughts about this great mystical teacher and savior to many. Jesus' teachings are just as relevant now as ever, and if we don't look at them and understand them, then we will live according to religion's beliefs about Jesus ... or even perhaps Chopra's beliefs about Jesus ... and what we should be considering is a greater understanding of this Master Mind who was teaching us about our eternal One-ness with the Infinite. Congratulations to Deepak Chopra for sharing his love of the mystical and his Christ with us.
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