Social Doctrine of Jesus Christ

Utopia was, is and will be the dream of all thinkers. A peaceful society of harmony and love and concern for all by all, is the aim. We may call it an ideal society, heaven, nirvana, moksha, Rama Rajya or kingdom of God. Jesus was devising the modalities of a workable or practical heavenly kingdom of homosapiens in this world and the other, after death. He was dreaming about a human society of perpetual peace. He was thinking of a new social order.

Mr. John Kunnathu, said in a message to ICON
“God alone is righteous and all others are not… To become righteous --to become honest and one with God--one should shed all his unrighteousness and dishonesty and repent for all mistakes of, commissions and omissions. This repentance is the key to his teaching. This is the narrow path to the new social order of the Kingdom of God. Repentance leads to faith and acceptance by God, which is salvation”

Now may I add another dimension to the logic? Christ was prescribing a method to achieve this salvation; to create a new social order. What was that method? Repentance is not enough for that.
The main teachings of Jesus are: -
1. Universal brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God.
2. The kingdom of heaven is here at hand and reachable immediately.
3. We are all messengers of Christ to spread his good news

The first is to accept fatherhood of God. He is the supreme authority with omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. This is not anything new. It is an idea inherent in human mind.

The first principle also tells us how to bring about that heavenly society in practice. The method is to practice in one's life the synergy of Universal love to every thing in the World. This universal love is the essence of his teaching.

The 2nd principle says that the moment one repents, accept honesty in his life and love everything in the Universe, he is in heaven. He is in the new peaceful social order. It is in him and within his immediate reach. He can straightaway enter into it

A great problem confronting wrong doers or dishonest people was whether they would remain condemnable all their life? Was there any moksha from it? Will they go through new successive purification births as said by some religions? Jesus gives a positive answer and dispels all fears of perpetual condemnation. This is another great thinking and solace we find in the teaching of Jesus.

Another problem that confronted thinkers was as to what will happen to man at death. Will everything end with physical death of a person? Jesus taught his followers that all honest members of the kingdom of God would resurrect from physical death to live a new life with God. In other words, for honest people life after death will be the same as before death and will be with God. Those who are unrighteous can also get into it by repentance.

In short Recognition of God as superior to all authority,
Recognition of everyone else as your own brother and
Reliance on repentance as the key to Heaven (the New Society)
are the keys of the teachings of Jesus

Prof. Joseph K.Alexander