"The genuine and simple religion of Jesus..."

Greetings,

I posted most of the following in another thread (Why is it so important to refute Christianity?) and was disappointed that no one really commented on it. -- I'm hoping that this topic is worthy of it's own thread.

If you think that the title of this thread is synonymous with "Christianity", please read on.

My intent here is not to provoke (except for thought ), but to try to understand the Christian point of view on this.

It seems to me that the term "Christian" needs some context. For the purposes of this discussion, I submit:

Christian:
n.
1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.


It must be pointed out that there are those who would call themselves "Christians", who are actually "Paulians" and who espouse a theology that bears little resemblance to the teachings of Jesus -- e.g. The Pauline doctrines of Salvation by "faith alone", Trinity (polytheism), Original Sin, Blood Atonement, "Begotten" son-ship, Ascension of Jesus Christ, etc.

"Paul rejected the authority of the Apostles (esp. James) that Jesus appointed, and the Apostles that Jesus appointed rejected Paul. Paul lacked authority to preach, and his own letters make it clear that he did not possess a letter of recommendation from the authorities that Jesus instituted. Jesus did not institute the Twelve Apostles as a means of personal amusement or to fill his idle time; he did so to protect the Church from idle, heretical, or blasphemous doctrines. He did so with the intention of creating an institution that would preserve correct teaching. Paul chose to go outside of this institution, without a letter of recommendation, and without benefiting himself from its teaching or instruction. Not only do Paul's writings lack consistency or reliability, they cannot be considered Christian."
http://www.qumran.com/Paul/apostlesrejectpaul.htm

I find it ironic that some who would point to the bible as the "word of god", oftentimes base their religious beliefs on the interpretations of a man (Paul).

If asked of Christians:
"Do you believe in the teachings of Jesus?"
The answer would be "yes" universally.

However, if the question were:
"Do you believe in the teachings of Jesus, but NOT the doctrines of Paul?"
...I'm guessing that the answer would not be so cut-and-dried.

I understand that there are many "branches" of Christianity, many with conflicting doctrines. I see many posts on this forum from Christians, but I wonder if there is some overarching commonality among those that call themselves Christians.

From the quotes below, it would appear that the commonality cannot be "One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus", because those teachings seem to have many (sometimes conflicting) interpretations.



Thomas Jefferson had much to say on this topic (was he simply some kind of rambling, deist crackpot?):

Letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse (who introduced into the United States in 1800 the technique of smallpox vaccination):

"...The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.

1. That there is one only God, and he all perfect.
2. That there is a future state of rewards and punishments.
3. That to love God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself, is the sum of religion.

These are the great points on which he endeavored to reform the religion of the Jews. But compare with these the demoralizing dogmas of Calvin.

1. That there are three Gods.
2. That good works, or the love of our neighbor, are nothing.
3. That faith is every thing, and the more incomprehensible the proposition, the more merit in its faith.
4. That reason in religion is of unlawful use.
5. That God, from the beginning, elected certain individuals to be saved, and certain others to be damned; and that no crimes of the former can damn them; no virtues of the latter save.

Now, which of these is the true and charitable Christian? He who believes and acts on the simple doctrines of Jesus? Or the impious dogmatists, as Athanasius and Calvin? Verily I say these are the false shepherds foretold as to enter not by the door into the sheepfold, but to climb up some other way. They are mere usurpers of the Christian name, teaching a counter-religion made up of the deliria of crazy imaginations, as foreign from Christianity as is that of Mahomet. Their blasphemies have driven thinking men into infidelity, who have too hastily rejected the supposed author himself, with the horrors so falsely imputed to him. Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christian. I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its creed and conscience to neither kings nor priests, the genuine doctrine of one only God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die an Unitarian.

But much I fear, that when this great truth shall be re-established, its votaries will fall into the fatal error of fabricating formulas of creed and confessions of faith, the engines which so soon destroyed the religion of Jesus, and made of Christendom a mere Aceldama; that they will give up morals for mysteries, and Jesus for Plato. How much wiser are the Quakers, who, agreeing in the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, schismatize about no mysteries, and, keeping within the pale of common sense, suffer no speculative differences of opinion, any more than of feature, to impair the love of their brethren. Be this the wisdom of Unitarians, this the holy mantle which shall cover within its charitable circumference all who believe in one God, and who love their neighbor! I conclude my sermon with sincere assurances of my friendly esteem and respect."

~~ Thomas Jefferson


"The genuine and simple religion of Jesus will one day be restored: such as it was preached and practised by himself. Very soon after his death it became muffled up in mysteries, and has been ever since kept in concealment from the vulgar eye. To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education."

~~ Thomas Jefferson



In modern America, it would seem that Jefferson's fears are being realized-- the restoration of "the genuine and simple religion of Jesus" has not occured, nor in my opinion can it ever be restored (THAT Djinni ain't goin' back into it's bottle).

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"I am not [a Calvinist]. I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know. I am not a Jew, and therefore do not adopt their theology, which supposes the God of infinite justice to punish the sins of the fathers upon their children, unto the third and fourth generation; and the benevolent and sublime reformer of that religion (Jesus) has told us only that God is good and perfect, but has not defined him. I am, therefore, of his theology, believing that we have neither words nor ideas adequate to that definition. And if we could all, after this example, leave the subject as undefinable, we should all be of one sect, doers of good, and eschewers of evil. No doctrines of his lead to schism. It is the speculations of crazy theologists which have made a Babel of a religion the most moral and sublime ever preached to man, and calculated to heal, and not to create differences. These religious animosities I impute to those who call themselves his ministers, and who engraft their casuiistries on the stock of his simple precepts. I am sometimes more angry with them than is authorized by the blessed charities which he preaches."

~~Thomas Jefferson

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"I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call me infidel and themselves Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its author never said nor saw. They have compounded from the heathen mysteries a system beyond the comprehension of man, of which the great reformer of the vicious ethics of deism of the Jews, were he to return on earth, would not recognize one feature."

~~Thomas Jefferson

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Ponder points:
Does Jefferson have a legitimate beef?

Besides Unitarians and possibly some Deists, do other Christians agree with these points?

If you disagree with the premise, is it because you feel that "Christianity" was modified (by Paul, the Nicene creed, etc) for the good of the church?

If you disagree with the premise, do you feel that those who do agree with it are missing something wrt their "Christianity"?



Obviously, this discussion may raise other questions such as Origins of Christianity, etc...

Thanx for your participation.