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20 March, 2005 It's coming up to Easter. I've decided it was a good time to begin a project I've had in mind for many years, a site on thoughts about my religion. I've personally found a lot of good in my religion. One would hope so... That is, after all, where we are supposed to contact the source of goodness. I remember at around the age of 12, thinking about religion as a vocation. I spent a lot of time reading my bible, and the words of Christ, and fell in love with them. My problem arose when I looked around at other Christians, and what they were saying. They seemed to express so little of love, and so much intolerance and hatred. I read about Christianity, both pro and con, including critiques of the "free-thinkers" and other critics of Christianity. I decided to go to the source, and read the whole bible, cover to cover. Any Christian who has not done this, really should. Read it like a book, rather than looking for good "passages". Get a sense of the flow and whole of it. If you don't have a copy at home, you can find it at http://www.bartleby.com/people/Bible.html and for those who are print challenged, http://www.audio-bible.com/bible/bible.html is a spoken version. Both are the King James version commonly used in English-speaking countries. While there are other versions in English, and real scholars study the Bible in Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic. Two interesting sources relating to Bible study in those languages are: http://www.bibleresourcecenter.org and http://www.bible.gen.nz/#studytools . I have to say, I found reading the Bible disconcerting. I'll include links to show why, as I develop the site. The main thing to realise is that the Bible is a history, and it is one that was written over time. Most of the Old Testament is a history of the Hebrews, or Jews (the people of Judah). Some parts, like the first two books, Genesis and Exodus concern the origin of all things, and the origin of the Jewish people. Then comes Leviticus, a book of laws particularly relating to the tribe of Levi, the tribe of hereditary priests. Numbers is a book about the 40 year period "in the wilderness", and Deuteronomy about the summation of laws Moses gave at the end of that period, before his death. After that, there follow the books with personal names, beginning with Joshua, the Hebrew General who led the wars of Hebrew conquest. All of those books of the Old Testament which follow Joshua, basically deal with the political history of Israel, the rise of various prophets, spiritual philosophy (Ecclesiastes), and occasionally with literary themes (Psalms, Proverbs, and the Song of Songs). The New Testament starts with the coming of Jesus, the son of Mary. The "official" Bible consists of the 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There were other gospels, most notably the ones that were supposed to have Thomas or Mary Magdalene as primary sources. A lot has been written about these, especially lately. But they are outside the New Testament as most of us know it, as was set out by the Council of Nicea. It was partially a political choice, and established which versions of Christianity were the "approved". I was raised a Catholic, and so "official" Christianity for me didn't really include the protestant "Reformation". Mine was a "traditional" faith. But I don't intend to talk about sectarian disputes at this point. The basic thing I found most disturbing in reading the Bible, is that a lot of what people did was quite horrific, totally repellent, and against all the feelings and thoughts I valued in the teachings of Jesus. It talked about people being slaughtered, about women and children being sold into slavery, into prostitution, all in the name of "God's Word". Reading parts of Leviticus involves plowing through long accounts of how many of what kind of animals would be slaughtered for what offence, or what blessing, and how much or the slaughtered animals had to be given to the priests. These sorts of things didn't mesh well with my notions of God's will gained from the Sermon on the Mount, or many of the works of Jesus talking about compassion, and about love. I begin to feel alienated from Christianity because it seemed inconsistent with the teachings of Christ. For many years I more or less rejected Christianity, though I still found comfort in church, and spent a little time visiting churches, cathedrals, and convents in Europe. I never really abandoned Christ's teachings; agapé and compassion were always guiding forces in my life. As I got older, I felt a stronger pull to the religion I was raised with. At the same time, I have felt a stronger and stronger sense of outrage at what the common notion of Christianity has become. I finally decided that it is immoral, an abandonment of faith and God to allow others to define Christianity in ways that contradict everything Jesus said. This website is a response. Jesus taught love and compassion. He taught mercy. He taught that mercy and compassion is more important than justice. These people who preach hatred from the pulpit are not Christians. I don't know what they are, but they are not followers of Christ, no matter how often the cite from the Bible. One thing that gives them away is the fact that they always cite from the wrong part. They quote passages from the Old Testament, or from the parts of the New Testament after the Gospels. To me, if you cannot justify your actions from the Gospels, then you are not basing your views on Christ's words. You can go to ... Let he who is without sin...This is one of my favourite stories in the Gospels. It is one that deeply, deeply touched my heart. In it, Jesus, basically stands up to a crowd, and in his compassion, defends a woman, ever though she "sinned". His enemies see it as an opportunity to "catch" him effectively breaking the religious law, and push the point to try to discredit him. In his wisdom, Jesus does not deny her sin, but does not condemn. He turns the situation back on the mob, and his accusers, by asking them to look into their own heart. The power of Christ is seen in the fact that, in this case, they actually do. The sad thing is that if someone today said the same thing to a mob after a woman who had "sinned" there are those who call themselves Christians who would thrown stones without a moments hesitation, reflection, or self-doubt. |