The Jesus Challenge

The pastor is repeatedly distancing Christianity from the teaching of jesus. His most recent open question is” what teachings of jesus has led to atrocities? While it is obvious that the system of Christianity has led to a love affair with torture and genocide, what specifically did Jesus say to incite such a continuation of wreckage throughout Christian history. I repeatedly tried to make it clear, that intensional or not, unrestrained Christian religion has led to force and violence. Whether this is by design or not is not the point. The point is that it has happened repeatedly through families, villages, towns and countries where the religious have had unfettered control over their peoples. If they knew this would happen, shame on them, if they didn’t, some all-knowing deity. Either way, they knew or they didn’t.

My first answer was to quote “go ye into the world and preach my gospel” and when refused “dust off your feet as a testimony against them” and leave that town. Mel downplayed and ignored the gesture, but Bible commentaries, written by bible scholars are nearly unanimous in the significance if this gesture. “The very dust of a heathen country was unclean, and it defiled by contact. It was regarded like a grave, or like the putrescence of death. If a spot of heathen dust had touched an offering, it must at once be burnt. More than that, if by mischance any heathen dust had been brought into Palestine, it did not and could not mingle with that of ‘the land,’ but remained to the end what it had been – unclean, defiled and defiling everything to which it adhered.” The apostles, therefore, were not only to leave the house or city which should refuse to receive them, “but it was to be considered and treated as if it were heathen, just as in the similar case mentioned in Matthew 18:17. All contact with such must be avoided, all trace of it shaken off”. (Edersheim, “Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ”). The symbolic act indicated that the apostles and their Lord regarded them not only as unclean, but as entirely responsible for their uncleanness. If he was god, he should have known this was a horrible custom and condemned it as such.

Immediately the gospel of Jesus was set to divide. Missionaries spread through the near east and infiltrated towns to preach. If rejected, a basic “screw you all to hell” was established as an immediate divide among the people, setting one above another in piety, worth, correctness, and virtue. That is from the starting gate a teaching of Jesus Christ that spawned racism and hate. Regardless of the intent, there is the underlying reality independent of what is now believed about it.

The custom on display is a contradiction to love thy neighbor as thyself, and what it really means is love thy neighbor as thyself “if” he agrees to believe in the same god.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the final book of the New Testament as recorded by John on the Isle of Patmos, has other interesting teaching designed to fail humanity.

Men, acting as agents of red written scripture, assist jesus in fulfilling his prophetic utterance. Here are just two things that when written, must have shortly come to pass, and religious men like to help their god along as quickly as possible.

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation‬ ‭1:18‬ (no doubt)

“And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.” Revelation‬ ‭2:23‬ ‭

(Italics are mine) Here we go, early into the revelation of Jesus Christ, sanctioned by true believers to sit back and wonder—”how could the teachings of Jesus possibly cause any harm? In the spirit of brevity, I am not going to copy and paste dozens of scripture from the more friendly, new and improved gospel according to Christ, but one more will suffice.

“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Revelation‬ ‭22:7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Finally, too much emphasis on sex. They’ve taken a natural instinct and turned it vile, while the emphasis on condemning “harlots” and controlling intercourse is a noble endeavor, men, in direct obedience became enforcers controlling natural behavior with stones and fire. God is love.

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