Juxtaposed to the religion OF Jesus is the religion ABOUT Jesus, known as “Pauline Christianity,” developed by the Apostle Paul. The benefit of Paul’s work and the inherent flaws of Paul’s work have already been discussed. The result of that discussion left us with the stripped-out hull of a nakedly nonviable set of beliefs about Jesus. For us today, the best
replacement would be the religion that Jesus himself practiced, the religion that he preached to his followers, the religion OF Jesus.
The simplicity of Jesus’ religion is very appealing. Jesus spoke extensively about a way of living and making decisions that he called “the kingdom of God.” This “kingdom” is a state of mind, an attitude, and consecrated determination of the individual to live their life in conscious alignment with God’s plan for them. It begins with —
- First, the individual’s supreme desire to do the will of God, and their unselfish love of man which yields the good fruits of improved ethical and moral conduct.
- Second, to maintain perennial faith and sincerity to submit to the doing of the Father’s will without questioning and in the full confidence and genuine trustfulness of the Father’s wisdom; to come into the kingdom free from prejudice and preconception; and to be open-minded and teachable like an unspoiled child.
- Third, to accept the equality of all others as we do for our self. Doing so, we recognize and honor the Fatherhood of God of us all, and the brotherhood of man.
When we examine these principles together, we see that Jesus’ interest was in the sustainability of the soul of the individual through this lifetime and onward through their ascendant spiritual journey. As the will-decisions of mortals are inviolable, the values of our decision-making must be in alignment with the Divine Fragment for It to experience the process of living that produces a life that is becoming more and more like our Creator – perfect in every way.
The religion OF Jesus is completely congruent with the ends that our Creator wishes each of us to achieve. The oneness and integrity of those values, as we will soon see, provide the means to achieve those ends.