ABOUT THIS CURRENT VERSION
I have made a few minor corrections in spelling and a handful of remarks for clarity's sake in the past few days. All the facts from the 3rd modification in 2012, however, remain unchanged despite the several great changes around the world.
Thang Za Dal Hamburg August 19, 2020. MY VIEWS ON THE BIBLE AND CURRENT WORLD AFFAIRS (3rd Modification)
It is the 3rd modification of my “Interview” which was first publicized back on March 23, 1987. The original version was put on this website between March 2007 and May 2009. Then it was replaced in June 2009 with the 1st modification until March 23, 2012. Then once again it was replaced with the 2nd Modification on March 24, 2012, which remained on the website until September 6, 2012. Although I could have had expanded or changed radically many parts of the original version in light of the major changes in world affairs that have been taking place since 1987 I haven‘t done that. Only the styles of expression - and not the basic essences - of theological issues have been changed for the sake of clearity. Nearly all non-theological issues remain unchanged from the original version. In this present version only a very few changes and additions are made from the previous one. I have just added a new Item called On Western Philosophy (# 100), just because a number of people who have read my paper wanted to know about my opinion on this topic and I suppose there could probably be some more who have the same wish. And some important changes are made in the PHOTO GALLERY, and ON NUMBERS 7, 12 & 40 AND SOME OTHER IMPORTANT FACTS (see below). Thang Za Dal (Mr) Hamburg, Germany October 1, 2012.* ______Note 1: All the biblical verses that I'm using in this and several other related papers that I have had released until now are only from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION Note: 2*: Whenever I make minor changes or corrections somewhere in the main text, I shall change the date also. The last date was September 07. 2012. Note 3: PHOTO GALLERY is newly modified, and updated on 27.8.12; C - 3 in it is a new addition...... MY VIEWS ON THE BIBLE AND CURRENT WORLD AFFAIRS (2nd Modification )
It is the second modification of my “Interview” which was first prepared back in 1987. Although I could have expanded or changed many parts of it in the present version in light of the major changes in world affairs that have been taking place since 1987 and 2009 (in which the 1st modification was made), I have not done that. Only the styles of expression - and not the basic essences - of theological issues have been changed for the sake of clearity. Nearly all non-theological issues remain unchanged from the June- 2009-version.
Thang Za Dal Hamburg, Germany March 24, 2012. This was the PREFACE for the version uploaded on this Website between June 1, 2009 and November 30, 2011.
EXPLANATION ON THIS PAPER: MY VIEWS ON THE BIBLE AND CURRENT WORLD AFFAIRS
About 10 copies of the original version of this paper were mailed to various addressees as early as March 23, 1987 (see K for photos of postal registration receipts in the Photo Gallery). Then another 10 copies were sent out between May 25 and end of 1987. These 20 original copies were not even intentionally edited for misspellings and grammatical errors. Or in other words, it was still a draft. In this present version the main contents and structures are still strictly retained from the original text. I have only taken the liberty of combining some related items under a single title, or deleting a few items that seem to be too trivial and irrelevant for the whole context. And although I could have changed some parts in light of today's realities, I haven't done that. So the reader may judge me and my psychological state with the contents of the present version that I am now distributing. I have only made misspelling corrections and some minor alterations in non-theological contents here and there just for the sake of clearity. Texts in black are the original ones that were sent out in 1987, and those in blue are new additions or corrections that had been done between 1987 and 1992. New minor additions, corrections or additions made for this present version are marked in red. Items marked in pink are the ones that were already included in the original draft, but would be exposed again only when the final update is made. Even after I had thus made some additions and corrections in 1992 for the last time, I did not distribute it anymore, except the 20 copies of the original version thatI had had distributed within 1987. This version has not yet been edited by any other persons except I myself.
Thang Za Dal June 2009*
* Note 1: The date has also been updated simply to indicate that minor changes or corrections of spellings or facts have been made. But the main core of the texts remains unchanged. Note 2: Although the original version was “officially” dated as April 25, 1987 (see below on the page of PREFACE, the copies that were sent out on 23rd March were almost already completely identical with the 25th April version. PREFACE (from the original manuscript)
It is a book of my “interview” with four fictitious religious Christian women - a German, a French, an English and an American. The interview is supposed to have taken place sometime in late 1986 in Hamburg [Germany]. As I believe that, with the support of the evidence given in this book, I am Jesus Christ, I have “spoken” as if I really were your Saviour. And the laughter are supposed to be that of my angels who were present at the interview. laughter*
This book, I hope, contains enough facts to show you the ways to either of the following: heaven, hell, enlightenment, craziness, self-preservation (preservation of the human race and this planet) and self- destruction. It is therefore entirely up to you to decide for which purpose you want to use this book. If in case you find its contents to be just cranky or funny, then you may simply throw it away or laugh heartily along with my angels. laughter
But if in case you prefer to choose hell or craziness or self-destruction, then may I beg you not to drag me along with you, or not to force me to stand in my Father‘s court in heaven on the Day of Judgment as a false witness. May God bless you, Amen!
laughter
Recommended methods for reading this book: If you sincerely need salvation or enlightenment or selfpreservation, I suggest that you read it page by page, but if you are more interested in the three other choices mentioned above, then you may jump around from page to page.
laughter
Jehoshua/Jesus/Thang Za Dal April 25, 1987. Hamburg
Even as I'm writing this preface my angels are heartily laughing around me! CONTENTS
(Numbers in parenthesis are page numbers on which the given items began in the original manuscript in 1987.)
PREFACE ON NUMBERS 7 AND 40 01. ON THE SUPERPOWERS, THEIR STRATEGIES AND THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD (1) 02. ON MR. RONALD REAGAN (6) 03. ON THE SELF-DESTRUCTION INITIATIVE (SDI) PROGRAM (10) 04. ON MR. MICHAIL GORBACHEV (187) 05. ON THE BEST POLITICAL SYSTEM FOR MANKIND (150) 06. ON HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI (17) 07. ON JUST WAR (36) 08. ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM (36) 09. ON SOUTH AFRICA (158) 10. ON THE JEWS, JUDAISM, AND THE HOLOCAUST (75/90/223) 11. ON ISLAM (80) 12. ON THE LIBERATION THEOLOGY (96) 13. ON THEOLOGICAL STUDIES (130) 14. ON THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY (116) 15. ON CHRISTIAN UNITY (120) 16. ON OTHER RELIGIONS AND NEW RELIGIOUS SECTS (154) 17. ON SETTING UP A NEW SECT AND INTRODUCING A NEW DOCTRINE (201) 18. ON CHRISTIAN MORALITY (165) 29. ON INFALLIBILITY (97) 20. ON SEPARATION OF STATE AND CHURCH (107) 21. ON WEALTH AND POVERTY (123) 22. ON COMMUNISM; PASSING JUDGMENT ON GODLESS COMMUNISTS; THE CONFLICTS OF CAPITALISM AND COMMUNISM (12/86/222) 23. ON SATAN, DEMON, ANTICHRIST, ANGEL (63) 24. ON THE WHORE OF BABYLON AND SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX (666) 25. ON HEAVEN AND HELL (149) 26. ON THE ORIGINAL SIN (145) 27. ON ENLIGHTENMENT (18) 28. ON HAPPINESS (27) 29. ON BHAGWAN SHREE RAJHEESH - THE INDIAN GURU OF THE RICH (23) 30. ON OFFERING (122) 31. ON BURMA (29) 32. ON ARMED REVOLUTION (34) 33. ON MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY(CIA) (189) 34. ON SELECTING THE BEST BIBLE (156) 35. ON HUMAN SEXUALITY (160) 36. ON WOMEN‘S LIBERATION (160) 37. ON THE WEST‘S CONTRIBUTIONS FOR MANKIND (147) 38. ON WHETHER GOD AND I ARE A SINGLE BEING (145) 39. ON THE GENDER OF MY FATHER (125) 40. ON CREATIONISM AND EVOLUTIONISM 41. ON MIRACLES (58) 42. ON ADAM AND EVE (125) 43. ON UNCLEAN MEAT AND BLOOD (144) 44. ON PROSTITUTION (172) 45. ON MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE (141) 46. ON WOMAN PRIESTHOOD (138) 47. ON ATHEISM (138) 48. ON THE FOUR GOSPELS (62) 49. ON POPULATION EXPLOSIONS IN THE THIRD WORLD (104) 50. ON RACISM (147) 51. ON HIV/AIDS (106) 52. ON GENOCIDE (146) 53. ON MY SECOND COMING AND MY FAMILY BACKGROUND (39) 54. ON MY SECOND COMING ACCORDING TO BIBLICAL PROPHECIES (45) 55. ON OTHER SIGNS (OCCULT) OF MY SECOND COMING (48) 56. ON OTHER SIGNS (NATURAL OR ASTRONOMICAL) OF MY SECOND COMING (53) 57. ON MY COMING TO GERMANY (65) 58. ON MY FAMILY IN GERMANY (72) 59. ON SIGNS OF ENDTIME AND THE FINAL JUDGMENT (80, 91) 60. ON FREEDOM OF WORSHIP (87) 61. ON CELIBACY (99) 62. ON CHURCH [RELIGIOUS] TAX (122) 63. ON BEING BORN AGAIN (124) 64. ON CHURCH AND TEMPLE (125) 65. ON FREEDOM OF CHOICE (126) 66. ON EXCOMMUNICATION (127) 67. ON BAPTISM (127) 68. ON CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS (128) 69. ON PRAYER (130) 70. ON RELIGIOUS RITUALS (133) 71. ON TRINITY (134) 72. ON RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL (134) 73. ON THE ACT OF COMMITTING SUICIDE (134) 74. ON THE EUCHARIST (135) 75. ON SABBATH AND SUNDAY (135) 76. ON FAITH (136) 77. ON SERMON (137) 78. ON LOVE (139) 79. ON ABORTION (140) 80. ON THE WORSHIP OF MY MOTHER, MARY (144) 81. ON PREDESTINATION (145) 82. ON CONCEPTION BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS (149) 83. ON DEMOCRACY IN A CHURCH (150) 84. ON THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE (151) 85. ON CONSERVATIVISM AND LIBERALISM IN CHRISTIANITY (153) 86. ON SATAN CULT (156) 87. ON RELIGIOUS FANATICISM (176) 88. ON THE ATONEMENT (189) 89. ON STATE RELIGION (198) 90. ON WORSHIP (200) 91. ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN 92. ON JUDA ISCARIOT 93. ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BURMA (89) 94. ON MY SCREENPLAY GOD, SATAN AND MAN ACCORDING TO A REINCARNATION - PART I (204) 95. ON WRITING MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY (220) 96. ON GIVING MORE INTERVIEWS IN THE NEAR FUTURE (233) 97. ON RELIGIOUS WAR (211) 98. ON MY STRATEGY (235) 99. ON WHETHER I AM PROVOCATING THE WEST (216) 100. ON WESTERN PHILOSOPHY 101. ON SOME LAST WORDS (237) ON NUMBERS 7, 12 & 40 AND SOME OTHER IMPORTANT FACTS (To understand the following data, read the “interview” to the end first.)
01. 7th February 1945...... I am born at Lophei village 02. 7.A.M (Burma Standard Time)...... Time of my birth 03. 7 brothers and sisters ( 2 brothers and five sisters) 04. T H A N G Z A D A L* 4+5+1+5+ 3 + 7+1 + 4+1+ 3 = 34 (3+4) = 7 05. 12th (May 1949)...... The day on which my family is photographed by my maternal uncle at Lophei (see PHOTO GALLERY: B-1 & B-2 for Text and Photos, in which I am seen wearing a traditional Jewish Skullcap-like cap!) 06. 12.5.1949 (12+5+1+9+4+5) = 40...... The Day, the Month and Year added together make 40! 07. At age 7 (1952)...... Start schooling (Thuklai State High School, Tiddim Township, Chin State, Burma 08. At age 7 (1952)...... …...... Converted to Baptist Christianity from Animism 09. 7th August 1960...... Baptized (I'm entering my 16th year) at Lophei 10. CI- 052 054 (5+2+5+4) =16 (1+6) = 7...... Burmese National ID Card Number 11. 25th July 1978...... Arrive in Hamburg from Bangkok via Frankfurt (Remark: According to the flight plan of the Rumanian Airlines by whch I flew, I should have landed in Germany on the 24th. But due to technical problems in Singapore, the flight was postponed for one day. I chose this airline simply because it was the cheapest one.) 12. 1978-1945=33...... I'm entering my 34th year of age 13. 7th May 1980 ...... I am married in Hamburg 14. 25th November 1980...... Date of invitation letter for interview by BfAaF** 15. 7th January 1981...... Interviewed in Zirndorf by BfAaF 16. 7th May 1981...... Political asylum granted 17. 16th June '81...... BfAaF informs Hamburg Immigration authorities concerning my asylum 18. 7th February 1981...... BfAaF invites my wife for interview in Zirndorf 19. 7th December 1981...... BfAaF's Feststellungsbogen in Zirndorf for my wife 20. 032 51 59 (3+2+5+1+5+9=25(2+5) = 7...... Number of my German Travel Document (ID) (first issued) 21. 613 708 = (6+1+3+7+8= 25(2+5) = 7...... Phone number of Frau Karin Vogt*** when we first knew each other in Hamburg. I was introduced to her by the lawyer who was a member of the Amnesty International (Germany Section); he helped me with legal matters concerning my application for political asylum 22. 25th November...... Frau Vogt's Saint's birthday 23. Frau Vogt was the 7th child born on 1st January, 1955 in Celle, Germany. Her scanned Birth Certificate will be put soon in the PHOTO GALLERY in order to prove this statement. 24. 103953/85 = 34...... My first German driving license number 25. 17809 (1+7+8+9 = 25 (2+5) = 7...... Registration Number of “God, Satan And Man According to A Reincarnation - Part I” manuscript at Writers Guild of America, East, Inc. in January 1981 under the title of “Let's Laugh Our Heads Off Together” 26. 18610 (1+8+6+1=16 (1+6) = 7...... Same material re-registered at the same place some months later after major changes have been made (see PHOTO GALLERY: L) 27. December 22, 1985 ...... Halley's Comet enters AQUARIUS, my Sun Sign (See PHOTO GALLERY: E-1 & E-2) 28. 1985-1945 = 40...... I'm 40 years old 29. Pau 346 741 = 25 = 7...... U.S. Copyright Number of same material 30. February 23, 1987 ...... Supernova SN1987A is discovered (see PHOTO GALLERY: F-1 to F- 4) 31. 1+9+8+7= 25...... …...... The Year itself makes SEVEN 32. 1987-1945 = 42...... I'm entering my 43th year of age 33. 1987 (End of February) ...... I finish writing the first draft of “My Views On the Bible and Current World Affairs” and distribute ten copies of it to various groups on 23rd March (see PHOTO GALLERY: K) 34. 1996 - 1945 = 51 I'm entering my 52th years of age 35. July 23, 1995...... HAle-Bopp is discovered at a very large distance from the Sun 36. April 1, 1997...... HALE-BOPP meets or exceeds most predictions for its brightness when it passes perihelion on April 1, 1997. The comet is dubbed the Great Comet of 1997. 37. 1997-1945 = 52 (5+2) = 7 ...... I'm 52 years old 38. 1995 - 1997 ...... Hale-Bopp emits Seven Jets (see PHOTO GALLERY: G-1 to G-4 ) 39. August 7, 2006 ...... Comet Mcnaught (C/2006 P1). Discovery date: August 7, 2006 Comet McNaught, also known as the Great Comet of 2007 and given the designation C/2006 P1, is a non-periodic comet discovered on August 7, 2006 by British-Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught. It was the brightest comet for over 40 years, and was easily visible to the naked eye for observers in the Southern Hemisphere in January and February 2007. With an estimated peak magnitude of -5.5, the comet was the second brightest since 1935. Around perihelion on January 12, it was visible worldwide in broad daylight. Its tail measured an estimated 35 degrees in length at its peak.(see PHOTO GALLERY and Wikipedia) 40. 2006 - 1945 = 61 = 7 = I'm 61 year old 41. September 18, 2006...... The Supernova SN2006gy explosion is discovered at a distance of 240 million lightyears away. It brightened slowly for 70 days, and at its peak emitted more than 50 billion Suns worth of lgiht- shining! (See PHOTO GALLERY: H) 42. 2006-1945 = 61(6+1) = 7...... I'm 61 years old 43. 24.12.2007...... mysterious sudden great outburst of Comet:17P/Holmes; Comet Section of Germany (In only 24 hours in October 2007, the comet brightened from a magnitude of about 17 to about 2.8. This represents a change of brightness by a factor of about half a million and is the largest known outburst by a comet. (In the original Wikipedia text it is 42, but I changed it to 24 because according to all other authoritative sources the later seems to be the correct one. tzd) On November 9, 2007 the coma, the thin dissipating dustball around the comet, was found to be the largest object in the solar system, with a diameter greater than that of the Sun.[1] (Though by Solar System standards, the mass of the comet is minuscule. Source: Wikipedia) (See PHOTO GALLERY: I-1 & I-2) ______44. July 2007 Comet Lulin or Green Comet is discovered on its way to the Earth (2009). ( See PHOTO GALLERY) ...... * A = 1 N = 5 B = 2 0 = 7 C = 3 P = 8 D = 4 Q = 1 E = 5 R = 2 F = 8 S = 3 G = 3 T = 4 H = 5 U = 6 I = 1 V = 6 J = 1 W = 6 K = 2 X = 5 L = 3 y = 1 M = 4 Z = 7
* The Cheiro Book of Fate and Fortune (ISBN - 0.214.65354.4) p. 205. Numbers 7, 12, 40, 49 and 70 are the most important numbers in the Bible. ** BfAaF = It stands for “Bundesamt für Anerkennung ausländischen Fluchtlinge” (Federal Department for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees” - the English term and the abbreviations are of my own.) *** She has been one of my family's most important and best friends in Germany since we first met. Note: The data given above are just a fraction of the critical roles that these numbers - 7 and 40 - have played in my life. If it becomes necesary in the future to expose more data on these numbers, I'm quite ready to do so. 01. ON THE SUPERPOWERS, THEIR STRATEGIES AND THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD (1)
Q. What do you think about the superpowers? A. Well, I think all the three superpowers are now at a strategic stalemate.
Q. Three superpowers? A. Yes, three. The heavenly forces of ours, including our genuine worshippers, the dark forces of my former friend Lucy, and the Third World countries.
laughter Q. It sounds strange. Who is Lucy? A. Lucifer. laughter
Q. I always thought that Lucifer was a male. A. Actually, I used to call him affectionately “Saan” in our happier days in heaven - by simply omitting “t”. But don‘t mix it up with that “Uncle Sam!
laughter Q. And how did he call you? A. My Lord. laughter Q. So Lucifer is a male? A. I think I better leave it to your feminists because they might want to feminize him, too, as they have done with my Father‘s gender. laughter
Q. You may have already offended the feminists by calling him Lucy. A. They should at least be happy that the Devil is also a male.
laughter
Q. Why do you think are the debt-ridden Third World countries a superpower? A. With their over $ 1000 billion debt they have already put the rich and powerful nations at their mercy, and therefore the creditor-nations may not go to a global war, at least until or unless they've got back their money. laughter
Q. Does that mean that we wouldn't have to fight the great battle of Armageddon, mentioned in Revelation? A. If you look at the present world events, you don't even need biblical prophecies to see where you humans are heading for.
Q. The Third World War? A. It seems so.
Q. Where do you think it would or could start? A. In the East, perhaps.
Q. Not in the West, or in the Middle East? A. We better don‘t speculate about it. But my calculations were made purely on military, political, economic, social and strategic factors of the world's major countries alone, not on the Bible.
Q. What would be the circumstances that lead to this armed conflict? A. It'd be too preposterous to go into details.
Q. Why should it not start in the West or in the Middle East? A. In the regions that you have just mentioned the major players are in control of themselves and the other minor players as well. So they may not start a major war deliberately.
Q. According to the Bible where would the conflict originate and what would happen afterward? A. Please ask your own religious leaders and theologians. If they are genuinely devine-inspired, as they all claim so, they will know what is going to happen in the near future and where and how.
Q. So the Battle of Armegeddon would be a reality? A. If the Bible says so, then it could be a reality.
Q. All Christians everywhere, especially in the United States and Europe, believe that they would be on God's side in this battle. A. The demarcation between the two opposing powers would not be made on the basis of nationality or sex or colour of skin. Q. Shall we humans survive a global nuclear war? A. Which humans do you mean? There are several kinds of mankind, depending on from whose point of view you look at it.
Q. I don't understand what you mean. A. Well, to the capitalist there are in general four mankinds: he himself as the ruler or creator, the tax-payer, the consumer and the beggar. And to the Communist there are at least two: he himself as the ruler and his subordinate human robots.
laughter
Q. Aren't you worried for us? A. How can I worry for you, if you don't even worry for yourselves?
laughter
Q. Of course we are scared to death for our future. You know that too. A. If you're really scared to death for your own extinction, why do you again and again elect politicians who are going to annihilate you sooner or later?
Q. Don't you have some recipe for eternal peace? A. Peace for whom?
Q. Peace for the entire mankind. A. There you go again! laughter
Q. But you love your Father‘s creations, don't you? A. Of course, I love you all, but since you don't even love yourselves what else can I do?
laughter
Q. You know that we love you and we love ourselves, too. A. Good. If you really love me and love yourselves, then go and tell your elected politicians and capitalists to stop lending money and giving arms to that murderous regime in Burma. If you can‘t do that I'll not believe your words.
Q. We cannot give them an ultimatum. A. Well, didn‘t you elect them yourselves?
Q. Yes, of course, we did. A. If we have to send their souls to hell for what they've done would you also be willing to go along with them?
Q. Why should we? We‘re paying them very good salaries for their works, so they must take full responsibility for all our sins. laughter
A. That's a very logical argument, but I don't think you can use it when you appear in my Father's because even your own fellow mortal beings wouldn‘t buy that idea.
laughter
Q. So there's no more hope of ever achieving eternal peace on this earth? A. Well, if you're genuinely serious about human survival and peace, why don't you ask yourselves this simple question first: For whose benefits should the entire mankind sacrifice its own existence - for the Americans, or for the Russians, or for the British, or for the Germans, or for the French, or for the Japanese, or for the Chinese, or for the Indians? Well, even if I had some good recipe for peace, I wouldn't dare to give it to you,because those who benefit by wars will get rid of me immediately. laughter
Q. And you don‘t have any faith in the Soviet Union's and the United States' good faith in bringing peace? A. How can I do that, since they're producing more and more sophisticated weapons? And I‘m not at all interested in their warhead counts. Do you know why? Because your nuclear reactors for producing electricity alone are already more than enough to poison you all, if they were destroyed in a mediumsize conventional war.
Q. At the beginning of this interview you refused to elaborate on the possible outbreak of World War III in the East. But you should at least give us a rough idea how you came to that conclusion. A. I can only tell you if you give me a promise.
Q. Why should we give you a promise? A. Because what I'm going to tell you would be just speculations which are based on my limited knowledge on current world affairs and therefore they have nothing to do with my Father or I myself as Jesus or biblical prophecies. So you must not take my theories seriously. Promise?
laughter
Q. Yes, we give you our promise. A. Good. According to my opinion as a human being, there are only three vital factors that could influence the military balance on global scale: China, the Middile East and West Germany.
Q. Why China?
A. Because of her enormous population, her volatile domestic political situation, economic power, her military might and her strategic location.
Q. And why West Germany? A. Because of its strategic location, its economic power and the existence of another Germany on the other side.
Q. And the Middle East? A. Everybody already knows why and how much this region is important for the world as a whole.
Q. How about the religious factor? A. I don't think you can use it as a factor in this case.
Q. Why not? It has and still might play one of the most decisive roles in deciding human history. A. Of course it's crucially important, but it's too intangible to use as a factor in this matter.
Q. Many military and political analysts speculate that a major war might be ignited by the U.S and the Soviet Union in the Middle East, which in turn could lead to World War III. Do you agree with this opinion? A. I don't think these two superpowers would be too stupid to deliberately start a major war and thus risk their own survival because, although this region is strategically so important for both of them, it's not a decisive factor in their global strategies.
Q. Do you think the Soviet Union might thrust into Western Europe with a conventional war? A. At least until or unless they can first neutralize China, West Germany, and think that they can “handle” the Middle East, I don't think they would dare to take such a suicidal adventure prematurely. And I don't think there‘s anything they can gain by waging such a war.
Q. Could the present Iranian-Iraqi conflict spill over other parts of the Middle East? A. It seems that the superpowers are able to contain the conflict in that region - at least for the time being.
Q. How important is Japan strategically for both superpowers? A. Despite her economic power I don't think she is as important as China in the Soviets' point of view.
Q. Why? A. There are basically two major reasons: 1) Japan's geographical location itself is too vulnerable to the Soviets' nuclear missiles that the Soviets might be tempted to believe that in a major conflict on glabal scale Japan could be neutralized; 2) Japan may never dare to start a major armed conflict in the region on her own initiative because the consequences could be too dangerous.
Q. From the U.S.'s point of view? A. For the U.S. Japan is strategically very important.
Q. In your opinion, does China have a grand strategy? A. I think China is still too poor to have such a grand strategy on global scale. It seems that, at least for the time being, her interests are concentrated in Asia.
