Harris: Jesus Christ was not a Christian

Rockingham man believes in God — er, George — but not in religion

When the son of God and his angels return to Mother Earth, he will be looking to universally unify the spirit of mankind. No religious body will tell you this simple truth because of the separatist nature of its evolution; sibling rivalry, that has always, throughout history, taken us to the theatre of war.

Before I begin, I need to say that my thoughts are my own. I do not see myself as lay preacher although this article may sound a little evangelical. My only ambition is to share in intuitive dialogue; a dialogue that I thought for many years placed me on the fringes of humanity, but apparently not! I know there are like-minded people out there experiencing these very private, not too often spoken about monologues of intuitive thoughts.

A spiritual relationship with a greater intelligence that is my God; his name is George. I called God George for two reasons; firstly, my God is not linked to any religious myth, dogma and the hypocrisy created by man for his own agenda; secondly, I know my God exists; I am a part of his family; I am protected by him; I have nothing to fear in this life or hereafter, and it is held together by one extremely important thing, and that thing is unconditional love.

My dialogue concentrates around Christianity, Judaism and Islamic faiths because, primarily, they are linked to Abraham and the text found in the Old Testament of Bible, Torah and Qur’an.

By Robert Harris  On Life and Faith

By Robert Harris
On Life and Faith

I am not an atheist, but I have lost my faith in religion. It’s not that I question the original wisdoms of these religions; there is a great deal to learn from all three, but I do question the corruption and hypocrisy that has clouded their ethical values through the ages and certainly in modern times.

I am not an atheist; to reiterate, I know George exists. I believe there is a greater intelligence; a creative energy from which all things have been created. I believe I am a shard of that creation, so therefore I am the son of my creator. In fact, we all are; I believe that Jesus knew this when he proclaimed himself son of God.

Creation is a bit of a hit and miss affair; I know this from my own experience. As a child I had the desire to create things; to build model boats and aeroplanes, to sail and fly them; sometimes to great effect; sometimes to disaster. The success of such projects was always determined by some sort of design, and the quality and flexibility of that design would inevitably decide the success or failure of the model; but it had to begin with an idea.

So, when I look up into the sky at night and observe the universe through the knowledge given to me by scientists, I have an elementary education of what is going on out there; planets, stars, comets, meteors and black holes to name but a few, and all this began with a big bang.

Call me simple-minded but I have a real problem with that theory. Considering how, for example, we need to be inspired, and from that inspiration, work out some kind of plan of action to develop our ideas into reality; my primary question is if there was a big bang, who designed and lit the fireworks? Considering how we, as human beings, create things, it is perfectly reasonable to consider that the big bang and the consequences of that big bang had to have begun with an idea. If this is so, the big bang could not have been the beginning; but a continuing process; something much older. In fact, the process could be eternal; who knows?

I watched ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’ when I was a child and thought it was real; fifty years on, I now surf the net and Skype, rather than use the phone; science fiction has become reality, so yes, I do believe in the supernatural and miracles.

I do believe in George and the supernatural authority applied with ideas way beyond the comprehension of human intellect. To me, if you want proof of a miracle just look into the night sky for inspiration; there is so much we don’t know.

Why have I lost my faith in religion?

After the first Crusade there was an intermittent 200-year struggle for control of the Holy Land, with six more major crusades and numerous minor ones. In 1291, the conflict ended in failure with the fall of the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land at Acre, after which Roman Catholic Europe mounted no further coherent response in the east.

A so-called holy war still raging in the middle-east today; nearly a thousand years on and people are still dying for a religious cause. This is one of the major reasons why I do not believe in religion. This is just one of many examples of war being waged in the name of God.

I take great exception to the implication that George had anything to do with the millions of people killed by the forces of religious belief. We are extremely dangerous; we are a danger to ourselves and every living thing on mother Earth. Maybe we were originally designed to be that way, as is true of other animals. There are other creatures that kill and eat their own kind; cannibalism isn’t unheard of.

If this is true, we cannot be held responsible for the primeval things we do. Likewise, we cannot be held responsible for the haphazard, even childlike way we have managed our time on this planet. We have been placed here; an experiment, given free-will to do whatever we like; only tied by a long rope that is our short lifespan.

