Here Comes The Judge

Anyone reading my writings over the past several years might have noted that I sometimes call-out inappropriate behavior of Christians. Some may think I am being judgmental or critical, however, that is not my intention. In order to explain my interest in Christianity, I will give a brief summary of my spiritual journey. Christianity is my background and over half of my journey has been as a Christian. I was raised up from childhood in a strict Southern Baptist environment. I spent the majority of my adult years following the Christian faith and continue to follow many of those principles. Presently, I do not identify with any particular organized religion and consider myself spiritual. In 2010, I walked away from the traditional church. In 2013, I walked away from Christianity, at least, the manufactured aspect of it. I am not alone; An increasing number of individuals are doing the very same thing for similar reasons. Ironically, since I have left organized religion, I feel more connected to Jesus Christ and act more like him than most of the so-called believers I encounter. I have found truth in practically all the major belief systems. I also discovered information about human existence that religion is not providing.

A major factor that caused me to leave the Christian church was observing numerous contradictions and discrepancies within the Bible and within the church itself. I will not get into specific details of situations I experienced, but it was enough for me to know that something just was not right! Consequently, I began to research and educate myself on various topics, such as the history of Christianity, the Holy Bible, and other religions, particularly eastern philosophies...I was desperately searching for answers. It opened up a whole new world that I did not know about as I discovered the following:

The correlations between themes in the Christian faith and those in older theologies from around the world

The connection of sun worship to Christianity

  

The connection of astrology to events in the Bible

The ancient Sumerian writings

Anunnaki

The Council of Nicaea

How the Bible has been altered and recreated over the centuries

And a whole lot more!

My eyes 👀 finally opened and I woke up!

God will always turn lemons into lemonade. If it had not been for the inappropriate behavior of church people, particularly the clergy/leaders, I would have never been propelled to investigate any further. I still would have the same doubts and questions, but likely continued brushing them under the rug, so to speak. Most Christians I have encountered on my journey are indistinguishable from the rest of the world. If I didn't see them all dressed up walking in/out the church on Sundays, I would never imagine them as churchgoers. Monday through Saturday, most of them act just like everyone else and blend seamlessly with the crowd...the very crowd that they condemn and claim is on their way to hell! Make it make sense! 

Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Within the church there are all kinds of negative drama and perverted behaviors causing believers to look elsewhere for spiritual fulfillment. The church is one of the top places most narcissists can be found! The major belief systems teach that the human being is fundamentally a spirit that has a soul (mind), and a physical body. It is my understanding that when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Messiah aka Savior, there is a renewal of the spirit and a rebirth of the soul. In other words, there is a change. The person is now considered a Christian or as being saved. In spite of being saved, the person is still linked to their former nature due to having a physical body (flesh) which is called carnal. Therefore, the saved person still has the capacity to think and act in the same manner prior to the change. Nevertheless, the behavior and choices many saved people are making do not reflect any kind of change. In some cases, the carnality worsens after they join the church. For instance, I know of people who once they became Christians, joined the church and were promoted to high positions within that organization. At that point, their demeanor went downhill and they became arrogant, haughty, and prideful. They snubbed and looked down on other Christians. Prior to their advancement, they were notably more humble and Christ-like. There are a multitude of Bible verses that condemn arrogance, haughtiness, and pride. It is very clear that the God of the Christian Bible hates pride immensely. The same thing applies to greed, materialism, and lust, yet the traditional church is infested with those carnalities. 

"Hallelujah!!! Your money, uhhh, I mean Jesus saves!!!"

When Christians are confronted with their anti-Christ behaviors they make statements, such as, "I'm a work in progress.~I'm not Jesus Christ.~I'm only human.~No one is perfect.~Whoever has not sinned throw the first stone." The last one is my favorite taken from John 8:7. I agree with them 100%. All of those statements are valid, yet, where does one draw the line? How far does one sink before reaching the point of no return? What determines the point of no return, the number of offenses or the severity? I don't know the answers to those questions. Here is what I do know: In spite of one's inherent human flaws, a follower of Jesus Christ should display some of the same characteristics. In like manner, a follower of Buddha should display some of those same characteristics. He or she should be identifiable with the deities they worship regardless of being human and falling short. However, I have discovered the complete opposite behavior among certain Christians. An alarmingly high number of them not only don't exhibit any likeness to their Messiah, they often come across as the complete opposite. I'm not talking about having a bad day, being in a bad mood, or occasional misconduct. I'm referring to the general disposition and overall character: arrogant, selfish, greedy, deceitful, cliquish, gossipers, materialistic, lustful, perverted, promiscuous, mean-spirited, disloyal, ungrateful, prideful, and the list goes on and on and on...No hate over here, but calling it like I see it. I believe there are individuals in every religious group that do not adhere to their own spiritual guidelines.

My focus is on Christianity because as I previously stated, that is my background. It helped mold me into the person I am today and I am grateful for that. However, I am disturbed by many things I've experienced and observed among so-called believers. It is my goal to provide constructive criticism coming from a place of love. At the same time, keeping it 100. If that makes me judgmental, then, I will proudly put on my judge robe and slam down my gavel on the bench of truth. 

Order in the court!

Regardless of your religion, have you ever turned your back to your place of worship or lost belief? If so, for what reasons? Have you pursued other belief systems or lost interest in all forms of spirituality?