Jesus wasn’t a Christian
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Transcript: Jesus wasn’t a Christian and if he was alive today he wouldn’t attend Christian Church
Jesus wasn't a Christian, and if he was here today, he wouldn't attend the modern Christian church. The people who say they follow Jesus today, by and large, are not following Jesus. They're following the Council of Nicaea, Augustine, Paul, John Calvin, Martin Luther. They're following the teachings of these men. And that's their choice, but they should say that that's who they're following, not Jesus. Jesus didn't say the things these men said. And he also didn't say that after he died, other people were going to come and explain the real truth of what he was trying to say.
Jesus’ message is dead simple. A 5-year-old can get it. Everything he said is completely obvious and understandable. In fact, children often, especially if they're not in traumatic situations, understand and inherently know everything Jesus taught. The complicating of the message is to change the message. And today, we have a large majority of people who claim to follow Jesus who don't do what he says. One example is he said, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door. Don't pray in public like the heathens.” He flat out said, “Don't pray in public.” And yet, every church I've ever been to does long public prayers that are usually quite self-indulgent.
Of course, I could go on, talking about money. Jesus never envisioned paid clergy or a financial spiritual institution. His disciples were instructed to live with just the cloaks on their backs and to trust they would be provided for. And then there’s the support of right-wing politics, which supports the othering and harming of the least of the people in our society, and the support of patriarchal men who believe they have the right to take whatever they want and then blame the victim. Through these politics, I would really like to hear one of these people, with a straight face, read the Beatitudes, read the Sermon on the Mount, read the scene where he clears the temple, and then say, “Yeah, Jesus would be right here with us, talking about how vile and disgusting these immigrants are, and giving men who have clearly assaulted many humans in heinous ways an absurd level of benefit of the doubt.”
It's okay. You all are entitled to do what you do. Just leave Jesus out of it. He's not your guy. And that’s what’s happened, though — by claiming Jesus, they usurp and deny his message. Now we have an institution that literally practices the opposite of what Jesus taught while claiming to own him and his message. And so I would like to stand up and say that I am a follower of Jesus, and I am not a Christian.
Transcript: Jesus, not Christianity, is the Medicine we Need
So, a group of people were talking to Jesus, and there was this guy who asked, "What do I need to do to be right with God, to be saved, or go to heaven?" Jesus responded by quoting the Old Testament: love the Lord your God. There may have been something about the law too, but then Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The man replied, "Okay, check on number one. But number two—I need some clarity. Who’s my neighbor?" Jesus answered with a story.
He told a story about a traveler from a foreign land, someone of low status in that society—an immigrant, undervalued, maybe even racially despised. This man was attacked and left hurt on the side of the road. A religious leader, someone highly esteemed in the religious institution and enjoying a lot of personal glory, passed by and didn’t help. Then another privileged figure—possibly a businessman—also passed without helping. Finally, someone with no status came upon the wounded man and went above and beyond to help him. He nursed him back to health, paid his expenses, and ensured his recovery. Jesus then asked, “Which of those was a neighbor?”
Clearly, in Jesus's perspective, there’s no room for "othering" people from different societies. That principle was central to him. He understood that what we do to others, we do to ourselves. Jesus is what we need now—he truly has the answers. I’m not a Christian. I don’t believe in a physical hell or in the innate badness of human beings. I think people are basically good but often trapped in trauma and inherited burdens.
You can’t prove people are bad or that a physical hell exists using just the words of Jesus—it simply isn’t there. So, I wanted to share a story from the Bible that’s been meaningful to me. Reflecting on what Jesus actually said has been beautiful. He is the way. You don’t need anything but the red letters. You don’t need the rest of that book. Jesus is enough. Just read what he said and follow him. That’s the medicine the world needs today.