I believe that George shines through every baby born to mankind, constantly seeking knowledge, constantly learning, constantly experiencing and experimenting; it seems that that light fades when the ego and want for materialist gain commands our way of thinking. We are at our best when we return to those infant qualities; those who are in a constant state of neurosis are for all intent and purpose lost souls.

The ego is my enemy; I have no time for self-importance. That doesn’t mean I do not love what I am, it just means my thought process is for others rather than myself; knowing this opens the door to eternity.

Whatever happened to Christianity?

Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.

Abrahamic religions

Abrahamic religions, which include Bábism, Bahá’í Faith and Christianity; and other groups related to Christianity such as Gnosticism and Islam; and those religions related to Islam (Sufi and Shia Sects). To complicate it further, there are others that include Druze, Judaism and related religions, Black Hebrew Israelites, Rastafari movement, Mandaeans and Sabians, and Shabakism

Christendom derived from three different theologies and traditions; Jewish, Pauline and Gnostic all appeared in the 1st century AD. Our contemporary world now has thirteen Christian ideologies all of which are fragmented into various denominations.

There is Catholicism comprising of three main denominations plus nineteen Independent theologies self-identifying as Catholic.

Catholicism consists of the Catholic Church itself, as well as a number of independent churches and movements that self-identify as Catholic. They all claim continuity (based upon Apostolic Succession) with the early Church.

And then there is the Eastern Orthodoxy; comprising of thirty denominations, nine of which is not universally recognised. There are nine other denominations that consider themselves Eastern Orthodox but are not in communion with the main body of Eastern Orthodoxy.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is organized as a communion of autocephalous (self-headed) jurisdictions, some of which also contain within them several autonomous (self-ruling) units. They are in full communion with each other and claim continuity (based upon Apostolic Succession) with the early Church.

In addition, there exist a number of churches or jurisdictions which consider themselves Eastern Orthodox but are not in communion with the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Eastern Orthodox Church considers itself to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that Christ founded. As such, the Eastern Orthodox Church does not consider it self a denomination, but rather considers itself pre-denominational, the original Church of Christ.

The Oriental Orthodoxy has twenty denominations, two of which are not in communion with any of the ancient Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Oriental Orthodoxy comprises those Christians who did not accept the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451). Other denominations often erroneously label these Churches Monophysite; however, as the Oriental Orthodox does not adhere to the teachings of Eutyches, they themselves reject this label, preferring the term Miaphysite.

Historically, many of the Oriental Orthodox Churches consider themselves collectively to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that Christ founded. Some have considered the Oriental Orthodox communion to be a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, a view which is gaining increasing acceptance in the wake of the ecumenical dialogues.

The Antiochian Catholic Church in America and the Celtic Orthodox Church affirm a Miaphysite christological position but are not in communion with any of the ancient Oriental Orthodox Churches for various reasons.

In the 20th century, the Church of the East was divided into two groups, the Assyrian and the Ancient, which have recently been working towards reunification, which is probably a step in the right direction.

The Church of the East is said to have been formed by St Thomas. It has also been known as the Persian or Sassanid Church. The Church did not attend the Council of Ephesus (AD 431). Recent Christological agreements with the Roman Catholic Church and some of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches have substantially resolved this semantic debate permanently, clearing the way for ecumenical relations.

The Church of the East considers itself to be a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that Christ founded.

Protestantism repudiated the papal authority, and separated from the Roman communion in the Reformation of the 16th century; this is when it gets a little more complicated, that’s if it is not complicated enough already. The Proto-Protestant Groups consisting of nine separate branches; Lutheranism, consisting of some eighty variants; Anglicanism, consisting of forty three branches within the communion, and many other denominations that are either in communion with or not in full communion with the Anglian Communion, such as Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostalism and Presbyterianism.

Anglicanism has referred to itself as the via media between Catholicism and Protestantism. It considers itself to be both Catholic and Reformed. Although the use of the term “Protestant” to refer to Anglicans was once common, it is controversial today, with some rejecting the label and others accepting it.

