JESUS, PAUL, AND ROME

this is a work in progress

To be honest with you, frankly, I didn�t want to write this last chapter. I was afraid to write it! Over the last 1400 years we have made religion, both Christian and Muslim, a killing field. A cause for murder, war, death and destruction. Not very different from the days in our pre-Christ times when men sacrificed to Moluk by heaving in their children into the flames. Just because we are going through a period of so called respite in the Christian religion doesn�t mean it is over. There are three area�s of the world today that are hovering on the brink of war because of their religious beliefs.

I decided to continue because of those people who wrote to tell me that what I wrote was the first time the Bible made sense to them.

I do not expect my poor attempts will alter the future war that is coming. As Jesus said, "I come not to bring peace but the sword." He knew the future. I just think you should know how it started.

CHAPTER ONE

For those of you who are serious about understanding my words, I suggest you do the following either before or after you read this section; go to any one of the pages of Paul�s Epistles to the church�s. Read just one page. Then go to one page of Peter and one page of John.

Take notice of the differences in the message of all three. It is not hard to see who knew Jesus and heard him speak. The words of Peter and John are clear and simple. Those of Paul reflect the life he led in the Temple and his total ignorance of what Jesus was really all about. Jesus was a messenger with a message for mankind. He was also the catalyst for the next 2,000 years. I call those years our testing time.

If I could I would have you ignore the stories of Jesus life and read only his messages. The reason for that is that the messages were recorded fairly well. However, his life was not. And his life was only to be an adjunct to his message.

The Christian movement started off very well as long as Jesus was with us. It is the purpose of this section to trace the path that led to the wrong turns that altered the message and the early church.

It began and altered because of Paul. Whether this was deliberate or accidental is unclear to me. I will start with the messages that Christ was here to deliver to mankind.

1. The true nature of God.
2. What God wanted for us or didn�t want.
3. How to access God.
4. Who we were, what we were.
5. How to behave towards each other.
6. The nature of our reality.


I was going to define those headings by quoting from his words but I think it is better for each of you to take each statement and find them yourselves. They are plain words and simple. Peter and John heard those words and followed Jesus' example; Don�t confuse people! The message is simple and plain. When there are so-called hidden messages, it is only because some of us are more capable than others of understanding the depth of his meaning, but it isn�t necessary to alter our lives. From the simple to the genius he had a message for all of us!

For those less blest, he showed us how sharing a simple meal together could change the world. For those with high intelligence he opened a door into the concept of the power of the mind alone to alter the very atoms of existence. If only you believed in the power of belief! That there is more to this reality than you see. That you make your own world!

But when Paul got into the picture he altered all of that. His message is bloated, convoluted, verbose. This probably reflects the position and experience he knew in the Temple as one of the Sanhedren. He obviously had a sense of importance of his position in that he sets off to bring the apostles to the Temple to face charges. Once he becomes part of the Christian family he seems to take over. There is little written of the men who walked with Jesus and a great deal written of Paul�s works. I found it mystifying that, while the true Apostles, (except for Paul who never walked with him or even knew him) all seemed to meet a terrible end, Paul had no problems. I must admit that for awhile I toyed with the possibility that Paul was a �Temple mole" or �Roman mole� sent to alter the path of this new religion or belief that was making waves in both Rome and the Temple. Especially when he used the fact that he was a Roman citizen to save himself. This remains a thorn in my side. That the �path� changed because of Paul is evident. He became the leader of the new movement. Even though he did not seem to understand the under- lying principles of Jesus' message.

Much is made of Paul meeting with Peter and the two of them spreading the message. However this is a later teaching by the Church. There is little or no mention of Peter in Paul�s letters and the story of his movements in �Acts�. Paul used Peter to gain control of the Church's.

Peter had to have been included in the New Testament because they had to have someone in it who had direct connection to Jesus.

John had to be included because of the book of Revelations attributed to him.

But the main connection to the Christian message becomes Paul�s obtuse and convoluted explanation of Jesus and his ministry! And all of this dates from the time they compiled the new testament. And they found that they had to include the Torah (Hebrew Bible)in the front of this testament for the simple fact that the origin of the Christ had to have an explanation for the non Jew. You don�t just create a god out of thin air. He needs a source from which he springs.

Who wrote the four gospels? Not the Apostles! Mathew, Mark, Luke and John were only 4 out of over 100 to 200 hundred gospels that were submitted the new Roman church reviewed, before choosing these four to be the cornerstone of the gospels. The fact that the names matched those of some of the Apostles didn't hurt either.

The Church Before Paul.

In the year before Christ was crucified there had to have been a movement or the beginnings of the church by his followers. People who believed in his message and were busy trying to spread it to the people. Long before Paul began his ministry, the Church�s in various area�s were active. Articles I have read mention the early form of the �church�. It consisted of meetings in private homes, and outdoor dinners where all were welcome and shared food. And shared the message of Christ. The �Church� as a building built exclusively for the religion is not happening yet.

The only change that may have taken place in the �church� after the death of Jesus, (don�t forget; they would have expected him to be with them for years) would be the Eucharist; the taking of bread and wine. I will discuss this at a later time.

