Religion – Christianity 

Christianity is a religion that is based on the person of Jesus; it is a religion about him and his life and teachings. It has been the primary religion associated with Jesus for over two thousand years and has experienced numerous adaptations, serving as an umbrella term for a wide array of denominations and varied Christian traditions.

The religion of Jesus is the religion that Jesus himself practiced and taught. It is quite simple and consists of two basic tenets that can be grasped by faith: the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Jesus emphasized the importance of cultivating an individual connection with God. He established a faith centered on the personal experience of aligning with God's will and dedicating oneself to the service of humanity.

The Christian concept of God consists of a hybrid belief of three separate teachings:

1. The Hebrew concept – God as a vindicator of moral values, a righteous God.
2. The Greek concept – God as a unifier, a God of wisdom.
3. Jesus' concept – God as a living friend, a loving Father, the divine presence.

This composite concept of God in Christianity poses difficulty in presenting a consistent view of God. Jesus presented to the world a consistent concept of a heavenly Father who actively loves and lives within all of his children, even those children who err or who are sinful. And this was demonstrated by Jesus himself in his matchless life on earth.

The kingdom of heaven, as presented by Christianity, grew from Jewish and Persian ideas. It is primarily a future estate that will be made manifest when Jesus returns to earth in glory to establish his kingdom.

Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven is at hand – immediately within the grasp of any seeker, as the kingdom is within the heart of the believer. He taught that the kingdom of heaven consists of all of the believers who embrace faith in the fatherhood of God, who dedicate themselves to the doing of God’s will, and who become members of the spiritual brotherhood of mankind.

Paul of Tarsus dedicated himself to promoting the teachings of Jesus among specific groups during his time by writing numerous letters containing instructions and admonitions. However, he could not have foreseen that his writings would be brought together and presented as the true teachings of Jesus. As a result, while Christianity is acknowledged for incorporating a significant portion of the Master's gospel compared to other religions, it also includes beliefs and teachings that were not of Jesus.

There are other reasons that present-day Christianity does not reflect the true teachings of Jesus. For example, an attempt was made to integrate gospel teachings directly into Jewish theology, exemplified by Christian doctrines such as atonement. This doctrine proposes that Jesus, as the sacrificed Son, fulfills the demands of God’s strict justice and pacifies divine wrath. The intention behind these teachings was commendable, trying to appeal to skeptical Jews who sacrificed animals as part of their religious practice. However, despite the failure to win over the Jewish audience, these efforts had the unintended consequences of confusing and alienating many sincere individuals in later generations as to the nature of God. Jesus taught us the concept of a loving heavenly Father and his life embodied this concept.

Importantly, the early Christian teachings were organized around the person of Jesus, not his teachings. Almost instantly, after the resurrection of the Master, the risen Christ himself became the subject of early Christianity and remains so today. His valiant and heroic human life is largely unknown and unappreciated.

One of the ways in which our modern world has been deprived of the benefits of knowing Jesus’ life is in the matter of women in the church. Jesus lifted women out of age-old disrespect and oblivion into the status of religious teachers, equal to men in every way. But the Hebrews were exceedingly distrustful of women; in subsequent ages, women have had a difficult climb under the doctrines of Paul which became attached to Christianity.

In the emotional zeal of Pentecost, Peter inadvertently initiated a new religious perspective – the religion of the risen and glorified Christ. Paul subsequently transformed this emerging gospel into Christianity, a faith reflecting his own theological convictions and including his personal encounter with the Jesus of the Damascus road.

At some point, a reformation within the Christian church may penetrate deeply enough to return to the pure and unaltered religious teachings of Jesus. One may preach a religion about Jesus, but, inevitably, one must live the religion of Jesus.

Nearly every religion advocates the worship of a Deity and imparts a certain doctrine of human salvation. Buddhism, for instance, pledges deliverance from suffering and assures perpetual peace. In Judaism, salvation is promised as liberation from challenges, leading to prosperity based on righteousness. Christianity, on the other hand, assures salvation from sin and the attainment of sanctity. However, only the personal religion of Jesus offers salvation from self – the emancipation from the pitfalls of individual isolation in both time and eternity.

Modern-day Christianity requires a renewed connection with the unadulterated teachings of Jesus; it suffers from a lack of fresh insight into the Master's earthly life. A forthcoming and more comprehensive discovery of the religion of Jesus will enable believers to triumph over materialism and secular totalitarianism.

In our present day, the earth is teetering on the edge of one of its most remarkable and captivating periods of social realignment, moral revitalization, and spiritual illumination. The times are ripe for a rediscovery of the true and original foundations of present-day distorted and compromised Christianity – the real life and teachings of Jesus.