Other Anglican Churches: As secessionist churches, these churches are not in full communion with the Anglican Communion. A select few of these churches are, however, by certain individual provinces of the Anglican Communion.

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is considered historically to be a Protestant Christian denomination. It has gone through a small number of doctrinal schisms in its history as a Christian church. Today, the Society exists as several distinct and separate Quaker branches, and it also has an emphasis on Christian belief which ranges from evangelical to liberal.

Nontrinitarian groups such as the Mormons disconnected themselves from the main stream then disconnected themselves from themselves as to fit comfortably with their various chosen lifestyles.

Most Latter Day Saint denominations are derived from the Church of Christ established by Joseph Smith in 1830. The largest worldwide denomination, and the one publicly recognized as Mormonism, is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some sects, known as the “Prairie Saints”, broke away because they did not recognize Brigham Young as the head of the church, and did not follow him West in the mid-1800s. Other sects broke away over the abandonment of practicing plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto. Other denominations are defined by either a belief in Joseph Smith as a prophet or acceptance of the Book of Mormon as scripture.

Freemasonry

The Great Architect of the Universe (also Grand Architect of the Universe or Supreme Architect of the Universe) is a conception of God discussed by many Christian theologians and apologists. As a designation it is used within Freemasonry to neutrally represent deity (in whatever form, and by whatever name each member may individually believe in). It is also a Rosicrucian conception of God, as expressed by Max Heindel. The concept of the demiurge as a grand architect or a great architect also occurs in Gnosticism and other religious and philosophical systems.

Christianity

The concept of God as the (Great) Architect of the Universe has been employed many times in Christianity. An illustration of God as the architect of the universe can be found in a Bible from the Middle Ages and the comparison of God to an architect has been used by Christian apologists and teachers.

Saint Thomas Aquinas said in the Summa: “God, Who is the first principle of all things, may be compared to things created as the architect is to things designed (ut artifex ad artificiata). Commentators have pointed out that the assertion that the Grand Architect of the Universe is the Christian God “is not evident on the basis of ‘natural theology’ alone but requires an additional ‘leap of faith’ based on the revelation of the Bible”.

John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536), repeatedly calls the Christian God “the Architect of the Universe”, also referring to his works as “Architecture of the Universe”, and in his commentary on Psalm 19 refers to the Christian God as the “Great Architect” or “Architect of the Universe”.

Freemasonry

Masonic historians such as William Bissey, Gary Leazer (quoting Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia), and S. Brent Morris, assert that “the Masonic abbreviation G.A.O.T.U., meaning the Great Architect of the Universe, continues a long tradition of using an allegorical name for the Deity.” They trace how the name and the abbreviation entered Masonic tradition from the Book of Constitutions written in 1723 by the Reverend James Anderson. They also note that Anderson, a Calvinist minister, probably took the term from Calvin’s usage.

Hermeticism

The Great Architect may also be a metaphor alluding to the godhead potentiality of every individual. “(God)… That invisible power which all know does exist, but understood by many different names, such as God, Spirit, Supreme Being, Intelligence, Mind, Energy, Nature and so forth.”  In the Hermetic Tradition, each and every person has the potential to become God, this idea or concept of God is perceived as internal rather than external. The Great Architect is also an allusion to the observer created universe. We create our own reality; hence we are the architect. Another way would be to say that the mind is the builder.

Rosicrucianism

In Heindel’s exposition, the Great Architect of the Universe is the Supreme Being, who proceeds from The Absolute, at the dawn of manifestation. For a detailed discussion, see The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception.

