Not Jesuit - JESUS-IST; And thanks for disagreeing with me :-)

JESUIT- (j zh - t, j z -, -y -).
n. 1. Roman Catholic Church A member of the Society of Jesus.

JESUSIST-
1. A Person who believes in the teachings of Jesus as the only way to truth, salvation and eternal life.
2. A believer who is fed up with religion and hypocrisy.

I post these definitions after someone angrily left a very amusing post to me stating that as a "Jesuit" I was blind and that the Pope was Satan. If I was actually a Jesuit that might have offended me. Since I am a Jesusist I have learned to relish and enjoy these moments. It is quite alright if someone who reads what I write disagrees. Actually, I think disagreeing with the beliefs of others and others disagreeing with my beliefs is very healthy and beneficial. It brings about open mindedness, greater truth and understanding and spiritual growth and maturity for both parties. That is IF it does not turn into two spiteful people attempting to denigrate each other. I for one refuse to do that and instead follow the example of Jesus who tried to turn every opposing word into an opportunity to teach and to learn.

I believe that all of us who follow Jesus should be open minded and peaceful enough to hear others points of view. Someone believing what they believe has no bearing on me and what I believe. Whatever revelations God has given to you do not negate or remove the revelations that He has given to me. I co-exist because Jesus co-existed. I agree with my adversaries because Jesus taught that as His followers we should agree with our adversaries. And when someone calls me blind or tells me I am following Satan. That is ok. It gives me an opportunity to take an closer look at my beliefs and it gives me the humility to admit at the very least that I COULD be wrong. None of us should ever believe that we have The Truth completely locked down and figured out. I am always open to receive. As I pour out I hope and pray that others pour in.

And to my dear brother who thought I was Catholic. Its JESUSIST not Jesuit. LOL. Honest mistake, my friend.....and thanks for disagreeing with me.

I AM STILL A JESUSIST.

I STARTED THIS BLOG BACK IN 2004. I HAVE COME A LONG WAY SINCE THEN BUT FELT THIS FIRST POST WAS WORTH REPEATING SINCE IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF MY JOURNEY. I HOPE AND PRAY IT MAY HELP YOU IN YOUR JOURNEY AS WELL.

I am a Jesusist. I was raised in a Christian household and until about eleven years ago, I knew exactly what I believed........what I was taught. So do most Christians. Historically Christians have accepted the teachings of the church as factual and God breathed without seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit to find out if the church's truth is actually God's truth. Why should they? After all even questioning the church's teachings are considered heretical. It is so much easier to blindly follow whatever is being taught. I, like so many other sheep, willing followed whatever was said to me whether it bore any resemblance to Christ's teachings or not.
Sometime in late 1999 I had a crisis of faith. I spent a few years re-evaluating all my spiritual beliefs. I questioned everything I believed and why I believed it. After stripping away decades of religious indoctrination, I soon realized that I can no longer call myself a Christian with a clear conscience. My faith, my personal creeds and my relationship with God are no longer in line with the teachings of the Christian religion (and yes it IS a religion). After much prayer, studying and soul searching, I have become what I can only call a Jesusist. To put it plain and simple, I am a person who studies and practices the teachings of Jesus. I even go further to state that I am a Messianic Jesusist. I not only study and practice Jesus' teachings, but I also believe on Him as the Messiah, the Christ, God's only begotten son. I created this blog to spread the message of Jesusism as a way of life.

7 of My Personal Precepts of Jesusism

JESUSISM: A spiritual belief system in which the followers believe not only in Jesus as the Christ, Lord, personal savior and Son of God; but also sees him as our teacher in whose teachings we follow and affirm above all other teachings.

1. Jesus Christ is the son of God, He was born of a virgin, lived on this earth preaching the good news, he died on a cross and rose from the dead 3 days later. His death and resurrection atones for the sins of man and gives us salvation and restores us to a spiritual place where we are one with God.

2. Jesusism affirms that what Jesus taught are the precepts of living a healthy, happy, positive, powerful, spirit-filled, God ordained life.

3. Dogma is not of Jesus. Jesus was never about legalism and the letter of the law. Jesus was about love and forgiveness and grace and redemption.

4. The life and teachings of Jesus must be continually studied over and over as we gain new insights into what He taught and how it applies to our personal lives.

5. A deeply intimate, prayer life should be practiced as a means of building and strengthening our relationship with God.

6. While a Jesusist may or may not believe in miracles, miracles are not our primary focus. Our primary focus in on Jesus. It is more important that we live the way he lived on earth than it is to perfom the miracle and wonders he performed while on earth.

7. Going to church, connecting with other believers and being a part of a group of believers is a wise and good things for all of us to do, however, what you gain from church will NEVER replace the personal, intimate relationship you have with God in your private life.

