#Christianity is marked by #scandals, #abuse, and #bigotry. So why do I remain a follower of Jesus’s teachings? I’ve studied other religions and traditions. I consider myself to be interspiritual. Yet, the teachings of #Jesus are foundational for me.
The following is a text version of this blog posting.
Why am I a follower of Jesus?
Several weeks ago, I released a video on my YouTube channel, Spirituality Beyond Borders, explaining that I no longer call myself a Christian. Because the term “Christian” has been co-opted by conservative right-wing Evangelicals who, in many instances are white supremacists, misogynistic, homophobic, fascists, and deniers of science, I want to make sure I’m not associated with them. As someone comfortable with drawing on spiritual practices from the world’s great wisdom traditions, why do I remain a follower of Jesus?
Yes, I was born into a family and culture that practiced Christianity. Perhaps if I were born in another part of the world or another culture, the teachings of Jesus wouldn’t seem important to me. But they are. Part of what makes us the people we are is the culture we grew up in and inhabit. Our cultures are part of our identity. Perhaps it’s because of my cultural upbringing that the teachings of Jesus are part of who I am. Giving them up for something else just isn’t a workable option for me.
In saying that, I am aware that little is known about the historical Jesus of Nazareth. Outside of the Bible, there is no record in Roman documents of Jesus or his death. But that’s not surprising. Jesus wasn’t a Roman citizen and lived in the far reaches of the empire. The literacy rate was no more than 1% in ancient Palestine. Yes, the historian Josephus makes mention of Jesus, but the work of Josephus isn’t viewed as a consistently dependable source. What we know about Jesus is confined to early Christian writings. I want to be clear about that because a frequent criticism of followers of Jesus today is that no one can be sure he existed. I understand the point. But whether or not Jesus existed, for nearly two millennia a body of teaching has been passed down from one generation to the next. I find those teachings to be very meaningful.
The first thing that’s important to me about the teachings of Jesus is the focus on the experience of God, the realm of God, as something that is both within us and around us. Contrary to common perception, Jesus wasn’t focused on an afterlife. There’s no reason he should have been. Jesus was a first-century Jew. Jews in the first century didn’t believe in heaven or hell. Today, many Jews don’t believe in an afterlife. At the time of Jesus, some people believed that the souls of the just continued to live in a murky underworld. This wasn’t paradise or heaven as we understand it. Consistently, Jesus directed his followers to pay attention to signs of God’s realm, God’s kingdom, if you will, within them as well as here and now, in this life on Earth. To the degree that this realm was to come, it was coming because we were making it evident on Earth.
The second thing that’s important to me about the teachings of Jesus is that Jesus focused on living in a way that demonstrated care and respect for others. In the teachings of Jesus, what we do matters. Yes, love one another, love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you. If someone asks for your coat, give that person your shirt as well. When you throw a party, invite everyone, not just your friends or people who have the money for a new outfit. Above all, be generous.
The third thing that I truly value about the teachings of Jesus is the way he described God. God is unconditional love who is excited about us and our lives. Perhaps that’s most obvious in the story of the Loving Father, more usually called the story of the Prodigal Son. The story is about a father who had two sons, sons who were very different from each other. One son was conservative and judgmental. The other son was irresponsible and a party guy. The father loved them both. Jesus also described God as the woman who loses a coin and tears her house apart to find it, saying that’s how God is with us – always seeking us out. He also compared God to a mother hen who gathers her chicks under her wing. The God of Jesus is loving, caring, compassionate, generous, and accepting of us and wants us to be that way with each other.
The only other tradition that I’ve studied that presents God as passionate and loving and calls us to be the same way with others is Sufism. I greatly appreciate the writings of the Sufi masters I’ve studied. But in the end, the teachings of Jesus not only make sense to me but they push me to be a better person. I’m not trying to get to heaven. I’m definitely not afraid of hell because I don’t believe in hell. But I do want to find and experience moments of heaven day to day. I trust that there is a deity whose essence is love and compassion. I want to learn to be as loving and compassionate as I can be. I’m not saying I do this all very well. But the teachings of Jesus inspire me and cause me to do better.