I've been thinking about this for a while now and have been writing it all in my head, but it's taken a lot to convince myself to put it down in actual words because I know it's not going to be well received. We're doing it all wrong. The religion of Christianity isn't what Jesus wanted from His followers. Please don't get angry. Let me explain...
He was angry with the Pharisees because they weren't true believers. They were religious without heart. They prayed in the streets, in public, to show how righteous they were but they weren't righteous — they were self-righteous —and there's a big difference between the two.
Matthew 6:5 NKJV “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
I know you don't want to hear this, but Christians (and Christianity) have become the very thing that Jesus taught against. Christians are the white-washed sepulchers now. They go to church every week (sometimes several times a week) and they pray together in public. They proclaim themselves righteous and saved. They proclaim themselves godly and everyone else is ungodly. They proclaim themselves pious and able to judge anyone who is not like they are. But in doing all of these things, they show themselves to be the exact opposite of what Jesus wanted us to be.
John 8:7 KJV So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
The church is casting verbal stones and they don't even realize it. They're judging others and telling them they aren't worthy, but they don't see clearly because they have something in their own eyes keeping them from seeing their own failings.
Matthew 7:1-5 NKJV [1] “Judge not, that you be not judged. [2] For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. [3] And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? [4] Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? [5] Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
or they are ignoring those failings because they're "saved" and those things are automatically forgiven now...that's incorrect by the way. If you keep doing it, you haven't truly repented from it.
I'm just as guilty of this as everyone else, and I know I fall short in many ways (and I'm not just talking about my 4ft 10in height!) but I believe that in this I am correct.
I do believe in God and try my best to serve God the way I believe He wants to be served. However, I don't believe most of the church does anymore. I don't say this to be cruel or judgmental - I'm merely sharing an observation that I feel called to share. Jesus didn't want us to be religious. He didn't want us going to church and praying in the streets proclaiming ourselves righteous and saved. He didn't want us judging and condemning the very people he came to save. Christians are supposed to lead the way by living by example and shining a light on God's love and forgiveness through sharing love and forgiveness with those around us.
From what I've seen, the church (as a whole) has become the exact thing Jesus taught against - they are the modern day Pharisees of Jesus's time. The church is full of white-washed sepulchers and self-righteous, hypocritical, religious zealots. They proclaim themselves saved while pointing out everyone else is going to hell. They spread hate rather than love. Jesus taught love. He told us to spread His love. "The greatest of these is love." It's impossible to have both Jesus and hate in your heart! If you are spreading hate then how can you truly have Him in your heart? You can't.
The church (as a whole) is a massive amount of the blind leading the blind. Jesus said many would be turned away, and this is what he was talking about. These people are so convinced they are "in the right" they completely refuse to even pause and consider they might be wrong. They double down on it and insist that you are speaking heresy if you try to help them see the truth of the hate they are sharing.
Just a couple of days ago, I saw this comment on Facebook by someone discussing the differences between Islam and Christianity,
"one teaches you to be nice and one is responsible for 99% of terrorist attacks worldwide. Tell me which sky god you should probably be wary of more.
Use your tiny little brain for one second please… and I mean, ACTUALLY fucking think for once in your miserable pathetic life… and answer my question.
And yes, I did stalk your page, because of your retardation… you’re a they them, whatever the fuck that means. One religion wants you to shut the fuck about it… the other wants to kill you for it… MYYY religion will argue with you with words over it… another religion would throw your dumb gay ass off of a rooftop for looking like you do. So you know… pick your poison my friend… grow up just a little tiny bit and see the bigger picture on something for once in your life. It’s really not hard to just do a little research…" (I struck through the inappropriate words but otherwise left them as written by this "Christian").
Did you get a feeling of God's love from that comment? Does the above comment lead you to believe this person truly has God in his life or heart? I didn't see Him in this guy's words, so I replied,
"huh. If Christianity is really your religion you're doing a very bad job at showing it. This comment shows that you don't actually have God in your heart and your words speak very loudly on that. You, sir, are nothing more than a self-righteous, white-washed sepulcher and a hypocrite. You are behaving exactly like the Pharisees Jesus taught against. Christians are supposed to be humble, loving and nonjudgmental but you clearly don't meet those standards. You might want to pray about that. Going to church every week isn't enough to actually be saved. You fit more into the group that is going to be turned away and gnashing your teeth because you don't understand why."
Harsh? Maybe, but true. This is something I've been doing for a while. Aren't believers supposed to call out other believers who aren't being very good believers? What do you suppose his response was? Don't worry, I'll show you...
"nice Christianity is dead. Nice Christianity got the world into the mess we are in now. It’s time for a little more old school to save our religion, save our culture, save our western countries. Save our way of life. You can keep ceding ground to evil if you’d like. I won’t be following you down that weak path. It’s time for strength again."
Notice how he pivots from 'God' to 'culture' and 'Western countries.' He isn't defending the Gospel; he's defending a political identity. He's more focused on life here on earth and less focused on what is supposed to matter to followers of Christ. So, I responded,
"sure... Religion is a big part of the problem. You really think Jesus came to teach you to be religious? He didn't. You can follow the "rules" of religion all you want it doesn't mean you're living your life for God. You're deluding yourself if you really believe that."
