I often think that Jesus Christ was the first great sustainability activist. Now, first, let me say that American Christianity has absolutely no relation to 1st century Christianity. Rather, what we see in the U.S. are people treating religion as a political movement or worshipping the dominant culture.
Now, on to my point. If you study Christ's three-year ministry you'll see he devotes a lot of energy into simply saying "follow me," but he doesn't go into much detail. He kind of turns me off because he teaches elitism and exclusivity. But if you take his "kingdom" to the metaphorical level it makes sense — the "kingdom" are the people who follow his teachings, and in that sense I'm a Christian.
If you look at His teachings, Jesus lays down a good blueprint for a sustainable world. Both by his lifestyle and messages, he sets the example for humility, loving one another, and a simple lifestyle. He criticizes wealth.
Some of my favorite things about Jesus:
- His followers wanted a rebel leader who would kick out the Roman occupiers. Jesus wasn't political and his vision was far greater and beyond a simple military action.
- Jesus respected women. He made Mary Magdalene an important part of his ministry.
- He spoke out against religious, self-righteous hypocrites. He spoke out against the wealthy.
- By his examples and teachings he opposed violence.
Capitalism
It's interesting that our so-called wonderful economic system is based on the primitive human instincts that Jesus spoke out against — selfishness and greed. To me, the whole message of Christianity is to rise above our basic animalistic nature and to behave at a higher altruistic level. It continues to amaze me that any Christian can be a Republican, which is a political party infested with money grubbing moguls who manipulate the laws and the citizens to allow them to acquire more wealth.
More Jesus Teachings
The holy Christians in the U.S. are so busy bashing immigrants, Muslims, and gays that I don't think they read their Bible much. Here are some more of my favorite teachings from Christ. These are summarized by my fellow blogger Steve Kimes of Portland, Oregon:
- He sort of rehashed the 10 Commandments — don't murder, steal, defraud, or commit adultery. And honor your parents.
- Don't serve other gods, like the money god.
- Respect God.
- Pray.
- "Clean the inside of the cup" — I love this one. Our intentions and motivations should be pure.
- "Seek first the kingdom" — Hey, Jesus constantly used parables, which are metaphorical, so I interpret the "kingdom" as metaphorical too. The kingdom is the family of likeminded believers.
- Love your neighbor and the Golden Rule. These are the things completely forgotten in the new Trump America.
- And more: Love your enemies, reconcile with others when you've done wrong, don't judge, love one another, be at peace, wash each other's feet, and sell your possessions and give to the poor.
My idea of a church is where you get with fellow believers and focus on the above. It takes a lot of peer support to elevate yourself beyond basic human instincts. There are Bibles everywhere and you can pick one up and read this stuff for yourself.
As I've said in earlier posts, I don't believe Jesus was supernatural. However, he could have been an alien or influenced by some higher-evolved force in the Universe. For Jesus to make such incredible statements so early in our human history is uncanny. I do not believe in miracles without technical evidence, and I believe there must be a form of technology for every action. Technology simply facilitates physics in some way that brings us a benefit. Thus, I don't believe Jesus brought Lazarus back to life because that would require a technology to restore millions of damaged cells. Once oxygen flow stops, those cells begin to deteriorate immediately. It's over. But, like I say, it's possible that there are evolved species in the Universe that no longer even need a physical body. They are out there, and one could have been inside Jesus.
Some one, somewhere, and for some reason felt it necessary to send Jesus as a messenger to our world. Jesus taught us a better way to live that is sustainable and nondestructive. His ideas immediately caught on around the world. But rather than creating true Christian institutions, his teachings were immediately politicized and used as a source of government power and social control. Before long we humans created "Christian" institutions that became exactly what Jesus taught against. The lesson learned here is that getting away from our human nature is harder than one would think.
If you are saving trees, helping animals, living a simple lifestyle, and doing something kind for your fellow human, then you are a true Christian, at least to me. If you are consumed by church busybody activities, obsessed with material things, and living for your own pleasure, then you are not.
So, maybe you should put your Trump banner in the closet and befriend a gay, Muslim, or someone who is different from you. Only then will you begin to see what you can't see now.
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