Q. But how about her playing the American Card in her relations with the Soviets? A. Even that still seems to be of a defensive nature.
Q. How do you see the future of China? A. For the time being, I think you can only roughly demarcate her future into two parts: during and after Mr. Deng's rule. Since I don't have knowledge on the internal situations of China, what I can only speculate is that the power struggle would go on between what you call pragmatists and conservatives - even after Deng's era. Q. What do you think of Deng's reforms? A. Sometimes I wonder if the pace is not too fast for such a country with enormous population which had been so thoroughly indoctrinated for so long with communist ideology.
Q. How important is India geopolitically from the superpowers' view-points? A. Certainly India is vitally important for them, but I don‘t think, at least for the time being, she is on their highest priority lists.
Q. Why not? A. Because India is still quite stable and Indian politicians are shrewd enough to clearly see where they stand, what they want and where they‘re heading for.
Q. Africa and Latin America? A. These two continents still seem to be of only secondary importance in their strategic thinkings, because, as you see, they (the U.S. and the Soviets) are more concentrating on military technology, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Q. How would you sum up the U.S. grand strategy? A. I wonder if the U.S. has any long-term grand strategy at all.
Q. How could you say that? You know that it has the most powerful war machinery in the world with several military bases around the world, plus the world's wealthiest and mightiest nations - and China now – on her side. A. Well, having economic and military might is different from having a long-term grand strategy.
Q. But how could she have achieved a superpower status without such a grand strategy? A. That grand strategy itself is the very root of many troubles.
Q. What do you mean? A. The trouble is that the Americans' ultimate goal of strategy was and is just exactly the achievement of and maintenance of her superpower position at all costs. Nothing more.
Q. Could there be any further goal other than that? A. Of course there could be and should be a higher and nobler goal. The preservation of this planet and its inhabitants, the acquiring and maintenance of peace and justice and human rights, etc., for instance.
Q. But haven't the U.S. and her allies been trying their best to fullfil exactly these goals? A. May I suggest that you study world history first to find out why communism emerged in the first place. And if they're so humane, tell them to share some of their wealth with those who are under the poverty line in their own backyards, or with millions of starving people around the world.
Q. Is the Soviet Union an expansionist? A. Yes, she is, like every other former or present colonial power.
Q. How do you see her war in Afghanistan? A. Sometimes I wonder if she's not also imitating all other colonial powers of the world, believing that she can do whatever she wants against any other hapless peoples.
Q. And the wars in Indochina, including the present one in Cambodia? A. In this case, we shall have to look back into history.
Q. Does the Soviet Union have a long-term strategy? A. Without such a strategy, she'd not have achieved what she has achieved today. But her final goals seem to be not different from that of the United States'.
Q. Could she surpass the Americans someday? A. There's no doubt that she's geopolitically and militarily in a very strong position, but she lacks one of the most decisive factors for a superpower status: the human factor, that is!
Q. The human factor? A. Yes, the human factor. First, her people are not homogenous; second, the Soviet people, including the political elites and academics as well, are too poorly informed about other peoples and cultures so that their knowledge of the outside world is too limited.
Q. What would be the short-term or long-term consequences of the lack of this factor on the side of theSoviets? A. Even if they conquered the whole world someday, their victory would not last long.
Q. Many theologians and religious leaders identify the Soviet Union as the biblical Magog. Is that true? A. Those theologians and religious leaders should try to decipher other great mysteries in the Bible, too, if they're so expert as they claim.
Q. If a great war broke out between the East and the West today, for example, which side do you think would win? A. With all the nuclear arsenals, chemical and biological weapons, it's simply too childish to speculate who would or could win a global armed conflict.
Q. The Americans and Soviets are accusing each other of being not sincerely willing to reduce arms. Who really are the main culprits in your opinion? A. I don‘t think there's any sense anymore of finding out the guilty party because even if you find it, it will never admit its sins and you will never be able to change its mind. So, to judge these two superpowers would be like judging two equally adulterous persons - husband and wife or lovers - who are accusing each other of being unfaithful. And in this case, especially, it could be extremely dangerous to be a judge because both of them are equipped with nuclear teeth.
laughter
Q. How long do you think can the United States maintain its superpower position? A. I don't think you can maintain the status of a superpower forever with just four moral persons.
Q. You mean the U.S. is maintained by just four moral persons? If yes, who are they? A. Mr. Ramsey Clark[former Attorney General under Carter Administration], and the Berrigan brothers [Anti-Vietnam War Catholic priest-activists].
Q. And who is the fourth person? A. Mr. Art Buchwald, that Washington Post columnist. He's the most intelligent American I‘ve ever known. laughter
Q. In that case, he could be a good president of the United States. A. Well, unless the system is changed first, he'd become just another victim of the system, like Mr. Jimmy Carter. laughter
Q. But who can change the system? A. That fellow Aquarian friend of mine, Mr. Reagan. But unfortunately he‘s on the other side.
laughter
Q. Don‘t you realize that you're endangering your own life by offending the most powerful nation on earth? A. But didn't even the Soviet Union later allow Rev. Billy Graham to preach there, who has been for decades accusing her of being the Evil Empire?
laughter
Q. Why do you think that Mr. Ramsey Clark is moral? A. Well, I can no more recall what he really said word by word. But when the Iranian Revolutionary Guards took 52 Americans as hostages he was courageous and sincere enough to say that the American people themselves should re-analyse if they had done something wrong in their dealings with other nations in the first place, or something like that. As a result he immediately drew harsh criticsms from all corners of the American society.
02. ON MR. RONALD REAGAN (6)
Q. What do you think of your fellow Aquarian Mr. Ronald Reagan? A. We liked each other very much the moment we met each other.
Q. You've met each other? Impossible! A. He secretly invited me to the White House recently, and we had a very friendly discussion on several topics.
Q. What kind of topics? A. Being a typical Aquarian, he even immediately let me call him affectionately “Ron”, as most of his personal friends call him. At his own encouragement I gleaned all my courage and shot this question at him: “Ron, what the hell have you been doing down there? You let us humanitarian- minded Aquarians down with your hodgpodge foreign policies!”
Q. Didn't his advisors knock you down? A. No, we were alone. He even put his hand on my shoulder and said to me: 'We really need some courageous man like you to lead our Central and South American policies.' I said to him, 'Ron, listen! You surely know what's going on down there for centuries with your puppet dictators. They're treating their own countrymen like animals. Don't you at least have compassion for those hapless people?'. He replied in a whispering tone. 'My dear Jesus, please don't believe in Communist propaganda.' 'It's not Communist propaganda, Ron. Why don't you ask your CIA agents if you don't believe in the dire poverty down there?', I insisted. He replied without a trace of emotion, 'the duty of our agents is not to observe poverty, but to protect our Godfearing, peace-loving and justice-loving friends from their own human rights-violating subjects.'
laughter
I did not want to give up, 'In that case, Ron, you should consult the photos sent down by your spy sattelites.' He said, a little bit nervous 'No, the task of our spy sattelites is to detect if there's any boat carrying arms from the Soviet bloc, or if there's any airport under construction with the help of some Socialist countries in any part of the Southern Hemisphere. And those unmanned robots are not sensitive enough to detect human suffering and poverty.'
laughter
I was very disappointed, but as a last attempt I said, 'Why don't you ask your zealous Christian missionaries then? They might even have better information than your agents and sattelites.' He replied, a bit irritated and without any trace of emotion, 'Well, those missionaries are supposed to give illusions to the poor down there when the situation becomes unbearable for them, or they're supposed to act partly as public relations officers for us, when the anti-American sentiment gets too hot as the result of our humanitarian activities in cooperation with the best protectors of democracy and human dignity.'
laughter
I wanted to know what he thought about Burma: 'What do you think about the support that the successive U.S. governments and your best allies have been giving to the corrupt and murderous regimes in Burma?', I enquired. He got curious 'Burma? I have never heard of it before. Wait, wait... Isn't it located in the South Pacific, near the Fiji Islands?'
laughter
Q. How did you reply? A. What else could I do, except nearly getting a heart attack? As I realized that it was of no use explaining him the location of Burma, I changed the subject to heavenly matters.
laughter
Q. For example? A. I asked him if he really wanted to get eternal life, and he said he wanted to. I told him then that if he wanted it he‘d have to stand on the side of the poor and hapless.
Q. How did he react? A. He said that he's got enough powerful friends and he named a number of of preachers. So he was not at all worried about being punished by my Father.
laughter
Q. What was your reponse? A. I was awakened from this nightmare by the shock at hearing these names.
Q. So it was just a dream. A. A nightmare which is still haunting me.
laughter
Q. Why were these names so shocking? A. Because they're among the best friends of the rich and powerful.
laughter
Q. Now let‘s get serious. What do you really think of Mr. Reagan? A. He will go down in history as one of the greatest humanitarians.
Q. You must be kidding. You know that millions of poor people are suffering under his administration. A. But doesn't he at least protect the interest of the rich and powerful?
laughter Q. That's exactly the reasons why I wonder when you called him a great humanitarian. A. Well, if you find yourself under the poverty-line, or if you happen to be a minority, or a victim of one of the dictators his administration is supporting, then it's your own fault, not his. In that case, may the LORD be with you, Amen!
laughter
03. ON THE SELF-DEFENSE INITIATIVE (SDI) PROGRAM (10)
Q. What do you think of his (Reagan) Self-Defense Iniative program? A. I like it, especially because of its prophetic nature.
Q. What do you mean? A. Its prophetic nature: Self-Destruction Initiative.
laughter
Q. How about the Russian SS-20 rockets? A. I like them, too, for the same reason: Strategic Suicide within 20 hours.
laughter
Q. You really seem to be happy about the imminent Third World War. A. Well, I thought you‘re the ones who are happy because you're manufacturing more and more weapons. laughter
Your actions sometimes remind me of a very greedy distant relative of mine in Zoram[Chinland] who went hunting alone one day. This man decided to go hunting - for the first time in his life. But he did not return home for three days and three nights. So the whole villagers went out into the wood and looked for him. After a long search they found him lying in a deep revine, partly paralyzed and starving. Here‘s what happened to him: He saw a very big monkey swinging on ivies above the ravines in which he was to be found later. He shot the monkey right away, but it was only wounded that it was still clinging on to the ivies. The poor man was so excited that he immediately climbed up the ivies with all his things - his gun, rucksack, knife, etc. He then cut the ivies with his knife just above the hands of the monkey so he and the monkey were altogether falling down into the deep ravine. Some of his bones were broken or sprained that he could not get up anymore. When the villagers found him the monkey was already rotten.
laughter
04. ON MR. MICHAIL GORBACHEV (187)
Q. How do you see Mr. Gorbachev? A. Judging by what he's done since he came to power, he seems to be a grand strategist. So he may put the West more and more on the defensive.
Q. How are you going to handle this Godless strategist? If you don‘t watch out, he might put you, too, on the defensive. laughter
A. That's what I'm afraid of most now. Let's hope that he doesn‘t make an offer that I can't afford to refuse. laughter
Q. What kind of offer do you think he could make to you? A. He'll probably try to ally with me against our own worshippers. Who knows?
laughter
Q. Why should he do that? A. Because of my stand on the side of the poor, the oppressed and the hapless. So our worshippers might attack me of being a false prophet or an Antichrist, and since the Soviets also have always been claiming to stand on the side of the same people that we're representing, we might be forced by our wealthy and powerful worshippers into the same boat.
laughter
Q. How would you handle him if you were in the same boat with him? A. I'd have to pray to our worshippers in my Father‘s own name to rescue me from that “Godless monster”. laughter
Q. Do you think Mr. Gorbachev's reform programme would be successful? A. Since I don't know his short- and long-term plans in detail, I can't tell you about my opinions.
Q. At least for the time being, he has clearly put the West on the defensive in disarmament matters. How do you see his moves? A. As my source of information is only through international news media, I think it's too risky for me to make any comments on these matters. Sometimes I wonder if his moves are not too fast. And I'm worried that, if he makes too many concessions too fast that the West cannot absorb or comply with, the West would probably press their nuclear buttons out of irritation or frustration.
laughter
Q. Why don't you ask your Father or your angels to look into the Kremlin's top secret files so that you will have first-hand information? A. We can't do that because their state secrets are protected also by Lucy, my former friend. If you don't believe me, ask your own archangels and gods in your countries.
laughter
05. ON THE BEST POLITICAL SYSTEM FOR MANKIND (150)
Q. There are several political systems in this world. So which one do you think is the best for the entire mankind? A. A political system that guarantees human rights and the distribution of a nation's or a community's wealth as fairly as possible is the best one.
Q. Is there any such system? A. I don't know. If there's none, then you should create one.
06. ON HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI (17)
Q. What do you think about the dropping of Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? A. I think it was a blessing in disguise - for you humans. Q. What? It is a blessing in disguise? A. If these bombs were not dropped there, you would never really realize how dangerous atomic weapons are. Even with the enormous data and evidence on their killing potentials made known to the general public, those who have such bombs can still persuade the world's population to believe that a nuclear war is either winnable or survivable. If not for them, you would probably be no more alive today.
Q. But how do you see the morality of the destruction of innocent lives there? A. It's of course a great pity that so many innocent lives were lost there. But if you talk about moral, you should also ask this unpleasant question in return: Did the Japanese themselves ever observe any moral code in their conquered territories? Their cruelities and brutalities in those regions were beyond description.
Q. So you think they deserved it? A. Morality is a very complex issue, which should not and cannot be discussed in a few minutes' time because in judging a certain case people use different criteria, approaches, moral codes and so on.
Q. But could you please give us a simple example or an explanation? A. Good. If you consider the suffering of the victims of the Japanese cruelties on individual basis, and from the side of those who lost their empires, it's very sad and loathsome. But if you look at it on a wider scale, you'd have to conclude that hundreds of millions of people were freed from their colonial yoke thanks to the Japanese' involvement in the Second World War. That's why I said moral is a very complex issue.
07. ON JUST WAR (36)
Q. Christian theologians, Christian religious leaders and scholars and clergy have always been hotly debating about the definition of a just war. What is your opinion? A. Any war that has defensive nature is a just war. Or in other words, if you're fighting in a war on the side of a party which is fighting against an oppressor or an aggresor, that means you're fighting a just war.
08. ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM (36)
Q. What do you have to say about international terrorism? A. First tell me your definition of the Rangoon regimes' activities against their own people and the non-Burmese peoples as well with the generous aid of democratic countries. Then I'll also tell you my own definition.
09. ON SOUTH AFRICA (158)
Q. How do you see the present situation in South Africa? A. I see it from a realist's point of view.
Q. What do you mean? A. I mean I see it from the point of view of the oppressed there.
Q. Are you for or against economic sanctions by the West and the world? A. You should better ask the blacks themselves.
Q. But the blacks themselves are not united in forming up a common opinion on this matter. A. Have they ever been given a chance to express their opinion freely?
Q. No, never. A. Well, in that case let them freely decide for themselves first - whether they are for or against sanctions.
Q. If they have such freedom, sanctions would be no more necessary. The very reason that sanctions are needed is that they have no rights to decide for their own destiny. A. I see. In that case why don't you simply impose sanctions against the White regime then, until it gives the blacks their birthrights so that they will be able to do whatever they want? It‘s as simple as that.
Q. In reality it's not that simple. You should not forget that, as I've told you, the blacks themselves are divided on whether sanctions should be imposed on the white rulers or not. A. Where did you get your information?
Q. From some opinion polls conducted in South Africa itself by some outsiders, including some international news media and opinion research institutes. A. Could you tell me any country in the whole world which is partly or entirely ruled by public opinion polls? Or would the white Afrikaners themselves agree to decide their own destiny by the results of public opinion polls alone?
10. ON THE JEWS, JUDAISM, AND THE HOLOCAUST (75/90/223)
Q. Do you speak Hebrew now? A. No.
Q. What language is spoken in heaven? A. There's no particular common language officially introduced, so you can speak whatever you like and everyone understands it. laughter
Q. Would you define yourself as a reincarnation? A. I prefer to define myself as a resurrection, but if you want to call me a reincarnation, that is also okay. laughter
Q. Would you tell us the process of reincarnation - that is, how you entered your earthly mother's womb and so on? A. You'd never be able to understand it, if even I told you in detail.
Q. All Christians claim that the soul of a Jew would not go to heaven. What would you say about that? A. Have they ever directly asked the biblical God?
laughter
Q. Was the Holocaust just a historical incident or something else? A. You should read the Old Testament if you want to understand it. Please read the biblical verses in my Open Letter to the Rabbis, dated Octorber 6, 1991: A Humble Appeal to all the Rabbis of the Various Branches of Judaism.
Q. Had your Father shown himself to his Chosen People in person they might not have strayed away from him, and as a result they could have become a sinless people and that they wouldn't have to experience the Holocaust. A. He had already done that once on Mount Sinai when the Israelites came out of Egypt. They were so terrified that they begged Moses to tell their God to speak to them only through him, and not directly to them anymore (Exodus 19:9-22). My Father was extremely disappointed and angered by their stubborness.
Q. Should the Jews have to recognize you now as their Messiah whom they have been waiting for thousands of years? A. Since it's still possible that I still may probably turn out at the end to be a fraud or a false prophet or an impostor or even a demon, they don't need to accept me personally as their long awaited Deliverer. In fact, the Book of Revelation is the best proof of the authenticity of the Messiahhood of Jesus because the prophecies in the said book seem to be slowly being fulfilled now.
Q. Why did your Father choose the Israelites to be his Chosen Children? A. There were two main reasons: first, it was to keep His promise to Abram that He'd make him a great nation, bless him and make his name great (Genesis 12:1-3); second, it was intended to serve as an example to other peoples of the world - that is, as a proof of His existence, Hiis power of deliverance, His morals, His faithfulness and blessings to those who have faith in Him and thus keep His Commandments.
Q. Would you like to go back to Israel? A. I don't know if they would allow me to enter it.
Q. How would the National Socialists be judged in your heavenly court for Holocaust? A. Since it's an extremely sensitive subject - both theologically and politically - let's don't discuss about it.
Q. If you're truly the son of God, wouldn't you do something for peace in the Middle East? At least the Jewish Israelis would probably heed your voice. A. You know how dangerous it could be to talk loudly about peace in that region. Just look at what had happened with the late Mr. Rabin, who was the prime minister of Israel between 1992 and 1995 murdered by an Israeli gunman. And even if in case all the Israelis and the Palestinians wanted to have a lasting peace, I don't think they would ever be able to implement it because there are so many powerful blocs or groups in the region and world-wide as well, that are tremendously profitting from the conflicts there.
Q. Can't your Father personally restore peace there? A. If He could, he would have done that since a long, long time ago. Q. Nearly all Christians have throughout history been accusing the Jews for your death 2000 years ago. What do you think about that? A. Those who had caused my death were just a few etablished priests who felt their own existence threatened by my mission. But what have all the Christians been doing in my own name against each other and also against other countless innocent people around the world during the past 2000 years?
11. ON ISLAM (80)
Q. What would you say about Islam? A. I better make no comments on this religion.
Q. Why not? A. Since even the Christians have more than enough problems among themselves, I shouldn't create more problems by interfering in the internal affairs of some other religions.
Q. But could you at least tell us if the Islamic Allah and the biblical God of Judaism and Christianity are a single being or not? A. I better should not say a single word about it.
Q. Why not? Since several leading personalities - that is, including Jesus or you - from the Old and New Testaments are also to be found in the Koran, the Muslims could even accuse you of committing blasphemy. A. I don't think they have the right to accuse me of committing this act, because I'm not basing my claims on the Koran, but only on the Old and New Testaments. Or in other words, the Jews and Christians, but not the Muslims, may have the right to accuse me if they want since I'm using their Bibles.
12. ON THE LIBERATION THEOLOGY (96)
Q. How do you see the Liberation Theology? A. Why do you want to know it?
Q. You know too well that it has become one of the most important and controversial topics in theology among your worshippers everywhere. A. Who needs this theology?
Q. Your worshippers in the Third World. A. No, you're totally wrong.
Q. Who then? A. Our worshippers in the rich nations, especially clergymen and theologians, etc.
Q. Why should they need it? A. If those people can first liberate themselves from the grips of their pride, sexism, arrogance, racism and materialism etc., their followers in the Third World would also be automatically liberated.
Q. How could the Third World people be automatically liberated then, when and if the said people could liberate themselves from the things that you've just mentioned? A. When and if those people could liberate themselves fully from these things, they would realize that God is Love and that Love means sharing what you've got with the poor and the needy and that God wants you not to hurt your fellow beings.
Q. How could these people liberate themselves in the first place? A. They should try at least every now and then to be humble enough to see things from their starving followers' point of view in the Third World. That could be a good start.
13. ON THEOLOGICAL STUDIES (130)
Q. Is the study of theologies really necessary? A. That, you'll have to decide for yourselves.
Q. Why? A. I really don't understand why you Christians keep on studying theologies for centuries - even millenniums in the case of the Roman Catholics - since your religious leaders are already powerful enough to forgive your sins and even promise you salvation and an eternal life in God's kingdom - on God's own behalf - or threaten you with an eternal damnation at a place called 'Hell' - also on God's own behalf! Or in other words, your religious leaders and theologians are already powerful enough to make their own doctrines on God's behalf, yet you keep on studying theologies by using the offerings of church members. Q. But we need to train some people who would lead church services and take care of church members.Without theological studies they wouldn't be able to performce such services. A. I understand that and I think that's also completely okay. The only thing that I cannot understand is your religious leaders and theologians behave as if they are absolutely certain about the existence of God and His Kingdom, but at the same time they are still endlessly arguing about the existence or non-existence of that God!
Q. How about studying them as academic subjects? A. Well, if you want to study theologies as pure academic subjects, I think that's alright; you may even freely make the wildest speculations or theories in that case.
Q. Do you think that Jewish and Christian theologies can be studied as pure academic subjects without abandoning their spirituality entirely? A. That, you'll have to find out yourselves.
Q. With which academic discipline or disciplines should they be studied then? A. For I'm not an academic, I don't know.
Q. You must have at least some ideas? A. No, I don't.
Q. Just some, please! A. Well, if you're so insistent, then I'll try to tell you some of my funny ideas about this matter. If I'm not wrong, every religion is a mixture of the tangible and intangible, the rationale and irrationale.
Q. What do you mean by these terms? A. Instead of explaining about these terms, let me tell you something else with regard to the study of Judaism and Christianity as pure academic subjects. If you would take all the supernatural parts out of these two religions, I really don't know if you could still define them as religions. But then the next major problem would be how to mix the supernatural and historical parts together so that your academic works would still sound academic and yet still retain the basic spiritual essences of both of these religions. For example, if I understand it correctly, Moses is not to be found in Egyptian history. Imagine what would happen to Judaism, Jewish history and Christianity if you would take him out of them...! 14. ON THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY (116)
Q. According to the Open Letters, Open Appeals and Open Supplications that you've so far distributed, you must have a very negative attitude toward Western Christian missionaries. A. Far from that. I know too well that there were and are many sincere missionaries, especially the pioneer ones, who had made invaluable contributions to countless primitive peoples around the world. What was and is bad about them is that those missionaries brought along with them their sectarian rivalries with which they divide the newly converts.
Q. Have you ever had any negative experiences with missionaries? A. I had had once a sorrowful experience with an American Baptist missionary in Chiangmai, Thailand.
Q. Could you tell us about it? A. In 1964 I went to Chiangmai in order to establish contacts with some Shan nationalists who took refuge there. But as my mission lasted much longer than I had expected I ran out of money and the Shans themselves were not in a better position either - financially. So, as the last resort I went to see an American Baptist missionary stationed in Chiangmai. It was noon time and he and his family were having lunch. I was asked to wait until they had finished their lunch. After their lunch I introduced myself and told him about my story and that I was half-starving. He then asked me the name of the American Baptist missionary in my country, Chinland. I told him his name - Dr. R.G. Johnson. He then said that he had trusted me, but asked me to come back the next day at the same time. When we met again the next day he gave me, to my great shock, only $ 1 (one dollar). And on both occasions they (he and his wife) didn't even offer me a meal although they knew that I was half-starving.
Q. So you must be very bitter with them, then. A. Yes, I was very sad and bitter at that time. But later I realized that I should even be grateful to them instead.
Q. Why should you be grateful to them? A. Had they been very kind and generous to me, it'd have probably taken me much longer to be disillusioned with missionaries. That experience forced me to read the Bible and also to read the history of missionaries around the world. Q. And any other remarkable experience with misssionaries back in your country? A. In my own country? No. But the most remarkable events that changed my opinion on Christianity and its missionaries were the Vietnam War. I first arrived back in Thailand for the second time in early 1970 and when the Vietnam War was at its peak the early 1970s, I was still there. During that time I only heard and read about the evils of Communism, but at the same time most staunch Christian nations of the West, and Japan were generously supporting Burma's Socialist-military dictatorship of Burma, which has already been waging one of the most ruthless wars in the world against its own citizens for decades, with military hardwares and finance. So, from that time on I began to look very seriously at Christianity, its missionaries and its adherents.
Q. Did you ask from that missionary any specific amount of money? A. I think I mentioned about $ 50.
Q. How did you solve your financial problems? A. I finally got help from my comrades and a Karen Baptist pastor.
Q. Are there many Western missionaries in Thailand now? A. Yes.
Q. Did you know any of them closely? A. I got to know only one missionary family, but purely by chance, while I was in Thailand between 1971-78.