Gnosticism

The concept of the Great Architect of the Universe occurs in Gnosticism. The Demiurge is The Great Architect of the Universe, the God of Old Testament, in opposition to Christ and Sophia, messengers of Gnosis of the True God. For example: Gnostics such as the Nasoræans believe the Pira Rabba is the source, origin, and container of all things, which is filled by the Mânâ Rabbâ, the Great Spirit, from which emanates the First Life. The First Life prays for companionship and progeny, whereupon the Second Life, the Ultra Mkayyema or World-constituting Æon, the Architect of the Universe, comes into being. From this architect come a number of æons, who erect the universe under the foremanship of the Mandâ d’Hayye or gnôsis zoês, the Personified Knowledge of Life

Others

James Hopwood Jeans, in his book The Mysterious Universe, also employs the concept of a Great Architect of the Universe, saying at one point “Lapsing back again into the crudely anthropomorphic language we have already used, we may say that we have already considered with disfavour the possibility of the universe having been planned by a biologist or an engineer; from the intrinsic evidence of his creation, the Great Architect of the Universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician.” To that Jinarajadasa adds his observation that the Great Architect is “also a Grand Geometrician. For in some manner or other, whether obvious or hidden, there seems to be a geometric basis to every object in the universe.”

The concept of the Demiurge as a benevolent great architect or grand architect of matter occurs in the writings of Plato, including in the Timaeus.

The concept of a Great Architect of the Universe also occurs in Martinism. Martinist doctrine is that the Great Architect must not be worshipped. Martinists hold that whilst it is possible to “invoque” Him, it is not to adore Him.

I believe that spiritual enlightenment (that from which my religious thoughts derive) is intuitively inspired; made possible by having a simple uncluttered mind. An uncluttered mind is an open door; an invitation for George and his to communicate, enlighten and play. I know what I am saying here is beyond any rational or scientific proof, but I know it to be true, and I also know that there are those of you elsewhere who would have experienced the same.

This odyssey is the same for all of us; no one knows what awaits us beyond death. Atheists say nothing, but I consider this to be short-sighted and unromantic; much better to be the visionary. I know life’s journey has purpose.

I have no reason to doubt that Jesus Christ lived in the middle east around two thousand years ago, and I have no doubt that his radical philosophy ruffled more than a few feathers.

I understand that I was Christened; officially Church of England, not that I remember anything about it. The story goes that I didn’t cry. This gave me nightmares at a very early age after my mother used this snippet of my infancy as a weapon when at the age of five I said no once too often, citing that I still had the devil in me; on being anointed with holy water, the babies cry is supposed to chase the devil away; a myth, but to one so young, a really scary reality.

Another scary reality was being taken into care just after my sixth birthday; from then on, my childhood was based around the Anglican Church; the early years of Sunday-School and latterly Sunday worship and Communion.

Throughout my childhood institutionalisation during the 1960’s, I was never abused, in fact, my care was exemplary; so how fortunate was I not to have been borne into Irish Catholicism.

History has witnessed some dreadful religious atrocities over the years. I have already mentioned the holy wars; the Renaissance saw the rise of Machiavellian politics, the Wars of Religion, the corrupt Borgia Popes, and the intensified witch-hunts of the 16th century.

Contemporary Irish Catholicism has been shamed by evidence of sexual and other forms of abuse by Priests and Nuns. The Roman Catholic Church initially denied any wrong-doing, but now the Pope has made statements to the contrary, and although there is no evidence of paedophilia against Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, his resignation because of sexual misconduct epitomises how corrupted the hallowed halls of the Vatican had become.

Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien (born 17 March 1938) is a Scottish Roman Catholic cardinal. He served as the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh from 1985 to 2013. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003.

O’Brien was the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland and had been the head of its Conference of Bishops. His resignation as archbishop was announced in February 2013 after allegations initially in The Observer newspaper that O’Brien had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with junior priests. It was also announced that he would not attend the conclave to elect Benedict XVI‘s successor as Pope. On 3 March 2013 O’Brien admitted that his sexual conduct had at times “fallen beneath the standards expected of [him]”. Following his resignation as Archbishop, the Vatican referred to O’Brien as “His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of St Andrews and Edinburgh”, in line with the standard practice of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The Vatican announced on 15 May 2013 that he had agreed to leave Scotland for several months of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance.

The Catholic sex abuse cases are a series of allegations, investigations, trials and convictions of child sexual abuse crimes committed by Catholic priests, nuns and members of Roman Catholic orders against boys and girls as young as three years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. The accusations first started to receive wide publicity in the late 1980s; many span several decades and were brought forward years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who did not report sex abuse allegations to the legal authorities. It was shown that they deliberately moved sexually abusive priests to other parishes, where the abuse sometimes continued. This led to a number of fraud cases where the Church was accused of misleading victims by deliberately relocating priests accused of abuse instead of removing them from their positions.

Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien could have been elected pope; and like the pope, he is just a company executive weighed down by dogma and hypocrisy; it beggars belief and I know it has nothing to do with God.

Jesus Christ was not a Christian

It seems to me that since the beginning Christianity, the church has missed the point somewhat. Jesus was a simple man; he had no material wealth; he mixed with people that his society had forsaken. He spoke from an insight that inspired those around him and threatened the establishment.

I do not believe he would have been impressed with temples, cathedrals and churches built in his honour; If Jesus was to return, and God knows why he would want to, I have no doubt that he would distribute the gold and silver within these buildings to the poor and needy of the world; a contemporary Robin Hood.

I would expect he would get arrested and found guilty of desecration; and depending where in the world he was located, at best be locked up or at worst end up dead. No change there then!

One of the other problems I have with these religions is that they use their various doctrines like weapons over its followers. I have no doubt that we are all sinners; but for those, who have been elevated into positions of power, to patronise the proletariat is nonsense; we are all sinners, and as I pointed out earlier power corrupts.

What’s wrong with Islam?

Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God, and by the teachings and normative example of Muhammad (c. 570–8 June 632 CE), considered by them to be the last prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.

Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable and that the purpose of existence is to worship God. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.

Sufism is a concept in Islam, defined by scholars as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam, whereas The Shia, or the Shiites, represents the second largest denomination of Islam.

Islamic leaders describe the rest of the world as infidels. Christian leaders describe the rest of the world as infidels. Judaism describes the rest of us as Gentiles. In truth, I know it has very little to do with George.

As a humanitarian, I have to question the barbarity of some Islamic beliefs. To convince an individual to strap explosives to his body and blow himself up in the name of Allah is evil to the extreme; it has nothing to do with George, but has everything to do with the religious rhetoric spouted by madmen. This has led to terrible actions such as 9/11 and the ongoing violence in the Middle East. Who are the infidels; who are these non-believers in the sanctity of life; surely they do not represent the foundations of Islam, it beggars belief; this is the work of Lucifer rather than George, and is another example of why I have lost my belief in religion

Judaism

Judaism is the religion, philosophy, and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship that God established with the Children of Israel.

Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a former Egyptian prince later turned prophet, religious leader and lawgiver, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. He is also an important prophet in Christianity and Islam, as well as a number of other faiths. It was Moses, not God, who declared Palestine to the promised-land to the Israelites; like Jesus, Moses was a prophet, yet mythical story telling embellishes his ethos.

Moses led the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, after which they based themselves at Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments.

Judaism is a monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud.

Abrahamic religions, which include Bábism, Bahá’í Faith and Christianity; and other groups related to Christianity such as Gnosticism and Islam; and those religions related to Islam(Sufi and Shia Sects). To complicate it further, there are others that include Druze, Judaism and related religions, Black Hebrew Israelites, Rastafari movement, Mandaeans and Sabians, and Shabakism

The devil exists in us all in the guise of self-interest.

The Israeli and Palestinian conflict rumbles on, and this conflict is always threatening to become something a lot bigger; when I consider how closely Islam, Judaism and Christianity are related, I am continually returning to the same question; why are we in such conflict all the time? Interesting the answer can be found in most families; sibling rivalry; the devil is in us all in the guise of self-interest. You see, I believe that heaven and hell is here on Earth and the devil is the ego by any other name, neurotic and self-controlling; a tale of the seven deadly sins really.

Give me a slice more corpulence. Give me a lot more pecuniary gain. Let me lay back and watch the industrious workhorse slave away. I grudgingly contemplate my neighbours’ good fortune to be married to such a fine maid. I am invidious and full of indignation, yet proud of my aspirations and desires to having a lascivious passion for my brother’s concubine.

