Great article Ryan and there’s much truth in it. I think I should note, however, that Jesus rebuked a disciple who referred to him as God. “Do not call me good, for there is One who is good and it is not me” (I probably have a few words not properly placed, as I write that from memory). The gist of it is that Jesus denied he was God and would be appalled at the religion built on his name decades after his death by men who never met him.

Nor did Jesus speak of a Heaven and a Hell. He was a Jew and taught as a Jew and heaven and hell were not a part of the Jewish religion. Those were Greek ideas that self-described “Christians” found useful to gain and keep power, wealth and influence. The ones whom you properly call out as the “Prosperity Gospel”. That term became popular in the 1960s but was simply a minor twist on Calvinism, wherein those who have money are more deserving of it, in God’s eyes, than the poor. The prosperity gospel preaches that if you give your all (money and possessions) to the particular church the preacher leads then God will shower you in wealth.

He said to not search over there or over there whenever a person claims to have found the Kingdom of God because the Kingdom of Heaven (one of the many times he’s alleged to have used the word that meant “heaven”) because what we believe is “Heaven” comes from within and is spread upon the face of the earth.

Full disclosure: I am not a Christian; I follow the teachings of Jesus.

But, Hope abides, for us all. I truly believe every person will find God in his or her own way, pushed onto the right Path by God. Some resist the calling, though, but God will show the Way, the Path. Just as I believe that Jesus meant we should follow his Way, as in the way of life he lived, not to expect him to “save” us and give us a place with God. Good and evil come from the heart and any judgment faced will be based upon what’s in one’s heart, not by his or her actions.

Of course, none of us were alive to hear his words but neither were any of the authors who wrote the “Gospels”. The best I’ve been able to do is read and study the Bible since age 12 and get a Degree in Religious Studies at university. Not in theology because I believe those people often lead others astray.

Great article on the trials and tribulations we all must face on our journey to God, though.

Thanks for sharing.