Q. Which one then? A. Rev. Robert Morse and his family. His wife, Mrs. Betty Morse, and their children became very good friends of mine. The whole family was extremely warm-hearted, sincere and generous.
Q. Is there any foreign missionaries in Burma now? A. No. I think the last foreign missionaries left Burma in the mid 60s. And that‘s good so.
Q. Why? A. If there still were some until today, the divisions and rivalries between those Christians there would be even worse than now. Even with the restrictions imposed on missionary activities by the Rangoon regime, numerous Christian sects from the West are still able to recruit followers there. 15. ON CHRISTIAN UNITY (120)
Q. Is Christian unity really important? A. That depends on...
Q. Depends on what? A. Depends on many factors. The unity of a social community or a religious community is very important - provided of course that such a community is formed up with good intentions, because the unity within such a community breeds love and tolerance, or the other way round.
Q. But with so many doctrines at hand how could it ever be achieved by your worshippers? A. I don't know.
Q. You must give them a recipe then, otherwise they may never be able to achieve it. A. No, I don't have any recipe for this purpose. They themselves must find it out, if they think it's really necessary for them, that is.
Q. Why don‘t you at least make some efforts to unify them? A. You can only change those who are humble enough to know and admit their own weaknesses. The Burmans have a proverb: It's easier to wake somebody up who is really sleeping than someone who pretends to be sleeping.
16. ON OTHER RELIGIONS AND NEW RELIGIOUS SECTS (154)
Q. What do you think about other religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, etc? A. I better don't make any comments on them. Everybody should and must decide for himself what is good and what is bad for him.
Q. Is Christianity superior to other religions of the world? A. I prefer to say that it's unique.
Q. You just said one must decide for himself what is good and what is bad for him, but how can you do that since there are several established religions and many new ones are sprouting everywhere? A. It's not an easy question to answer and I don't think I can even answer it.
Q. What do you think about sects that are using your name then? A. Every Christian Church claims to be the “only true Church”, and accuses all other Churches as false. So all of them must be either true or false. I cannot therefore make a comment on this question.
Q. Is it alright for a sect to arm itself, as a number of sects have done? A. I've got no right to decide for them.
Q. The problem is that if a new sect emerges the established churches try to suppress it and if it tries to arm itself for its own defence, these established churches try to get rid of it by all possible means. A. First of all, in my opinion the Churches you've just referred to themselves are in fact nothing more than sects; second, the established churches or sects don't need to arm themselves anymore because they are already fully monopolizing the armed forces and war machinery in their countries, including nuclear arsenals and the biblical God and His Son.
laughter
Q. How do you differentiate a church and a sect? A. It's not my task to define a church or a sect. Christianity itself was originally just a Judaic sect.
17. ON SETTING UP A NEW SECT AND INTRODUCING A NEW DOCTRINE (201)
Q. Wouldn't you perhaps set up a new sect bearing your present name? A. How could I do that if even I wanted to, since you all are already praying in my name?
laughter
Q. If someone sets up a new sect in your present earthly name - Thang Za Dal, that is - and pray in this name, how would you and your Father react? A. Such a fool would be directly sent to hell, without giving him a chance to defend himself in my Father's Heavenly Court on the Day of Judgement.
laughter
Q. With all the evidence that you've got now, you could become very wealthy by setting up a new sect of your own. A. Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the LORD your God and serve Him only!
laughter
Q. Sometimes we get the impression that you're introducing a new doctrine. A. Oh, God! Me introducing a new doctrine? Which one then?
Q. Now you're allowing the rich to retain their wealth and worse of all you're indirectly permitting sexual acts, divorce, remarriage of divorced persons, and so on. A. I see. Well, it'd be most easy for me to repeat what all your religious leaders and theologians have been preaching for centuries - that is, the virtues of sexual morals or the sinfulness of sexual acts. But the problem is that the mere repetition of these morals will not make you better beings.
Q. But some people may probably try to interpret your ideas in this interview as a new doctrine. A. Are my moral teachings in the New Testament different from that of the Old Testament?
Q. I think so. A. They remain, in fact, the same in their core essences, although some of my teachings indeed were radically different from some of the then existing biblical laws. The only most radical changes from the Old Testament are the simplification of worship and the concepts of salvation and an eternal life through the sacrifice of my own life.
Q. How would you persuade your worshippers that you're not introducing a new doctrine? A. If you can't even observe the Ten Commandments, what would be the use of introducing a new doctrine?
18. ON CHRISTIAN MORALITY (165)
Q. Do you think Christian morals are superior to all other morals? A. Which Christian morals do you mean?
Q. Oh, God! Which Christian morals? Yours and your Father‘s. A. Thank God that you said our morals, otherwise I won‘t know what you meant.
laughter Q. Why? A. Because there is no such a thing as Christian moral.
Q. Why not? A. You have to be very careful about that. As you see, every Christian sect or church interprets our morals completely differently and as a result they all have Christian morals of their own brand which have nothing to do with the biblica morals.
Q. Which church's or sect's morals do you think are the best then? A. Morals have no value until or unless their own creators can observe them.
Q. You've said earlier that Christianity is unique, so you must surely believe that your morals are superior to that of other religions. A. I don't know how you interpret the word: unique or uniqueness. But for me it doesn't necessarily mean superior or superiority. If you ask a Buddhist how he sees his religion and its moral teachings, he'd surely tell you that they are also unique. So every moral is unique in its own way, depending on the ultimate achievement that that moral is supposed to bring to its adherents.
Q. That means your morals are not superior to others? A. Of course our morals are superior to others because you can achieve an eternal life only through observing them. In like manner the rituals and morals of Buddhism are superior to others because you could attain nirvana only through these means.
Q. And how about Islamic and Judiacal morals? A. You should better ask them. I can tell you only about things that are directly related to Christianity.
Q. If you really love us so dearly, why didn't you make your own moral codes in detail so that we may not have difficulty interpreting them? You should have, for example, written the four Gospels yourself when you came down for the first time, instead of letting your mortal disciples write them? A. That's a very weak excuse of you humans. If you can't even observe the Ten Commandments, what's the use of giving you a detailed law? The Roman Catholic Church, for example, has made one of the most detailed canon laws, but who observes them? Just only a handful of people, perhaps.
Q. Are you moral enough to be Jesus? A. You have to be very specific about the morals that you have in mind, otherwise I cannot give you the right answer.
Q. Your own ethical teachings, for instance? A. According to my life experience there are several kinds of moral uprightness. For instance, some people are sexually very moral, but they are doing things secretly or openly that are most disgusting, and so on. Some have no sexual moral at all, but they are very moral in other matters.
Q. But isn't Jesus supposed to be flawlessly moral in everything? A. I think so. laughter
Q. You think so? If you're not so sure about your own moral uprightness, how dare you claim to be Jesus? A. I've got the impression that Christians themselves do not really put value on moral uprightness.
Q. That‘s an insult to us. A. Look, you are expecting moral uprightness from me, but in reality you prefer to observe some morals that were made by your own fellow mortal human beings.
Q. That means you think you could convince us that you are the real Jesus without being moral? A. Since you may probably think I'm trying to mislead the faithful if I try to be moral now, I will try my best not to be moral until you could prove my real identity.
laughter
Q. Could you be moral at the end of the deadline, if no one else appears in the mean time to claim to be Jesus? A. Why not, if I'm even ready to give my life for you once again, if necessary.
laughter
19. ON INFALLIBILITY (97)
Q. The Bishops of Rome have since 1871 claimed to be infallible. Is that possible? A. Why not, if they claim so? Q. But can this prerogative power be claimed by mortals, too? A. You can even claim it, if you want. So far as I know there's no human law that forbids you from doing that. laughter
Q. Do you think those bishops have really got at least some kind of authority from your Father to claim this right? A. Please ask them, not me. laughter
Q. Are you infallible, too? A. No, far from that.
Q. Can't you make yourself to be infallible? A. No, not on this earth.
Q. Is your Father really infallible? A. Even my Father had once made a fatal mistake for which He later endlessly regretted so much.
Q. Really? What was it? A. He created you - the human beings.
laughrter
Q. I've never heard of that before. A. Read Genesis 6:1-7!
20. ON SEPARATION OF STATE AND CHURCH (107)
Q. In your opinion could the Church and State in Christian countries be separated? A. That, you will have to find out yourselves. I don't really know if you could do that since all the state, political, and academic institutions, news media, and financial and business sectors are so closely working together in all Christian societies around the world.
21. ON WEALTH AND POVERTY (123) Q. If the Bible is to be literally interpreted, most people in affluent Christian nations would seem to destine for the lake of fire because they're living in luxury while millions are dying from hunger. A. The mere possession of or acquiring of wealth is not necessarily sinful. It's only sinful when and if you accomulate your fortune at the expense of some people's blood and tears, or if you use your wealth to cause suffering to your fellow beings, or if you misuse our names for acquiring your fortune. And one must not forget, on the other hand, that poverty alone is not necessarily a free ticket to Heaven either. The virtues of poverty, among many other things, is the fact that if you're poor you have less capacity to cause suffering to others. The poor also need the same amount of faith in my Father as the rich do to be eligible for entering my Father's kingdom.
Q. But didn't you demand complete poverty or the giving away of one‘s all possessions to the needy on your first coming? A. Yes, I did that. But who follows this demand in practice? None!
Q. But that should not be the only reason to relax this demand, I suppose. A. Well, if you prefer to strictly practise it, we have nothing against it.
laughter
The danger is that if I emphasize it too much this time, even many of those who claim to be the best Christians may accuse me of being a communist or an Antichrist or a dreamer because it sounds too idealistic or utopian. laughter
Q. Does that means that from now on we can live in luxury without the need to have bad conscience while billions of people are starving around the world? A. Well, I wonder if you have ever had any bad conscience at all until now.
laughter
Q. Slowly we're getting the impression that the enitire Bible, both Old and New Testaments, must be compleletely or at least partly rewritten based on the facts that contain in this interview. Don't you think so? A. That, you'll have to decide yourselves. laughter
22. ON COMMUNISM; PASSING JUDGMENT ON GODLESS COMMUNISTS; THE CONFLICTS OF CAPITALISM AND COMMUNISM (12/86/222)
Q. You've been attacking only Western Christians, but you haven't even touched the human rights violations in Communist countries. That is not fair. A. I'm afraid of those Godless people, and I dare not interfere in their internal affairs.
Q. That's simply too ridiculous! A. I really mean it, because they're not under our jurisdiction, and they're not our worshippers.
Q. Whose worshippers are they then? Lucy? And under whose jurisdiction are they? A. They're the worshippers of Karl Marx and Lenin and they're under these two Gods' jurisdiction.
laughter
Q. But doesn't the Bible say that you're the ruler of your Father's creations, including this world? A. I'm not sure about that anymore.
Q. You yourself have claimed to be the son of God and now you say you're doubtful about the Bible. Why? A. Well, it's true that my Father had given me this world to rule, but some people have already taken my power away.
Q. Who are they? A. Satan, popes, cardinals, bishops, fundamentalists, capitalists, industrialists, politicians, pastors, communists, socialists, kings, queens, etc. Oh, the list is endless.
laughter
Q. Why are you afraid of those Godless Communists? A. Because they're not afraid of us. laughter
Q. That means you dare not prevent them from committing crimes against humanity, right? A. In fact, I'm itching to give all the communists an ultimatum.
Q. That‘s very interesting. What kind of ultimatum would it be? A. It would sound like this: Hey, you Communist monsters, listen! From now on you must stop violating human rights in your countries against your own people! If not, I'll make you all to be bad guys! laughter
Q. Do you think they're good guys now? A. Look, let's say they're bad now and they would become good guys if they obey my ultimatum, right? But if they don't obey it, I can't and shouldn't transform them to be worse than what they're now. And I can neither threaten them by saying: “Hey, you monsters, I'll make you good fellows if you don't accept my ultimatum!”, because they'll remain bad guys anyway.
laughter
Q. Oh, that‘s too complicated. Let‘s presume that you gave them this ultimatum. How do you think they would react? A. They would either laugh off at me and ignore me, or would they become very aggressive and try to get rid of me.
Q. Why should they be laughing off at you and ignore you? A. Because they may think I'm just a fool or a puppet of the capitalists who is ignorant of world history. laughter
Q. And why should they be aggressive to you? A. They may point an accusing finger at me and say: “Shut up, and mind your own business!” And they may add on and say, “Your Father and you even claim to be the creators of this universe, but look at what your priests and worshippers have been doing to each other and to other countless people as well for centuries! Don't you know that we communist monsters are liberating, sheltering, feeding, clothing and caring the victims of your good worshippers all over the world? We may be locking up thousands and thousands of people behind bars, but at least everybody has something to eat, somewhere to sleep and something to wear. And if we were you, we would first try to let our wealthy worshippers share their wealth with the poor before we give a lecture to Godless monsters on morality. And don't forget also that had your worshippers not exploited and oppressed their own fellow beings mercilessly, our ideology would have never come into existence in the first place and that we'd never have become monsters. laughter
And don't you also know that your rich worshippers in the West are lending us tens of billions of dollar with very flexible conditions so that we can divert our precious resources for our defence industries which we may need sooner or later to defend ourselves against those wealthy Christian creditors of ours. laughter
And worse of all, they even accuse us at the same time of being either Satan-incarnates or Antichrists whom they must wipe out of the face of this earth at all costs.”
laughter
Q. How would you react if they said exactly these words to you? A. Since what they said would be absolutely true, what else could I do?
laughter
Q. So there's no hope of making communists to be better beings? A. That would depend on our worshippers. When and if our worshippers begin to observe the biblical biblical morals, I would go to the communists and say to them: “Look, you Godless monsters, I've finally managed to transform our worshippers into good guys, so you can also abandon your atheistic way of life from now on and begin to stop violating human rights. If not, my Father will send you all to the eternal lake of fire. Understand?”
laughter
Q. How do you think they would react? A. They would surely be trembling before me and say, “Lord, You're truly the Son of God!”
laughter
Q. What would be the judgment for Godless Communists? A. I don't know. Q. How come? A. Why don't you ask their own God?
Q. Who is their God? A. That former friend of mine – Lucifer.
laughter
Q. Who said that? A. Our worshippers. laughter
Q. But aren't you going to judge all human beings? A. We can judge only those who worship us or those abuse our names. Could a citizen of the Soviet Union who is living there be prosecuted under the law of the United States of America?
laughter
Q. Communists are depriving Christians in their countries of their freedom to worship you. So wouldn't you at least punish them for this reason? A. They'll even be blessed. laughter
Q. You'll even bless them? Are you crazy? A. Look at what your millions of missionaries have done to ignorant and hapless people in Third World countries: they're splitting families, friends and loved ones into countless rival sects, and as a consequence they're planting hatred and disharmony among them, instead of bringing them love, forgiveness, peace and humility. So, if the communists have had granted their subjects freedom of worship, there would be more churches/sects and these churches/sects would also send some extra millions of missionaries to the Third World only to make the situation there worse. If that happened, even the Devil himself wouldn't know anymore how to handle the situation.
laughter
Q. How do you see the conflicts of capitalism and communism? A. I think one has to see them from two perspectives: at national and international levels. At the national level, their conflicts have purely ideological characteristics - that is class conflict, but at the international level, the two ideologies are mere camouflages used for the protection for national interests, for naked nationalism is too ugly.
23. ON SATAN, DEMONS, ANTICHRISTS, ANGELS (63)
Q. Can you see Satan again on this earth? A. Sure.
Q. How does he look like? A. You yourselves are seeing him - right now!
Q. Who? You? A. Who else could it be, if not me? laughter
Q. No kidding please. How does he look like? A. Just like normal human beings. You yourselves also are seeing him every day - on television.
Q. On television? What do you mean? A. If you've ever seen the Americans and the communists, then you've already seen the Devil and his demons.
Q. How can you prove that? A. That's very easy. The Americans are Satan-incarnates because the Iranian religious leader, Ayatullah Khomeini, had said so, and the communists are also demons because all the “God-fearing Christians” say so. laughter
Q. Let‘s be serious. Tell us if you can really see the Devil and his demons! A. Yes, sure.
Q. How do they look like? With horns and tails and forks as they're often depicted in paintings? A. If you've seen our worshippers, you've already seen him and his demons as well. laughter
Q. How dare you say that? You're insulting all the God-fearing, peace-loving Christians! A. Well, if I am to admit honestly, I don't really know anymore who our worshippers are. Look, all the Catholics accuse all other non-Catholic Christians as worshippers of Satan, and all the Protestants condemn the Catholics of being the worshippers of the Devil, and in like manner Prostestants of different churches themselves in turn are accusing each other of being Satan- incarnates. So I thought they all must be belonging to my old friend Lucifer.
laughter
Q. Can you see angels, too? A. Oh, you yourselves can see them, too – everyday.
Q. We can also see them? A. Yes, since all the Christians claim that they and they alone are the only genuine worshippers of ours who would go to Heaven, they all must be angels as well at the same time. Who knows?
laughter
Q. So you think it's possible to be both an angel and a demon at the same time? A. Don‘t ask me! Please ask those who seem to be capable of doing that. In fact, it's even already beyond the capability of my Universe-creator Father.
laughter
Q. What is the source of evils - Satan? A. Evil and goodness are, like everything else in nature around us, co-existing in everyone. In some people the degree of evil maybe highter than the goodness, and in some it maybe the other way round. And in some people one element may be entirely absent.
Q. So evil does not originate in Satan? A. Satan is by nature evil already - I mean since the time of his rebellion against my Father and after he was cast down from heaven. So if the evils in you get the upperhand over the goodness, you're vulnerable to become Satan's instrument or follower. But if your're well aware of your own evils and thus able to overcome them with your own mental power, then the Devil cannot recruit you to be his follower.
Q. Can prayers save you from the Devil? A. You should better look at those who claim to be the best Christians around the world! They must surely have been praying for centuries, but what kind of suffering have they been causing to each other and also to other countless innocent, hapless people for centuries?
Q. That means prayers alone cannot save you from him? A. That's partly true, but let's discuss about it later as a topic.
Q. How can you overcome the evils in you if prayer alone cannot save you and make you a better being? A. First of all, you need to be able to recognize the evils and virtues in yourself and then you'll have to be genuinely willing to get rid of those evils.
Q. But how can you find the evils and virtues in yourself out? A. There are many people who realize that they're evil or bad, but there are also countless people who don't know that they're evil or bad. There are uncountable examples in human history.
Q. Another very important question please! If your Father is really so powerful as he is said to be in the Bible, why didn't he physically get rid of Satan and all his demons? That would have solved all the problems in this world. A. May I ask you a question in return?
Q. Go ahead! A. I've had always even thought and hoped that you would do that yourselves.
Q. What do you mean? A. Didn't you accuse the Communists, when they were in power in many parts of the world, of being Satanincarnates and piling up all kinds of war meterials for the wiping out of them from the face of the earth at all costs? So, why haven't you wiped them out yourselves yet?
laughter
Q. What are the characteristics of an Antichrist? A. According to several dictionaries the characterics of an Antichrist are acts or deeds that are opposite to the teachings and deeds of Jesus. Most Christians throughout history have been very loosely using this terminology against those who do not share their own opinion. And countless innocent beings have had even been accused of being Antichrists and thus brutally tortured and killed. So if I were they I would try to read the four Gospels at least once in order to find out what Jesus had really said and preached 2000 years ago. If they did that they would realize immediately who an Antichrist really is, and as a result they would probably stop accusing each other of being an Antichrist. At least I haven‘t mistreated or killed yet a single human being in His own name. Nor have I ever threatened somebody to send his soul to Hell in His name. I ask myself very often how people can accuse each other of being Antichrists when none of them can even see his own soul, not to mention if he can see Jesus with his own eyes. And sometimes, I wonder if a great majority of human beings don't even owe Satan for their very existence.
Q. What? A great number of human beings even owe Satan for their existence? A. Yes, just imagine that every human being is perfect! Then you wouldn't need policemen, soldiers, lawyers, judges, etc., anymore. So how would these people earn their living then?
laughter
Q. And one of the greatest mysteries for us human beings in theology is: How could such a powerful archangel with a great number of followers in God‘s own kingdom itself rebel against Him. Not even a single theologian or religious leader could explain it until now satisfactorily. How would you explain about it? A. Instead of explaining you about this great mystery, let me explain you about it in a very simple way. In fact, only Christians could understand this mystery. If Jesus had had never really appeared on earth, one could even speculate that God and His kingdom and angels existed no more. But whatever had happened in Heaven between God and Satan in the “olden days”, the appearance of Jesus 2000 years ago means God and His kingdom and angels were still in existence at somewhere in the Universe then. So if Jesus would come back for the second time, as He is recorded in the Bible to have promised his believers then, that would once again confirm the continued existence of them all. Or in other words, his Second Coming would mean there were no more rebellions in Heaven after Satan and his followers had been driven out of there. So the decisive question in this case now is: If the biblical Jesus mentioned in the New Testament was a reality or not, and if He would really come back for the second time - if in case I'm not that Jesus!
Q. Do angels really have wings as it is mentioned in the Bible? A. What is so special about that, since even countless insects also have wings? laughter
24. ON THE WHORE OF BABYLON AND SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX (666)
Q. Who is the Whore of Babylon mentioned in the Book of Revelation? A. Please ask your own religious leaders and theologians, not me.
Q. How come? It's one of the most crucial biblical prophecies in the entire Bible. A. Yes, I also know that it is one of the most important parts of the entire Bible. But since your religious leaders and theologians even claim to be directly empowered by the biblical God Himself, they must know it better. And they all have an obligation to tell their followers when and where this Whore had appeared, or when and where she would appear in the future, if she hasn't appeared yet until now.
Q. And how about the beast who is symbolized with 666 - the number of the beast or of man (Revelation 13:11-18). A. It can be deciphered only by means of numerology. But my interpretation is completely different from that of all the existing Churches. The number 666 added together makes 18. And then 1 plus 8 make 9, which is the number of the Planet Mars, the symbol of War, Destruction, Force. This number therefore symbolizes the worship of things material.
Q. And how about getting the mark of the beast on one's forehead or on one's right hand? A. If you're a part of the decision-making body of a any powerful lifeless institution which functions solely for the accumulation of material things at the expense of innocent people's blood and tears, then it means that you get his mark on your forehead; and if you become an instrument of such an institution, it means you get his mark on your right hand.
Q. How sure are you with these interpretations of yours? A. Let's hope that I'm completely wrong with my interpretations.
Q. You prefer that you are wrong with your interpretations? How come? A. Countless Christian theologians and religious leaders have tried to interpret biblical prophecies throughout centuries in absolutely different ways and all of them proved to be absolutely wrong until now! Because of such misinterpretations countless innocent people around the world had to pay with their precious lives for nothing. So, if I'm to be honest, I prefer that you don't take these interpretations of mine seriously for they could also prove to be completely wrong at the end. And you should also see another interesting interpretation of this number in “The Oxford Companion to the Bible”, published in 1983, under “Six Hundred Sixty-Six”.
25. ON HEAVEN AND HELL (149)
Q. How does your Father's kingdom look like? A. You can read about it in the Book of Revelation.
Q. Where is Satan's kingdom and how does it look like? A. Aren't you living in itself?
Q. What do you mean? A. Doesn't the Bible say that this world is Satan's kingdom?
laughter
Q. Could we still attain an eternal life without being perfect then? A. Nearly nobody would be able to enter God's kingdom if one has to be absolutely perfect.
Q. What are the most sinful of all the could prevent us from entering it then? A. The causing of great suffering and death to innocent, hapless human beings in God's own name. Don't forget that Satan and his followers themselves were driven out of there and that Heaven is not a dumping ground for the souls of unrepentant sinners.
laughter
Q. Is heaven still intact until now? A. I think so. Why do you want to know about it?
laughter
Q. Why do we want to know it? Since countless long-range rockets have been sent up to the sky and the same amount of sattelites are orbiting at different heights, they probably may have ruined it, I suppose. A. As my Father must have forseen, when He created you human beings, that someday you would shoot your rockets through the sky, he must have had made enough preventions, or He must be employing some technical experts now to repair the damages that your rockets may have caused or would cause to it in the future. Or He may probably have moved it to a safer place where your rockets and sattelites cannot reach. laughter
26. ON THE ORIGINAL SIN (145)
Q. Is the Original Sin still important for us to understand? A. Haven't I already bought you from this sin with my blood at Golgotha 2000 years ago?
laughter
27. ON ENLIGHTENMENT (18)
Q. Are you enlightened? A. Well, if I say “yes”, that would mean I'm not yet fully enlightened, but on the other hand if I say “no”, that would be just a naked lie.
laughter
Q. That means you're enlightened? A. Your question makes me very uncomfortable, so why don't you use a different approach?
laughter
Q. Okay, I‘ll try. Why should it be that you're not yet fully enlightened just by saying “yes? Does it suit you better? A. It sounds much better. laughter
Well, when I was still in school I had a very unconventional friend. And he was a very attentive listener and a vivid reader as well, but since he never told anyone what he knew or how much he knew, people who got to know him thought he must know much more than what he really knew, although in fact he knew nothing more than what he really knew. laughter
Q. Oh, that‘s too complicated. Do you think it's possible for everybody to achieve it? A. I don't know.
Q. How many kinds of enlightenment are there? A. I don‘t know.
Q. For example, this term is interpreted and understood quite differently by philosophers and various religions. So I suppose the one you have in mind is the one sought after by the Buddhists. A. I don't know.
