I am NOT a "CHRISTIAN"

When I’m around a new group of people, there are three things that I try to avoid talking about…gossip, politics and religion.  As most of you have probably experienced, these types of conversations always end up in some type of pointless debate that may voice opinions but very rarely concludes anything.  The war between Palestine and Israel that has been going on for thousands of years, being democrat or republican, and someone’s pointless opinion about someone else’s “problem” are a few examples of why I prefer not to discuss these topics with people. 

So, I’ve been here at the camp for about three weeks now, and I’ve warmed up to many of them here and there have been many discussions around a wide range of topics that I choose to either tune into and not say a word… or, I might put my two cents in if I’m asked.

 “You’re a Christian right?” one of my colleagues asked feeling quite assured.

I knew immediately that someone either told her something about me or she may have seen the few books I have in my room that include the “Holy Bible” and concluded that I was a Christian.

“Well, I don’t claim any type of religion but I do believe in the story of Jesus and the message he brought to the world.”

 I knew I could’ve said a simple yes or no to end the conversation quickly, but there’s never an easy answer for me when it comes to this particular question.  Not because I don’t know where I stand, but because the term “Christian” can be interpreted in many different ways and it comes with way too many assumptions and baggage.  So I choose to say that I’m NOT a Christian or a representative of any other religion. I’m simply a child of the Creator who created me and the entire universe and beyond.

“Oh, someone told me you were a Christian so what exactly do you believe?”

“… Here we go,” I thought to myself.  I’m still trying to figure out how to “word” this complicated topic within myself, but I decided I would answer it the best way I could, from an honest heart.

 “Well, I believe that there is a Creator who creates everything we see and don’t see and the creator is Love.  I believe that this energy of Love is all around us, in the trees, in the people, in the animals, in the air and there’s a balance within this energy that allows everything to happen as it does for a reason that we sometimes know and sometimes don’t know.”

She smiled and nodded her head as if she wanted me to continue.  

“ When it comes to “Jesus” I believe that he was a great man and I believe that, yes he’s  a Son of God whose purpose in life, like many other great people who came before and after him, was to deliver a wonderful message that, if followed, will SAVE you from the terrors of your own perspectives.  Love is the only thing we should all be doing with ourselves and towards one another and all of the Creator’s creation. “

Nodding her head after every statement, I could tell that she understood me and agreed. 

“That’s a great perspective.  I’ve actually never heard it put like that before.” 

“Well, that’s a relief,” I thought to myself.  I’ve never heard me put it like that either.

 I was beginning to feel those knots in my stomach again that always seem to conveniently come every time I talk about my religious beliefs.  It’s almost like I’m sifting through degrees of information piled into my brain since I was born and freely choosing the ones that rest well with my soul.

  “So, you’re saying God created Satan?”

Yes, I’m saying that God created Satan, IF you believe in the existence of Satan.

Personally,  I don’t know anyone who has seen or met this character named Satan,  but everyone has seen and experienced the Creator’s “Love creations” because it exist all around us and continues to evolve, balance itself out, and expand. 

If the Creator (God) is Love, then how can Love create “evil”? The “how” is not what’s necessary to to know or understand in order to accept that IF “evil” does exist, then it TOO is created by the Creator, who is the CREATOR of ALL things.

It’s really nothing to debate about when you accept that everything is created by the energy of creation… Who is the CREATOR.  So, nothing in this world should be considered “bad” or “evil” if God, the Creator created it. 

“Wait a minute that’s false! What about people who kill other people?!  What about rapist? And terrorist? Isn’t that evil?!” I can hear the thoughts of the millions of people reading this…

Well of course it is!  According to Webster’s dictionary, the word evil means 1. morally reprehensible 2. arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct.

Speaking as a person who used to be very Christian, I myself would often label things as evil when I knew in my heart they were not morally right, according to my perspective of course.   For example, Sex. Is sex evil?  Well, that depends on your perspective of choice, your religion, your culture, the way your parents raised you, and a number of factors.   

The “act” of sex and SEX itself are two different things. Why do I say this?  Because the Creator created SEX, and it becomes EVIL once our perspectives, morals and values, religious beliefs are attached to the ACT itself.   The same thing goes for the people, that the creator created, who are rapist, murderers, terrorist, etc.  If they exist, we should accept them as beings of the Creators creations and LOVE THEM!

Just because you don’t agree with someone’s actions, ways, or even understand why their doing “evil” things, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t love them.  In fact, one of my favorite messages of Jesus was that we should LOVE OUR ENEMIES and get them help! (Mathew 5:44)  Hurt people are the only people on the face of the earth that hurt other people. 

 See, the reason why I believe that Jesus life saved me, isn’t because the bible says he died on the cross, it’s not because the Christian community says that if I don’t accept him as the son of God and the ONLY way, then I’m going to go to hell… It’s, in fact, because of his message.

His message was (and still is) LOVE.  As a Jewish man who studied several different religious practices while he lived, Jesus was a man that I believe understood that God, the Creator, was inside of him.  His life’s message was not to bring religion called “Christianity” and it wasn’t a message that said promoted “evil” by saying we should respond to evil with evil.  In fact, he practiced responding to evil with LOVE which is from the CREATOR, WHO IS THE TRUTH OF ALL THINGS.

Jesus himself said, the greatest commandment was to LOVE the CREATOR with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with your entire mind.

Now, let’s stop here for a second.  When we LOVE someone, if they bring us a present for our birthdays that we don’t like, would we throw it back at them and say this is wrong?! No, OF COURSE NOT! So why are we throwing things, ideas, cultures, people that EXIST ALREADY back in the CREATORS face? They exist for a reason! Otherwise, they would NOT exist!

 The creator created EVERYTHING.  Why are we so critical and comfortable with judging His creations?  He created all the religions, all the perspectives, all the opinions, all the positive energy, all the negative energy, all that was, and all that will be. 

 Fascinatingly enough, Jesus says the second greatest commandment is to LOVE your neighbor as yourself. From my understanding, Jesus wasn’t the first to say this.  In fact according to the Torah, which is the old testament of the bible that Christians follow,  the first commandment is to, “HAVE no other God’s before me,”  which to me simply means that there is ONE CREATOR, who is the CREATOR OF ALL THINGS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, so don’t accept the concept that there’s more than ONE.

SO, why are there so many traditions that FORGET that there is ONE CREATOR?  If every person can accept that there is ONE CREATIVE ENERGY THAT CREATED ALL THINGS, then we wouldn’t be critical of the things the CREATOR created, including the people who see the CREATOR in their own ways. 

The CREATOR has creatively created all the creations of the world as it is FOR A REASON.  This is an eternal CREATIVE process that exists on so many levels.  Think about the different worlds of creations right here on this planet that we DON’T know about.  The Creator’s creations are endless and we should honor and love them all!!