Yet, I am a child of God also. And if you read the words of Jesus, you know that he considers himself and all humans as children of God. Jesus does not see himself as special or magic. Instead, he lifts everyone up proclaiming that we are all capable of any duty or chore that Jesus himself accomplishes.
Trust me, if Jesus were alive today, he would be as angry with Christians as he was with Jews (in the time of Romans). There is no question that Religion has failed us in every way. Jesus would be the first to tell us that we have failed him and his message.
Religion…
Religion was never to be the touchstone of belief. Belief was to be measured in our acts: our acts of love and redemption. Never were our beliefs to be measured by our fealty to a church and a religion. Giving money to a church has never been a means into God’s heart and home.
So, to my understanding, humans built an entire religion around another human (Jesus), who stated emphatically for us not to do so.
For this religion, around the world, which has caused so many wars and so much pain, now, in this century, is the richest of all the richest. Matthew 19:23 “Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew19:24 “and again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
Against all teachings of Jesus Christ, the religions rose up and began gathering money. They gathered so much money that they hardly knew what to do with all of it. The Vatican is one such example of this ridiculous wealth. Ridiculous because it is against the founder’s words, ridiculous because its function does not benefit humans.
Where are we? What’s next? Church attendance is low. More importantly, the role of the church is now being scrutinized by all of those abused by the leaders of the church. Scrutiny is appropriate, as we need to dig out the dirty and sick underbelly of organized religion. Preachers, priests, pastors and rabbis used their authority to take advantage of the young.
The Road Ahead…
Not only have the great religions been abandoned by the young, all see that they have become evil – a place where bad things happen, and greed abounds.
While Jesus has always been my hero; Christianity has failed and more so, religion has failed and that is all religions, including Judaism. Childhood sexual abuse is so common in both religions: Christianity and Judaism. The acquisition of ridiculous amounts of wealth has run rampant for both religions. What now? Old white men expressing their sexual needs and their greed, have led us all into damnation.
We can see individual kindness, but it isn’t good enough to overlook the sins of the religions. What do we do? Where do we go now?
There is no question that humanity needs a moral compass. The ten commandments have served us well – yet only insofar as EVERYONE feels governed by them. This is not the case. Men often feel that these commandments do not apply to their own journeys. Even while Moses promulgated “do not commit adultery”, Moses committed adultery.
It’s time for us to rise up to the occasion and promulgate a new ten commandments that is inclusive and that everyone will believe applies singularly to themselves. It is time to create a broad and new moral compass for all of humankind.
Instead of a “white man” bringing “down” commandments from the mountaintop, how about if human beings all agreed on a few rules that apply to everyone without regard to race, gender and wealth?
Un-Religion
What if we can all agree about what is right and proper behavior? Save those agreements for big things that apply to all, not for the small and petty rules of the social classes.
- We could all agree on non-violence.
- We can all agree on not murdering one another.
- We can all agree that honesty serves our highest good.
- We can all agree that wholeness and integrity are important human principles.
- Lastly, we can all agree that we must change our awareness of Earth to one of abundance.
- We cannot continue living the lie of scarcity. Scarcity encourages greed.
We humans need each other, and in that need, we must come to terms with our interdependence. The Earth is one whole and the lives upon the Earth are only part of that one. By understanding the oneness in our lives, we can finally see the price we have paid for acting as if we are separate beings. Hurting others is only possible if you believe that you are separate from the other.
Jesus told us most of these things. We need to listen to those words and then we need to move on. It’s time to form a new reality for our future.