Q. It's generally understood that once you have achieved the state of awakening you lose all your illusions. Is it true? A. I personally don't think that you can really get rid of all your illusions as long as you have to live among illusioned human beings in surroundings full of illusions. And I think all illusions are not necessarily destructive; some illusions are even constructive and therefore necessary for your existence as a human being.
Q. Can you give us some examples? A. There are ample examples of both kinds in everyday life - in religion, politics, culture, and so on. You'll get to know some of the negative as well as the positive illusions from this interview.
Q. So you yourself are still illusioned? A. Sure. I like cartoons and caricatures, for instance. Actually, such things are also some kind of illusions because they are not realistic - mostly - or too realistic in an abstract sense. A human life without some absurdities also could be meaningless and even boring. And children need illusions in the form of fairy tales. These forms of illusions are what I'd call constructive and necessary ones.
Q. And how about some destructive examples? A. Like preaching God's love and forgiving power and the virtues of sexual morals to hundreds of thousands of starving Christians in Burma without helping them to alleviate their suffering.
Q. Could you really prove of your own enlightenment? A. That's very easy. Carefully analyse the contents of this interview and if you think I'm completely crazy, then you could be pretty sure that I've got at least some kind of enlightenment. At the end of this interview you yourselves may probably be enlightened, too, or you go totally crazy, or both - like me! laughter
Q. Can you give us some good tips so that we may also strive for it? A. No, I wouldn't do that even if I could, because, if you're not strong-willed enough, you could very easily land in a psychiatric hospital for your whole life.
laughter
Q. But it is generally believed that those who have attained some kind of enlightenment are happy. A. I wish I could reverse it. laughter
Q. Why? A. Because you see things as they really are. laughter
Q. Do you believe that Zen masters, for example, have really attained enlightenment? A. Why don't you ask them? You yourself can even claim now that you're already awakened, too, if you wish.
Q. Without really having attained it? A. Why not? Nobody has patented it yet – fortunately.
laughter
Q. Unfortunately? A. Fortunately. laughter
Q. How long are you already enlightened? A. For eternity. laughter
Q. For eternity? So old is your enlightenment already? But how can you prove that? A. That's very easy. Just simply read what I had said and preached in the four Gospels and if you find some or all of them to be enlightening, then you could be pretty sure that I was at least either partly or completely enlightened already 2000 years ago. But if you think it to be the opposite, then I shall have to strive for it anew - while I'm still alive on this earth.
laughter
28. ON HAPPINESS (27)
Q. What is happiness? A. An illusion.
Q. An illusion? A. Yes, an illusion, because different people interpret it differently and try to achieve it through different means.
Q. For example? A. A Buddhist monk maybe happy; a fool maybe happy; a banker maybe happy; a lawyer maybe happy; the bishops of Rome maybe happy; a missionary maybe happy; a military dictator maybe happy; a hangman maybe happy; a king or queen maybe happy. But the reasons for which these people are happy are not the same. So it is not possible to define happiness into a fixed form, nor is it possible to give everybody the same recipe. For example, one's happiness could be another person's nightmare, or the other way round. That's why I prefer to call it an illusion.
Q. Could you give us some concrete examples? A. The late dictator of Burma, General Ne Win, was most of the time very happy and he led a luxurious life. But 90 % of Burma's population was suffering endlessly under his rule. That's only one example.
Q. Even then don't you think that it still might be possible to formulate or invent some basic or general guidelines? A. Okay, let's try some more, if you're so insistent. Why do you keep on electing politicians who may probably wipe you out sooner or later with your own nuclear weapons, or why do you listen to radios, watch television and read newspapers?
Q. In a modern society you cannot isolate yourself from the community around you forever. A. Then let's forget about this subject.
Q. Why? A. Since you prefer to live with reality, what's the use of discussing about it further?
laughter
Q. But even then there must be some basic factors that many people could use as guidelines. Don't you think so? A. There you go again! laughter
Okay, let's be a little bit more serious about it. What you've just said could be possible, although I have no ideas at all what they should or could be. Good health, peace, presence of some fair social and legal systems in the community or country in which you live and the lack of greed or jealousy within yourself could probably be among them, I suppose. Above all else, I think, contentment could be another decisive factor as well. Contentment means to be contented with what you‘re and what you've got, for instance. Since it‘s a much more complex matter than it sounds which could be dealt with only on individual basis, let's discuss about it only this much.
Q. Could you mention some more examples? A. If you have loving and caring parents and they are still alive, or if you've got someone whom you can love or if there's someone who loves you, or if you have enough to eat, or if you have a roof over your head and so forth. But there are some people who cannot by nature be happy although they may have everything one could wish in this world. Such people always tend to see or look at things only in pessimistic way.
29. ON BHAGWAN SHREE RAJHEESH - THE INDIAN GURU OF THE RICH (23)
Q. What do you think of Bhagwan Shree Rajhee, the Indian Guru of the rich? A. I think he's one of the most interesting personalities in religious movements.
Q. Is it because of his teachings? A. I've never even read them.
Q. Why do you think he's interesting then? A. Because of the way he was condemned, criticized and handled by the authorities, news media and the general masses in the West.
Q. But his is a false religious movement, or it's not even a religious movement at all. A. I think nobody has the right to define what is or what is not a religion for another person. If you believe in a stone and thus worship it, for you it‘s religion.
Q. He even claimed to be God. Didn't he? A. The word “God” is nobody's monopoly. You can even claim to be God if you want. No one has the right to prosecute you for claiming being a God. There are only two things that you'll have to overcome if in case you want to do so: How to persuade someone to worship you as God, and how to prove before your fellow beings of your sanity so that you may not be locked up forever in a psychiatric hospital. laughter
Q. But your Father forbade human beings to worship another God other than he hmself. A. But can you imagine what would happen to me if I'd say now “Hey, you human beings, You shall worship no other Gods except my Father in Heaven!?” Q. You would most likely be immediately locked up in a psychiatric hospital or you would be brought to court for blocking freedom of expression.
laughter
A. Exactly. laughter
Q. Didn't he even condemn Jesus - that is you? A. If someone attacks you openly, he's a million times better than someone who pretends to be your best friend or follower or ally and then stabs you in your back. At least Bhagwan has not yet lived off my name, nor has he ever killed a single person in our names.
Q. Bhagwan has also claimed that he has attained enlightenment while he was meditating either on or under a tree. Is it possible? A. Why not? You can also claim that you've attained enlightenment while you're meditating, or eating, or drinking, or playing, or walking, or making love. Q. Is that possible? A. Why not? So far as I know nobody has made a law yet that says one can get enlighment only by meditating under a tree. laughter
30. ON OFFERING (122)
Q. What are the conditions for giving and the using of offererings? A. There are basically three main reasons for which we demand offering from our worshippers: 1. Making offering is a good means to fight against selfishness and greed in yourself; 2. Offerings are to be used to help the poor, the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the oppressed, the widows and orphans, and so on. It's therefore an unforgivable sin to use offerings to build costly, lifeless churches and temples while the needy are neglected; 3. To help spread my Gospels among those who are in need of salvation. Athough the generally accepted amount of an offering is roughly 10 percent of one‘s income, there is no strict limits imposed by us - it may be 1 to 100 percent, depending on the donor's faith and generosity. No one shall, however, get salvation by simply giving away all his fortune - no matter how great it is - unless his own heart is purified with genuine faith and good deeds. And there's one kind of offering which we shall never accept: an offering acquired through the blood and tears of some innocent people - or what is called “blood money”! Just look at what the Jewish priests had said about Juda Iscariot's money!
31. ON BURMA (29)
Q. Tell us something about Burma, especially the present situation there. A. A civil war has been going on for nearly forty years that has already caused the deaths of millions of people. The present Communist military dictatorship has been spending annually about USD 200 million on defence. Her GDP is estimated at $ 5 billion (officially), but the real value would be about $ 1.5 billion (at black-market exchange rate of $1 to Kyat 35 at present); her foreign debt: $ 3 billion - mostly to capitalist countries; her export values: $ 350 million; current foreign currency reserves: $ 50 million; unemployment circa. 1 % of the working force; per capital income: $ 170 (official).
Q. How long can the present regime stay in power? A. Nobody knows. There are of course many conflicts within the ruling class.
Q. In your appeal to the Burmese leaders, dated January 22, 1986, you wrote to the Burmese ruling class that the Chinese and Indians will have to repay Burma's external debts. Why is that? A. Burma is made up of about 10 major nationalities, namely Burmans, Arakanese, Chin (Kuki- Mizo-Zomi), Kachins, Mons, Nagas, Karennis (Kaya), Karens, Shans, Pa-O, etc. All of these non- Burmese peoples have their own historical and cultural backgrounds which are different from that of the ethnic Burmans who make up about 60 - 70 % of Burma‘s estimated 32 million population (36 million officially). So while the successive Rangoon regimes are brutally suppressing armed resistance movements of these non-Burmese peoples with the money that they earn from the sales of natural resources of the saidmulti-nationalities (whose combined territories cover nearly three quarters of Burma‘s 261 000 sq. miles), the urban-dwelling ethnic Chinese and Indians are accumulating enormous wealth in collaboration with corrupt government officials - without ever shedding blood and tears.
Q. Supposing, you got political power today in Burma, how would you like to handle them? A. Let me explain you the situation in general first. These two ethnic groups are by law not allowed to hold positions in the armed forces, politics and administration. But because of their expertise in commerce and connection-building, they are able to exploit the nation's wealth anyway - by putting government officials in their pockets. And theoretically, all the so-called indigenous peoples are entitled to all the rights written in the State Constitution, but in practice all important posts are monopolized by ethnic Burmans alone. For instance, my people have great difficulties getting “legal status” when they want to settle in neighboring Sagaing and Margwe Divisions from Chin State. Without this status it is not possible to get permission to buy at government-run stores. So thousands of people have to live “illegally” - that is, without the government‘s recognition and permission. But Chinese and Indians can freely move anywhere they want without any difficulty because they can afford to bribe officials - or they don't need to buy things at government stores since they are better well off enough. Another example: while merchants of these two ethnic communities can freely sell all luxurious smuggled goods in the streets in big cities, including Rangoon itself, my people are not even allowed to make raw brown sugar for commercial purpose from the sugarcane that they planted on their own plots. And there are three checkpoints - one for immigration, one for customs and another for police - at the Sagaing/Chin State boundary. The Chins, who are defined in the Constitution as an indigenous people, and who have had sacrificed tens of thousands of lives in Burma's civil war, are not even allowed to buy and transport rice into their own country (Chin State) from their neighboring regions. So why should they pay some others‘ debts, which they have never even seen? It is the same with all other “indigenous“ nationalities already mentioned, including the great majority of the Burman population as well.
Q. How would you like to handle the two alien communities, supposing you got political power? A. First of all there must be peace. When peace is fully restored, both of these ethnic groups must be given full citizenship so that they will also have to equally share the fruits and burdens as well with the host nationals. If you want to know more about them visit internet under “Burmese Chinese” and “Burmese Indians” in the Internet.
Q. By the way, you have given the unemployment rate at 1 %. How is that possible? Even Japan, an economic giant, has 2.5 % of unemployment rate of the working force. A. I gave you a very low statistics because the great majority of those who can be defined as unemployed are living on what you may call self-reliant professions.
Q. Self-reliant professions? A. Such professions exist only in Burma, I think.
Q. What are they, then? A. Smuggling, corruption, the sale of the nation‘s cultural objects, or the wasting of one's precious free-time with friends by gossiping in tea houses since there's nothing else to do.
laughter
Q. There are only one or two countries in the world that are poorer than Burma, and her corruption is one of the worst. Do you think that this corruption could be eliminated? A. I don't think it could be completely rooted out, but it could be remedied to some extent step by step in the long run if democracy is restored.
Q. How would you do that? A. First of all, there must be a free press. There must be the rule of law and order. The general masses must be well-informed about their rights and they must be given as many rights as possible to govern themselves. That in turn means bureaucrats will have less power. Or in other words, law must be made that bureaucrats cannot do whatever they want with public funds - just to name a few steps.
Q. Do you have political ambitions? A. I don't think I have any. In order to have some political ambitions, you need to have some kind of illusions and I don't have the illusions that are needed for this field. And you also need persuasive power if you want to be a successful politician in a democratic society - I mean if you want to be an honest and incorrupt politician, that is. But I lack this persuasive power, too. Besides, I have a weakness for believing that I am capable of seeing the course of history several years in advance. So when I present my views on a certain subject and if my colleagues cannot grasp them readily, I immediately lose my will to hard-sell my ideas. Therefore, I think, to go into politics in peace-time with such weaknesses could be very dangerous for myself and for the masses as well, because I could probably turn out to be a dictator of the worst kind.
laughter
Q. In the leaflets that you have distributed to news agencies, individuals and in your appeal to the Burmese regime, you put the deaths of Burma's “internal war” at 6 million, averaging 500 deaths per day. How reliable is it? A. Because of the lack of law and order even at the highest achelons of the government, the ruling Burma Socialit Programme Party, the armed forces and the administration, and also because of the nature of the war and Burmese soldiers' notoriety for sadism and brutalities, the real figures could even be higher.
Q. How is it possible that General Ne Win remains so long in power? A. There are many factors, but one reason, among others, is that every functionary of the party, the military, police, administration - from the highest levels down to township levels - is a perfect clone of the dictator himself.
Q. How did he manage that? A. By simply playing golf. Nearly every functionary who wants to show off his importance to the starving populace is imitating their great leader by playing golf.
laughter
Q. But golf is a very expensive sport. How could those people afford that? A. There are no problems. There are enough people who are competing each other to bribe them with complete sets of the best quality.
Q. Don‘t you think that they should play some other less expensive sports instead, like tennis, for example? A. Don't ask my opinion, since no one even knows my existence. But they have to play golf because it is the only sport that can give them a touch of class and also the feeling of being the real heroes of the oppressed working class! laughter
Q. Maybe they need tranquality, too, after a hectic day in the office? A. No, the other way round. They do their real works on the golf course - that is, making social contacts and exchanging ideas and new tactics on the art of corruption.
laughter
32. ON ARMED REVOLUTION (34)
Q. You yourself were involved in armed resistance movements against the Rangoon regime for nearly 20 years, and you have had read a great number of books and articles on armed revolutions around the world. What do you think is most important for the success of such a movement? A. Leadership.
Q. Various revolutionary movements in Burma have been waging armed struggle against the central government for nearly forty years. Why haven‘t they succeeded yet until now? A. There are many factors behind this failure: namely, 1) lack of qualified leadership; 2) lack of realistic strategies - in fact, there was almost none among the top leaderships who really understood what a strategy is although everyone of them often used to talk about it loudly; 3) lack of realistic tactics; 4) lack of cooperation between various armed organizations; 5) foreign assistance on the part of the Rangoon regime, etc. Out of my observation during this period I could even write an original and practical guideline for these movements how they could better wage their armed struggles.
Q. Why didn‘t you write it then? A. I did indeed write a 50-page paper in 1976 with the title of “Where Are We Heading For?” in Burmese. I distributed several copies of it among a number of armed movements. But the top leaders were not really interested in it. Then I realized that the right timing had not yet arrived for the ideas that I expressed in it. I will give you just a vivid example to prove my point: The Communist Party of Burma (CPB) had played a very active and important role in Burma's struggle for independence since the 1940s. And it took up arms and went underground when Burma gained independence in January 1948. But if you read the military strategy paper prepared in 1965 by Thakin Than Tun, Chairman of the CPB, who happened to be one of the most seasoned and experienced politicians of Burma, you won't even believe your eyes. In 1965, when the paper was prepeared, the CPB had only about 500 fighting force. But according to his paper his party aimed to take the political power of the country within four years militarily against an armed force of 100 000 men plus tens of thousands of police. And CPB‘s treasure was estimated at that time at about Kyat 500 000 to one million - that would be approximately USD 15,000 to 20,000 then.
Q. Is that really true? Almost unbelieveable! A. Yes, that's true - unfortunately. You should read a book on him and his party called The Last Days of Thakin Than Tun - Volume I, written in Burmese. It is a well-documented book with captured and surrendered authentic documents.
Q. The Burmese government itself is weakened by corruption, inefficiency, disunity and economic problems. So how long do you think the said movements will have to fight? A. That will depend mainly on the health of the dictator, General Ne Win, the cooperation of these armed movements and their strategies - if in case they could make some working strategies in the near future, that is - the general masses' reactions to any political changes in the country that may surely arise following the passing away of the dictator (he is now 76 years old and not in good health), and also of course on the reactions of the supporter-nations of the dictator.
Q. These revolutionary organizations are said to be engaged heavily in drug and smuggling businesses. So are they really serious about political changes in Burma? A. That's exactly the accusations that are spread by the Rangoon regime and its international supporters. To this question I can give you three answers: 1) Has any nation or organization ever offered financial or military aid to them? 2) Why don't those elements who use these accusations also condemn the murderous crimes of their best ally in Rangoon? 3) Dealing in these businesses for their own survival is not as immoral as selling arms and giving financial aid to that regime.
Q. Why were you involved in revolution? Isn't it contrary to your own message of love and forgiveness? A. What kind of love could be greater than sacrificing your life for the liberation of the oppressed and exploited from the iron grips of an oppressor?
Q. Have you ever engaged in fightings? A. No, never. I had had never even carried a gun in the jungle. My main missions were attending meetings and conferences or meeting the leaderships of various armed movements.
Q. Have you ever killed or tortured someone during this period? A. No. I had never killed or tortured or mishandled even a single person in my whole life. Nor have I ever encouraged or persuaded someone to do such acts. I had had even saved quite a number of people who could have had lost their lives.
Q. Why didn't you go on engaging in armed struggle? A. Actually, my real mission was and is not to spend my whole lifetime in an armed struggle. I was doing political activities while I was waiting for the right timing to come for what I'm doing now.
33. ON MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA) (189)
Q. Have you ever had any contacts with the CIA in your life? A. Yes, when I was in Thailand.
Q. Have you ever worked for them? A. No, never. I was too poor to work for them.
Q. You were too poor to work for them? A. I had had the impression that I had to bribe this agency to accept the information which I may have on Burma, instead of being paid. laughter
Q. You have to bribe them to accept your information? A. Yes.
Q. A very unusual story indeed. A. Yes, it is. Stranger than a fairy tale, isn't it?
laughter
Q. Why weren't they interested in your information? A. Because they were no fools.
Q. They were no fools? A. If you've got some of the most competent, loyal and obedient people in Burma in your pocket, why should you bother yourself with a small peanut like me?
laughter Q. Who are those competent, obedient and loyal people in their pocket? A. General Ne Win and his cronies.
laughter
34. ON SELECTING THE BEST BIBLE (156)
Q. There are several versions of the Bible. So which one would you like to recommend? A. I'd only tell you that I'm using the New International Version.
Q. If you really love us, as the Bible says you do, why didn't you make your Holy Scriptures as simple and short as possible, so that we won't need theologians to interpret them for us? A. Are the Ten Commandments too complicated and too long for you to understand?
laughter
35. ON HUMAN SEXUALITY (160)
Q. Is premarital sex sinful? A. The next question please.
Q. And how about extramarital sex? A. And the next question?
Q. How sinful are masturbation, the use of condoms and other contraceptive devices which are forbidden by the Roman Catholic Church? A. Well, if I were the leaders of this Church, I would first of all try to find out if there are enough angels in Heaven who could monitor these acts 24 hours a day around the world. And if the angels don't have any other more important duties to do than monitoring the sexual acts of human beings.
laughter
Q. And what's your opinion on homosexuality? A. Why do you want to waste your precious times and energy by endlessly arguing about the sinfulness of certain sexual acts when you've got more than enough greater problems to solve? Q. Does that indrectly mean that homosexuality is not sinful as many religious leaders preach? A. Why don't your religious leaders and theologians directly ask their God for the right answer, instead of endlessly debating about it based on 2000-3000.year old Scriptures? That would solve all your problems concerning this matter.
Q. How powerful are you really to change the existing biblical Commandments? A. Let me ask you one question in return: How powerful are your own religious leaders and theologians, who emphasize only the virtues of sexual morality, and ignore several other more important morals?
Q. Can you guarantee that we would not be judged in your Father's court, if we engaged in these sexual acts? A. Can your own religious leaders and theologians also give you the same guarantee?
laughter
Q. Now that you've indirectly allowed such immoral things as abortion, contraception, extramarital sex, divorce, remarriage of divorced persons, mixed marriage (persons of different churches or sects), masturbation, etc., aren't you worried that your worshippers would get out of control? A. I've got two answers to this question. I don't know which one you would prefer to hear.
Q. Tell us both. A. Ok. Aren't you already out of control a long time ago even before you got my permission? So what's the use of forbidding them any longer?
laughter
Q. And the second answer? A. Even those who have never heard of our morals don't get out of control.
laughter
And many of them are even much better than those who can nearly recite the Bible by heart.
laughter Q. Do you also tell little white lies every now and then? A. I have had once even read an article called “The Art of Telling Lies Creatively”, or something like that. The author of that article strongly recommended the use of little white lies in romance and in bed. He had even boldly claimed that without some creative lies the human species might have already extincted a long time ago, or that there would be no true love and that to engage in romance or in the mating dance would be like driving a motor car with its most important parts very poorly lubricated. laughter
Q. Can you tell us the name of that article's author and the journal or paper in which it appeared? A. It was my own invention to lubricate our discussions.
laughter
Q. Admit that it's just a white lie! A. I prefer to call it a creative invention.
laughter
Q. But the Bible forbids telling lies, isn‘t it? A. If every lie is sinful, no one would be eligible for heaven and that would be too much even for us. laughter
Q. It's really getting very confusing now. So, you will have to tell us which lies are allowed and which are not. A. If a lie doesn't hurt or damage somebody, then it must be deemed unsinful.
Q. Are you really sure about that? A. If every lie should be sinful, what would happen to the souls of writers, artists, politicians, militarymen, businessmen, lovers, etc., for example, just to name a handful?
Q. Are you fully heterosexual? A. Yes, I am - but by nature. It has nothing to do with biblical sexual moral. Q. May I ask you another intimate question? A. Go ahead!
Q. Could you perhaps tell us your own sexual life? A. Well, since for you Christians a human being's sexual life is much more important than the suffering of hundreds of millions of starving people around the world under your very eyes, I wouldn't mind telling you someday about my intimate life if it becomes so important for you to know, or if it would make you better beings.
laughter
36. ON WOMEN‘S LIBERATION (160)
Q. What do you think about women's emancipation? A. I think one should look at it from two perspectives - physical and abstract. By physical perspective I mean such things as the rights of women in society, profession, education, religion, marriage, etc. that can be handled by laws, for example.
Q. So you're for their equality with men in these fields? A. Yes. Since they are also my Father's creations, I cannot have prejudices against them.
laughter
Q. And the second perspective? A. It'ss more of psychological or things that are intangible - love, sex, human relationship, family life, etc., for instance. Since these things are too abstract and they can be or must be dealt with only on individual basis, I cannot give you a fixed opinion of mine.
Q. Are we Westerners more evil than others by nature? A. Oh, not at all. If you analyse human beings on individual basis they all share the same traits. The only difference is that you Westerners have the material and other means with which to exploit your negative sides, whereas several other less fortunate people who are living in other parts of the world don't have the same means to do like you. Just look at the hundreds of millions of starving and homeless people in the Third World who are being completely ignored not only by their own countrymen but even by their own immediate relatives. The only reason that I put my blames on the West is simply because you claim to be worshipping a God whose morals you want to boast are superior to all other ethical teachings of the world.
37. ON THE WEST‘S CONTRIBUTIONS FOR MANKIND (147)
Q. You seem to be putting all kinds of blame on the West for all the world's ills. You should not at least forget the West's countless positive contributions for mankind as a whole. And the West has been, despite its any negative deeds, helping countless people in the Third World in every possible way when the Third World people themselves also are oppressing, exploiting and killing each other. A. Whenever I use the word “the West”, I mean only those who claim to be religious Christians who are both rich and powerful. If you're helping someone at the expense of another innocent person, I don't think that's humanitarianism. When I was young my family was raising several hundreds of pigs at home - we had about 100 pigs at any given moment. The pigs were very happy whenever they were fed with good feeds. So if they could speak they would have expressed their gratitude to us every time we fed them. But if they knew that we gave them good food just in order to be able to sell them to the slaughterhouse in the shortest period of time with the highest profits, they would have cursed us during all their waking hours.
laughter
Q. How about our helping millions of war refugees around the world? A. Perhaps with the exception of the Afghanistan war refugees now, nearly all other refugees in the last century were the products of conflicts initiated or caused by those powerful “peace-loving, God-fearing” Christians in the West.
38. ON WHETHER GOD AND I ARE A SINGLE BEING (145)
Q. There are countless theologians and religious leaders who have even been speculating that your Father and you are a single being. Is that true or not? A. Those who have this idea have surely never read the Book of Revelation.
