Jesus is not just for Christians but for everybody......

Anon - in this day Jesus does not come alone, He is paired with “Christianity” and Jewish mysticism. The former shackles people into a cycle of destructive guilt, its philosophy has been responsible for countless black periods in history, war, hatred, and continues promote clear discrimination and intolerance. It would take away God’s greatest gift to us; our reason and curiosity which will bring us closer to understanding God than anything else. There is a bit that says that God will give all people the language to understand Him and theology/tradition is only one small part of that, the other great disciplines offer a vast complimentary aspect to this small topics. If He wanted just one small book to do that He would not have given us the capacity to view the majesty of the universe, look at the symmetry of life (DNA), understand the strangeness at a subatomic level and to wonder at the beauty of the arts. To marvel at these things is to see the presence of God and to be inspired not oppressed. Jewish mysticism is based on an inconsistent passive God, El Shaddai (Abraham) vs a God of war, Yahweh Sabaoth (Moses), the God of Armies - paradoxical indeed considering the peaceful and insightful message of Jesus, to love and tolerate. The God of the Tora (Old Testament ) is presented and a fickle God who is not consistent over time. Like any father your greatest teaching come from how children see you acting out role, therefore it’s no surprise that war continues. Jesus in many ways extricated Himself from the Jewish faith by “sinning” in their eyes via “forgiveness of sin”. I wonder if He would do the same if He saw what was being promoted in His name nowadays? ....when He said “you can only come to the father though me” - “me” is the operative word. He did not mention that you need to believe in mythology or live a life of guilt shackled by tradition. Jesus is not just for Christians but for everybody Peter - Jesus is not just for Christians but for everybody – Amen to that! I agree with you but the fundamental problem with your argument is that you use the word ‘Christian’ when you mean religion and the word ‘Christianity’ when you mean religiosity. What ‘everybody’ needs is to know Jesus in a personal way and enter into a relationship with Him and in doing so, lead others into their own personal relationship with Him. The enemy of Christianity is religion. Anon - A religion is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. Christianity Oxford English definition • noun the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. Please not Paul, Peter ,John or anyone else! I rest my case. Peter - “What ‘everybody’ needs is to know Jesus in a personal way and enter into a relationship with Him and in doing so, lead others into their own personal relationship with Him.” Anon - I agree but there lies the problem it’s a hard path made very rocky and difficult by “Christianity the religion and Jewish mysticism” as we have enmeshed Jesus so deeply in to these two issues that he no longer has pride of place. He has in many ways become marginalised Peter - When you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ everything else becomes ‘marginalised’. The person who truly loves Jesus first, above everything else, is not caught-up in the theology nor the semantics of religion or religious debate. I love Nancy (my wife), as our relationship deepens so too does our ‘understanding’ of each other. In fact, as time goes on, we take on each other attributes – we become like each other. As much as I love Nancy, my children, grandchildren and family, I love Jesus more. The more time I spend in relationship with Him – not the bible, not the church, Him – the more I get to know him and over time the more like Him I become.