One of the apparently unknown details of these early church�s was that women were on an equal footing with men. There were women Bishops throughout the middle east in the early days. It was after the rise of Paul, with his background in the Temple, that this dwindled and eventually ceased and women were back where they supposedly belonged; without a voice. He constantly defines the role of women, based on Jewish law not Christ�s teachings. What began as a free and joyous movement began to have restrictions. In the end Paul conducted his ministry by letters from the safety of Rome. He was not confined to prison but a private house. In fact I believe it was his own home. Peter was in prison!

CONSTANTINES EDICT MAKING THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION THE STATE RELIGION.

I don�t need to repeat the story of Constantine and his mother, as everyone is familiar with it. However, no one is dealing with the reality of this great changeover. Like the rest of the world at this point in time, they worshipped many gods or goddesses. And every God had many temples throughout the land. And every temple supported a large body of priests and priestesses. And supported them in great style and wealth and privilege.

Do you really think they were going to quietly give all that up and disappear? Lose their jobs? Be nothing? In their own communities? If you thought that you don�t understand human nature! And how was the church to fill this great void that would occur? And how would Constantine handle the riots that would occur? Read church history and you will learn nothing on this problem. No explanation of the actual change over is detailed. I think most people just assume that the temples became vacant and church�s were built all over the Empire!

That would have created chaos! Constantine was not that stupid. He would not have created a condition that would undermine his empire. He would have worked out a compromise with the Christian religion, (which was almost 350 years old by now.)and the temple priests. Change them to the Christian religion. Keep them in the temples until they created a new hierarchy based on the Christian way. The early church based on Paul�s teachings would have gone along with that in order to enlarge the message to the world. The temple priests and followers would have gone along with it in order to keep their jobs and positions. That is reality! Politics, survival.

There are many things in the R.C. church that have no basis in Christianity but are amalgams from the old beliefs.

1.Candles, fire, are all holdovers from the worship of Mars, god of war. The Roman soldiers would not have stood by and let this form of their worship disappear. But incorporated into the Christian service, it appeased them. Where in the teaching's of Jesus does he tell you to worship before fire?

2. The Roman Cross. The symbol of Jesus was the fish. He was born into the age of Pisces for a reason. It is the symbol for his two thousand year reign. In fact it represents the two thousand years when God is fishing for souls, during the period of testing. I suppose the Roman cross in conjunction with the death of Jesus eventually stopped them from using it on any one else, but it is still a symbol of Roman power over Christ. And we do need to remember how he died. But thousands of others died on that cross also and we need to remember them too.

3. Elaborate ritual; Both Rome and Jerusalem�s temple had subscribed to elaborate rituals in their systems of worship. To awe, bedazzle and evoke emotions. Jesus advocated none of this. It was the message that was important. Not the method of telling it. That would override the message!

4. Celibacy; How could any follower of Jesus see celibacy as being Christian! A denial of the gift of life! Of love for man and woman! As a teacher of Jesus and the path of love for each other you cannot separate man and woman. If celibacy were to become total the world would die out! What was the point of creation then?

However, Rome had been the center of temple prostitution and homosexuality. By creating so called monastery�s and Nunneries as a secret part of the church under the banner of celibacy, this could go underground. By making it a �refuge� for boys and girls who were homeless or poor you not only had new recruits, you had new toys to play with. And indoctrinate. Shocking? Unbelievable? Get real! This is the facts of life. Not a pretend world you have been living in. I suggest you go to your library and get the �History of the Popes� and read it. There was no celibacy among them at all. Only when we started to create newspapers and journalists, did they clean up their acts. But not completely it seems from the latest new stories. Why must men and women give up their human nature in order to preach about God? And why do we believe that God directs our lives and creates the world we live in and then deny one of his creations; the homosexual.

It is not their nature that shocks us, it is their lifestyle. It is irresponsible at times. Because we have banned it as shocking we have forced them into an underground world. And we banned them for the simple reason we could not understand or deal with this creation of God�s. Now that we have let sex out of the closet, everyone is behaving in a childish and irresponsible manner. Like children who have gotten into the cookie jar without permission. Nothing on this earth is born except by Gods help.

The Confessional; I don�t know when the confessional was born or created but I�m sure someone will let me know. What I do know is why it was born! What better way to know what is going on in the village or city. As a political tool it was perfect. For those priests who wanted to know which women or boys they could approach it was and is perfect. When the R.C.C. was all powerful in Europe this was the method you relied on to gauge the way the people were feeling. Unwittingly people poured out their fears and sins and problems to the priest. Did they really think it was not used by the church?

Church Ritual; The modern world prides itself on the discovery of mind control. Religion has used mind control since the concept of worship began. Jesus tried to show another way to God by simplicity and faith and knowledge. He talked no mumbo jumbo. No ritual. In fact he told you to speak directly to God yourself. No middle man. And privately. Do not pray in front of anyone, for that is a form of conceit. Pass on the words yes! But only as a friend that wants to help.

Ritual is a form of control that grabs the mind and emotions and puts you in someone else�s control . But it isn�t God�s!

Adornments; The gold and glitter and costumes are all designed to awe you with the belief that your church is honoring God and Jesus. God is not honored by this conciet, and Jesus would deplore the money lost to the poor. I doubt that God is awed by this pomp and ceremony.

At the sermon on the mount he showed you how to honor god. By sharing what you had with those that had not. That when one person goes hungry and in want, we are all diminished by it. Every ounce of gold in a church means someone went hungry.

We have a long way to go to change the world. Maybe that�s why Jesus walked all over the place; one step at a time.

I hope these words help you to see clearer. I wish you well on your private journey.