39. ON THE GENDER OF MY FATHER (125)
Q. Several feminists have succeeded in neutralizing the gender of your Father. What do you think about that? A. Why are you bothering too much with this matter, since your knowing of it wouldn't automatically make you better beings? I personally can, of course, very well understand the frustration of religious feminists who are using this factor as a weapon in their struggle against male sexism or chauvinism, but if I were they I wouldn't use it as a weapon because it is His or Her love and power and mercy that will give you salvation, not His or Her gender.
40. ON CREATIONISM AND EVOLUTIONISM
Q. What do you think about Evolutionism? Or in other words how would you counter this concrete scientific finding? A. Let the most gifted scientistists with the latest scientific instruments make a believable hypothesis about which of the two things existed first: the chicken or the egg!
laughter
Q. But your Father was surely not capable of creating all the things in the universe in just six days? A. You cannot compare heavenly times with your earthly times.
41. ON MIRACLES (58)
Q. Were you really resurrected? A. Were I not resurrected, I'd not be around here again today.
laughter
Q. Did you really perform the great miracles that are recorded in the Bible? A. Instead of directly answering your question, may I ask you a question in return: Have you ever thought about two of the greatest concrete miracles in the entire human history?
Q. What could they be? A. My becoming a human being 2000 years ago and my reappearance this time.
Q. Were you resurrected just spiritually or physically as well? A. Just spiritually.
Q. And you ascended to heaven in spirit only? A. Yes.
Q. But your body is said to be found no more in the tomb. Where was it? A. It was carried away by my angels and they put it in a cave in the dessert.
Q. The Roman Catholic Church had even made a doctrine in 1950 that your mother Mary also ascended to heaven in her human body. A. Was someone still alive in 1950 who had witnessed her ascension with his own eyes?
laughter
Q. The popes are said to be bestowed with unlimited divine power that they can make any doctrines they want. A. I see. Well, if even an ordinary woman like my mother could ascend to heaven in her human body, why didn't all those popes ascend to heaven alive, too?
laughter
Q. Isn't it true that many people are said to have seen you in your physical form between your resurrection and your ascension? A. That's true, but if you read the Gospels carefully once again you'll find that it was no more physical because I am said to be entering a room through locked doors, or moving at lightning speed from one place to another. Or, why don't you read Revelation? Would it be possible to live like the angels mentioned in it – in physical form?
Q. Even countless theologians and leaders of Christian churches are still doubtful about the miracles in the New Testament. A. Instead of arguing endlessly whether I did really perform them or not, why don't they themselves also perform similar miracles, since they all claim to have even been selected and empowered by the biblical God Himself to act on His behalf?
Q. Do you have any healing power now? A. I myself am regularly seeing medical doctors for various ailments.
laughter 42. ON ADAM AND EVE (125)
Q. Did mankind really begin with Adam and Eve, and were they really historical persons? A. It's of no use to argue whether or not humankind began with Adam and Eve, or if they really were historical or just symbolical. The simple reason is that, with all the facts in the Bible, you would never be able to find out a satisfactory answer. What is important is that my Father began His dialogues and relations with humankind through a man called Adam and a woman called Eve. That's all.
43. ON UNCLEAN MEAT AND BLOOD (144)
Q. Is it still sinful to eat the blood and the meat of some animals which were declared unclean in the Old Testament? A. Haven't I already freed you from all these bindings 2 000 years ago with my blood? For me, for example, pork is my favorite meat. laughter
Q. Are you really sure that we could freely consume them? A. If I were someone who believes that he should not consume them on biblical moral grounds, I'd rather convert myself to Judaism, instead of remaining as a Christian.
Q. But is it possible for a Gentile to convert to Judaism? A. That's not my problem. Please ask the Rabbis of Judaism!
44. ON PROSTITUTION (172)
Q. Most Christian churches forbid prostitution. Is it sinful according to your moral? A. It's so heart-breaking if you imagine that either your own mother or wife or sister or daughter would have to earn her living by prostitution. So the leaders and theologians of these Churches should try to find out why prostitution should be more sinful than earning billions of dollar from the sales of war materials that are used for the killing of countless innocent human beings around the world.
45. ON MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE (141)
Q. Is a religious marriage dissolvable? A. Well, I cannot speak for other religions.
Q. Let's say for Christians. A. Please let me answer your question in this way. Those who have to do it must decide for themselves. If you want to forbid someone from doing it on biblical moral grounds, then you must prove that you've got this power directly from the biblical God. It must not be a self-given power and right.
Q. So nobody has the right to force someone to have such a religious marriage against his or her will? A. Exactly.
Q. How about the remarriage of a divorced person? A. Don't you human beings have more pressing problems than this matter?
Q. Do Christians of different denominations have the right to marry each other? A. Why not? If you can even marry a Communist, or an Atheist, or A Buddhist, or a Hindu? And above all else a marriage with someone from your own Church will not necessarily help you for your salvation.
Q. The divorce rates in the West, for instance, are rising at an alarming rate. So do you perhaps have some good solutions to reverse this trend? A. No. Since several major and minor factors will have to be taken into consideration on individual basis, I don't think it would be wise or practical for me to formulate some uniform solutions.
Q. Do you have some good ideas for a happy marriage? A. One of the best guarantees for a happy marriage, I think, is to find a partner who is most suitable for you. Besides, a lot of sex and as few naggings as possible might also help, I suppose.
laughter
Q. But how could you find your ideal partner? A. One factor, among many others, is luck, which some people may prefer to call coincidence or God's blessing, or even predestination. Since this matter also has to be tackled on individual basis, I cannot go into details. Q. Would you tell us at least some of these factors that you have in mind? A. I think first of all you have to know yourself - that is, your strong and weak points - and what you want in life and from your partner; and second, you must be able to recognize the strong and weak points in other people, too, so that you would be able to select the right partner - when and if you meet him or her. And both partners must be able to make a lot of compromises, too. Oh, the list that both partners should do and should not do is endless. So let's discuss only this much on this topic.
Q. Would you name a few more factors perhaps, which you think are most crucial for making a lasting marriage? A. If you're so insistent, I'll just name a few more things which might be applicale to everyone regardless of differences in culture, religion, national mentality or social class. The two factors that are among the most important, I think, are that you should not use sex as a weapon and that you should not be too impulsive to threaten your life partner with divorce at every conflict. These two things can most easily hurt and make one's partner very insecure. And I think it‘s also very important that you possess some positive characters for which your husband or wife can respect or like or love you - like any of or some of the following: hardworking, courage, generosity, cleanliness, skill in cooking or handworks, faithfulness, the right religious, or philosophical or political outlooks (which are in harmony with that of your life-mate's - that is!), intelligence, academic achievement, moral uprightness, sincerity, honesty, hygene or cleanliness, humour, lack of jealousy, tolerance, etc. In short, I don't think you can maintain a lasting and happy marriage just with sex or mutual physical attraction, especially when both partners are aging and the sex drive slows down.
Q. Some more good ideas, perhaps? A. In my opinion financial security is also a very important factor. And the only idea that I can add here is that some experts in psychology and sexology should set up classes in which would-be married couples could learn basic lessons in psychology and sexology that are basically necessary for the maintenance of a stable and meaningful married life. I wonder why nobody has set up such classes yet somewhere in the world. If there were such classes, there probably would be less broken families and divorces.
Q. But if you look at the Western society, the divorce rate is very high although there's sufficient financial security for the great majority of the people. A. Cultural, religion, the stage of civilization or industrialization factors could perhaps also play an inportant role in that case, I suppose. But if I'm to to admit honestly, I'm absolutely unqualified to make any comment on this subject.
Q. I've even ever heard that some extremely religious people think that certain sexual positions are sinful. What do have to say about that? A. Sorry, that's beyond my intellect! laughter
Q. Did you have a religious marriage? A. No. We were married at the Civil Marriage Office.
Q. Why not a religious marriage? A. What is important in a marriage is the presence of love, mutual-devotion and the fulfilment of your duties as either husband or wife. And A religious marriage will not automatically entitle you to a place in heaven.
46. ON WOMAN PRIESTHOOD (138)
Q. Those who are opposed to female priesthood argue that their arguments are based on certain biblical passages. What's your opinion? A. Had their God ever personally given them this special right?
Q. They also argue that all your disciples were only men. A. Were they themselves my former apostles?
laughter
Q. Do you think the world could or would be better off with female priests? A. It could be the same, like now, or it could be better or it could be worse. Nobody knows for sure. But the main issue is not if the world would be either better or worse with female priests, but who has the right to deny women priesthood on behalf of the biblical God, since, so far as I know, none of those who deny women the priesthood themselves has ever seen the biblical God with his own eyes nor has he ever been to Heaven.
47. ON ATHEISM (138)
Q. How sinful is it to be an Atheist? A. An Atheist is much better than a hypocritical Christian because an Atheist won't at least misuse the names of God and Jesus. And why should it be sinful to be an Atheist, since even those who claim to be the best believers of the biblical God and Jesus themselves have been oppressing, exploiting, torturing and killing each other for centuries - in the very NAMES of the two Deities whom they claim to be worshipping!?
48. ON THE FOUR GOSPELS (62)
Q. The four Gospels‘ versions of your birth, your life and your teachings are not exactly in uniform. So whose version is the correct one? A. It is no more important to know which version is more reliable or which one is less reliable. What is vitally important for you is that I am already back again.
Q. Why didn't you recruit women to be your disciples then? A. The reason was more conditional - that is, I could not do that then in such a patriachial society.
Q. Would you recruit some disciples again this time? A. What for?
Q. To spread your present messages in this interview, for instance. A. Since all your religious leaders and theologians have been preaching all the time about the imminent ending of the world, I wonder if we still have enough time at all to do so.
laughter
Q. John the Baptist is said to be the forerunner who had heralded your First Coming. Was there any similar forerunner for your present coming? A. Yes. There was one. His name was Pau Cin Hau.
Q. Did he foretell about your reappearance this time? A. No, he didn't. laughter
Q. Didn't your Father or you yourself ask him to foretell about it? A. It's possible that we did that, but he had probably forgotten to record it in his writings. laughter
Q. Who is Pau Cin Hau? A. He was born at Mualbem village, which is about 15 km away from my native village. And all the villages in which he lived and received his many visions are within one-day's walk from my native village. You will find more about him in my Paper: The Zo People Of Bangladesh, Burma And India: An Introduction. He invented a writing out of his visions. This writing is now being proposed by an Indian scholar in the United States for unicoding. See 18.2 The Religion of Laipian Pau CIn Hau and APPENDICES H-1 & H-2.
Q. Do you have regular contacts with your Father? A. No.
49. ON POPULATION EXPLOSIONS IN THE THIRD WORLD (104)
Q. Countless people all over the world have been saying that the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church is largely responsible for population explosions in the Third World. What would you say about that? A. If someone comes into this world because of you and if he cannot survive with his own efforts alone, then you shall have to take full responsibility for his whole life.
50. ON RACISM (147)
Q. How sinful is it to be a racist? A. More or less almost nearly everybody is a racist - at least deep in his heart. So it is not necessarily fatally sinful to have some mild racial prejudices - as long as these prejudices are not used to inflict suffering to others - psychologically or physically or materially, or in all these ways.
Q. But wasn't or isn't your Father himself responsible for many suffering on earth, especially in the Middle East, by choosing and blessing the Israelites? A. You will only be able to understand this great mystery in the whole context of His plans for the entire humandkind - from the beginning to the end.
Q. Do you personally - as a normal human being - believe in the superiority of some racial groups to some others? A. It's not a matter of whether you believe or not. You can see with your own eyes the realities today. But as for myself as a normal human being, I prefer to measure the superiority of a race or a nation by its humanity towards other less fortunate racial groups, rather than on the bases of its technological, scientific, economic or academic achievements. And it is the same with individuals.
51. ON HIV/AIDS (106)
Q. Many Christian theologians and religious leaders say that AIDS was and is a punishment of God for the sexually immoral, especially homosexuals. Do you agree with them? A. If you say Aids is my Father's punishment, what would you say about the death and suffering of millions of Christians as the result of wars that are being waged by or with the money and arms of wealthy Christians.
Q. Do you also believe that it could become a real threat to humanity as a whole? A. No.
Q. Why not? A. Aids is said to have killed “only” a couple of millions so far, but millions of people are dying everyday from hunger and war. But who really cares for them? Just go to Burma and look at the millions of people who are suffering there for decades!
Q. But it has scared everybody to death. A. That's because it directly threatens the very machanism that can send you off to paradise on earth while you are still alive as a human being!
laughter
52. ON GENOCIDE (146)
Q. In your first appeal to Christians in the West you accused the Rangoon regime of committing genocide in Burma. How do you define genocide? A. According to the Oxford Dictionary genocide means the extermination of a race or a community by mass murder, or by imposing conditions that make survival impossible. You can commit a genocide against a racial group by physically murdering them, or by destroying their psyche, or their culture, or by enslaving them religiously, or by destroying them economically, or by the combination of them all. 53. ON MY SECOND COMING AND MY FAMILY BACKGROUND (39)
Q. Would you tell us about your family background? A. I was born on February 7, 1945, Wednesday, at 7 o'clock in the morning at Lophei village in Tiddim Township in present day Chin State. My mother was 30 years old when I was born (she was born on 23rd June1915). My father was 33 years old (he was born on April 8,1912). I've got one elder brother, one elder sister and four younger sisters. When I came to this world 2000 years ago I had four brothers and two sisters - that means on both occasions 7 brothers and sisters.
Q. Were there any unusual miracles or signs at your birth? A. My mother had two dreams. One of which she told a number of people in the family circle, but the other one she told me alone.
Q. What were those dreams? A. The one that she told me alone, I cannot tell any body else. But the other one, I may be able to tell you someday, but not now. The one that she told me was so strange from all the other dreams that she had ever had in her life, but she could not clearly interpret it.
Q. Could you or can you interpret that? A. I myself could interpret it quite lately.
Q. So you knew from your childhood that you are Jesus? A. We shall talk about it someday, if it really becomes necessary.
Q. Were you really born with your birthmarks? A. I think so. But I myself had noticed them quite lately - probably when I was 13 or 14 years old. (See Photos in PHOTO GALLERY)
Q. So everyone in the family or in the village knew who you were? A. It seemed that no one noticed these marks. I had never made efforts to show these birthmarks to anyone.
Q. Why didn't at least anyone in your family notice these marks? A. I myself had never paid attention to whether they also had any such birthmarks on their bodies or not. And who could have expected that Jesus would re-incarnate in my family or in our region? Q. So you believe in dreams? A. That depends on what kind of dreams they are.
Q. How can Jesus be superstitious? A. Have you ever read the Bible?
Q. Yes, sure. A. Good. If you read the Bible and believe in it, then you must also believe in such things as dreams and visions because all prophecies were made in dreams and visions. One example was an angel's foretelling of my birth to my father Joseph in his dream when I first came to this world 2000 years ago.
Q. Do you have birthmarks on your head, too? A. Yes, I've got some.
Q. Are the scars also visible on the other sides - I mean inside of your palms and beneath your feet? A. There are no marks inside my palms and beneath my feet.
Q. How come there are no marks inside your palms and beneath your feet? Normally, there should also be marks on these sides. A. I don't know why. You yourselves will have to ask my Father directly why it is so, when and if you see Him up there someday! laughter
Q. When and how did you get the long scar on your left side? Was it also already there when you were born? A. No. I got it when I was about six or seven years old. I climbed up a plum tree in the garden of one of my paternal uncles' behind our house to pick up the fruits. Then suddenly the wooden ladder which I used and on which I stood slid and I fell down along with it. Actually, the wooden ladder was already rotten. As I fell down the barbed wire which was nailed on the plum tree and used as fence tore my flesh off on my breast. That's how I got this long scar.
Q. Are there any scars more on your body? A. I've got some more, but except one and the scars we've just already talked about now, the rest were inflicted by myself accidentally in my life. Q. Where is that one and how big is it? A. It is on my righthand wrist and it is about 4 cm long. The scar is zig-zag. Many people who had seen it by chance asked me if I had ever attempted to commit suicide by cutting it in order to die a slow death through bleeding, because it must have been a very serious injury.
Q. The Bible doesn't mention that. A. I know. That's why I did not and I don't want to make things more complicated by showing it in photos.
Q. How did you get it, or don't you know how you got it? A. Since my childhood I have never had such an injury on this part, and I asked my mother several times if she could remember how and when I got it. But she could not recall such an injury either. I asked her because we were always together except one year when I was in the sixth class. So if I had had such a big injury there was no reason that she couldn't remember it. In fact, she had had a photographic memory.
Q. You could perhaps tell us about it yourself then? A. No, we better don't talk about it. It'd make things even more confusing and complicated. Perhaps wound experts could better give you some better hints someday by studying the nature of this scar. I may probably put a photo of it in the PHOTO GALLERY someday if there's anybody who wants to have a look at it.
Q. Do you perhaps know that there were and still are several hundreds of people - mostly Catholics – who have got similar scars on their bodies? By some people the scars are even said to be still bleeding. A. Yes, I know that. More than 10 years ago, I think, I read an article in which it was written that there were about 800 such people world-wide.
Q. Are you circumcised? A. Yes, I am.
Q. When and who did it for you? A. It was done very late in my life - in 1973 - at the Chiangmai University Hospital in Thailand. If you don't believe me I can even show it to you now.
laughter Q. Oh, no, no, no! You don't need to. We‘ve believed you.
laughter
Q. Did you do it on your own decision or on your Father‘s command? A. I don't think it's important or even necessary for you to know about it because if I say that I did it on my own decision, there might be some people who think I did it at my Father's command, or if I say I did it at my Father's command some people would argue anyway that I did it on my own decision. laughter
Q. Please tell us anyway. We'll later decide ourselves which version is more creditable. A. Ok then. I'll tell you the truth. It was absolutely done on medical reasons alone. For reasons unknown even to some physicians my foreskin got narrower since sometime in 1972. So whenever I was with a woman there were fissions inside the foreskin and it was painful. So I consulted a couple of physicians in Chiangmai. They all recommended that it should better be circumcised, otherwise there could be danger of serious infections. And I followed their advice. Now, may I ask you a question in return: Would you still say anyway that I did it on my Father's command?
laughter
Q. Any other miracles at your birth? A. No miracles at my birth so far as I kow. But back in 1957, the Lophei village church, where my conversion to Baptist Christianity from the Religion of Laipian Pau Cin Hau took place (and my baptism also took place at this village), needed to be expanded and renovated, but as the villagers could not afford it they resorted to prayers. To everyone's surprise some money was found in the church's offering bag on March 3, 1957, between the morning and evening services on a Sunday. At first, people thought that the treasurers might haven forgotten to collect offerings from the morning service, but when it was checked everything was in order. From then on money was found in the church from time to time, mostly during daytime and on Sundays. Some people were assigned to watch the church's only two entrances, which were well-locked, but nothing unusual was found. Thus, money kept on appearing for 37 times - the last time on March 9, 1957. The total money was Kyat 1160.70 (the equivalent of USD 160.00 at that time). As the villagers did not dare to use the money because the thought that God refused to accept their sunday offerings that might have been made unwillingly. Therefore, the matter was brought by Rev. Mang Khaw Pau of Khuasak village to the attention of the Zomi Baptist Convention (ZBC) - the umbrella organization of all Baptist Associations in Chin State. He was the general-secretary of ZBC from 1957 to 1962. But it also did not dare to give permission for its use as its leading members were of the same opinion as the Lophei villagers. The matter was then brought to the attention of the Burma Baptist Convention (BBC) in Rangoon. Finally, the BBC decided that the money could have been a gift of God Himself for the church's expansion and renovation and thus the villagers were allowed to spend it. (See photo of the village church in PHOTO GALLERY which was expanded renovated with the money in question. I made several inquiries at the Chin Baptist Convention (the word 'Zomi' was replaced with 'Chin' very recently), but there were no more records. If it becomes necessary someday, I shall scan the detailed list of money found from the 77-page Histories of the Lophei Village and The Lophei Baptist Church and integrated it into PHOTO GALLERY.
Q. Please tell us about the Jewish skullcap-like cap that you are seen wearing in your family photo which was taken in 1949 and you were just over four years old. A. Actually, you could even take it as a mystery because there was not a single Jew in the whole region where I was born and grew up. I learned from the Internet that a very small Jewish community existed in Mandalay until just before the break-out of World War II and the few remaining Jews left for India out of fear of Japanese reprisal. Mandalay is about 400 air miles from my native village. That means there was no way for me to get it from any Jew. But the rest I better should not tell you because I cannot prove it with neutral evidence anymore. (See my family photos in PHOTO GALLERY)
Q. Please tell us about it anyway! A. No, sorry, I wouldn't. I don't want to influence your opinion on my real identity by telling you about it. Only when and if my identity as the real Jesus is firmly established, then I'd tell you.
Q. Are your parents still alive? A. No. They both had passed away in 1964, together with my elder sister.
Q. Did your parents have any unusual qualities? A. My father was a normal person, but my mother was a very special person - she was full of love, patience, selflessness and understanding. Although she was not a virgin (at the time of my birth), she really deserved a special favour from my Father in Heaven.
Q. How was your family life? A. It was a very happy one to some extent and very tragic as well. Q. In which way was it tragic? A. You‘ll know it someday in detail.
54. ON MY SECOND COMING ACCORDING TO BIBLICAL PROPHECIES (45)
Q. Jesus Christ is supposed to be coming back in great glory on the clouds and being perhaps accompaniedby angels. But you came back this time under very humble circumstances. How will you explain about that? A. Didn't I also come back on the clouds?
Q. You did come down on clouds? A. Yes, by an airplane - to Europe.
laughter
Q. That's a very weak proof at best. A. Have you ever read or heard how the Messiah of the Jews is supposed to come? Q. He is supposed to come down on clouds. A. And how did Jesus come? On the clouds?
laughter
Q. No, he came down to this earth in the most humble way. A. Good, if you know that much. Since I have come back on the clouds this time I might even be the real Messiah of the Jews. Who knows?
laughter
Q. But when he comes back Jesus is supposed to be seen simultaneously by everyone all over the world, including his own crucifiers. A. That's very possible since the technology is already there.
Q. Which technology? A. Television. laughter
Q. But none of his crucifiers is alive anymore. A. But aren't their descendants still alive?
laughter
Q. How would you clarify the two seemingly contradictory prophecies concerning the Second Coming: One version says that Jesus would come back on the clouds in great glory, but the other version implies that he'd come back like a thief - incognito and ten kingdoms would make war against him. A. Had I come down in the manner of the first version, who would dare to make war against me - with eyes like blazing fire, feet like bronze glowing in a furnace, a voice like the sound of rushing waters, a double-edged sword coming out of my mouth, and a face like the sun shining in all its brilliance?
Q. That means the second version is correct? A. Since I did not land in Europe with a great glory and I was not accompanied by a great army of angels, I think so. But you will still have to wait for sometime if I still turn out to be just a crank or Satan himself. laughter
Q. You will have to tell us who the ten kingdoms that would make war against you are - for instance, and if they could be the members of the European Union? A. No, your religious leaders and theologians shall have to tell me instead, who these ten kingdoms could be.
Q. Oh, they should tell you instead who these kingdoms could be? How come? A. Since I'm just an unarmed crazy person, I can't figure out why any of the EU member nations should make war against me! And if I would tell the EU member nations now to make war against me, what would happen to me?
Q. You would most likely be simply laughed off at, or the worst thing they could do would be to lock you up in a mental hospital. A. Exactly! laughter Q. Why didn't you come back among the Jews? A. Oh, I've come back among the Jews this time, too.
Q. You come back this time among the Jews? Nonsense! A. In 2004, the Indian genetic scientists found out Jewish DNA among my present people - the Chin-Kuki-Mizo, that is. Just read my Paper on my people mentioned earlier, and see my family photo in which I was wearing a Jewish skullcap.
Q. But you do not come among the Jews of the Middle-East. A. Had I come back in Israel this time, I'd probably have long been crucified again now, or if even I had not yet been crucified, who would accept me as Jesus - with all your anti-Semiticism?
laughter
Q. Is that the reason why you come back among an obscure and primitive people? A. There are two main reasons why I come back among the Chins: first, it was necessary that I come back through a people whose past history was still clean - that is, they had never before abused our names for their own benefits; second, I needed humble beginnings and vigorous trainings in life so that I'd be able to feel, understand, and sympathize with the suffering of the needy.
Q. But how could the son of God come through an animistic couple? A. In fact, my parents were no more Animists when I was born. They were already the adherents of the Pau Cin Hau religion. In our community those who had been converted to Christianity were even more hypocritical than the Animists that my father preferred to remain an Animist, lest he might also become a hypocrite like them. I can still remember what he always used to say to Christians who wanted to convert him by threatening him with hell if he did not become a Christian: “Why don't you drink 'zu' (traditionally fermented rice beer of the Chins and its consumption was and is banned by missionaries and church leaderships) and do whatever you want on this earth? When I observe what you all are doing, I get the impression that we all might arrive at the same place when we die!”. laughter
Q. Any other biblical prophecies? A. There are several biblical verses in both Old and the four Gospels, that I can cite, Just have a look at the biblical verses that I mention in my Open Letters, Open Appeals and Open Supplications. Q. Are you sure that these biblical verses are for your coming? A. Let's hope that they have nothing to do with me.
laughter
55. ON OTHER SIGNS (OCCULT) OF MY SECOND COMING (48)
Q. When did you first hear the name of Nostradamus, the world famous French physician-Seer who lived 500 years ago? A. In 1983 - from the influential German weekly news magazine “Der Spiegel”.
