Do you have to be religious to follow Jesus?

I have been told, when I was younger, that the definition of Christian is "Christ-in", so I've always believed that anyone who has Jesus in their hearts is a Christian. Such a simplistic definition does allow for a wide range of people to be called "Christian". Through the church, we have been bombarded with religious images of Christ and other events in biblical history, and sometimes our own biblical studies, analysis and conclusions are marred by a preacher's rigid interpretation. The word "Christian" is now completely associated with this certain religion, and a certain set of viewpoints and affiliations. This presents a problem to me when someone asks me if I am a Christian, or what religion I am. The problem that I find in calling myself Christian is that the religion that the word currently associates with contrasts many of the things I believe about God, and Jesus Christ. For instance, I do not believe that The Bible is the "word of God", but I do believe the writings that we have available to us do hold many truths, and were inspired by the presence of God (I've already been over this in my other blog post). I do believe that religion itself does serve some spiritual purpose. But religion is something man made, and so it is imperfect and corruptible. Both the religion and its religious writings been manipulated to make money, control people and gain power. So in an effort not to be associated with the negative connotations of the word "Christian", I sometimes just call myself a "follower of Christ".

What would a person see in The Bible if one was to read it without any outside interpretation?! What if a person had only read the words of Jesus? Would he then be free of associating the Christ with a God in the Bible that is said to have killed, burned and banished people from their homelands on this earth? For a person who seeks Jesus by reading through scripture, praying and implementing the teachings of Jesus in his life, has that person joined a religion? No, this person has become a Christian in the purest sense of the word, and has received Jesus into his heart.

I remember a book now called "How To Be A Christian Without Being Religious" that I was introduced to in high school. I haven't read all of it, but the title alone said it all to me at the time. I like the book's description on Amazon too...

Since the days of the Early Church, Christians have struggled to find a way to be 'good'-to please God by their own efforts. They end up carrying a burden God never intended them to bear. And what's more, their brand of Christianity ends up looking like any other religion of the world-bound by joyless rules and rituals. Fritz Ridenour's study of the book of Romans provides an antidote to the pharisaical spirit and shows that Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. It is not man reaching up, but God reaching down. Every Christian can enjoy his or her birthright when they realize who they are in Christ. The result is a life full of hope, joy, power and potential.

My favorite line from this description is "Christianity is not a religion but a relationship". I feel that it is important to see that Jesus transcends religion, and that Jesus is not owned by Christians or any other religion. It is not required of a person to do all of the things that the church seeks of its members to have a relationship with him. Certainly a good fellowship can guide you to Jesus and along a path that increases the strength of your faith. But all too often, whether trying to help or not, religious leaders and common teachings become obstacles for a true understanding that comes from searching within. I have studied many different religions and philosophies. But my own personal journey led me away from religion, and back to Jesus. Actually Jesus never left me, and really that is why I still believe in him now.

So back to the original question. Do you have to be religious to follow Jesus? NO! In fact, I'd go as far as to say you can be a Christian without being religious. I do think a person can find a great fellowship to be a part of, can gain spiritual understanding through The Bible and live the life of a Christian with or without the Christian religion. But I do think that the fundamentalism of the current state of the religion "Christianity" has brought about an industry, this religion, that encourages actions that opposite of the teachings of Christ. So I think it is important for Christians to examine what they have been taught, weigh for themselves the truths presented to them, and to not be afraid to discard certain parts of the 'religion' that do not fit into your search for God, and do not represent the views of Christ.

Was Jesus the Son of God? Are we children of God?

 I think it's probably normal for a person to get confused by all of the different descriptions of Jesus, and I think it could be an ongoing discovery in a followers life. Anyone growing up in the mainstream church has heard plenty of sermons about Jesus being the son of God, only begotten son or being "God in the flesh", but the meanings of those scriptures can become confusing. The phrase "son of God" is used many times in the New Testament, too many to account for. But lets look at this definition of the phrase "son of God" from the Strong's Concordance with Greek/Hebrew Lexicon website.


Result of search for "son of god":
5206. huiothesia hwee-oth-es-ee'-ah from a presumed compound of 5207 and a derivative of 5087; the placing as a son, i.e. adoption (figuratively, Christian sonship in respect to God):--adoption (of children, of sons).  
Strong's Concordance

Its interesting to note that the definition specifies 'adoption' into being a son of God. All of the New Testament Gospel appearances of this phrase use the same Greek word, shown above. However, the last Gospel, The Gospel of John (written some 30+ years after the death of Jesus), introduces a new term into the phrase. Reading the Gospel of John in The Bible, you encounter this word "begotten" several times, at least six. Let's examine the specific Greek definition for this word.

Result of search for "begotten":
3439. monogenes mon-og-en-ace' from 3441 and 1096; only-born, i.e. sole:--only (begotten, child). 
Strongs/BlueLetterBible.org

Now The Gospel of John states specifically that Jesus is the only son of God, something that had not been so specifically stated before. The Gospel of John does not include the holy birth of Jesus Christ, which would seem to be important in establishing the exclusiveness of Jesus as the only-born son (Mark does not either, which pre-dates Matthew and Luke). Does this mean that the point in which Jesus became the son of God could have been later than his birth? It is not clear since the birth was skipped in this book. The Gospel of John does however, like the other Gospels, make a distinct separation between Jesus as the son of God, and believers that become sons of God through their belief in him, although using the same word to describe both.