What is good for one soul is not necessarily good for another. The ego is insular and self-driven; driving some to distraction, neurosis and mental ill-health… The ego is evil and it does the devil’s work within us all. The answer is to be aware of it, and to contemplate the needs of others rather than one self. I reiterate… The devil exists in us all in the guise of self-interest.

If you would imagine me walking into Tesco on a Sunday and disrupting commerce whilst spouting words of spiritual enlightenment whilst creating havoc, they would have me thrown out of the supermarket and possibly arrested for disturbing the peace; or if I disrupted a church service declaring their faith unholy, dogmatic and full of hypocrisy, the outcome may be similar; probably have me sectioned.

In Jesus’s time, to declare that he was the Way, the Truth and the Life; “no one comes to the Father but through me”, would have been deemed heresy, and ultimately led to his crucifixion.

The Romans would have taken one look at this son of a carpenter, and ridiculed him; seeing him as no more than a distraction. They did not believe in the one God and wouldn’t have cared less what became of Jesus.

The law being what it was; it was his own people who declared Jesus a heretic condemned him to his fate; as for their Roman rulers, what was one more crucified Jew.

Herod Antipas (20 BC–c. AD 40), tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, called “Herod the Tetrarch” or “Herod” in the New Testament up to Acts 4:27, and described therein as ordering John the Baptist’s death and as mocking Jesus.

The mind has two distinct avenues. The practical mind; that enables us to function and the neurotic mind, commonly known as the ego; by nature we all have an ego.

Awareness of your ego allows you to shelve it, clearing your mind of egotistical thought and allowing this second avenue of the mind to become intuitive.

Rather than filling the mind with self- pity, for example, it clears a pathway for the spirit to flow through you. I know I wouldn’t have had anything to say about my own spirituality without this divine intervention.

This is not unique; we are all capable of laying ourselves open, but some people choose not to; therefore there are many lost souls out there, but they are not for saving; only they can save themselves.

Jesus Christ, his family and the rest of the human race in his time were no different; two thousand years on, the message remains the same, the truth is as absolute today as it was then; for what is, is holy! ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’. We are all divine and share that equality with George; and that equality is love; there is nothing else.

What is true (what is) is holy; religious leaders have taken the words of prophets and embellished what are simple messages into a political arena of scaremongers to control the masses; that is to be God fearing. I welcome George openly and on equal terms. My love for him holds no bounds, and I know that George returns that love; unconditionally. It is as simple as that. I do not have to fear George!

It is impossible to justify the complications of religious dogma and hypocrisy, (what is an ingrained desire to stay clear of simple truth); it’s political and I have no doubt that it will keep those involved in employment for a long time, but in my opinion, they are lost souls.

No amount of preaching or political manipulation can alter what is true, what is holy; religion generally has the opposite affect causing and/or maintaining division and ultimately leading societies to the theatre of war.

Jesus Christ’s life story has been reconstructed into a myth [explain].

In my humble opinion, the Jesus Christ’s biography has been adulterated with mythology by the authors; disenchanted agnostics, leading a desperate community of people seeking salvation from the Roman empire who believed that Jesus’s words of enlightenment would not be enough to sow the seeds of revolt, let alone a new religious movement; embellishing what has become the multi- faceted Christian church of today.

All we need to know is how to find God within ourselves, and then share in the glory of it.

Before I began, I said that my thoughts are my own. I do not see myself as lay preacher although this article may sound a little evangelical. My only ambition is to share in intuitive dialogue with some like-minded people, and remind ourselves that we have freewill to make our own minds to what is right or wrong. At this moment in time I do not want my God to be linked to religion, and secondly it seems more intimate to be on first name terms.

Robert Harris is one of Rockingham’s newer residents. He relocated from Steeton, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Send him an email.

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  • Jason Ray Gainey

    Great read! I agree about the abuse of power by the institutional church throughout history. I have been writing about this for some time. I disagree, however, about the Person of Jesus Christ. He has a church, purchased by His blood, and the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it. I would like to meet you sometime when I’m back home in R’town! 🙂 Blessings and thanks for your time to discuss, in detail, the history of humanities.

