Faith on the Flip Side
"In the ultimate sense, your marriage has nothing to do with your spouse. It has everything to do with your relationship to Jesus Christ."
Um, Alex... I think we're going to need some clarification..... I like Jesus. I do. I promise. I just happen to like God more and I'm sorry for that. And because I like God more, there are somethings I fear I'm never going to understand about Jesus. Like why my relationship with him has more to do with my marriage than my spouse. I'm not married (and maybe that would help), but I don't get it.
I want to make it clear that I am a fan of faith. I don't tear down Christians for theirs (even though a lot of it is really murky to me) nor do I speak out against any other religious sect even if their thoughts, beliefs, and ideals run contrary to mine. Plain and simple, faith is faith. God comes to all of us differently. He speaks to each of us in a unique manner. It is up to us to listen and find faith. Who am I to say that any route to God, even if it is through Jesus Christ, is wrong or invalid? Different maybe, but never wrong.
That said, I think Christianity (I am choosing my words carefully) has used the power of Christ a bit too liberally. My acceptance of him (do I have to capitalize 'him' when I refer to Jesus? I've never gotten an answer) as my Savior guarantees my seat in Heaven. Therefore if I follow any other religion, I will go to Hell, or at the very least not go to Heaven. This means that only Christians go to Heaven. Um... Isn't this the sort of separatist attitude Jesus argued against? I'm no Bible scholar, but I think there's something in there about that. I really think that if I sat down to a beer with Jesus and asked about my route to Heaven, he'd have a very different take. I think he would say that I need to live a life that is Christ-like, that I should walk a similar path, that I should show love and respect for others, that I shouldn't judge. If I accept his WAY, I will go to Heaven. I don't need to accept HIM, just his way of life. It's a subtle difference that was purposely missed by the early Christian leaders in charge of the recruitment process. Threaten damnation for all eternity and people will join your cause. Simple math, kids, simple math.
I was told this week (by a Christian) that because my knowledge of God is experiential and not due to my acceptance of Jesus Christ and The Word (meaning Biblical Jesus.... I like to call him Hocus-Pocus Jesus)that my faith is false. He didn't directly say that I'm going to Hell, but it was certainly implied. You see, I believe in Jesus the Man. Unlike early Christians (and 99.9% of modern Christians), I don't need to believe that Jesus was some perfect superstar, son of God, to believe his word and follow his way. Yes, that may strike most as blasphemy at it's best, but it is what I believe.
And really, no one knows for sure anyway. We are fighting over the finer points of something that happened more than two thousand years ago. The Bible says so? Does it? The Bible is an historical document written and edited by early Christian leaders. Remember the recruitment process I discussed above? Isn't it possible that they picked and chose what 'chapters' to include? Ok, I'm only forty-one years old and the history they teach today is significantly different from the history they taught when I was in school. We're only talking about a few short decades. I'm only suggesting that it's possible that the history of Jesus Christ and his disciples, etc might be interpreted differently today if we had solid factual data to work with.
'We do. It's called The Bible'. Uh, no. I'm sorry, but you can't fight fire with fire. I don't doubt Jesus' experience with God. I question the interpretation and how it has been used to justify world domination and the persecution of all kinds of 'heathen' (read: non-Christian) peoples. And how it has propagated centuries of skewed thinking, like my 'false' experience of God and Jesus' key role in marriage (I bet you wondered when I was going to come back around to it).
The close-minded Christian I ran into this week believes whole-heartedly in Jesus' experience with God, however he doubts mine. If God came to Jesus, why can't He come to me? Oh, that's right. Jesus Christ is a superstar, the perfect son of God and of virgin birth. He's Hocus-Pocus Jesus. Fortunately for me and my faith, I live on the flip side. I believe that if God can come to Jesus, He most definitely can come to me because I believe that Jesus was just a man. And that is so powerful to me and my faith. Actually, it's as key to my faith as Jesus being JESUS is to Christians. Now, I'm not doing as much with God's Word as Jesus did, but God called Jesus higher than He did me. I'm not going to apologize for that. What I feel Christians are missing out on (because early Christian leaders wanted them to) is a personal relationship with God Himself. I wish that for everyone, however given current Christian rhetoric, it's unnecessary. Jesus is as close to God as we need to be. Read the Bible. Trust him. Accept him.