John 1:12    KJV

¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 3:16   KJV

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Also in the Gospel of John, there is a story in which Jesus said "Ye are gods". Jesus had been surrounded by the Jews. They attempt to provoke him into confessing to them all that he is the son of God. Instead of escalating their anger by stating in front of all of them that he is the Christ, he tells them that he has done the works to prove that he is already, but they still did not believe in him. The Jews picked up rocks to stone him, but he stops them and asks them if they are stoning him for doing good works. The Jews say to him that they are stoning him for blasphemy by making himself a god. Jesus then cites their own scriptures, in which it states that "ye are gods." So his point was that if he was to say he was the son of God, would it be blasphemy if the scriptures stated that "ye are Gods"?
 

John 10:23-36    KJV

²³ And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.²⁴ Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
²⁵ Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.30 I and my Father are one.
³¹ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.³² Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
³³ The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
³⁴ Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?³⁵ If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;³⁶ Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

Verse 34 refers to this verse in Psalms. Inserted are the Hebrew word definitions from Strong's/ Blue Letter Bible.org

Psalm 82:3-8   KJV

³ Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.⁴ Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.⁵ They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
⁶ I have said, Ye are gods (plural usage-rulers, judges, divine ones, angels, gods); and all of you are children of the most High (name of God).⁷ But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes (chieftain, leader).
⁸ Arise, O God (plural intensive singular meaning-God) , judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.


Because of the plural usage in the phrase 'ye are gods', the definition also includes rulers and judges. However, because of Jesus' usage of the word, and that the author continues to call those he was speaking to 'children of the most High', I don't believe that 'rulers' is the intended definition for use in this passage. So, in a sense, Jesus was stating that the scripture tells us that we are gods (divine ones, angels), because we are children of the most High. 


Now lets look at this scripture from Romans and the usage of the phrase 'children of God'.

Romans 8:16-17   KJV

¹⁶ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

It would seem that this scripture shrinks the gap considerably between the experience of becoming a child of God, and the experience of Jesus being the son of God, since we are joint-heirs with Christ! Jesus also, in the Gospel of John, states that we that believe in him will do greater works than he did. 

John 14:12-14    KJV

¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.


There is not, of course, any scriptural evidence that would put any other human being as high as Jesus Christ. I am sure that there are different variations of Jesus' birth, and the timeline in which he became anointed to do these works. But, I do believe that what Jesus is saying is that where he was in a spiritual sense at that time here on earth, that that level may be surpassed by those who believe in him! One thing that is clear throughout The Bible is that believers are the children of God; and, as children of the most high, we should "Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy"(Psalms 82:3).  A believer must surely be at least a child of God to be able to accomplish these things. This could be the one of the most important messages from Jesus, that those who believe in him are the sons of God; and, because of that, are capable of performing works even greater than Jesus Christ did while he was alive on this earth.

I have always thought that one major difference between the rest of humankind and Jesus was that Jesus had the knowledge of where he came to this earth from, as we do not. The understanding of oneself as a child of God is a very powerful insight, and could, in some sense, be an explanation for the ability of Jesus to perform miracles. The distance we feel from God as human beings can be somewhat overcome by the simple knowledge that God has taken us as his own children, and that we are joint-heirs of God with Christ! People are often motivated by the scripture saying "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" (Phil 4:13). But paired with the scriptural reaffirmation that we are truly children of God, it seems that the ability of a follower to be of such a high spiritual understanding is always within reach; and that our efforts to defend the poor and do justice to the needy should be unstoppable.


Please visit this amazing website... Blue Letter Bible.org

Did God Write The Bible?

 "Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams, they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do, they all contain truths." - Muhammad Ali


I am a firm believer in "baptism by fire" so to speak. So, that is the way I will start off this blog, with a severely controversial, heated and detrimental topic! This, however, is not going to be an attempt to damage the validity of anyone's beliefs. I would hope that as the origins and authors of The Bible become more clear to a believer, that it will enforce certain things. And possibly, those things will become more positive aspects of one's spirituality.

Commonly, persons at church Bible studies believe that the first 5 books of The Bible were given to Moses by God, and he dictated them, verbatim, at Mount Sinai. Some believe other books were written by Moses, but usually other Old Testament books were believed to be written by respected leaders of the time. The New Testament Gospel authors are believed by many Christians to be Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the Acts and many other New Testament books to be written by Paul. Even though these books were written by human beings, it is perceived that the divine inspiration from God was immediately dictated without mistake, and so it is the word of God.