Q. How many predictions are there in his book that you think are related to you? A. Some.
Q. Which are they? A. Let's not speculate on such intangible things.
Q. Are you sure that these ten quatrains are really related to you? A. Let's hope that they have nothing to do with me.
Q. Could you tell us at least one or two quatrins? A. A quatrain suggests that the dead would come out of their graves. It could happen soon.
Q. Where did he get his prophetic powers then - from your Father and you or from some dark forces? A. I don't know.
Q. But so far as I know your Father and you are against such thing as occultism. A. What is undesirable is that when you humans know some hidden mysteries through occultism, you tend to misuse your knowledge for wrong purposes, or you are dependent on them. If you look at the symbols in the Book of Revelation from just a normal mortal being‘s point of view, it would be nearly impossible for you to understand them: four powerful “beasts” by the side of the Almighty God; or Jesus Christ with flaming eyes, glowing feet, two-edged sword coming out of his mouth, a voice like rushing waters and a face as brilliant as the sun. So at the very moment you accept the existence of the human soul or supernatural beings that I've just mentioned, you cannot look at spiritual things through normal human eyes anymore.
Q. Are you interested in other fields of occultism? A. I used to read astrology, palmistry and numerology, but the rest I have never even borthered to read.
Q. Let us talk about numbers now. You seem to be obsessed with numbers 7 and 40. A. Well, if you read the Bible carefully you will find how numbers, especially 7, 12 and 40 had repeatedly played very important roles. In the Book of Revelation alone you‘ll find the mention of number 7 for not less than 50 times. And here are just some examples of the roles that 40 played in the Bible: The Flood lasted 40 days; Moses was 40 years in Egypt; 40 years in Midian and 40 years in the Wilderness; Moses stayed 40 days and 40 nights on Mt. Sinai; for 40 days Moses fasted twice; for 40 days Elijah fasted; Goliath challenged Israel for 40 days; for 40 days the spies searched for the Promised Land; 40 days of Ezekiel‘s penitence; the Jews were 40 years in the Wilderness; I (Jesus) fasted in the Wilderness for 40 days when I first came, and 40 days were elapsed between my Resurrection and my Ascension; the Israelites were 40 years among the Philistines, and so on.
Q. The numerical values of your name, Thang Za Dal, make seven. Did your parents choose this name with the knowledge of numerology? A. At the time of my birth or even later, numerology was not known yet in our area. This knowledge began to be known in our region only in the mid 1960s. In fact, my parents at first wanted to give me the name “Thang Cin Dal”. They somehow gave me my present name for no specific reasons.
Q. Is number 7 really a holy number? A. Number 7 is not automatically a holy number. It is more of a mystical number. So it can either be evil or holy - depending on how you use it, or who uses it.
Q. Is it sinful to believe in or practice astrology? A. A good knowledge of astrology could even be very beneficial in human relations, especially in courtship, partnership and above all else in the mating dance.
laughter Q. Do you also use it as a guide in your dealings with humans? A. It is helpful in finding out in general the characteristics of individuals if you know their Sun Signs. But be careful that you do not become dependent on it too much.
Q. The Burmese people - and other Buddhist Asians as a whole as well - are well-known for their belief in astrology and its other related fields. Even those in political power are said to even have in-house astrologers. Have you ever consulted astrologers in your life for advice? A. Nearly 90 % of Buddhist Burmans do believe in Astrology and they consult astrologers quite regularly. I also used to have some personal experiences. But I was never obsessed with it. Even here in Hamburg one of my best female friends is an astrologer. We know each other since1981. But our friendship is purely platonic. I had even let her make a horoscope for me and let her interpret it for me - out of pure curiosity.
Q. Yes? What did she say for your future? Or, perhaps you consult her every now and then for the right moments for what you've been doing? A. My life is so mysterious that I don't think she or any other astrologers would be able to say something concrete about my future. She could make her interpretations only strictly according to the already existing astrological manuals. And I think what I've been doing with my Jesus‘ things are already too complicated and wide-reaching that even planetary constellations would not be able to help me anymore for my actions. I've even advised her a couple of times to go to Burma for some months to study Burmese astrology there, so that she could probably even earn a good living out of it.
Q. Has she ever gone there already? A. No.
Q. What is the difference between Burmese and Western astrologies? A. I don‘t know it for sure, but in Burmese astrology your birthday and time and year are not that important to know for your daily needs. For example, if you go to an astrologer he'll simply ask you the weekday on which you were born and he'll make his calculations with the time and weekday of your arrival at his place. Then, if he's a good astrologer he‘ll even immediately tell you right away why you come to him. So far as I know, in Western astrology the weekday on which you were born and the time of your arrival at an astrologer's place are not important at all.
Q. How did the Burmese get their astrological knowledge in the first place? A. I think it arrived together with Buddhism from India, but I'm not so sure about that. That means its origin must be in India, I suppose. Astrology is one of the most important parts of every Buddhist Burman's life because when a child is born his horoscope - “Yaada” in Burmese - will be prepared by a local astrologer and it is preserved on dried palm leaves. They keep these horoscopes for life.
Q. Aren't you afraid that some people may probably use your statements on this subject to attack you in the future? A. Let them do it if they wish.
Q. But it could be devastating for you, especially in the scientific Western world, if they try to discredit you by accusing you of being either cranky or superstitious because of your interest in occultism. A. I don't think having interest in occultism is as fatal as putting one‘s faith in abc and nuclear weapons. The worst thing that could happen to you if you believe in and rely too much on occultism is perhaps you may probably lose your soul to the devil or lose the sense of reality. As you know astrologers, for examples, use purely mathematical calculations based on planetary positions for their predictions, and nothing more.
Q. But all Christian churches - or sects, as you call them - vehemently condemn all forms of occultism and forbid their members from believing in them or practicing them. For these churches or sects occultism is the tool of Satan. A. By the way, do you know how biblical prophets were called in biblical times?
Q. No. A. They were called “Seers” - an occult terminology.
Q. Could you tell us the biblical verses? A. Read 1 Samuel 9:8-9 and 2 Chronicles 19:1-3.
Q. Are there some more biblical verses that deal with occultism? A. King Saul had even used a witch to communicate with the soul or spirit of the late Prophet Samuel.
Q. Really? A. Read 1 Samuel 28:1-25. 56. ON OTHER SIGNS (NATURAL OR ASTRONOMICAL) OF MY SECOND COMING (53)
Q. You distributed two photos showing the moon with a haloed ring around it over Hamburg at Christmas time in 1985, implying that it was some kind of miracle related directly to you. A. I was standing in the heart of Hamburg on December 24 for a couple of hours holding a cross- like wooden frame. On which hanged a textile with the text: “Dear Christians and Fellow Human Beings, People in Burma Are Too Poor to Repay Your Aid” (See PHOTO GALLERY: D-3).
Q. What are the different versions from these newspapers? A. According to the Hamburger Abendblatt (Hamburg Evening Post), this happening is nothing very special. It can be fully explained by science. It is titled: “Why the Moon Has A Holy Halo At Christmastime”. But according to the Bild Zeitung (Bild Newspaper) version it must be an unusual mystery. The title itself suggests that: “Full Moon Is Colourful like A Rainbow: A Heavenly Miracle Happened Over Hamburg”
Q. The two versions are quite different, but why did you use them anyway? A. The Hamburger Abendblatt version was intended for evolutionists and the Bild Zeitung version for creationists. laughter
Q. To which group are you belonging - to the former or the later? A. Well, you should know it better to which the Son of God would think he belongs.
laughter
Q. You have also indirectly implied that the arrival of and passing through your Sun Sign, Aquarius, by Halley's Comet on the 22nd December 1985 and in early 1986 - which coincided with your 40th year of life to be a supernatural event, or even a great miracle. Is that true? What really is Halley's Comet? Is it an archangel? A. Let me tell you another mystery concerning this comet: It entered the Sign of Aquarius on 22nd December 1985 (the Sun Sign Capricorn, which rules the Jewish people, begins also on December 22). So you could be tempted to assume that whatever this comet is, its arrival in Aquarius, my own Sun Sign, at such a time itself could be interpreted as more than just a pure coincidence. ( See PHOTO GALLERY: E-1 & E-2)!
Q. Was the Halley's Comet the Star of Bethlehem? A. A great number of people around the world think so. Q. Then you must have been born much earlier than it is generally accepted, since this comet visited the earth in BC 11. A. Let's not speculate about it.
Q. Were you really born on 25 December or perhaps in October as some biblical scholars believe? A. Let's not talk about the date, because it would only raise some controversy unncessarily. What is important is not my birthday, but my messages.
Q. Many people argue that, since Halley's Comet's comings nearly always served as bad omens for humans beings. A. Whether this comet serves as a good or bad omen for human beings may depend on who you are. If you look back at world history, you will find that whenever there was a system change - be it political or religious or social - there were always winners and losers. So, as it could be a bad omen for the corrupt priests then, it was without doubts a good omen for those who were freed from the old religious shackles that had bound them for centuries.
Q. Is there any other heavenly signs for your Coming? A. There were some. The discovery of the exploding Supernova 1987A at a distance of 170 000 light-year (that is, the explosion took place 170 000 years ago) - for example. I would quote a few lines from the TIME magazine, p. 47 with regard to this Supernova: “Like today‘s astrologers, ancient civilizations believed the stars had a direct influence on earthly affairs and the Chinese, who carefully recorded any changes in the sky, were especially impressed by ‘guest stars‘. They regarded such astronomical visitors as omens of important events on earth.” (See PHOTO GALLERY F-1 to F-4)
Q. And the next, please! A. Then the appearance of the Great Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 which emitted seven jets. (See PHOTO GALLERY G-1 to G-4).
Q. And the next sign? A. I'd quote again about another Supernova which was discovered in 2006 - Supernova SN 2006gy: “SN2006gy was first detected by an optical robotic telescope as part of the Texas Supernova Search Project on September 18, 2006. It brightens slowly for about 70 days, peaked at a luminosity or intrinsic brightness equal to that of 50 billion suns - ten times brighter than the host galaxy - and began a slow decline.” (See PHOTO GRAPHY – H) Q. And the next sign? A. The Planets Jupiter and Saturn (Jupiter is the symbol of God and Saturn the symbol of Israelites, according to Zoroastrianism) were in conjunctions in March 1981 in the Zodiacal Sign of Virgo (see PHOTO GALLERY: J-2). The same planets were in conjunctions three times in B.C. 7 in the Sign of Pisces. The Persian philosopher, Al Hakin, had even foretold in his book called “Judiaca Gjamaspis“ in B.C. 600 that a great teacher would be born in Palestine. Al Hakin‘s prophecy was based on his calculations of the said planetary conjunctions. (See PHOTO GALLERY: J-1)
Q. And the next sign? A. For the rest you can see the list of number seven at the beginning of this paper and in PHOTO GALLERY.
Q. Since a great number of religious leaders and theologians believe Satan to be very powerful to even make great miracles, they might even someday say that these planetary events are the work of Satan. A. If Satan is so powerful to do such things, why don't they themselves also create some similar or even greater astronomical events since they even claim to have been empowered by God Himself?
Q. Are these planetary positions astronomical or astrological? A. Don't be too alarmed since these are just astronomical.
laughter
Q. You really must have a very broad knowledge on astrology and astronomy. A. Why?
Q. Why? You don't know why? Because all the information on astrology and astronomy that you've just talked about. A. Actually, I was only repeating what I've read recently in journals and books without having any knowledge at all in these fields. laughter
Q. Aren't you afraid that it would be so shameful for you if these information are not accurate or they have nothing to do with you? A. I know that. But as Jesus himself is recorded in the Bible to have said that when He comes back there will be signs in sky, let's hope that these astronomical events have at least some kind of relevance to what I've been doing - or to me personally. And since I don't have the material means or some influential persons or institutions that can help me for the realization of my wishes, these planetary movements are the only things that I can rely on for my cause for free of charge. And fortunately, no one has forbidden yet the use of these planetary movements as one‘s witnesses.
laughter
Q. But as for the comets, for example, several similar or near-similar comets did appear in the past few centuries. A. I know that. But what I would say unique is that all these astronomical events have taken within the span of a few years when my own age reached 40, 52 and 61 years.
Q. But if these planetary movements turn out to be nothing at the end? A. In that case, take these things simply as light entertainment.
laughter
57. ON MY COMING TO GERMANY (65)
Q. When did you come to Germany? A. I landed in Frankfurt on July 25, 1978, from Bangkok by TAROM, the Rumanian Airlines.
Q. Did you intentionally look for an airline which would land in Frankfurt on this date? A. No, I looked for the cheapest airline. And actually, the air plane should land in Frankfurt on the 24th, according to its schedule. But because of a technical problem in Singapore, the flight was delayed for one day.
Q. Did you come to Germany on your own decision or was it on your Father‘s order? A. Let's not speculate about it.
Q. Would you tell us how you met Frau Karin Vogt and your friendship with her? A. I got to know her through a lawyer who was working with the amnesty international Hamburg branch. He helped me with my application for polical asylum from the beginning to the end. At that time she was studying Germanistics and three foreign languages, English, French and Spanish at the Hamburg University. She speaks, besides her native German language, the three languages like her own mother language. She helped us in every possible way and we became best friends since then. She has been working for the Goethe Institute in Mexico since several years ago. I will write more about our friendship with her when and if I write my autobiography someday.
Q. What is your educational level actually? A. I'm holding a doctorate in divinity.
Q. Really? Where and how did you get it? A. I bestowed it to myself. laughter
Q. You bestowed it to yourself? How could you do that? A. If even those who study my life and my teachings can bestow each other with such degrees, why shouldn't I? laughter
Q. How shall we address you? Dr. Jesus? laughter
A. Oh, no, no. Please don't do that, otherwise I might become too important, like many of your religious leaders, that I may probably have to be protected by an army of bodyguards.
laughter
Q. By giving this academic degree to yourself, aren't you afraid or ashamed to become a laughing stock for civilized people? A. Since all the Christian religious leaders, theologians and clergymen of rival Christian churches are also laughing off at each other, why should I worry about that?
laughter
Q. Even then you may still need a formal study in theology if you want your worshippers to take you seriously. A. Studying my own teachings back from you human beings? I always thought that you all are worshipping just a former semi-literate carpenter. laughter
Q. So your doctorate is intended just as a means of mocking religious academics? A. I had had written letters to several Christian theologians and religious leaders around the world many years ago, asking them a number of theological issues, but as nearly nobody responded, I got an idea and thus used this title to test their reaction. To my great surprise, several of them responded immediately. laughter
Q. Do you have any professional skills? A. My best skills are not in demand here on this earth.
Q. Which skills do you mean? A. My knowledge on Burma and how to restore peace and democracy and human rights in Burma.
laughter
Q. Were you really a carpenter on your first coming? A. I've even got many carpentry tools now in our flat and am still enjoying very much constructing various household things myself. Old habits die hard - even after 2000 years!
laughter
Q. You said you were born on February 7, 1945, but in your passport it is February 7, 1947. Which one is correct? A. 1945 is correct. If you don‘t believe me you can go to my native village and check it there. We don't have birth certificates like you civilized people, but there is at least one person in nearly every village (in the region in which my family was living) who keeps birth and death records. In my case this man happened to be my father's youngest brother. Or, you can estimate my age in my first family photo in the PHOTO GALLERY.
Q. Why do you use 1947 in official papers then? A. It is not completely false either, because when I transferred from Chin State to a school in Kalemyo in 1954 (in present-day Sagaing Division) my Burman teacher made a mistake in converting 1945 into Burmese year. So it became BE (Buddhist Era) 1308, instead of 1306. From then on I used 1947 or 1308 as my birthyear in all my papers in Burma so as to avoid confusion. Q. And you give the time of your birth as 7 a.m. Is it really true? A. When I was born everybody who was present there looked at the sun just coming out of a mountain range (my village and seven other Siyin villages are surrounded by mountain ranges - alt but as no one had a watch at that very moment they did not know the exact time. So they roughly estimated it to be seven o'clock. But then when my uncle died in 2004 a record in his files was found in which he recorded the time of my birth as seven o'clock. He recorded it on the same day of my birth.
58. ON MY FAMILY IN GERMANY (72)
Q. When did you get married? A. On 7th May,1980.
Q. Why did you marry? A. There were many reasons. One of them was that I simply wanted to have the experience of having a family this time, as I didn‘t have this opportunity when I came to this world 2000 years ago. And I may never have another chance again for eternity.
Q. Did you choose the date intentionally? A. No. The Civil Marriage Office in Hamburg fixed it for us. If we couldn't or didn't want to marry on this date the next possibility would be three weeks later. So we agreed with this date.
Q. It would be almost impossible for all the Christians to accept the idea that their long-awaited Messiah is married to a human being and that they have a child and grandchildren. So how are you going to solve this great dilemma? A. If you read the Old Testament, you'll find passages that say that even angels married human beings. This had angered God.
Q. Really? Would you tell us the biblical verses? A. Read Genesis 6:1-7!
Q. That means angels are not totally free from lust that are associated only with human beings with flesh and blood? A. If you would sincerely and honestly look into the Bible and if you would take all its contents literally, you could very easily lose your theological orientation or direction, because there are many passages that seem to contradict each other.
Q. But how shall we know which passages are true and which ones are false? With the help of prayers could we distinguish the truths from the false? A. No. Prayers wouldn't help you. I think that only Christians would be able to understand my points.
Q. Only Christians will understand your points? By accepting you as their Messiah? A. Not necessarily. Christians claim to believe that Jesus was and is the true Messiah. And they say they believe that He'd come back to this world for the second time. So, the simple answer to your question is: If I turn out at the end to be the real Jusus, or if the real Jesus indeed reappears somewhere on this earth in the future, that would automatically solve all the riddles in the Bible. And if I turn out to be just a fraud, you can simply keep on waiting for the real Jesus for centuries or even eternally.
Q. Let's go back to our old question: What would you do if Christians can't accept that their Messiah is married now? A. It's up to them. I don‘t need to hard-sell myself. If they can't accept the idea of their Messiah having a family, then they can simply go on waiting for Him. But I only want to tell you two things here and now: 1. Even if I had remained unmarried, there would be enough people who would accuse me anyway of being a false prophet pretending to be holy in order to mislead some innocent human beings; 2. Or there would also be equally enough people who would say that I remain unmarried because I am either impotent or homosexual, or something like that.
laughter
Q. Who is your wife? A. She is a Shan, who are ethnic cousins of the Thais in Thailand. She was widowed in 1975 with two children. We have now a daughter who was born on 24th May 1980 - 17 days after our marriage! My wife's first husband was one of the leaders of the Kachin Independence Army which has been fighting against the Burmese government since 1961 for the right of self-determination. He was killed in action.
Q. Is your wife Christian? A. Yes, I think so. Q. What do you mean by that? A. She is Christian, but she is, I think, more influenced by Buddhist philosophy for she was brought up as a Buddhist.
Q. Have you ever tried to convert her to be a worshipper of yours? A. No, never. It is her life, so she must decide for herself.
Q. You've just said she is Christian. To which denomination is she belonging? A. She went to the Dr. Seagrave's (an American physician) missionary school in Namkham, Northern Shan State in Burma. She was baptized there as a Baptist.
Q. Does she know that you are Jesus? A. I think she believes I'm an endangered species.
laughter
Q. Why? A. Maybe because she has never really read the Bible.
Q. If she had read the Bible, would or could she believe that you are Jesus? A. Had she read the Bible, she'd have understood that all the biblical prophets were also married and had children. laughter
Q. Have you never persuaded her to read it? A. No, I can't do that. Partly because she is a realist.
Q. She is a realist? What does that mean? A. She is probably afraid that, if she reads the Bible, she may become as crazy as I myself, or she may become just another hypocrite like many other Christians everywhere.
laughter
Q. Do you love each other? A. Yes, we do. But our love is more of platonic nature, I think. Q. Would she still get salvation even if she doesn't really believe in you? A. If even the rich and powerful Christians can still hope to see my Father, why not? But that would also depend on her. If she prefers to go to hell or to any other spiritual domains, then I wouldn't be able to force her to come into my Father's kingdom.
laughter
Q. Is there any other spiritual domains beside heaven? A. I don't know. I just wanted to say if there's any.
laughter
Q. Do you still go to church regularly? A. I don't go to church anymore since I was about 20 years old. And my wife doesn't go either.
Q. Why? A. Should I go to church in order to listen to my own teachings and about my former life?
laughter
Q. Is your marriage a happy one? A. Yes, it is a very harmonious one, I'd say. Only sometimes we have problems with our cat, which my wife all of a sudden decided to take home from a friend of mine without asking my opinion.
Q. Don't you like pets or animals? A. I like them. At home back in Chinland we had always had dogs and I loved them. But since it's very expensive to keep pets here in the West, I prefer not to have any.
Q. Can't you persuade her to give it away to someone? A. No, I can't do that. I got the impression that she loves the cat much more than she loves me.
laughter
Q. Why is that? A. Because it gives her better companionship. With all the Jesus things that I have been doing she apparently thinks that I am suffering from some kind of mental illness.
laughter
Q. Why does she like you then? A. She always says that she likes me for my kindness and a little bit of my stupidity.
laughter
Q. And why do you like her? A. I like her for her loving, tolerance, understanding, industry and philosophy. And I know that, with my eccentricities, I'd never be able to find another better woman.
Laughter
[My wife died on December 21, 2015 at the Hamburg University Hopital from heart complications after 49 days of intensive treatment. She was taken from our flat by an ambulance car and admitted at the hospital on November 2. There were 49 days between the day of her death to my birthday! See her Death Certificate in Photo Gallery.]
59. ON THE SIGNS OF ENDTIME AND THE FINAL JUDGMENT (80, 91)
Q. Are we really approaching now the End of Time, or the Endtime prophecied in the Bible? A. Whether we are approaching the biblical Endtime or not is in fact irrelevant for you. When you die, it's simply the End of Time or the Endtime - for you.
Q. The natural catastrophies which you have implied to be the signs of Endtime mostly have been taking place in the poorest parts of the world - that is, Africa, Asia and Latin America. If they are truly the signs of Endtime, why didn't they also take place in affluent societies? A. If you look back at history, you will find that so many miseries have already visited those affluent societies - although a great deal of them were man-made or self-made ones.
Q. Is the present generation going to experience the Final Judgment? A. It is very likely that we're approaching the end of an Era, or the beginning of a new Era prophecied in the Bible. Q. Does that mean that we'd witness the Final Judgment? A. Let's wait and see. laughter
Q. Could you probably give us the law book that would be used for the Final Judgment? A. That's exactly what I've always wanted to ask your religious leaders and theologians, since they are powerful enough to even make their own laws and regulations on behalf of the biblical God.
laughter
Q. Leaders and theologians of all the Christian churches - or what you call Christian sects - have still been hotly debating if the souls of Christians go directly to heaven or are they still roaming around in this world and wait for the Day of Judgment. Which one is correct? A. Why don't they simply ask their God directly, instead of endlessly debating about it?
60. ON FREEDOM OF WORSHIP (87)
Q. Do we really need freedom of worship? A. That depends on.
Q. Depends on what? A. Depends on for what purpose you need it: To become a better being and to get an eternal life by worshipping freely, or just for the sake of worshipping freely without any specific goals.
Q. I really can't understand what you meant. A. Okay, let me tell you in this simple way: You Christians in Western nations have been fully enjoying complete freedom of worship for centuries, but what have you done to each other and also to other countless people around the world? So the gist of my argument is: If you want it as your birth-right, that's absolutely alright and you deserve it fully. But if you think you could become a better being or get an eternal life through complete freedom of worship, then it could be just an illusion. In reality, the lack of it could even be a blessing in disguise because it could make you a more religious and a better observant worshipper - but not necessarily a better human being - as it is happening with a great number of Christians in communist and non-Christian countries where worship is forbidden or restricted.
Q. How was freedom of worship when you first came to this earth 2000 years ago? A. If you compare the freedom of worship then and now, what you call freedom of worship at the present time is nothing. At that time I could nearly preach in every synagogue and at the same time even challenge the established priesthood without a formal education in theology! Imagine what would happen to me if I did the same things in any of your churches today! I'd most likely be immediately handed over to the police, or be beaten to death on the spot!
laughter
Q. Is there any difference between religious hypocricy then and now? A. Sure. When I first came there were just a handful of sects, but look, how many sects are there today? Several hundreds of thousands! And every sect claims to be the only true church! I had given my life partly to liberate the innocent who were enslaved by currupt priests with their own man-made laws. But a great number of today's priests seem to be worse than priests of the olden days.
Q. Yes? A. Unlike those ancient priests who had had only the Old Testament to guide them, today's clergy have ample evidence of my teachings in the New Testament.
61. ON CELIBACY (99)
Q. Is celibacy really necessary for getting the eternal life? A. Well, celibacy aquired through personal decision is an admirable act, especially if the decision is the outcome of one's willingness to serve one's fellow beings more effectively, or if it is a means of preventing oneself from reproducing more humans who may probably be just suffering in this brutal world. But if the decision happens to be the result of mere religious consideration - that is, to get our graces - then it is just a waste of one's precious life. The reason is that celibacy does not necessarily make a person a better being or a more religious one. So for a priest or a clergyman who will have to deeply involve in his parishioner' social affairs, it is even more desirable to have a family of his own so that he'd have better understanding in human relationships and problems.