And incidentally, save your marriage all at the same time. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but the reason why I don't have a successful marriage is my lack of an intimate relationship with Jesus? I mean, of course, a spiritually intimate relationship with Jesus. So, all us non-believers are doomed to horrible marriages? (Some of us heathens are doomed to no marriages at all because the Bible says we are sinners). I think we have elevated Jesus to a status that is far too lofty. Christians keep wanting us to believe more and more and more so they give Jesus more and more and more power. It works, too. If I thought that the acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Savior was my ONLY route to Heaven (and a good marriage), I'd damn well believe and believe some more.
I know on many points I may seem sort sighted (because I have not read The Word) and I apologize for that. My faith hinges on my experience with God and of God. He will never be truly found in a book for me. That said, I know a few open-minded Christians who have searched their soul for God and found Jesus. They find faith in all the hocus-pocus, but they also interpret Jesus' word a bit more honestly. They love me (and all my blasphemy) because they truly love me, not because The Bible says Jesus says good Christians are supposed to love everyone no matter how fucked up they are.
I thought for a moment I might become a Christian. I like Jesus a lot and the more I hear about him the more I like him. However, I know in my soul that I will never be able to accept Jesus Christ as the superstar Christians believe that he is. To do so, would require me to lose the basis of my faith. I can't and won't do that. I love God first and I cannot elevate Jesus to His level. I may live a Christ-like life, minus the Christian mandated perfection, and follow his Word. However, in my faith, it was God's Word first before it was Jesus'. Ultimately, I am called to be my own Savior. It may not be everyone's calling, but it is mine and I take it very seriously. Another thing I know is that no matter God or Jesus, my spouse and I are responsible for our marriage. If I was allowed to be married, I mean. Which in most states I am not. So I guess it was a moot point to begin with.
Um, Alex... I think we're going to need some clarification..... I like Jesus. I do. I promise. I just happen to like God more and I'm sorry for that. And because I like God more, there are somethings I fear I'm never going to understand about Jesus. Like why my relationship with him has more to do with my marriage than my spouse. I'm not married (and maybe that would help), but I don't get it.
I want to make it clear that I am a fan of faith. I don't tear down Christians for theirs (even though a lot of it is really murky to me) nor do I speak out against any other religious sect even if their thoughts, beliefs, and ideals run contrary to mine. Plain and simple, faith is faith. God comes to all of us differently. He speaks to each of us in a unique manner. It is up to us to listen and find faith. Who am I to say that any route to God, even if it is through Jesus Christ, is wrong or invalid? Different maybe, but never wrong.
That said, I think Christianity (I am choosing my words carefully) has used the power of Christ a bit too liberally. My acceptance of him (do I have to capitalize 'him' when I refer to Jesus? I've never gotten an answer) as my Savior guarantees my seat in Heaven. Therefore if I follow any other religion, I will go to Hell, or at the very least not go to Heaven. This means that only Christians go to Heaven. Um... Isn't this the sort of separatist attitude Jesus argued against? I'm no Bible scholar, but I think there's something in there about that. I really think that if I sat down to a beer with Jesus and asked about my route to Heaven, he'd have a very different take. I think he would say that I need to live a life that is Christ-like, that I should walk a similar path, that I should show love and respect for others, that I shouldn't judge. If I accept his WAY, I will go to Heaven. I don't need to accept HIM, just his way of life. It's a subtle difference that was purposely missed by the early Christian leaders in charge of the recruitment process. Threaten damnation for all eternity and people will join your cause. Simple math, kids, simple math.