Again, you might think my response was harsh. I see it as to the point. This guy isn't the only "Christian" I see posting comments like this online. He's simply one of many - an overwhelmingly large amount of many...I've been posting about this off and on for YEARS! I wrote Trump Is Now President: Don't let the hate win in January of 2017, Where has Kindness and Compassion Gone? in May of 2017, Are You A Christian? Are You Really Showing Christ's Love? in August of 2017, A House Divided in October of 2017, My journey through religion (questions, thoughts, and current conclusions) in December of 2023, and Many Will Be Turned Away in November of 2024. This isn't a shameless plug to get you to read my other posts; it's to show you that this is something that has been on my mind for a long time.
As I said at the very beginning of this post, I've been thinking about this and writing it in my head for quite a while, but this is the first time I'm putting these words "on paper" so to speak. This isn't an easy post to make and share. I am under no illusion that it will be received happily, but I still feel the need to share it.
In my post about my journey through religion I touch on how it was the behavior and words of "Christians" online that lead me to doubt Christianity and resulted in me searching out other faiths or "paths" and I've learned a lot and am grateful for that experience. I no longer consider myself a "Christian" in the traditional sense of the word. I believe in God and I believe in Jesus, but I don't believe in the church or what it stands for. I believe in the openness to practice more than just "Christianity" as it is. I also believe in connecting that with things like Druidry and "paganism" (that doesn't mean what you think it does and it wouldn't hurt to look into it). Many won't accept that or agree with it. I've gone slightly off topic so allow me to bring it back...
Do you honestly believe that if Jesus came back right now He'd sit down in a church and say, "yes, this is what I was trying to accomplish." I don't. I believe He'd respond to the church the same way He responded to the Pharisees. I genuinely believe He'd have a huge issue with the church (as a whole) and would be very upset to see His teachings gone so far astray from what they were meant to be.
He'd be out ministering to the people the church says are bound for hell. He'd be helping to feed the hungry and healing the sick. He'd be in the churches flipping tables just like he did in the temples.
I don't need to go to church to have someone else tell me what God wants from me. As I said, I've been on a journey looking into this stuff for the last few years. I'm still figuring it out, but this is something I'm fairly certain about: He doesn't want religion and sanctimonious self-righteousness. He wants our hearts. He wants us to not only believe but to act. The church is not necessary for me to do or be what He wants.
Being free of the church allows me to follow Jesus the way He wants me to and not the way the church wants me to.
I truly believe that most people who identify as Christians are going to be turned away. They're the blind being led astray by the blind or wolves in sheep's clothing. God knew that it would happen, Jesus warned against it happening, and now it's happening and has been for centuries.
But my concerns don't just stop at how we treat each other; they extend to how we treat the things we call holy. I'm not finished, and I'm about to make people even more angry. That's not why I'm saying it. I'm saying it because I feel it needs to be said and I don't think I'm going to be able to stop thinking about it until I say it so here it goes!
The amount of "respect" Christians put on the Bible is wrong. The Bible isn't "The Word of God" it was put together by people who wanted to control the people around them. Humans decided what to include and what to exclude. Humans are not infallible nor are we omniscient or perfect. We are capable of making mistakes and/or choosing to make decisions contrary to God's will. This is why I believe that while the Bible is a good starting point, it's not the final say and shouldn't be treated as a be all end all. I believe doing so is equivalent to turning it into an idol that is being worshipped...
Please hear me on this - the Bible is not inerrant because it was written by men. While I acknowledge that it was inspired by God, I, again, point to the fact that man is not infallible and is capable of making mistakes. I also believe that man can take what was inspired by God and twist it. I do read my Bible, but then I pray about what I've read and ask God to guide me in the right direction. I do not believe it is the end all be all or the "final divine word" so to speak. I believe that men in power have taken what God wanted and twisted it for their own means.
I'm not even saying anything negative about the disciples, I'm referring to the people who came after. The people who chose which parts to include and which parts to exclude. I think the Bible is a good starting point that leads us in the direction of God but it is not the final say. It can't be. If children and babies go to heaven without learning who God is, without being able to read their Bible, then I believe it's also possible for people who have never heard of God (or have heard of Him) to go to heaven without reading the Bible. The Bible is an arrow that leads us in the right direction but that arrow has also been twisted to control the masses and reading it is not a requirement.
If we believe in free will then we must also acknowledge the fact that while God may have inspired the people who put the Bible together we must also accept the fact that they could have misinterpreted and misunderstood, or could have flat-out changed things for their own purposes. If God was in complete control of what was put into the Bible then we must acknowledge that those people did not have free will. It cannot be both.
And on that note, I also don't believe we are supposed to be treating the cross the way it's being treated. I believe it's been turned into a golden calf. I don't think it was meant to be worshiped the way it is. Yes, his sacrifice is important and should be focused on, but the object used for the sacrifice is not as important as the sacrifice itself.
And the image we use to represent Jesus? Yeah, same thing. It's not Him and it's disrespectful to him to put as much emphasis on it as Christians do. That image is another golden calf. I don't much care for the current President but I don't think he should have gotten all of that backlash regarding the image he posted because the image the world uses to represent Jesus isn't Jesus and it's actually pretty disrespectful to Jesus for people to be worshiping that image and putting as much emphasis on it as they do.
Remember this? "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" Exodus 20:4
I didn't mean for this post to be as long as it is...apparently I had a lot I wanted to share. I don't post very often for personal reasons (depression, work, laziness, etc.) I think I'll end it here....until next time!
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