A Letter To Jesus
Van RobisonDear Jesus,
I am writing this personal letter to
you, because I have questions and issues about this
thing called "church", which seems to falsely
represent who you really are. From the time I was a
child I have always believed in God. When my dad
passed away, I was a child of eleven years old, and
having no mother, my relatives didn't take me to
church as my dad always did. As a young man of the age
of eighteen, I became very interested in church again
and I listened to a man preach on the radio. I thought
he spoke truth, and so when I left the Air Force, I
joined this church. After twelve years of this
particular church, with all of its authoritarianism,
legalistic teachings from the Old Testament, and three
different tithes and endless offerings, and other odd
teachings, I took my family and left.
For many years, I never attended church, but then my wife
and I decided to "go to church" again. This time we
attended several different churches over a period of years,
and eventually decided that we didn't want to go to church
any longer. We learned that as we read your teachings in
the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, that what
you taught and how you lived your life, differed greatly
from, what we now call "churchianity."
I had to conclude that after many years of church
attendance, that what we were involved in, was man-made
customs and traditions, rather than what you Jesus--taught.
Here are some of the questions I have, and I would greatly
appreciate your reply:
- You never said the will of the Father is that people "go to church", and I was wondering why, since pastors say "go to church?"
- You never took up tithes and offerings from your disciples, and I was wondering why, since pastors and churches do this?
- You never gave Your hand picked disciples power over people, but You gave them power to heal the sick and to cast out unclean spirits, and so I was wondering why You didn't give your disciples "authority" over Your followers such as we see in all churches today?
- You never told Your disciples to build physical church buildings and temples, and I was wondering why, since the world is full of these buildings?
- You never said anything about "going to church" on Sunday, and I was curious as to why You didn't teach this, since the church world does this?
- You said that You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and I was wondering why "pastors" seem to think that the Way, the Truth, and the Life is through the church doors of physical buildings and listening to pastors preach until the day they die?
- You never taught that the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life, come through pastors and church attendance, and so I was wondering if church attendance is necessary?
- I am really puzzled over the fact that You, Jesus, never said these words, "The Bible is infallible and inerrant", and I am very curious as to why you never made that statement, when many "scholars" and Bible teachers do?
- I am also very curious, Dear Jesus, as to why you never mentioned the name of a man named "the apostle Paul", when you were teaching your original disciples?
- Another puzzling question I have is why You never mentioned a book, that would one day be published and be called "The New Testament?"
- You taught specific teachings that have to do with the heart and thinking, such as "blessed are the peacemakers" and many other principles to live by, and I was wondering what "going to church" has to do with your teachings?
- In general, Dear Jesus, there are so many customs,
beliefs and practices of the world of churchianity, that
almost everything taught and believed has to be
questioned, and I have learned from time and experience,
that Your teachings are radically different from what
pastors and churches teach, and from what multitudes of
Christians believe.
With love, respect and devotion,
Van