I was told this week (by a Christian) that because my knowledge of God is experiential and not due to my acceptance of Jesus Christ and The Word (meaning Biblical Jesus.... I like to call him Hocus-Pocus Jesus)that my faith is false. He didn't directly say that I'm going to Hell, but it was certainly implied. You see, I believe in Jesus the Man. Unlike early Christians (and 99.9% of modern Christians), I don't need to believe that Jesus was some perfect superstar, son of God, to believe his word and follow his way. Yes, that may strike most as blasphemy at it's best, but it is what I believe.
And really, no one knows for sure anyway. We are fighting over the finer points of something that happened more than two thousand years ago. The Bible says so? Does it? The Bible is an historical document written and edited by early Christian leaders. Remember the recruitment process I discussed above? Isn't it possible that they picked and chose what 'chapters' to include? Ok, I'm only forty-one years old and the history they teach today is significantly different from the history they taught when I was in school. We're only talking about a few short decades. I'm only suggesting that it's possible that the history of Jesus Christ and his disciples, etc might be interpreted differently today if we had solid factual data to work with.
'We do. It's called The Bible'. Uh, no. I'm sorry, but you can't fight fire with fire. I don't doubt Jesus' experience with God. I question the interpretation and how it has been used to justify world domination and the persecution of all kinds of 'heathen' (read: non-Christian) peoples. And how it has propagated centuries of skewed thinking, like my 'false' experience of God and Jesus' key role in marriage (I bet you wondered when I was going to come back around to it).
The close-minded Christian I ran into this week believes whole-heartedly in Jesus' experience with God, however he doubts mine. If God came to Jesus, why can't He come to me? Oh, that's right. Jesus Christ is a superstar, the perfect son of God and of virgin birth. He's Hocus-Pocus Jesus. Fortunately for me and my faith, I live on the flip side. I believe that if God can come to Jesus, He most definitely can come to me because I believe that Jesus was just a man. And that is so powerful to me and my faith. Actually, it's as key to my faith as Jesus being JESUS is to Christians. Now, I'm not doing as much with God's Word as Jesus did, but God called Jesus higher than He did me. I'm not going to apologize for that. What I feel Christians are missing out on (because early Christian leaders wanted them to) is a personal relationship with God Himself. I wish that for everyone, however given current Christian rhetoric, it's unnecessary. Jesus is as close to God as we need to be. Read the Bible. Trust him. Accept him.
And incidentally, save your marriage all at the same time. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but the reason why I don't have a successful marriage is my lack of an intimate relationship with Jesus? I mean, of course, a spiritually intimate relationship with Jesus. So, all us non-believers are doomed to horrible marriages? (Some of us heathens are doomed to no marriages at all because the Bible says we are sinners). I think we have elevated Jesus to a status that is far too lofty. Christians keep wanting us to believe more and more and more so they give Jesus more and more and more power. It works, too. If I thought that the acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Savior was my ONLY route to Heaven (and a good marriage), I'd damn well believe and believe some more.
I know on many points I may seem sort sighted (because I have not read The Word) and I apologize for that. My faith hinges on my experience with God and of God. He will never be truly found in a book for me. That said, I know a few open-minded Christians who have searched their soul for God and found Jesus. They find faith in all the hocus-pocus, but they also interpret Jesus' word a bit more honestly. They love me (and all my blasphemy) because they truly love me, not because The Bible says Jesus says good Christians are supposed to love everyone no matter how fucked up they are.
I thought for a moment I might become a Christian. I like Jesus a lot and the more I hear about him the more I like him. However, I know in my soul that I will never be able to accept Jesus Christ as the superstar Christians believe that he is. To do so, would require me to lose the basis of my faith. I can't and won't do that. I love God first and I cannot elevate Jesus to His level. I may live a Christ-like life, minus the Christian mandated perfection, and follow his Word. However, in my faith, it was God's Word first before it was Jesus'. Ultimately, I am called to be my own Savior. It may not be everyone's calling, but it is mine and I take it very seriously. Another thing I know is that no matter God or Jesus, my spouse and I are responsible for our marriage. If I was allowed to be married, I mean. Which in most states I am not. So I guess it was a moot point to begin with.
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