[Oberjej]

i think the thing that people seem to miss about the christian doctrine is that it does say that. the message of salvation is very clear.. if you believe in your heart and speak from your mouth 'jesus is lord' then you are saved. i was absolutely assured of that when i was a christian, there was no doubt in my mind that i was saved, that i was washed in the blood of christ and that my salvation was assured. i mean, unless you've lived it, its hard to tell people exactly what it's like to be there.

the bible is also very anti-other view.... they do not encourage seeking outside of the faith at all. everything else is a deception from the devil and will lead you astray. you will suffer the wrath of god, become an immoral sinner and despot. i mean.. to read it it almost follows the idea of a cult, that is to convince people that you are right and every one else is wrong. in essence, the rest of the unsaved world is incapable of understanding the christian, because they are unsaved and without the holy spirit and thus will never understand the will of god.

now unfortunately we may never know exactly what jesus said or didn't say when it comes to the bible. i think it is neither here nor there, again its looking outside yourself for information on how to 'be' when the truth in it all is simply to 'be' and nothing more. enjoy your life, love yourself and through that loving learn to accept and love others. we are perfect as god's seperate parts, perfect and whole with the illusion of seperatness and lacking. when i decided to leave the idea that christianity was the only truth and the only life i went around looking. i was very cautious, i prayed for protection and to help me find the truth. while i feel i am closer to the truth now, i have come to terms with the ambiguity of it all. nothing is concrete and i'm left with more questions than answers.. but i'm ok with that now, it's a place of creativity where i can come to my own conclusions and explore the options without feeling hindered or hampered in any way.

when people talk about jesus as being a good teacher, i think they are talking about some of the more honorable things he mentions in his life. "there is no love greater than a man who gives his life for his brother." and "if you are struck, then turn and offer him the other cheek." and "there is no law greater than this. love the lord thy god with all your heart and soul, and love thy neighbor as yourself." these embrace the concepts of love.. an unconditional love that is willing to sacrifice all for the sake of nothing more than the opportunity to love. thats a hard thing to do.

i sometimes think that in order to become a perfect christian, i had to stop being a christian... irony is sweet some times.