What I Believe

It’s hard to know where to begin with this type of writing. I’m a staunch believer in Jesus the Christ (Messiah) and yet, for the most part, I find that I am ashamed to be affiliated with so many Christians, especially the most dominant group—the religious right.

Why?

I believe they have it all wrong and that Christianity has been off track for nearly the entire length of its existence, primarily because of Paul. Let’s start where it all began, after the ascension of Jesus and the arrival of Paul on the Christian scene.

The Book of Acts tells us that a man by the name of Saul was on a mission to destroy and utterly wipe out all the followers of Christ (they were not called “Christians” at that time. They practiced “The Way”). While on the road to Damascus on a mission to kill all followers of Jesus, he was literally blinded by a bright light; out of the light a voice spoke to him saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me so?” to which Saul replies, “Who are you, Lord?”

The blinding vision identified Himself as Jesus, and from that point on Saul was an ardent believer in Jesus. As a believer, he took the same fanatic zeal he possessed while killing Christ followers and applied it to building church congregations all over the mid-East.

I do believe that Jesus called Saul—later known as “Paul.” That's because the new faith needed the fanatic zeal possessed by Paul; without him there would probably be no remnant of Christianity left today. But, without intending to, he did a great disservice by changing the teachings of Jesus into a religion about Jesus…a subtle difference, but there none-the-less.

Those early followers debated long and hard about who Jesus was—was He divine? Was He an illusion? Was He God? Was He God’s Son? Was Jesus and God the same person? These were all debated and argued over for centuries—a debate that still rages in some quarters.

Because Paul was a, “This is the way it is,” type of guy, he had no doubts.  He organized churches, told them how they would be run and what to believe.  In addition, he was a very prolific writer who stated behavior patterns, dress codes, how women should behave in church (they were to keep covered and keep quiet) and how men should behave (don't consort with prostitutes, etc.).  This would have been OK, except that in 325AD these writings became canon (law) by the Council of Nicaea.

And, though he is single handedly responsible for the growth of Christianity, he did much wrong, including contradicting Jesus—as this example shows:

          Paul said, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

          Jesus said: “Not all who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

There are other examples.

After the Council of Nicaea in 325, Christianity fell under Constantine's thumb.  The church left its primary mission of loving, serving and healing and became a political machine under the direction of the emperor/warrior, Constantine.  The Epistles of Paul, as well as the other Epistles and the Book of Revelation became considered sacred texts as if from the pen of God Himself.  Today they are used in sermons far more than the Gospels of Jesus—who (in my mind) is the only true authority.  

The church has never been the same since.  It became a money making political war machine, although it did recover somewhat after the Protestant Reformation. Prior to the Reformation the church known as the Roman Catholic Church became a vast political machine and—at the same time—totally corrupt except for a few good priests who had no say in the governing of the church. No greater terrorist atrocities have ever been perpetrated on man—and all under the banner of the Prince of Peace—who did no harm to anyone.

It is my belief that Jesus’ goal was to set men free from fear, not instill fear. Encapsulated, His teachings were these:

          1. Love God

          2. Love your neighbor. Later He added:

          3. Love one another as I have loved you.

          4. Take the Good News to the world (literally: “all ethnicities.”)

          5. Baptize believers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The good news was never about Jesus dying for our sins...that is a construct trying to reason out why Jesus should have died.  The only logical explanation in those early minds was that Jesus was a sacrifice because of (supposed) inherent evil in mankind.  I will grant that there is a lot of evil in some people, but most are primarily good.  A part of the Good News was that those people are the children of the Divine—however you conceive the Divine.