Now I am a heathen also

I got up one sunday morning and sighed and decided to go to church. I asked my daughter "honey don't you want to get dressed and go to church...." She looked at me like I had grown and extra nose and said "Nooooooo." After much explaining and much convincing (of her AND myself) I got us dressed and drove us to our friendly neighborhood church. One hour later, after long prayers, devotionals, songs, scripture readings, testimonies and sunday morning annoucements; they begin taking up offering. My daughter is sitting there looking at me and continuously whispering, "mom can't we go now.....Mom this is no fun.....why are we here..." After a while I started asking myself those same quesions. Why WAS I there..... I couldn't quite figure out the answer myself. I am told that you should go to church because that is how you serve God. I looked and around and wondered what use could God possibly have for this. A ceremony that follows a very ritualized format that seldom if ever varied and which most people show up out of societal mores and political correctness. I placed money in the offering plate took my daughter by the hand and left that place. I thanked her for opening my eyes. And now, I am officially a heathen.

Jesus' God or the Church's God?

Somewhere in the Bible it states that "fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. I'm not sure I can agree with this because somewhere between prayer and wisdom I have actually lost my fear of God. Don't get me wrong. I still love, reverence, respect and worship Him but my attitude towards him has changed dramatically.

The church paints this image of God as a mean, exacting judge sitting up above with a hammer in his hand, waiting to smash our heads in with it if we mess up. How many times have you been told God will "strike you down?" Further more how often do we hear people attribute death, disease, storms and every other life hardships to "an act of God"? As if God is on some kind of mission to cause harm and mayhem to our lives. The churches I grew up in did a good job of literally scaring the hell out of people. I am sure that methodology works well for those who use it.

Butthis mean spirited, vindictive, unforgiving God that so many like to preach of, bears little or no resemblance to the God Jesus spoke of in His Ministry. I don't see a God that strikes people down, but instead the God that raises us up. I don't see the God that harms but the God that heals. I don't see a God that punishes, but a God that forgives. I don't see the God that is our judge, I see the God that is our Father. There is no angry God looking down on us, there is a loving God who wants only the best for each and everyone of us. So which God do you choose. The angry God of so many modern Christians or the God of Jesus?

We Are Borg (oops! I meant CHRISTIAN).. You will be Assimilated.

On Star Trek- TNG there is an alien race known as "The Borg." This race is made of of beings that were once human, but thanks to many very carefully placed computerized/robotic/ cybernectic parts, they are now cyborgs or more correctly "Borg." As if this wasn't bad enough, they travel the universe making every other race of people they meet part of the Borg race. And if someone does not want to be half robot and controlled by a central processing unit, who cares?? Their motto is "resistance is futile." After all, the borg consider themselves to be superior to every other lifeform and consider it their duty to assimilate everyone them meet into the borg collective. They will not allow anything to deter them from that mission.

Has Christianity turned into a real life version of this futuristic alien race? Lets look at it. I was taught that as a Christian we are not of this world. (that would make us an alien race) Christianity, in general, teaches that Christians should believe the same things and do the same things. (a collective)Otherwise you are a heretic heathen like me. Christians feel it is there obligation to go into the world trying to bring more people into their world and way of believing (assimilation?) They consider themselves to be "God's chosen" as if God wants no-one but them. We believe that "every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord (which means resistance is futile).

As I read about the life and teachings of Jesus, I often wonder if he called us to be robots. I hope not. I believe that He came to give us abundant life and that we as his followers should be as unique and dynamic as He was. Not just in our jobs or our natural life but also in our spiritual life and our relationship with God. Your life is not my life. Your abilities, Your hopes, Your dreams, Your struggles are different from mine so your walk with God will be different than mine. Your personal relationship with God should not be a carbon copy of anyone elses. It should be as unique and original as you yourself are.

Have you ever just asked yourself who you really are in this walk of faith? What does your PERSONAL Relationship with God look like? Are you a Carbon Copy of everyone else or does your walk with God have its own unique flavor? Are you part of the collective or are you the original, one of a kind person God has called you to be?

Confessions of a Heretic

Okay I'm here to make a confession. I am not just a Jesusist, I am also a heretic. I am a confessed believer who maintains veiws and beliefs that are contrary to the traditional teachings of the church. That would make me a BIG TIME heretic. I mean if I were to start listing all of the opposing views I have to the church that could take up.....well, at least a VERY long blog post. To be honest I am unsure of MOST of the churches teachings. I don't know if homosexuals are going to heaven. Not sure if heterosexuals are either. I don't know if we should be baptized in the name of the Trinity or in the name of Jesus. (Just to be on the safe side I should probably "double dunk" like Robert Duvall in "The Apostle"). I don't know if the pro-choicers or the pro-lifers are right. (But to be honest, at times they BOTH kinda creep me out.) I don't know if God is a democrat or a republican. Understandable since I kinda straddle the political fence myself. I don't know if the Bible should be taken as the literal word of God or the inspired word of God. At this point, I'm not even sure that there is a hell. Although from where I'm standing there had better be a heaven.

