Hey! Guess what? JC shook people up and made them uncomfortable
Jesus offended a lot of people. He died a convicted felon. His disciples spent a lot of time in jail. Most of them were executed for teaching things contrary to Jewish tradition. The reason they all made history was because they were controversial.
I always love how people send me email forwards that say "if you're not ashamed of Christ you'll pass this on. No, I'm not ashamed of Jesus just some of his followers who don't seem to understand the fact that he said things like "Love you neighbor"...not "love your neighbor is he's white, goes to your church and makes over $100K a year." He said "What you did for the LEAST of these you did for me." He also said "There are those who will call out my name and I will say "I never knew you". Wanna walk the talk? Then stand up against all the "evil" going on right now in government and big business. Instead of worrying about who I or my friends sleep with worry about the guys who just destroyed the entire state of Michigan. Worry about the parents who will leave their kids in a pile of debt because they have to have a big house new car and are too chicken to say "No" to their kids. Worry about the parents who expect teachers and administrators to raise their kids but not discipline them. Worry about the fact that "no tolerance" just caused bullies to become more covert and the victims to still pay the price. Worry about "Christian" kids who beat up their friends cuz they aren't "born again" or "true believers". Funny how the Pharisees never did get the message about hypocrisy. Now they just call themselves Christians. Yeah, it's why I'm embarrassed to tell people that I follow the Messiah's teachings.
Oh and for the record? I also walk a pagan path. We seem to be a lot nicer to each other. We spend more time looking after Mother Earth and each other than fighting over who has the best God or Savior. Remember kids...The Crusades and The Inquisition were brought to you by "The Church".
OK NOW YOU CAN FLAME THE SHIT OUT OF ME!! HAVE FUN!
You people have finally gotten on my last nerve. Yeah, I go to a Protestant church...mainline. Grew up Methodist, did the Presbyterian thing for a while and now attend a Congregational church. But all I've ever gotten from any of them...oh and the Holy Roller Charismatic church that filled my head with all kinds of hate...is that JC was a guy who took on the challenge of teaching us how to use "the craft" by example. He hung out with all the local riff-raff. He raised hackles by going against all the bullshit rules the Pharisees and Saducees had put in place. He incited the neighbors to tear the roof off Peter's house (can't tell me Pete's wife was really happy about that). He was a homeless person himself. Bet you never think of Jesus as a smelly, grungy, scrawny homeless guy do you?
Ya know that whole story about The Good Samaritan? Do you know the history behind it? Yeah...JEWS HATED SAMARITANS AND VICE VERSA!! So there's a lot of impact to that story. It'd be like a skin head going back to help a black or gay man. Put it in that context K?
I'm sorry if you have a problem that I read the Bible with a grain of salt. It was written by HUMANS!! And there are a lot of people's personal agendas in there. Hey! It didn't take humans long to realize if they brought the Divine into it they could control their fellow humans a lot easier. The parts I take for TRUTH? The ones that you find in every religion and spirituality that has every graced this planet...Be good to each other. You're all just the slightest bit different from the person standing next to you and you have to get past that difference and learn to love them. Violence solves nothing. Lying, cheating and stealing are bad things. They are antisocial behaviors that work against the human race coming together as one family which IS the ultimate plan here. None of us are any better than the guy standing next to us no matter what spirituality we subscribe to if we don't:
1) Learn to love the guy. Not necessarily like him but love him which means
2) If the guy is treating you or any one else badly you should call him out or
3) Sit down and talk to him and find out what his beef is
4) If he really is socially deviant (thief, liar, rapist, pedophile, murderer) lock him away from the general public.
5)If the dude looks like he hasn't eaten in a few days, give him a freaking sandwich
6) If he's sick? If you can treat him then do it...if not get him to medical care.
7) If he's wearing a t-shirt and shorts, no shoes and it's January? Get in your closet or go to a store and get some warm clothes on him.
8) If you can do so safely (I'm a single woman who lives with a 17 yr old it's not always safe) bring the guy home. Let him sleep in a warm soft bed and cook him breakfast. If it's not safe then if you can afford it put him up in a hotel, otherwise help him find shelter
9) If the dude pisses you off don't hit him...talk to him
10) Take care of this planet. You weren't given dominion over it to turn it into a shit hole.
11) Grow some balls and tell you kids "NO!" occasionally. You're not supposed to be their BFF. You're supposed to be the parent.
12) Teach your kids how to survive in this world. Give them a work ethic. Teach them to respect others.
I'm still steaming and there is sooooo much more I want to say. If I've offended you! GOOD!!! Jesus and the disciples offended a lot of people. So did Buddha and the Dali Lama and Mother Theresa and Mohamed and the list goes on and on. I'm not saying I'm better than you. I'm not saying I'm a "good Christian". What I am saying is that I do believe in something out there bigger than me. I believe it is benevolent. I believe it wants to help us and wants to see us finally come together. War, murder, pestilence, manipulation, power-trips, hatred, violence, sloth, greed, stupidity, closed mindedness, pandering...this and more piss off The Divine. What color our skin is, where we go to "church", who we sleep with, what kind of job we have, how big or not big our houses are, what we drive, where we live?? "God" could fucking careless. Walk the talk people. Go back and really read how JC lived and then read the history of the era so you can put it in perspective. You might be in for a real shocker.