Jesus versus Christianity

Christians sometimes say that if you want to understand Christianity, just read what Jesus said. Is that really going to work? Modern Christianity has deviated from Jesus quite a way, a process that started with Paul. This page lists some ways Christianity if different to what Jesus preached.

A Religion For Everyone?

Jesus said his message only for the Jews:

Matthew 15:24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Christianity, starting with Paul, decided otherwise. Paul wanted to sell this religion to the gentiles. He ignored that Jesus had said he was sent to the Jews only, he told the gentiles that God's commands did not apply to them. He had to to get the converts to his religion.

The OT Laws No Longer Apply (Well, Some Of Them)

Jesus was quite clear that all the laws of the Old Testament still apply:

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The disciples, whose who actually knew Jesus, observed the Jewish laws even after the pentecost. Why? Because they had heard Jesus say he had not come to change the Law. They knew the laws - the commands given by God - were just as important 10 years after Jesus' death as they were a century before.

While Jesus protested the strict adherence to the law of the Pharisees, his protest was about strict following of the letter of the law, not the spirit. When it came to divorce, Jesus sided with School of Shammai that it was only for certain cases, rather than the prevailing School of Hillel.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/jesus.html









Christianity says there is a new covenant, and that lets Christians (as a group) pick and choose the laws they want from the Old Testament.

Jesus is God

Jesus never said he was God. Rather, he was the King of the Jews, the adopted son of God. This was according to the custom established in the OT:

2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.[c] Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Messiah means "anointed one". The Jewish Kings were anointed with oils. All Jewish Kings were messiahs, all were considered the adopted sons of God. Jesus did claim to be the messiah, i.e., the King of the Jews, who was traditionally the adopted son of God, and so we see:

John 5:17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

Mark 14:61 But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and [ab]saying to Him, “Are You [ac]the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

See more:
https://outreachjudaism.org/did-jesus-claim-to-be-god/

Christianity has elevated Jesus to being God himself, a part of the divine trinity. This is theology Christianity invented after Jesus was death, and has nothing to do with what Jesus actually said!

The Afterlife

Christianity promotes the idea that when you die, if you are a good Christian, you will go straight to heaven. Jesus was expecting God's kingdom to come to earth, not that the dead would go to heaven. The Lord's Prayer is asking that:

Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.

Paul's epistles also make clear that Paul too was looking forward to an afterlife on earth, albeit in a new heavenly body.

Standing Up To Bullies

Anyone who stands up to bullies is ignoring what Jesus said.

Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take your [am]shirt, let him have your [an]coat also. 41 Whoever [ao]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

When the Nazis threaten to conquor the whole of Europe, the Christian thing to do was to let them. On the other hand, the moral thing to do, the right thing to do, was to stand up to them. I am thankful Christians ignore this advise from Jesus, but it is still clear that they do ignore it.

Saving Money

Jesus was against saving money.

Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

No need to save money for the future, God will provide, or so Jesus states:

25 “For this reason I say to you, [n]do not be worried about your [o]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the [p]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single [q]hour to his [r]life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [s]seek first [t]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [u]added to you.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [v]care for itself. [w]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Anyone with savings or a pension is ignoring Jesus.

Give Away Your Stuff

Jesus was clear that his followers should give all their belongings to the poor. That was how he lived, and that was how his disciples lived.

1 John 3:17 “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

Matthew 5:42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

Matthew 14:16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.”

Matthew 15:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not [e]take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

More here:

http://oncreationism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/wealth-and-christianity.html

See also here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-zuckerman/why-evangelicals-hate-jes_b_830237.html

Finally:

Matthew 19:24 “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Of course, most modern Christians ignore these verses, and live in big houses with cars, computers, etc. Who wants to live in poverty, right? Sure, God specifically told you to, but...

Judging Others

Jesus said:

Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Ever since a Christian judging some one? Or should I said, do you know a group of people more judgmental than Christians?