The only things I am sure of are God, Jesus, Love, the Holy spirit, the brotherhood of mankind and that the way we treat each other on this planet is the most important thing in life. I guess that makes me kind of a complex Christian, but a very simplified Jesusist. I mean, is all that other garbage really important? I could spend my time worried about whether or not I beleive another person or group is doing what's right, or I could love that person or group regardless of my personal hangups. Maybe, just maybe all the redtape and additives and preservatives that are taught along with Jesus only serve to pollute the simplistic life our relationship with God is supposed to be. Someone in the Bible was quoted as saying (and affirmed by Jesus as being correct) that eternal life is gained by "loving the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind; and love thy neighbor as thyself."

That is so simplistic its deep and scary and almost unbelievable. What if that's IT. What if that is all there is to it. We love God and treat each other with love and bang - mission accomplished. What if love is the answer to everything? That we have to love each other no matter what? That the same way God loves us we have to pass it along to everyone else, even (no- especially) those we consider most unlovable? Its terrifying in a way because deep in my spirit I can feel that this is the truth. This is what Jesus was trying to teach and what God has been trying to get across to us since the beginning of time. Its the most simple but also the most complex thing in the universe.

Okay, I'm going way deeper than I intended to go with this. So I'm going to reel this end and post a disclaimer. "Listen to me at your own risk. After all, I am a CONFESSED heretic." I could get you excommunicated from the church.

SALVATION- ETERNAL LIFE- BORN AGAIN

As I stated in a previous post, the words SALVATION, ETERNAL LIFE, and THE KINGDOM are used interchangably in modern Christianity. This causes the words to also be used erroneously. All three concepts are discussed in the Bible, but they are discussed as entirely separate and distinct from each other. This is the reason why modern Christianity teaches that eternal life is a free gift that comes from confessing Jesus even though Jesus himself taught that eternal life came through keeping the commandments.

SALVATION- Jesus came to give us a more abundant life. When Jesus spoke of salvation he was not speaking of the afterlife, but of the more abundant life that we can live right now.
Mark 16:16- states that if you believe and are baptized you will be saved. Salvation is a free gift, no strings attached, no works involved. It is simply a matter of believing and receiving. This is why Jesus could offer salvation to anyone who came to him wanting it and ready to receive it. Nicodemus was said to have received salvation in Luke 19:9. The woman with the alabaster box received salvation in Luke 7:50. To understand this, we must understand salvation is not for the afterlife; IT IS FOR HERE AND NOW.

Eternal Life- I already stated a lot about eternal life and how to gain it in my previous post. I'll just reiterate here that eternal life is gained by keeping the commandments of God.

BORN AGAIN/ THE KINGDOM- John 3:1 recounts a story where a man named Nicodemus inquired about the miracles Jesus did. Jesus attributed his works to the Kingdom and stated that no one could see this Kingdom unless they were "born again." It is important to note that this is the only time recorded in the Bible that Jesus mentions the concept of being born again. Jesus gave many examples describing the concept of the Kingdom, but He never actually defined what the Kingdom is. He did however tell us that the Kingdom was at hand (very close to us) Matt. 4:17 that it is within us, Luke 17:21; that there are keys to it, Matt. 16:19; its difficult for the rich to obtain, Mark 10:23.

Eternal Life

There are several instances in the Bible where Jesus was asked "What must I do to have eternal life?" The answer that Jesus gave is far removed from the answer modern Christianity gives. Jesus always gave the same answer "KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS." Recognizing that Christianity (through Paul's teachings) teaches that eternal life is a free gift gained by accepting Jesus as our Lord. It seems strange that such a strong contradiction should exist concerning such an important subject.

Jesus was given this question of eternal life in Matt. 19:16, Mark 10:17, Luke 10:25, Luke 18:18 and each time Jesus gave the answer "Keep the Commandments." So it is obvious for those of us who believe in Jesus and His Word that eternal life is gained not by grace but by works. Even when Jesus spoke about judgement day and some entering into eternal life and some everlasting punishment, he related their judgement to their WORKS while here on earth. (I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in) It had nothing to do with grace, or accepting him or their faith. In fact in Jesus' teachings the people who did these works seemed to be unaware that they had did anything worthy of eternal life. (Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?)

So if eternal life must be earned where did the church get the teachings of grace and faith and accepting Jesus? I believe that the teachings are a misunderstanding of terminology. Certain words used in the Bible; namely SALVATION - ETERNAL LIFE- ENTERING THE KINGDOM were three entirely different concepts. Modern Chrisitanity uses these words pretty much enterchangably but a closer look at the scriptures shows that they are not the same at all. But that's another blog.