62. ON CHURCH (RELIGIOUS) TAX (122)
Q. Church or religious taxes are collected in some Christian nations. Is it sinful to do so? A. I really can't understand how you could collect taxes in the names of some invisible beings whom you have never seen with your own eyes in your whole life. 63. ON BEING BORN AGAIN (124)
Q. Do we really need to be spiritually born again for the attainment of the eternal life? A. That depends on how you are being born again and what you do after your spiritual rebirth. Most of those who call themselves born-agains do nothing more than changing some of their minor old habits such as stop smoking, drinking alchohol or flirting around. Many of them have even become religious fanatics of the worst kind. That is very sad.
Q. What is the main characteristic of a religious fanatic of the worst kind? A. He believes he's the best Christian and accuses everyone who does not agree with him on theological issues of being Satan or Satan-incarnate.
64. ON CHURCH AND TEMPLE (125)
Q. How important is worshipping in beautiful and impressive church buildings or temples? A. I really don't know the logic of worshipping God in expensive and beautiful church buildings or temples and expecting to get an eternal life while you're ignoring the plight of countless people who are dying from hunger, sickness and wars around the world under your eyes.
65. ON FREEDOM OF CHOICE (126)
Q. What would you say about one of the most controversial issues in theology: Freedom of Choice or free will? A. It is one of my Father's most precious gifts to you human beings. He loves you so dearly that He wants to give you complete freedom in making your own choice. And in order to enable you to make the right choice, you are endorsed with two things: consciousness and conscience. But those who are not blessed with enough degree of these two things need not feel being discriminated against either, for He knows their situation and therefore their rewards or punishment would be proportionate to the levels of their consciousness and conscience.
Q. But with countless man-made doctrines in this world how could we find the right path or make the right choice? A. Do not do things that you yourself don't want others to do to you. This line is clearly written in the four Gospels. 66. ON EXCOMMUNICATION (127)
Q. What do you think of the excommunication practised in some Christian churches? A. How could you excommunicate someone on behalf of a being who exists only in your imagination?
67. ON BAPTISM (127)
Q. What is the real essence of baptism? A. The sole essence of baptism is that it should and must be an act of commitment to your God - that is, one's recognition of His existence, His power of salvation and love.
Q. That means no one has the right or power to force someone to be baptized. A. Exactly. It must be absolutely voluntary. It is in fact the replacement of circumcision which was also a symbol of commitment to the biblical God in the pre-New Testament era. See Jeremiah 9:25- 26.
Q. But what would happen to the soul of someone who was not baptized? A. As you wouldn't get an eternal life automatically by being baptized, you wouldn't be denied this eternal life either even if you were not baptized - provided of course that you had had enough faith and performed good deeds while you were still alive.
68. ON CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS (128)
Q. How shall we understand confession and forgiveness? A. Instead of directly answering your question, I'll only tell you about one thing that has been very terribly tormenting me for centuries. Your religious leaders are telling you all the time about the virtues of religious confession and forgiveness. But they themselves are far from capable of pratising them. That's one reason why there are nowadays countless rival Christian Churches in the world. For example, the clergymen of all Christian churches in Burma are urging their hapless followers to repent and confess their sexual-related activities, but none of them has ever dared to threaten the country's ruthless rulers, who are responsible for the death and suffering of millions of innocent people for decades, with an eternal damnation at some place called “hell” or the “lake of fire”.
69. ON PRAYER (130) Q. Could you explain more clearly about prayer? A. Most Christians misunderstand the real essence of prayer. As a result, they say prayer just as a routine and hope that all their prayers be answered. Not every prayer is answered. Some prayers are immediately answered, some in days, some in weeks, some in months, some in years, some in decades, some in several centuries or even milleniums. If you read the Book of Revelation, you will find that even the souls of holy people who had been unjustly slained are still waiting for the time when they will be resurrected.
Q. Please tell us how best we could pray! A. Read Matthew 5:5.15.
Q. But how could we know if or when our prayers would be answered? A. First of all every prayer is not necessarily answered in material form. Just look at me! Two thousand years ago I came to this earth only to go through suffering, and now I have been going the same process once again. In my case, my rewards are only in heaven where my Father reigns. So if you don't get rewards immediately in this life, don't be disappointed. You're not forgotten in my Father's kingdom. And don't forget that many prayers are answered in abstract or invisible forms, like wisdom or awakening, etc. Even when you meet with sorrows or tragedies these could be blessings in disguise, for every suffering could also give you some kind of truth or strength or enlightenment.
Q. Do you pray every now and then to your Father? A. Sometimes.
Q. How do you pray - in your own name?
laugther
A. That is always a big problem for me. That's why I used to ty to avoid praying aloud in a group or in public whenever I'm asked to do the praying because I pray directly to God without using the name of Jesus.
Q. Didn't you ask him for material things - like money or wealth? A. No. Q. Why not? A. Because I know that He wouldn't give me, even if I asked Him for it, anyway.
laughter
Q. Can't you give it to yourself then? A. If I could, would I still remain so long as a poor man?
laughter
Q. You're perhaps enjoying poverty? A. Why should I be enjoying poverty? I'm also just a human being - like you.
laughter
70. ON RELIGIOUS RITUALS (133)
Q. How important are religious rituals in Christianity? A. Because of social or cultural conditionings the religious man is more or less fascinated by - and obsessed with - religious rituals and rites. He thus believes that he needs such things for his salvation or to appease the deity or deities he is worshipping. If you want to use rituals for the enchancement of worship or if you cannot worship without them, then it is alrgiht. There is no sin in using them, but if you use them as a means of acquiring your salvation, then you are only wasting your time and energy and fortune for nothing.
71. ON TRINITY (134)
Q. Would you explain about the Trinity? A. Nearly all the Christians are very much confused and obsessed with the idea of Trinity - Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. You need not bother yourselves too much with this matter. Even if I tell you the truth, it may not necessarily make you better beings, nor will it automatically entitle you to salvation. What is important for you to know is that there exist a powerful God, His Son and their angels somewhere in the universe. That's all.
72. RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL (134) Q. How important are religious festivals for Christians? A. There is a false idea about religious festival among Christians. The main essence of a religious festival in general is to refreshen and renew one's commitment to God. As the mere celebrating of such a festival will not automatically give you salvation, it is nonsense to argue which festival is more important or which one is less important. Or which one is of pagan origin and which one is divine-inspired, and so on. Every festival has its own significance and charm.
73. ON THE ACT OF COMMITTING SUICIDE (134)
Q. According to the doctrines of several Churches suicide is as sinful as murdering someone. So how sinful is it? A. Well, the leaders of these Churches must try to find out the reason why suicide should be more sinful than causing the death and suffering of uncountable innocent human beings around the world, or ignoring the death and suffering of hundred of millions of people around the world from hunger, sickness and wars under their very eyes.
Q. Could you imagine that even you yourself also could probably commit this act? A. Why not? I can imagine very well that if my whole family has nothing to eat and there's no hope of ever again getting someting to eat within the foreseeable future, I may most likely kill them all and then commit suicide. I wouldn't be able to see their suffering endlessly.
74. ON THE EUCHARIST (135)
Q. Since you are already back on earth, is it still necessary to take Communion elements? A. Try to find out first who I really am. If I really am the real Jesus, then you wouldn't need these elements anymore. But if I am either an Antichrist, or a fraud or an impostor, then you may still need to take them.
Q. What was and is the main purpose of the Eucharist? A. Its main essence was and is to remind you of the sacrifices that I had made for your salvation 2000 years ago, and to renew your commitment to us. You must therefore take these Communion elements only when and if you are absolutely sure of your own faith in my Father's love and His power of salvation. So to take these elements without such an unwavering faith is a fatal sin, because the mere consuming of them will not give you salvation automatically.
Q. How is the consuming of these elements under the supervision of someone whose moral uprightness is questionable? A. You have no right to judge who is moral and who is not. What is vitally important is your own faith, moral and deeds, and not that of others. In other words, your getting of salvation is not influenced at all by the holiness or unholiness of the person under whose supervision you take the Communion elements.
75. ON SABBATH AND SUNDAY (135)
Q. Which Day shall we observe, Sabbath or Sunday? A. I wouldn't tell you which day you should observe because the mere observing of a sacred day for the sake of observing it will not automatically entitle you to a place in heaven. The fundamental essence of observing a sacred day, in fact, is: on this particular day you must re-examine your deeds and faith in the past six days, and then correct your mistakes or strengthen your faith in the next six coming days. It is already clearly written in the New Testament that Sabbath is made for man and not the other way round.
76. ON FAITH (136)
Q. Several Churches claim that salvation could be attained through faith and grace alone. What do you have to say about that? A. Leaders of such Churches apparently have never read the following biblical verses: Revelation 20:4-6; 20:11-15 and 22:10-16.
Q. Why is that we must have faith in you so that we may be able to come into your Father's kingdom? A. Would you allow a stranger into your house who does not love you, or respect you or like you?
Q. But what would happen to the souls of those who are too poor to do good deeds in material form? A. Such people don't necessarily need to prove their faith by physically or materially performing some good deeds. Their good deeds will be measured by whether they would be - deep in their heart - generous enough to do good things if they had the material means to do so.
77. ON SERMON (137)
Q. How shall we understand good and bad sermons? A. Impartial sermons could be both desirable and beneficial for the simple-minded folks. An impartial sermon is a sermon which emphasizes the virtues of Love, Faith, Moral, Peace, Justice, etc., without advocating any particular doctrine.
78. ON LOVE (139)
Q. How would you define LOVE? A. May I only tell you one thing about it?
Q. Just go ahead! A. Since everybody already knows or understands what LOVE is, I don't think I need to tell you about it anymore. What I'm only interested with this word is how the leaders and theologians of all Christian Churches are using this word. They are preaching all the times about the Love of God and Jesus and then urging their followers to love each other. But in reality they themselves cannot pratise it. That's one reason why there are so many rival Churches around the world these days.
Q. On your first mission 2000 years ago your main message was LOVE, but this time your message seems to be the opposite. A. Haven't even countless of those who claim to be the best Christians been killing each other during the past 2000 years - IN MY OWN NAME?
laughter
Q. Some of your friends said you're rather detached and cold. Isn't there any contradiction? A. It's true that to many people I seem to be cold and so detached. It's partly because of the many heartbreaking happenings that I've seen during the course of my life, and also partly because of my philosophical outlook on human existence. Parting from your loved ones, for example, is heart- breaking.
79. ON ABORTION (140)
Q. How sinful is abortion? A. Why should abortion be more sinful than ignoring the plight of hundreds of millions of homeless and starving children around the world? In nearly every society around the world, if 10-year, 12- year old minors commit murder or rape, it's a sensation and they are regarded to personify evils, and people from all walks of life in the society condemn them. In some instances, crowds even tried to lynch them.
80. ON WORSHIPPING MARY, MY MOTHER (144)
Q. Should we worship your mother Mary? A. For those who believe in my historicity and divinity, the reverence that they have for my mother is understandable and even desirable. And there is no sin in believing in her ascension to heaven in her human body either, although it is, as we have already discussed, impossible for a mortal being, no matter how holy or divine he is, to ascend to Heaven in physical form.
81. ON PREDESTINATION (145)
Q. If you look at the prophecies in the Book of Revelation and other parts of the Bible, or that of Nostradamus, one is tempted to conclude that everything is already predestined from the beginning to the end of the world or even the whole universe. So it seems there‘s nothing we can do against it. How would you explain about that? A. Well, if you start debating about the existence or non-existence of such a thing as predestination there would never be an ending. So the only important thing for you to know is that you can liberate yourselves from the “grips” of such a thing - if in case it really does exist - by seeking the eternal life that my Father can give you.
82. ON CONCEPTION BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS (149)
Q. How sinful is conception by artificial means from your moral point of view? A. Those who have to use this method must decide for themselves.
Q. Would such an “artifical baby” have a soul? A. Can all those Christians, who were conceived and born in natural way, themselves see their own souls? laughter
83. ON DEMOCRACY IN A CHURCH (151)
Q. A great number of Christians are confused as to whether their religious communities should be ruled by consensus or by a central authority. Which one would you recommend? A. You better decide for yourselves what the best system could be for your religious community.
Q. That doesn't really answer the core of my question. A. Ok, let me put it in this way: Neither method will influence your chance of gaining an eternal life. laughter
84. ON THE ESSSENCE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE (151)
Q. Is there any rational sense or essence of human existence? A. I don't know. laughter
Q. You don't know? How come? You even claim to be Jesus and now you yourself are confused about one of the most important things for us! A. Well, in fact, your existence was supposed to be the most precious gift of my Father, but since you humans prefer to believe in and observe man-made doctrines, instead of worshipping your Creator and observe His morals, I'm not sure anymore whether your existence has a sense or not.
laughter
Q. What do you think about it just as a normal human being? A. That sounds much better! laughter
Let me be very honest with this question. I think it would depend on who or what you are and from whose point of view you look at this human life - or your own life. If you happened to be a wealthy Swiss, for example, who has never experienced war, poverty or hardship in his lifetime, this human existence could be a real gift from God. But if you are a Third Worlder struggling from dawn to dusk for your very survival, this human life could even be interpreted as a curse instead. The only, but greatest consolation for him is the fact that he could have an eternal life through the mercy of the biblical God in His kingdom.
Q. In that case why did God create us in the first place? A. God regretted so much that He had created human beings. Read Genesis 6: 1-8! laughter
85. ON CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM IN CHRISTIANITY (153)
Q. What do you think of conservatism and liberalism in various Christian sects or churches? A. I wouldn't make any comment on this matter.
Q. Why not? And how about the fundamentalists who interpret the Bible literally? A. If you want to interpret the Bible literally, you will have to take more responsibility for what you do. You should not try to interpret and observe only things that suit your own needs and ignore things that could be detrimental to your personal insterest.
Q. That means liberalism is better? A. I don't really know how best to answer your question. But I would simply like to say that my 2000-year old teachings are still more radically liberal than the doctrines of a great number of Christian Churches of today.
86. ON SATAN CULT (156)
Q. There are newspaper reports that a great number of people around the world are belonging to various Satan cults that are worshipping Satan. How would you judge them? A. That's everybody's right, so why should we judge them?
Q. You wouldn't judge those who worship your Archenemy? A. Why and how could we judge them, since even countless of those who claim to be the best Christians themselves cannot yet worship their God under a single roof?
laughter
87. ON RELIGIOUS FANATICISM (176)
Q. How would you define - or how could we know - the difference between religious fanaticism and genuine faith? A. A fanatic Christian is he who loudly speaks about his own virtues and the virtues of our morals, but in practice does things that are totally opposite to what he's preaching about. A genuine believer does not need to impress his fellow human beings with his moral uprightness, but he secretly observes our morals without advertising his moral uprightness.
Q. These are also the characteristics of a religious hypocrite. Aren't they? A. Oh, really? laughter
Q You didn't know that? A. No, I didn‘t know that - honestly. laughter
Q. The problem is that every fanatic believes that he is the most virtuous believer, so there is little chance of bringing him back to normal sense. A. That's his own problem, not yours. laughter
Q. That's not his problem alone, you know. The main problem is that such a person usually tries to enforce his own moral codes upon other people within his reach. A. I know that. But that is still his own problem.
laughter
So, if you don't like his ways of doing things, just simply ignore him. It's as simple as that.
laughter
Q. Does that mean that you prefer a skeptical believer to a fanatic one? A. It's not a matter of our preference. The point is that a skeptical believer still has a chance to see the truth if he has got the right guidance, whereas the fanatic is so illusioned to believe that whatever he does in our names is justifiable. That's exactly the reason behind the great miseries and suffering that have been caused by those who claim to be the best Christians for centuries. A skeptical believer is at least likely to have some kind of conscience and truer to himself and therefore he may not cause any harm to other people in our names. But a fanatic firmly believes that he alone has found and possesses the truth! Q. How do you see fanaticism in other religions? A. I don't think I have the right to make judgment upon other religions.
Q. Talking about truth, how do you define truth? A. Truth! Truth! Truth! It's one of the most dangerous things in both religion and politics. In the name of TRUTH countless people have lost their lives and the same quantity of human beings are still suffering under your own eyes. That‘s why this word frightens me whenever I hear it. I think I can define it only in two ways: The simple and the abstract. And I'm only interested in the simple definition.
Q. What is that? A. If you're a man, you're not a woman. If you are a human being, you are not a dog. Isn't it so simple? laughter
Q. Please go on! A. If you're still alive, you're not yet dead. If you are once dead, you are no more alive - of couse at least physically! laughter
Q. And the abstract one? A. We better don't discuss about it further because it's too abstract.
Q. At least a few words please! A. Look, every Christian Church or theologian interprets the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) differerently. Different Buddhist schools interpret the Buddhist philosophy differently. Different Islamic branches interpret the Koran differently. Different branches of Judaism interpret the Judaic Bible differently, and so on. So, you can only say that an abstract Truth is true only for the one who accepts or believes it to be the Truth.
88. ON THE ATONEMENT (189)
Q. How important is the making of atonement for securing an eternal life? A. Atonement is for the salvation of the soul a real necessity if the wrongdoer himself is still in a position to do so. But if he doesn't have the material means to do so, it is not a must, provided that he genuinely repents of his sin or wrongdoing. If he can afford materially he must also make the atonement materially. And he must not commit the same sin or crime repeatedly.
Q. It's widely accepted and believed that you made Atonement through your death on the cross for the sins of human beings‘ - or something like that? A. But look at those countless Christians who pray to my Father in my own name! What have they been doing against each other for centuries? laughter
89. ON STATE RELIGION (198)
Q. How do you see the use of Christianity as state religion? A. So far as I know there is not even a single biblical verse that says “You shall use Christianity as state religion!”.
Q. But in biblical times even your Father had always worked with kings. A. That was before I came to this world 2000 years ago. And He had directly or indirectly kept in contact with those kings - mostly through living prophets. But is there any single archbishop or bishop or priest who has this ability today - that is, directly communicating with Him? I have never heard of it until now.
Q. Didn't you know that there are a great number of clergymen around the world nowadays who claim to be in constant contact with your Father?
laughter
A. Oh, really? I myself cannot do that! laughter
Well, in that case, why don't you let them directly ask my Father about my real identity? That would immediately and automatically solve all the problems that we're discussing about now.
laughter
90. ON WORSHIP (200) Q. In whose name shall we pray - Jesus or Thang Za Dal? A. Jesus. Q. Why not Thang Za Dal?
A. Because what saves you from eternal damnation is not the name of Jesus, but the faith that you have in His Father's power of salvation and your observance of His moral teachings.
Q. What would happen to our souls if we prayed in your present name: Thang Za Dal? A. Nothing. laughter
Q. You're now very much emphasizing about the importance of modesty in worship - from the use of church building and temple to rituals, etc. But if you look at your worshippers everywhere they all prefer to be members of a rich denomination which is very earthly and whose clergymen are leading a luxurious life. A. I won't make any comment on this matter, since I'm not recruiting cheap labour in this world for my Father's Kingdom. laughter
Q. And how about the wearing of fashionable or specially designed clerical robes by the clergy? A. Just read Matthew 23 and you will understand how we see it. But the mere wearing of beautiful clerical robes is not necessarily a sin.
Q. What is your opinion on homosexual clergy? A. I better don't say anything on this subject.
Q. Why not? It's already a matter of life and death for a great number of Chistians. A. I know that. I'd talk about it sometime later in the future.
Q. You must say something about it - right now! A. Ok, if you give me an ultimatum. laughter
I can tell you only one thing: Your salvation will not be decided by whether you are ministered by a celibate priest, or a woman priest, or a homosexual/lesbian priest. It is your own pure faith and good deeds that will give you an eternal life. Q. Do we still need clergy then? A. That, you will have to decide for yourselves.
91. ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN
Q. Have you ever heard of the Schroud of Turin? And if yes, would you tell us if you were the man who was on it? A. Some more questions, please.
Q. When some pieces of the textile were tested by a couple of independent and leading scientific institutions in Europe and the United States some years ago they all came to the same conclusion that the Shroud could have come into existence between 1260 and 1390. But a great number of Catholics believe that the image on it must be Jesus Christ. A. If I'm correct, this Shroud is kept by the Roman Catholic Church. So, instead of answering your question directly, may I ask you a question in return: Since the leaders of this Church even claim to represent Jesus on earth, why don't they simply ask Him directly, instead of endlessly speculating and arguing about it?
Q. I think they would have done that if they could. A. I see. Well, in that case, they must try to find out two things. One, the weight of the cross that Jesus had to carry to Golgotha, and 2. How strong or weak Jesus was - physically, of course.
Q. How could they find these facts out? A. Don't ask me. Ask them. In Mark 15: 21, Matthew 27:32 and Luke 23:26 a man named Simon was forced to carry the cross. So, Simon must be much stronger than Jesus. That in turn means Simon must be much stronger than the man on the Shroud, since he (man on the Shroud) seems to be tall and strong (his height is estimated by experts to be 1.70 m or 5' 7'' and 1.88 m or 6' 2'').
Q. Oh, it'd be too confusing to speculate all these things. So let me ask you this way: Let's say that you're just a simple human being and your opinion on this matter is asked, how would you answer it? A. Very simple. The man must have really been crucified sometime around the period that scientists have found out and that the crucified man was not an ordinary human being, but a saint or a holy man who belonged to the Catholic Church itself. Q. Interesting. But why should he be crucified in the first place by his own church? A. According to ample historical records this Church is said to have murdered a great number of its own clergymen and theologians as heretics in the past several centuries. So the image of the crucified could have had as the result of a miracle remained on the Shroud.
92. ON JUDA ISCARIOT
Q. What had happened to the soul of Juda Iscariot who betrayed you? A. He had already long been fully rehabilitated in Heaven.
Q. Really? How would you prove that? A. Read the Book of Revelation 21: 14 (“The Wall of the City had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”). Had he not been rehabilitated, his name would not have been on the wall. Q. But all Christian churches are vehemently condemning him for his betrayal of his Lord. A. He had caused only my death, but what kinds of suffering have countless Christians been causing during the past 2000 years to each other - IN MY OWN NAME?
Q. It's one of the greatest mysteries in Christian theology: Why Juda Iscariot had to betray you, since you must have been a well-known personality already. A. If you want to understand this mystery, you must study the existing law at that time in that region first. Even in moderm times, many war crimes are committed and you see them live on televisions and there are ample first-hand news reports on them. But in order to be able to bring the culprits of such crimes to justice there must be plaintiffs, eye witnesses and concrete evidence. Without these elements, you cannot simply use the information that you've seen on televisions and news media reports to bring them to justice. So if you carefully read how I was charged you would realize how sophisticated the legal systems then already were.
Q. Does that mean that his betrayal was not the work of either Satan or the result of his own evilness, or predestination, as the Christian leaders and theologians of all Christian churches have speculated? A. Let me simply repeat what I've just said: He had already been fully rehabilitated soon after his death. I wonder how all your self-proclaimed biblical experts could have overseen the biblical verse that I've just cited.
Q. Could you perhaps tell us anything else that we should know in connection with this subject? A. The description in the Book of Revelation point clearly out that angels and human beings are on equal status. The only difference between them is that angels are immortal and human beings are mortal - I mean in their physical form, that is.
Q. How can you prove that angels are immortal? A. If heavenly beings are not immortal, I'd not be once again with you - here and now!
laughter
Q. How can you prove that angels and human beings have equal status? A. Just look at me! Am I also not just a poor human being now - like you?
laughter
Q. Let's be serious! A. Ok. When John my disciple wanted to worship the angels who had shown him many things, he was told by the angels not to do that and even the foundations of the City in Heaven are dedicated to my 12 mortal human disciples.
93. ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BURMA (89)
Q. How is religious freedom in Burma? I heard that it‘s quite relax there. A. To some extent that‘s true. And the Rangoon regime, the West and Satan are reaping great profits from it.
Q. In which way? A. By allowing certain amount of freedom of worship, the Burmese regimes can most effectively destroy the unity and love of Christians there (nearly 90 percent of all Christians there are non- Burmese so-called indigenous nationalities), because they are completely in disarray - thanks in part to the countless doctrines of rival Christian sects that were directly imported from the West, and also of a number of locally-founded Churches.
Q. How does the West profit from it? A. Western governments can use those Christians as bargaining chips in their dealings with the Rangoon regime, and as best information gatherers as well. Q. How does the Devil profit from it? A. Since there's no love and unity among most of those who call themselves Christian there, my former friend Lucifer is able to build up one of his mightiest strongholds there!
laughter
Q. How do Buddhist Burmans see those Christians there? A. Nearly all of them see the Christians as spies of the Christian West.
94. ON MY SCREENPLAY “GOD, SATAN AND MAN ACCORDING TO A REINCARNATION” (204)
Q. Would you tell us a little bit about your screenplay called “God, Satan and Man According to A Reincarnation - Part I”? A. It's a comedy. Most of its parts take place at a hotel iin Washington DC.
Q. When did you write it? A. Back in early 1982. I originally wanted to write two more parts - that is, part II and part III.
Q. Where would the scenes or events in parts II and III take place? A. Part II would take place in Heaven and Part III in Hell.
Q. Did you try to market it? A. Yes, I did. I did send more than 20 copies of it to literary agents and some film schools for evaluation.