Some Jewish Biblical scholars alive today believe they have identified many different authors of the Old Testament scriptures, and several just in the first 5 books alone. It is easily understood when reading The Bible that there are different literary styles and distinct differences in repeated stories. But most striking to  these scholars were the different terms used for God, such as Elohim and Yahweh. And it wasn't just that the different terms were used, the terms actually line up with the different literary styles and separate the different points of views used in some stories in The Bible. So many researchers of biblical history believe that there were two different writers for Genesis, and more in the preceding books. Also they have found that it is possible, from writing styles identified in the book of Jeremiah, that the scribe identified in the Bible as the dictator for Jeremiah also wrote Deuteronomy!

Now if you are saying, "Well, that doesn't really disprove anything about God!" then we are on the same page, so stick with me!

Some critics of The Bible have stated that some of the writings are pseudepigraphal. That is to say, they were written with the name of, and point of view of, important figures in the religion, therefore they are considered forgeries. The New Testament Gospels also inspire debate as to who wrote them. Reasons for this belief are 1. the titles of the books say The Gospel According to ...(meaning the Good News, or Godspell of ...) without actually saying they are written by that person, 2. references to the writers themselves do not appear often, and 3. some passages of The Gospels of Matthew and Luke seemed to be copied directly from The Gospel of Mark. So because of these discretions, it is believed that the some of the Gospel authors remain unknown. Some of the books attributed to Paul also contain literary usage that eludes to other authors, so there could be many more writers of the New Testament than previously thought.

A collection of Old Testament books discarded from today's Bible known as The Apocrypha were actually called The Pseudepigrapha at one time, even though most will agree that not all of these books were written by a writer using a name other than himself. There are other Gospels that have been eliminated or left out of the current Bible, such as the Gospel of Thomas, which may predate most books of The New Testament and was part of the early versions. The selection of these particular books has come under question by many very educated and dedicated scholars.

It is probably easier to eliminate the question "Did God write The Bible?" because of the various authors, styles and points of view present in the scriptures. But even if God did dictate messages to Moses, Samuel, Solomon, Ezra, Mark, Paul, you still have an imperfect human attempting to convey the word of a perfect God, in the writers own language. And even if the prophetic writings have been given and recorded in a fairly accurate way, you will still always have human mistakes in dictation, translation and interpretation. So to say that God wrote the Bible would not be correct in my opinion. However, to say that God inspired The Bible must be absolutely correct. The authors of The Bible also lived in a time in which there were not so many distractions, and such a removal and disconnection from the earth, God and nature. It is my belief that, through all the static between God and human, that The Bible contains some of the most inspired and spiritually uplifting work in print, as well as some quite accurate history and stunningly applicable prophecy.

I am very glad that we have The Bible to read for ourselves, and the opportunity to make our own way through the scriptures. There are archaeological finds and fulfilled prophecies that have highlighted and given strength to the argument of the validity of its historical and spiritual content. I prefer seeing The Bible not as a perfect entity for use in implementing an overbearing fundamentalist religion, but of a quite accurate account of man's interaction with God, biblical history and the life of Jesus. I would prefer to utilize the scriptures to nurture and inspire the beliefs I already have about God, and Jesus. It gives me confidence in my own belief system to know that I can confront its history and imperfections, and still find that the scriptures provide me with food that enlightens my soul. I have read a large amount of religious texts and historical information on many religions. I have enjoyed my journey on this planet, seeking absolute truth, and finding absolute wonder. Still, the things I believe now, even though they may be bits and pieces of things I have felt, experienced or struggled to understand, these are the things that strengthen my love for this organized, unresolved universe.

New Blog, Be Very Afraid!

Hello. Welcome to my inaugural post to my new blog, Questions Make You Smarter. Here I would like to explore the main topics that I often question myself and others about; politics and religion. By combining these two most debatable, controversial and personal topics, I hope not to alienate every possible reader of every affiliation; religious, political or otherwise. While some may avoid questioning the things most important to them in fear of losing grasp of their importance, I feel that my constant questioning has actually strengthened the core of my beliefs. I hope that this blog will have that type of effect on its readers, strengthening other's knowledge of who they are and why they believe what they believe.

I grew up like most Americans, believing in the Government and my religion as perfect entities. I got 'saved' when I was about 10 years old, because "I don't want to go to hell", as I told my counselor. I separated from the Christian religion by the time I was 19, and explored other spiritual possibilities, which eventually led me 'full circle' almost to the same point that I started. I began political activism at the fresh college age of 18 with the "Rally Against Reagan", a rally outside of the Lloyd Noble Center against the visitation of then current President Reagan. I knew something was wrong, but had absolutely no realization of HOW wrong things were, and would one day become.

My awakening process has been very gradual, but once my quest of questioning started, I couldn't stop. Now here I am in the middle of all I have formulated, using the information gathered by an abundance of questioning. It is healthy to explore truth. This exploration will unravel in these blogs and will reconstruct thoughts and ideas until the end result is a truthful understanding of all things real, reality, and above reality.

There will be some personal topics explored, and some tough questions asked. It is in my nature to desire a face-to-face meeting with my own personal belief structures. I do hope not to offend, but if you are offended by something, please just have a little patience and I will offend the polar opposite of your perspective that I previously offended. Here we go....