The Opposite of Christian

by John Winsor

Gods are created in Man's image. The ancient concept was anthropomorphism on a grand scale. Gods were, essentially, our "parents in the sky." The ancients thought that good hunting and harvests meant that the gods were pleased. Conversely, floods, droughts, famines, diseases, storms, fires, and earthquakes were signs that the gods were angry. Everything to them was magic. They had no word for science. They thought that the earth was the center of everything, that it was flat, that the stars were affixed to a canopy above them, that heaven was in the sky, that diseases were evil spirits, that lightening was thrown down by the gods. So, the people who invented gods also invented rituals and moral rules that they believed would please the gods. This utterly ignorant view of nature explains why religion places so much emphasis on morality - but the morality they asserted as the will of the gods simply reflected their personal opinions about right and wrong.

Because gods are created in man's image, they're also modified over time to suit the changing times. Christian dogma from its inception has been at odds with what Jesus taught and it has grown more so over time.

Modern Christian behavior is, in many respects, the opposite of what Jesus intended. My position may strike you as odd and even offensive, but here's what I mean:

• Jesus instructed his followers to pray in private and to avoid overt piety and ostentation. He called the priests of his time "hypocrites." He admonished his disciples: "Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers." He instructed his followers, "when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Today we have preachers who build gigantic, ostentatious churches and people who proudly demonstrate their piety by placing fish symbols and vanity license plates like "I PRAY4U" on their cars.
• Jesus insisted that his followers must give up all of their worldly goods to help the poor and infirm. He said that people should "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's." Even so, modern Christian fundamentalists tend to believe that as little money as possible should be paid in taxes - even when part of that revenue is used to help the poor and infirm.
• Jesus taught that faith could only be measured in the action of good deeds - most especially in helping those less fortunate, but modern Christians measure faith as a simple matter of belief.
• Jesus told his followers not to judge others. He made no exceptions - not for gays, not for people of other races or religions, not even for the Roman occupiers. Modern Christians, however, tend to emphasize their judgment that others are inferior or even evil because of their differences.
• Jesus didn't believe that he was a god or that he or anybody else was bound for heaven. He expected to become the ruler of an earthly kingdom -- the "Kingdom of Heaven," but modern Christians believe that he was a god and that they're bound for heaven simply because they believe that he was a god who died to facilitate the forgiveness of their sins.
• Modern Christian fundamentalists tend to rely on the Old Testament to decide what is moral. Its authors were actually barbaric, chauvinistic, and bigoted. Stoning and mutilation were appropriate forms of punishment; women were property; owning slaves was perfectly acceptable - but "coveting" your neighbor's wives and slaves was not; homosexuality was an "abomination," etc. Jesus, on the other hand, believed in only two commandments: 1) You must love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and 2) You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. He repeatedly admonished his followers not to judge others, but modern Christian fundamentalists insist upon trying to foist their values on everybody else.