Jesus' Original Message

Be sure to first read The Errant Bible, I Disagree With John, and Scapegoat.

Understanding that the BIble is not inerrant nor authoritative and contains contradictory doctrine, it makes it slightly difficult to piece together just what Jesus really taught. What is clear is that he did not teach the concept of sacrifice and he uplifted righteousness via behaving righteously. Righteousness from behaving righteousness was quite the original idea in those days as it also appears to be today. So what all did Jesus really preach? Did he merely go around teaching everyone to be good? Yes, but also explaining why as well as predicting the future.

Jesus came to preach the Kingdom of God. And many things regarding the Kingdom of God were spoken in parables. This was for the very purpose he expressly stated, "So that hearing they would hear not and by seeing they would see not." Jesus spoke in parables to confound those who weren't willing to hear the real message. This was actually quite genius on Jesus' part because the parables seem to have been held unchanged through the years. Since the religious could take the parables however they wanted, there was no need to change them. But this also gives great insight to those who actually attempt to understand them for what they really are. Of course, this also shrouds his teachings with great mystery. Just what, then, is the Kingdom?

The Kingdom of God was literally the "good news" that Jesus preached. This good news is where we coined the term "gospel." It's latin "god" and "spel" meaning good and tale respectively. The trick is understanding just what is so good about it. It was good news while he was there preaching it, but Christians now hold that the good news was his death. The biggest good about his arrival and the kingdom he preached was that the corrupted ways of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes would be exposed and the truth would be known. It meant the uprising of truly righteous people and the beginning of the end of foolish religion. As many of the parables point out, however, this was rather short-lived. Jesus' message was the methodology to have a perfect society. A Kingdom of God. His message was how to live in such a way that life is abundant and fruitful for everyone. Paradise. And it is all summed by the concept of love. If we take the time to legitimately love one another and do away with religion, we would have the perfect Kingdom. God's Kingdom.

And so, Jesus taught the ways of love. He expressed how love is not a mere action to perform but something from the heart. He indicated that sin was something that starts from within us in the bowels of our core desires. He explained that it was lust that was the evil within us even if we didn't act upon it. When we catch ourselves at our desires such that we only long for what is good, right, and loving, the rest naturally flows out of us. If I'm focusing on how best to love another person, I'm not quickly contemplating how to have a one-night stand or to steal someone else's wife. If I'm being considerate for the wellbeing of another, rather than fighting back I will consider best how to demonstrate love and how to guide them toward it. This could, of course, involve proper punishments, but it wouldn't blindly adhere to a written sentence without effort to help the person change. True love considers a person's position, understanding, mentality, capability, circumstances, etc, and makes a good, honest effort at making a choice that is best for everyone. A law-book would never suffice for such individualized scrutiny. Nor does the Bible.

If we read the Bible today, we should indeed "pick and choose" what we read as we are not mere infants or robots. We are thinking, perceiving, and intelligent creatures that are capable of determining right from wrong. In fact, Jesus quite explicitly stated, "Determine for yourselves what is right." So as we read, we should diligently ponder what it is saying and determine whether or not it is good. And if there is a currently living God directing our paths, then surely He will give us all the direction and advice necessary to pick out the meat and toss out the bones. We don't need to sit and recompile the Bible and create a new book for people to misuse, we simply need to use our intellect to understand what is good and find helpful advice to doing what is right. The Bible is rich with wisdom, but unfortunately it is also rich with foolishness and religion. We should indeed pick and choose and most often it is not difficult to do so in matters of morality. In matters of history, however, it can be quite difficult to truly know. Did Jesus really walk on water? Did he really cure the blind? I don't know. But I do know that his message regarding righteousness is a mighty good one. The world would be in a much better shape if everyone took his advice--including Christians.

A Kingdom based on righteousness is exactly something I wish to create today. A society of people who are willing to work together for a common good out of love for one another and utilizing our skills to the best of our abilities. Not at all meaning that everyone is "equal," but rather just the opposite. An eye is not equal to an ear and I don't suppose we should treat it as if it were. We should give the eye the job of seeing and the ear the job of hearing. They have unique abilities, unique needs, and they should be treated uniquely to satisfy them. This society differs from communism in that it is completely free-will and that the people themselves determine what they are capable of doing and what they should be doing. While it may indeed result in the good life, it wouldn't always be the easy life. Love can be hard. And it can be tiring to think all the time. But most often, the good life is indeed a hard life. Easy lives often reap depression from inactivity and meaninglessness. The beginnings of such a society would be an awful lot of work, but if you're interested in such a societal endeavor, feel free to contact me. Perhaps we can recreate what Jesus started long ago; this time without the religion.