  • Robert Harris

    To. Jason Ray Gainey,

    Thank you for replying. Sending evangelists and missionaries to the western states of the USA to rescue the decline in Christianity there is a knee-jerk reaction and a belief that the problem does not lie at home. This is not Africa; this is not the dark ages; in fact, individuals are more enlightened now (in touch with God that is) than, in my opinion, any other time in history, no thanks to the destructive forces of religion. I was brought up as a Anglican. I believe in God, and I believe in the scriptures of Jesus Christ, but I question how the establishment has manipulated the work of Jesus over the last two thousand years.

    With regard
    Robert

  • Jason Wheeler

    PRAISE GEORGE! I couldn’t have explained it more beautifully and clearly myself sir! Religion is an archaic and outdated coping mechanism. A vestigial sociological organ of the human species. I was born and raised in the Southern Baptist sect ( Faith Free Will) of the Christian religion right there in Richmond County. But as I grew older I began to see with ever increasing levels of clarity, just how absurd and contradictory many of the Christian teachings and belief’s were. And later that of all other organized religions. Many of the central moral teachings are good, but the magical thinking and the self serving twisting of the literature ARE NOT! They tend to use it to discriminate against various groups and individuals who are different from themselves ( or who they portray themselves to be). This is obvious, and this is most shameful. If any rational person will truly and honesty let themselves take an honest and objective view of it all( Even for a moment) ;they can’t help but draw similar conclusions. I had a World Religions course at the community college in Hamlet approximately 15 years ago. The first day there were upwards of 25 students enrolled and attending. The first couple of class meetings consisted of some open discussion concerning many of the various basic origins and belief systems of the worlds (past and present) major religions.On the third day or so of class, one young man raised his hand to ask a question. His face showing that a clear and obvious struggle was taking place within him. Instructor then promptly calls on him. And almost painfully the young man asks, ” With all of these different religions and beliefs, Whose to say which one is true?!” Instructor replies, ” That’s just one of the many fundamental questions you’ll have to face and struggle with in a course like this.” If memory serves me correct, the next time the class met there were only 6 of us remaining! I, just as you sir, believe there is deeper meaning and truth inherent in the universe. And I believe Jesus Christ did exist. He had a mother- he had a father. He was a man. He was a profound and beautiful philosopher! And he likely did teach a message of pure love and truth, that has been twisted to suit the needs of different cultures and individuals over time. Just as I’m sure Mohammed, Abraham, Zoroaster, Siddhartha Gautama, ect. all likely were : Christ ( and the rest of them) were likely what we in todays world would label as a “cult leader”. And all major religions are likely just a very highly evolved and advanced form of what began as a “cult”. A cult that was successful for whatever reason? Examples of cults: Manson Family, Heavens Gate. And we can see a couple of fine examples of cults that have managed to jump to a higher order, thus falling somewhere between a cult and religion, right here in the US( Scientology, Mormonism, Republican party( haha)) Anyhow, before I deviate too far from my central point; you sir, are in a region of the US where free thought and enlightenment are frowned upon, and drilled into children’s minds as works of the devil. I know personally just how powerful and enduring that delusion can be. Bright side is, you’re not completely alone here! And there are many like minded individuals from RC who have shaken off that heavy cloak. Never mind the mean spirited and nasty comments many of them probably have and will make( as I’m yet to read them. Kind of dreading it a little! lol)……they do have to forgive you, RIGHT? And the majority truly are very kind and wonderful folks. Thanks for the insightful read kind sir. Welcome to our part of the blue marble. And most of all…..PRAISE GEORGE!!!!

    • Brantley Lyerly

      Awesome Jason, this was a good article to read!! Your comment was great too!

  • Mark

    Thank you so much, sir. I may not agree with every little thing you have to say, although I certainly respect it and even find much wisdom in it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and wish you the best in your spiritual journey.

  • Marcus Unchained

    This is where your post loses credibility “As a humanitarian, I have to question the barbarity of some Islamic beliefs. To convince an individual to strap explosives to his body and blow himself up in the name of Allah is evil to the extreme; it has nothing to do with George, but has everything to do with the religious rhetoric spouted by madmen. ” This section is not a true Islamic belief. The “george” thing… you are on your own!

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