Christianity - Are We Missing The Point?

I've been wanting to write this post for some time, but I have been struggling with how to write it without starting another war.  The reality of it is, when it comes to certain topics you are bound to piss someone off.  I put religion right up there on the same level playing field as the issue of gun control and politics.

Religion is a personal belief, however most people are born into a religion.  Whatever your parents' beliefs are usually become what your belief is because that is the religious practices that you are raised with.

I was born into Judiasim.  Just like there are several different types of Christianity (Catholicism,  Protestantism, Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical, etc.), there are different types, or denominations of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist).

Our family belonged to a Reform synagogue.  The Jewish Outreach Institute describes Reform Judiasm (also known as Liberal or Progressive Judaism) as "subjects religious law and customs to human judgment, attempting to differentiate between the facets of the Torah that are divine mandate and those that are specific to the time in which they were written."

Religion, however, wasn't really something that I believed in.  It wasn't important to me. I had always seen religion as just another way to separate people.  Them and us.  I desperately wanted to believe there was a God though.  I needed to believe there was someone up there that could perform miracles and who could defeat evil.  Kind of a worldly superhero!  So when I needed help, I prayed to God and for those times of need, I believed.

When I was growing up, 99% of all religious leaders (Rabbi's, Priest's, Minister's, Pastor's, etc.) were men who had their AARP cards and the thought of going to a temple or church and listening to a bunch of old guys telling what was right and what was wrong didn't appeal to me.  Religion was just another form of control and I wanted to be free.  I was a rebel, I wanted nothing to do with it!  I belonged to the church of Amy.

As I continued to get older, religion became irrelevant in my life.  I didn't practice any sort of organized religion, I didn't relate to any particular kind of religion and now that I think about it, I was more on the side of Bill Maher when it came to religion.  I didn't believe there was an actual God.  I didn't believe that God gave Moses the 10 Commandments or that Jesus was the son of God.  To me, religion was Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Hanukkah Charlie (my dad's answer to who brings us Jewish kids presents on Hanukkah).  I just wanted to enjoy the festivities and the spirit, but I didn't care to learn their true meaning.

How and why I eventually became Christian is actually a whole chapter in my book so I don't want to go into it in detail here, it is too lengthy.  Let's just say one day I finally found God and realized He had been by my side the entire time.

So I started to read the Bible - the New Testament.  I studied the Torah in Hebrew School (part of the Old Testament) and so I was curious about Jesus.  I wanted to learn who Jesus really was.  I wanted to read what he did, how he did it, to whom did he do it too.  I was like an FBI profiler and my subject was Jesus.

What I learned by studying Jesus is what made me a Christian.  I became a disciple of Jesus because I believe in HIS message or what I believe his message to be.  I believe God sent Jesus down to earth to deliver His message.  So you can call it God's message or Jesus' message, to me they are one in the same.

Jesus's message, TO ME, is one of  mercy, grace & compassion for ALL things!  The ALL is the key word.  Jesus showed mercy, grace and compassion to EVERYONE.  Not just his friends, but to his enemies.  Not just his disciples, but to those who did not follow him.  Jesus did not discriminate when it came to showing mercy, grace and compassion.

So here is where I make a shocking statement.  I have a hard time with the Bible.  I do not believe a lot of what is written in the Bible is what Jesus had in mind when he developed Christianity.  Like I said above, Jesus' message was about mercy, grace & compassion for all people.  It wasn't about believing in a set of rules, creeds and dogma that were intended to propagate hatred.

The Bible was written by over 40 different authors from all walks of life: shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings.  It was not written by Jesus.  The bible is a biography it is not an autobiography.  I am still in the process of reading the Bible and I believe it is a great history book, but I'm not so sure it is the word of God because I think some of what is written in the Bible goes against Jesus' message.  There, I said it!

If you noticed I put the word "some" above in bold because there are versus in the Bible that profess Jesus' message.  Some of the most beautiful and loving phrases in the world are from the Bible and those I do believe are the word of God.  But the Bible was written nearly 3500 years ago and I am sure when it was being written people didn't think we would be living the way we live today.

While I think it's important to study the Bible as a Christian, I agree with Progressive Christian, Edgar Zelle when he said "the historic Creeds of the past should not limit the working of God’s spirit in our own time."  But doesn't that sound very similar to how the Jewish Outreach Institute describes as Reform Judiasm, "subjects religious law and customs to human judgment, attempting to differentiate between the facets of the Torah that are divine mandate and those that are specific to the time in which they were written."  Oy vey - now I'm really confused!!

A dictionary definition of a Christian as a noun is “a person who believes in Jesus Christ.”  Do I believe in Jesus Christ?  Yes.  Is Jesus the son of God.  Yes.  Is Jesus my savior?  Yes.  Did Jesus die on the cross for me?  Yes.  Do I believe he was resurected?  Yes. My answer to all four of those questions is YES.

The word “Christian” as an adjective literally means, “belonging to the party of Christ” or a “follower of Christ.”  Am I a follower of Christ?  YES.

So, according to those two definitions, I am a Christian.  However, according to some people, going to church, serving those less fortunate than you, or being a good person does not make you a Christian.  I can agree with that to some degree. Going to church does not make you a Christian any more than going to a rodeo makes you a Cowboy. But if you profess your faith in Jesus Christ, serve the less fortunate and you are a good person, I believe you are a Christian.

That brings us back to the Bible issue.  According to 1 John 2:4, 10 - The mark of a true Christian is love for others and obedience to God’s Word.  And there is where I deviate.  God's Word in the Bible is not 100% God's Word to me.  I do not think there is a single person on this earth that lives by God's Word according to what is written in the Bible.  I mean every single word of every single sentence.  So what makes them any more Christian than I am?  Who get's to choose which of God's Word's you have to strictly obey and which you can be a little bit lenient on?  Your Pastor?

An estimated 3,500 individuals leave the Christian church each and every day. A 2014 study indicated that over 1.2 million people will leave the church in the next year.  In 2015, it is estimated that over 10,000 churches will close their doors.  80% of Millennials (14-33 year olds) reported that church was 'not important' to them.  I am not a Millennial, but I get why they feel the way they do because I have felt that way practically my entire life about all religion.

I'm not going to argue what is truth and what is false.  I am not going to tell you right from wrong.  But, if Christianity is going to survive, then things have got to change and I believe the first thing that needs to change is the Bible.

God has allowed us to modernize.  He has allowed us to grow.  He has given our brains the capability to understand so much more than those who have walked the earth before us.  I simply cannot believe that He would permit such change if He wanted us to adhere to rules that were written so long ago.  But then that also brings up the question, are those rules really the words of God and the message He wanted Jesus to give to us?

I can't answer those questions.  So I pray to God.  I pray to God everyday and I ask Him to show me what He wants me to do, what He wants me to believe, and how He wants me to live.  And you know what?  He gives me the same answer time and time again.  Have mercy, grace and compassion for ALL walks of life.

I call that being a Christian.

Peace be with you!
Amy