Under my skin!

Oh, you religious people out there. You bother me to no end.

Pastor Steven Anderson of Tempe, Arizona seems to think that he is pretty right on with Jesus. He prays for the death of the president. He condemns the homosexuals because their particular sin is so much worse and different than everybody else's sin. Especially his. He has no education from any sort of Bible college or seminary because he feels that the titles given in higher education are a violation of God's Word. Which of course is found in the King James Bible of 1611. And any and all other versions of the Bible including the Greek and Hebrew are false and not inspired.

And yet, he seems to have a following. Amazing to me.

When Jesus was walking around in Palestine some two thousand years ago, he met a lot of people. He loved people where they were, who they were. He accepted sinners, even sat down to supper and a cup of wine with them. In fact, if I recall, he was known as a friend to sinners.

In fact, the only people Jesus ever had a real problem with, the only ones that he disliked and had harsh words for were the religious people that thought they had it all figured out. The religious people that wanted to point fingers and accuse and decide who was good enough for God and who wasn't.

Religion is a poison. Religion convinces you that you are A-OKay. Religion is doing the right things so that God likes you better. Religion says God likes me better than you, and if you think I think and act like I act and beleive these things, then God will like you too.

It is a lie people. Religion is a lie. God is a person, not a doctrine. Jesus was a man, not a theology. Religion brings hatred and destruction. Jesus saves the souls of men.

And I am radical enough to think that if Jesus were walking around in my town today that maybe, just possibly, He might even like me. And maybe He would stop and hang out and talk for a while. Put on a cup of coffee and shoot the breeze. Talk about life, share a laugh, maybe do something about my golf swing. I don't know.

When I read the Bible, I find a Savior that accepts people, with all their flaws and failures, and He shows Grace and Mercy and Love. And while He certainly is not happy with everything we do, and He does not condone all our behavior, He loves us anyway.