Jesus on the nature of true religion

When Jesus criticized the religious leaders of his day, it wasn't the specific form of their religion that he criticized, but the general way they practiced it.

What is contained within this general practice?

-outward shows of religiousness are important

-"take my word for it" type instruction

-approval of the club equals God's approval

-using tradition to evade simple obedience to God's will.

-using education to twist the scriptures

-preventing others from seeking the truth for themselves

-trusting in the written words of the scriptures over the spirit of them.

-might is right

Jesus doesn't come with a new specific form of religion, but a new general practice, what is this practice? Basically, the opposite of the one he found in place:

-outward shows of religiousness are deceptive

-"try it out for yourself and see" type instruction

-"following God will bring exclusion from the club."

- understanding God's will in order to expose false traditions

-using the overarching theme of the scriptures to challenge the educated

-encouraging others to seek the truth for themselves

- trusting in the spirit of the scriptures, not the "letter"

-might is wrong

Jesus practiced the religion he advocated. That is how he knew it was effective. Christianity implies that Jesus did not practice religion because Jesus was "above" such things.

Jesus stated in no uncertain terms, that he was no better person than anyone else.

Christianity states in no uncertain terms, that Jesus was a better person than anyone else.

Jesus stated that people must know God in order to know him.

Christianity states people must know Jesus in order to know God.

Jesus states that God overlooks people's sins/shortcomings

Christianity states that people's sins/shortcomings must be paid for.

Jesus says you must be independently guided by the spirit of God into truth.

Christianity says you must be guided corporately by their traditions into truth.

Jesus says the the spirit of God is the ultimate guide.

Christianity says the Bible is the ultimate guide.

Jesus says God's blessing falls on the the faithful and unfaithful alike.

Christianity says that God blesses the faithful and punishes the unfaithful.

Christianity is not a faithful representative of Jesus' message to the world, but a worldly corruption of Jesus' teachings that seeks to pander to the lower drives of mankind: tribalism(us against them), judgement, submission to authorities, trust in worldly education, might is right, etc.

Consider this nativity scene set up in Saint Peter's Square:

What is wrong with this picture? In the foreground a nativity scene depicting the humble birth of Jesus, against the backdrop of immense luxury which is the headquarters (Vatican) of the faith founded upon his name. The Catholic church is an easy target for exposing this contrast, but the rest of Christianity would do well to humble itself before the example of the Catholic Church, because the whole church is travelling on the same path that has led the Catholic Church here. What is this path? The one that contradicts the teaching of Jesus, and claims to do so in his honour. Protestants are no less guilty of this than the Catholics are. Christianity as a whole has become just another one of these worldly religions divorced from the true spiritual teachings of its founder.

Jesus was not the founder of a belief system that we ought to "take his word for", he came with a method and said, "try it out for yourself and see".

Jesus came witnessing to the truth, and he came justifying truth seekers.

Jesus came and taught people how to tune the personal radio of their hearts to God's station, to hear God's voice within themselves. It is human nature to be sheepish, to seek to "follow the leader": some other human to show them the right way. This is what Christianity has done to the message of Jesus, which was essentially "you can know God for yourself, you don't need anyone else to teach you about God". Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Jesus didn't come to hand out fish continually, but to teach people how to fish so that they could feed themselves. Christianity has turned the religion OF Jesus into a religion ABOUT Jesus. To follow Jesus is to tune the radio of your own heart into the station that Jesus was tuned in to. Here is a funny yet true movie clip that displays the point perfectly:

Jesus asks us to take a look inside ourselves and be honest about what we see. Jesus doesn't expect people to embrace theories about God at second hand from "professionals". Jesus nudges us out of the nest, encourages us to test our wings and recognize that we ourselves in fact, are RESPONSE-ABLE towards God, no need for an intermediary; whether man, book, tradition, or ritual. God is ever available and needs no intermediary to interact with us.