Q. Have you received any positive response? A. I've got only a very positive and encouraging comment from Mr. John Fletcher, the Director of Studies of the London International Film School, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious film schools in the world. (See M in PHOTO GALLERY for his comment.)
Q. When was it? A. In September 1982.
Q. Did you try to market it again lately? A. No. It'd most likely be too controversial and explosive that it may not a chance at all commercially.
Q. Nearly all Christian theologians and Church leaders say that there's no such a thing as reincarnation and that the concept of reincarnation itself is the work of Satan. What would you say about that? A. Well, they will have to clearify these biblical verses: Genesis 6: 1-4: Whether “the sons of God” who married with female human beings had had transformed themselves directly as human beings or they became human beings through reincarnation.
95. ON WRITING MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY (220)
Q. Would you write your autobiography? A. I don't know if there would be anyone who is interested to read the memoires of a crank like me.
laughter
Q. If in case there is any? A. Let's wait and see first.
Q. Why should we wait and see first? A. If it's not really necessary, I prefer not to write it. And even if I wanted to, I don't know if I could ever do that.
Q. Why? A. Because it'll probably be too confusing for the Christians.
Q. Why should it be confusing? A. Because mine is a very mysterious life - even to myself.
laughter
Q. That could be even more interesting. A. I'm not so sure about that, until or unless there's freedom of press in Burma.
Q. But you can write it here as you wish. A. The problem is that even if I write a very candid one here, many of you may not fully believe many parts of it unless you can freely check the facts in Burma and Chinland since the most important parts of it would be about my experiences back there.
Q. In that case, you could perhaps write about your life on your first Incarnation 2000 years ago. A. Don't be stupid to persuade me to raise some unnecessary controversies, when our worshippers have got enough problems with the interpretation and observation of the Ten Commandments which contain perhaps not more than a few hundreds of words.
laughter
Q. Why was your life then also so mysterious even to your own disciples? They write your life differently. A. If my personal life was so important for our worshippers, I'd have told them clearly so, or they would have investigated it thoroughly and reported in detail in a uniform way. What is important is my teachings, and not my personal lives then and now.
96. ON GIVING MORE INTERVIEWS IN THE NEAR FUTURE (233)
Q. Would you give more interviews in the future? A. I think it's better that I don't talk too much in the mean time, otherwise you would get more confused or I might make the wrong impression that I really am the real Messiah. And I‘d need a lot of time to think out new jokes to “lubricate” the next interview as I have already squeezed dry all the jokes that I had collected during the past 2000 years.
laughter
Q. And some new white lies as well, perhaps? A. Exactly! laughter
Q. Sometimes you give us the impression that the world is going to end at any time soon, but at the same time you tell us how to avoid self-destruction. Isn't there any contradiction? A. No, there is no contradiction at all. It's entirely up to you to decide for your own fate whether you prefer to destroy yourselves or preserve this planet and its inhabitants.
laughter Q. What do you want us to do: the first or second choice? A. I really have no preference. Either of them is absolutely ok with me.
laughter
Q. Isn't it possible for you to transform us humans into better beings so that we may not repeat our mistakes and thus be able to preserve our own species? A. I don't think so, since the great majority of human beings are sadistic by nature and all ethnic groups and nations - from the weakest and poorest to the mightiest and wealthiest - are full of self- pitiness.
Q. We're sadistic by nature? How come? A. I'll give you just two examples. Most of you prefer to see movies - or read books - that make you excited and sad, like war films and thrillers, for example, instead of peaceful and harmonious ones.
Q. You said even all the most powerful and richest nations are full of self-pitiness. What are its consequences in your opinion? A. If you're full of self-pitiness, you can only see what other people are doing with you, but you're not capable of seeing your own actions towards other people.
Q. So you're really pessimistic with us? A. It's not a matter of pessimism, but simply a reality.
laughter
Q. I think a great number of Christians would surely be more confused and irritated by your statements and ideas in this interview, instead of finding solutions to the great mysteries of Christianity. A. That's absolutely possible, since my Father Himself is so confused, irritated and offended by your way of worshipping Him. laughter
97. ON RELIGIOUS WAR (211)
Q. Do you know that, even if you were the real Jesus, most white Christians in the West would prefer to bring the entire mankind down with them rather than worshipping a coloured like you? A. I know that and I can understand very well for their feelings - how difficult and awkward it would be for them. They will not need to come to me and worship me on this earth in person. If they do to others what they want others do to them, or in other words, if they don't do to others what they don't want others do to them, they are already worshipping my Father. Nobody would be punished in Heaven for ignoring me personally on this earth.
Q. But your statements or ideas in this interview could probably ignite a world-wide religious war before we get the chance to know who you really are. A. I don't think you need to wage a religious war just because of me. If I happened to be the real Jesus, then it would be a great blessing for those who are still alive today because you would know then that the existence of God is a reality and that you can start preparing yourselves from now on for your salvation.
Q. But if you turn out to be a false prophet or a charlatan or an Antichrist? A.Even if I happened to be any of those you said, you have nothing to lose either. What you would have to do now is not to take seriously any ideas in this interview that seem to be “new” or “different” from the biblical teachings. In fact, I intend to use this interview only as a means to enable you to have a look at Christianity from a different perspective.
Q. If crazy people try to blindly worship you as if you really were the real Jesus, how could you stop them from doing that? A. That's possible, since even hundreds of millions of people with the brightest brains and minds are blindly following their own fellow mortal beings whom they themselves elected to office.
laughter
Q. It's getting more and more frightening indeed. Isn't there anyway to avoid the coming great catastrophies foretold in the Bible? A. Your fate is in your own hands.
Q. What do you mean by that? Your Father wouldn't destroy us if we decide to preserve ourselves? A. How could we destroy you, since it's you, not we, who have the nuclear arsenals?
laughter Q. But how can we prevent ourselves from waging a great war in today's explosive situation? A. That's your problem, not ours. laughter
Q. How pity it would be if we couldn't prseserve ourselves and there would no more be mankind on this beautiful planet? A. Don't feel so sad about that. My Father may probably create again some better beings in your place. Who knows? laughter
Q. You really seem to be extremely gleeful about the coming great catastrophy that will fall upon mankind someday soon. A. What else could I do even if I feel sad?
laughter
Q. But if you try to preach for peace people may surely take you more seriously - with all your evidence as our Saviour. A. There you go again! laughter
No, I don't want to become just a laughing stock, or be accused of being a lunatic, or as a Communist agent by preaching for peace. And if I did that those who benefit enormously by wars would immediately get rid of me. laughter
98. ON MY STRATEGY (235)
Q. Judging by the Open Letters, Open Appeals and Open Supplications that you have so far distributed in the past several years at a very steady pace, you seem to be following a strategy of your own. Is that true? A. It seems so. laughter
Q. Why does it seem so? Aren't you sure of it yourself? A. Of course, I'm very sure of my own strategy. laughter
Q. Could you tell us about it? A. Do I need to tell you about it? If you understand what strategy is, you would have already understood mine, too.
Q. But you can perhaps tell us about yours more clearly. A. Well, my strategy is extremely simple and there are no hidden secrets in it. Its ultimate goal is to save as many souls as possible by walking a tightrope with great caution between the “God-fearing, peace-loving” and civilized Christians of countless rival sects, Atheists, Animists, kings, queens, capitalists, industrialists, politicians, generals, communists, socialists, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Lucifer and his demons, Antichrists, male chauvinists, feminists, working people, blacks, whites, yellows, browns, and so on. laughter
Q. That doesn't really sound to be an enviable task then? A. You're absolutely right. Walking a tightrope between all those people could be extremely dangerous indeed. You make a false move and you're immediately finished. So please have understanding with me and pray for me. laughter
Q. Doesn't every other Christian sect also try to save as many souls as possible? A. So far as I know nearly all the Christian sects are only trying to recruit as many humans as possible. They are more concerned with the quantity of church members with bulging checkbooks than with the salvation of their members' souls. But for us, the soul's salvation is more important than the “body-counts”. Therefore, the poorer a worshipper is, the better for us. That's the great difference between us and others. laughter
Q. Are you hopeful that you'd be successful with your strategy? A. I have no idea. Sometimes, I even wonder, since you humans put more value in things that you have to pay, if we might not be more successful if we sold our heavenly places to the highest bidders. laughter 99. ON WHETHER I AM PROVOCATING THE WEST (216)
Q. Aren't you afraid that people in the West may probably interpret what you have been doing as a provocation? A. Since I'm the only one who for the first time speaks out for the hapless people in the Third World from a religious point of view since 2000 years ago, and I have not yet shed a single drop of blood or tear of your fellow countrypeople, let me hope that Christians in the West are mature and kind enough to understand my situation, too. laughter
Q. How would you counter if they accuse you of provocating them anyway? A. Look, even if I had repeated exactly what your religious leaders and theologians and missionaries have been preaching for centuries they would accuse me of being either a false prophet or an Antichrist or a fraud anyway, So by bluntly speaking what I think and how I see things, at least, I hope, some people may be able to see the Bible and God and Jesus from a different perspective. And if I'm not blunt enough, people may think that I‘m either coward or lacking self- confidence and as a result they would not take my points seriously. But on the other hand, they would feel being provocated or even insulted by my frankness or directness. In fact, I've got no other choice. Once again, I hope that they would be sensible enough to understand me.
laughter
Q. But have you ever realized how dangerous it could be for you? A. Since, according to the Bible, the biblical God and Jesus are said to be so loving and forgiving, let's hope that their leading worshippers would also be merciful enough to treat me leniently, even if in case I were not the real Jesus. laughter
Q. Do you enjoy being an Aquarian, by the way? A. I don't know if other Aquarians enjoy it, but not me.
laughter
Q. Why not? A. It's really so tiring maintaining your sanity if you've got Uranus as your ruling planet. The worst thing about being a typical Aquarian is that you are completely unpredictable - even to yourself! laughter
Q. Nowadays, people around the world are talking a lot about the Aquarian Age. Is it really true, or are we entering it now? A. It could be, although I don't even know what it really means.
laughter
Q. Aren't you sometimes afraid to be murdered? A. It's even possible that some quarters are already planning for my assassination.
Q. Why should you be murdered? A. Anything could happen to you at anytime if you foolishly speak out for the interest of the poor and hapless. laughter
Q. But you don't want to die yet, do you? A. If I could make a choice, I'd like to live a bit longer to see if I really am your Saviour or not.
laughter
Q. If you were murdered before your real identity is established beyond doubts, what would happen to the souls of Christians? A. If I happened to be your real Saviour, I'd come back in Spirit to collect their poor souls, but if I'm just an impostor, then the real Jesus Himself would sooner or later appear anyway and collect your souls. So you don't need to worry at all for your souls' well-being.
laughter
Q. Now we're slowly convinced that it's not really enviable to be Jesus, isn‘t it? A. I sincerely wish that I have never existed at all in the first place.
laughter
Q. Not even as Jesus Christ? A. Yes. laughter
Q. Why? A. Imagine how you would feel, if you are a loving parent and your children are doing things that you hate.
Q. Why didn't you simply send someone else down then - say an archangel, for instance? A. That's a very good question. But if an archangel were sent down in my place, he would have to consult my Father for every major decision. But in my case, I'm quite free to make major decisions or moves without consulting Him. laughter
Q. How could you become God's only Son? A. I'm also just one of His creations.
Q. He created you, too? A. Yes. It's clearly written in the Old Testament.
100. ON WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
Q. Would you please tell us how you see or understand the Western Philosophy? A. During the past two decades I've tried so hard to understand the thoughts of at least the most well-known great philosophers of the West. But if I'm to admit honestly, I'm not at all capable of grasping their thoughts.
Q. What could be the reason or reasons? A. I really don't know. But I think the simple reasons coud be that my own intellect is not yet sophisticated enough to understand such highly abstract thoughts, or my looking at them is probably at least unconsciously influenced by the ideas that had already been existing within me before I started studying them - plus my life experiences - or the combination of them all. So finally I came to the conclusion that the Western philosophy is only for highly educated academics who are capable of analysing and understanding abstract thoughts, and not for any ordinary man on the street like me. So I gave it up completely very recently.
Q. What do you mean by “the ideas that had already been existing within me before I started studying them”? A. Like the interpretations of this human existence through Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism, and Taoism, for instance.
Q. What is Tao? A. Sorry, I can't answer it.
Q. Why not, if you've read and understood Taoism? A. Because I don't want to give you the impression that I'm just an ignorant person.
Q. Let me put it in this way instead: What is the gist of Taoism then? A. It's said that if someone asks you what Tao is and if you try to explain it, both of you - the questioner and you yourself - don't understand it fully.
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Q. That means you prefer to pretend to know it thoroughly by simply remaining silent, although you do not know it at all or only part of it? A. Well, my life experience has taught me that sometimes it's much easier to impress the people around you with your seemingly wisdom by simply remaining silent, although your head in fact may be completely empty. laughter
Q. That doesn't really answer my question. But could you tell us about the virtues of reading and studying the subjects that you're talking about - that is, Zen Buddhism, Taoism, etc? A. As I don't have any ideas how these ideas could influence other people, I can only tell you about my own personal opinion on your question. I think several ideas in these religions could free you to some extent from your conventional way of looking at your own existence and the world around you. Or in other words, they could probably enable you to look at your own existence and the world around you from a completely different perspective.
Q. That means...? A. You could see things in their simpler forms, or in other words, you could simplify ideas and things around you in forms that are more easier to understand or digest.
Q. Could you at least tell us some ideas about Taoism anyway? A. Ok, if you're so insistent. I shall only quote a few passages from a book called Eastern Definitions by Edward Rice (pp.109-110) about the conversation between Confucius and the Taoist Lao Tzu: Whatever the books taught, it was a practical kind of life for all mankind. Confucius made sense. Yet one important group, the early Taoists, saw Confucius as an object of derision. The famous meeting between Confucius and the Taoist Lao Tzu, though probably apocryphal (but a standard fixture in the accounts of both Sages), illustrates the basic conflict. The versions vary, depending on whether the source is Confucian or Taoist, yet even the Confucian accounts hardly make him a man of great sophistication or depth of wisdom or understanding. Basically the story goes that Confucius, having heard of Lao Tzu, who is now in retirement, goes to see him for advice. Confucius has brought along copies of his own works, which he unrolls and starts to expound. Lao Tzu snaps, “This is going to take too long. Tell me the gist of the matter.” “The gist of the matter,” says Confucius, “is goodness and duty.” Confucius expounds a few sentences, and Lao Tzu crisply cut him off and says what any mystic might say, to look within, to learn “the Inward Path”. And “soon you will reach a goal where you will no longer need to go around laboriously advertising goodness and duty, like the town crier with his drum seeking for news of a lost child.” He adds: “No, sir! What you are going to do is to disjoint men's nature!” Somehow Confucius doesn't get the message. He tells Lao Tzu about the six books he had edited, but though he has visited “seventy-two rulers expounding the Way”, no one was willing to listen. “It is a lucky thing that you did not meet with a prince anxious to reform the world”, says Lao Tzu. “All your lectures are concerned with things that are no better than footprints in the dust. Footprints are made by shoes, but they are far from being shoes.”
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Q. But hasn't Zen Buddhism and Toaism become very conventional since a long, long time ago? A. What I have in mind with Zen Buddhism and Taoism here are the ancient concepts of the Tao and Zen masters before these ideas had been transformed into rigid religious doctrines.
Q. What is the sound of one hand clapping? A. Illusion.
Q. No, I'm sorry, but that's not the interpretation of Zen masters. A. Oh, really? Fortunately, nobody has patented or copyrighted it yet. laughter
Q. How much do you really know about Zen Buddhism? A. Nothing much, except perhaps some beautiful and enlightening anecdotes of Tao and Zen masters. Q. But could such simple anecdotes change your way of looking at yourself and things around you? A. Please let me answer your question in this way instead: several of such ancient anecdotes on religion and philosophy could sound so simple and even absurd, yet they could be both so beautiful and enlightening at the same time. That's of course until these ideas are integrated into a rigid religious doctrine - or are institutionalized.
Q. What's wrong with a religious doctrine then? A. Because as soon as such beautiful and enlightening anecdotes and ideas become just parts of a lifeless doctrine or institution, they immediately lose their beauty, enlightening, and liberating power. Or in other words, they simply become mere tools of a system that only serves the interest of a privileged new class.
Q. Could you give us some examples? A. If you read the four Gospels, for example, you'll find that all the things that I'm recorded to have said are so simple and clear that even a child or an illiterate can easily understand them without further explanation. But these anecdotes have long got lost their beauty, simplicity, and enlightening and liberating power since they were integrated into the rigid and abstract dogmas of all Christian Churches, because these dogmas are made so abstract that these can be understood only by highly educated elites. And as a result, the said anecdotes became mere tools of these doctrines that inturn enslave the very people - the poor and hapless, widows and orphans, and the social outcasts, etc - for whom I am said to have had given His life.
Q. Couldn't you - or anybody else - change these doctrines or the people's mind? A. I don't think so, because it's simply a part of human nature. And it would be extremely dangerous to attempt to change such doctrines or systems because those who are profiting from them are so powerful. Therefore, I think every single person can only seek for his own liberation or salvation - that is, if he or she wants to do so.
Q. By the way, supposing you are just a human being like us and you don't believe in Christianity, which religion would you profess? A. In that case I may probably choose Buddhism.
Q. Which school of Buddhism? A. I'm only interested in its basic philosophy.
Q. What you call its philosohpy could probably be just an illusion! A. That's absolutely possible. But even then it can at least give you inner peace and it doesn't harm anyone.
101. ON SOME LAST WORDS (237)
Q. Do you have any last messages that you want to convey to your worshippers? A. I've got nothing more to say. And you?
Q. Yes, we've got a few more questions. You have had sent out several Open Letters, Open Appeals and Open Supplications during the past several years to various personalities, sects and news agencies, but nobody has responded yet. So aren't you discouraged or bitter about that? A. Why should I be bitter with them? If they thought I'm worth paying attantion to, they'd have responded long ago. Who would have ever thought or even ever dreamed that Jesus would come back in the way I'm coming now?
Q. Did you know in advance that you would be ignored like this, or did you have any illusions that you would be embraced with great jubilation? A. I have never had the illusions that my Second Coming would be a great joyous event for our worshippers and for myself as well.
Q. How would you react if you were in their place? A. I simply don't know. One reason why they are still ignoring my appeals until now could be that they underestimate how dangerous I really am.
Q. You mean you're powerful enough to send their souls either to heaven or hell? A. No. I'm totally crazy to interview myself and what is even worse is that I dare to publicize it.
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So far as I know there have ever been only two such persons throughout human history. Q. Who are they then? A. The late Mr. Art Buchwald, the humorist columnist of The Washington Post, and...!”
Q. Who is the other? A. Who else could it be? laughter
Q. Have you ever thought sometimes that a great number of those who call themselves Christians may probably even wish deep in their heart that God, Jesus and angels don't exist anymore? A. That's exactly the impression that I've got these days.
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Your question reminds me of a story that I've had ever read - or heard from someone - a long time ago and very much fascinated me concerning an event that took place somewhere in the heart of Africa. I can't recall the story vividly anymore, but it goes like this: At the time when Europeans discovered Africa, one of them ventured deep into a very remote village where not a single European had ever been to and the local people had never heard of or seen a single European before. When the European left the village, someone in it got an idea and founded a religion in the name of the European and said that the white man would come back to the village sometime in the future to take all the believers in the village with him to his kingdom. Several years had passed and that European wanted to find out how the people in the village developed. But when he arrived at the village he found out that the man who founded a religion in his name was very well-off, but the religion founder was panicked and told him to take whatever he wanted and leave the village immediately, otherwise he (the European) could be in great danger and the religion founder would be in trouble with his followers. The European took some valuables with him and secretly left the village. laughter
Q. What would you do if they go on ignoring you? A. Actually, I'm even very grateful to them for ignoring me because I can maintain my anonymity.
Q. The poor, the oppressed and the exploited Christians are being told by their religious leaders that their rewards are waiting for them in heaven and that they should patiently endure the injustices in this world. What do you have to say about that? A. If the poor are meant to receive their rewards only in Heaven, they would have been created in Heaven without letting them becoming human beings on this earth.
Q. Aren't you afraid that you would probably be severely punished by the biblical God if in case you happened to be just an impostor of? A. Well, if He is believed to be merciful enough to give an eternal life even to today's clergymen of countless rival Churches, let's hope that He would be merciful enough to forgive me, too.
Q. Your Father is said to be so loving that he even sent his only son to this world to save human beings from eternal damnation. But if you read the Old Testament, you will find that he was always very mercilessly punishing his own Chosen People whenever they did not obery his laws. So, aren't there any contradictions? A. I don't think so. The greatest difference between my Father and that of the leaders of Christian Churches is that those human beings are justifying their actions in the name of that God, whom they claim to be worshipping but whose very existence they are still even doubtful about, whereas my Father had always claimed from the very beginning that He was the one who had created all things in the universe, and He had never justified His deeds in the name of any other God! So the simplest solution for you in this case is: If you think or believe that He is too merciless, then you simply stop worshipping Him. That will solve your confusion.
Q. You have often been using the following words all the time in this interview: “our worshippers”. This could mean an insult of the worst kind to all the Christians around the world. A. Yes? Oh, I'm so sorry. But is there any alternative terminology?
Q. You'll have to think it out yourself. A. Well, so far as I know, the great majority of Christians is only using the words “God” and “Jesus” , too, in their worship services, but in reality they are believing more in the doctrines of their mother churches.
Q. And you're repeatedly using these words: “man-made doctrines”, “man-made doctrines”. It could very much irritate the deeply religious Christians around the world. A. Well, I would only say that those who have created or who would create new doctrines in the future should carefully read the four Gospels once again. My teachings in these Gospels are very simple.
Q. Wouldn't you make at least some comments on any topic that you deem important voluntarily? For example, although Communism doesn't pose a threat to humanity anymore, all the Christians around the world are still as divisive as before. A. Ok. I'll make a very short comment on this matter. When the former Soviet Union ceased to exist and the Berlin Wall was no more there and the two Germanys reunited and there were great massacres in Burma in 1988 and China began to adopt capitalism as its economic system, I had even very naively expected that at least major Christian churches would try to review their doctrines thoroughly and make a soul-searching process. But none of them has even made the slightest effort in that direction. So, I think, they all have missed one of the greatest chances for the well-being of the entire humanity. I really can't see the logic of bringing the souls of eternally quarrelling Christians by God into His kingdom from which even Satan and his followers were driven out for their rebellion against Him.
Q. You have put all of us - capitalists, religious leaders, theologians, clergymen, politicians, laymen, communists, feminists, and so on - in a very awkward situation. A. My own postion is not much better either.
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I even sometimes feel like the vagina of the cow from my people's proverb.
Q. Tell us that proverb. A. Here's its literal translation: “If you're to eat it, it's vagina, but if you're to throw it away, it's meat.” I must tell you the circumstances under which this proverb was born, otherwise you won‘t get my point. The event took place in World War II at a small village in Chinland. As it was almost impossible to cultivate or harvest during the war, people were half-starving. And one day a couple of people from this village found a wandering cow in the jungle by chance, so they brought it to the village and slaughtered her right away. Every edible part of it was spared and cooked, and when it was time for meal everyone was given an equal portion regardless of age, sex or social status. Unfortunately, the village headman's share happened to be the whole vagina of the cow. So he invented this proverb. laughter
Q. Oh, how brutal it is! Did he eat it? A. Imagine what you would do in such a dire situation. Let us hope that there are still some crazy people around today who are really hungry enough to eat me, too, otherwise I'd be rotten in the cold. laughter
Q. Wouldn't it be too rude to use the word “virgina” in print in such a serious interview with you, my Lord? laughter
A. Let's hope that It‘s not be as rude as your piling up of nuclear arsenals for your own destruction.
laughter
Q. And in this interview you've been using the words “my Father” all the time. Does your father belong to you alone, and not to the entire humankind? A. What's wrong with that? Look, the popes belong only to the Roman Catholic Church, but its 1 billion adherents also even address their popes as “My Holy Father”, “Your Holy Father”, “His Holy Father” or “Their Holy Fathers”!
Q. We have discussed over quite a number of topics in this interview now, so how would you sum them up in a few sentences? Or what really is your mission this time, since the topics in this interview could be very confusing for a great number of Christians around the world? Q. If I'm to admit honestly, I myself really don't know what my mission is supposed to be.
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Q. You yourself don't know what your mission is? That's impossible. A. I honestly mean it. Since there are so many rival doctrines in existence today, you Christians shall have to tell me instead, what my mission is and how I should realize it.
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Q. Your ideas in this interview will surely draw very serious criticisms from all walks of life around the world. A. I'm fully aware that and my situation even reminds me of a short story about a father and his son or a grandfather and his grandson who bought a donkey.
Q. I think I've ever heard of it, but I can't really recall it. But what does it have to do with you? A. I can't recall it exactly as it's written either. Let me recall it as I still remember it. At first they both did not ride it. So people who saw them said they were stupid, because donkeys are supposed to be ridden on; so the old man let the boy ride it, but people who saw them criticised that the boy should better let the old man ride it; but when the boy let the old man ride it, there were still enough people who critised them; so they decided to ride it together, but as people thought both of them were stupid and heartless to ride it together, they then decided to carry it together instead, and so on. So what I would like say with this little story is that you can never escape criticism even if you do the best things in life. laughter