Comments from Cousin Lynn

I have been getting a lot of emails about my "Jesus is anti-religion" post.

One came from my cousin Lynn. She said I could share it, so I am doing so:

I enjoy your interpretation of politics because I keep up little with such things and take your opinions as a sounding board for my own beliefs. I also enjoy your interpretation of religion because I know too much and agree totally with you. I got bored with the political and jumped back to your first “Jesus was anti-religion”. I agree more then 100% percent and have lived my life on this theory and have selfishly used it as an excuse to distance myself and my family from church and anything to do with it. But as I mature I see this as a cop out. I cry as I write this. Because even though I’ve said I separate God and Church, which I do, I have fallen farther from both. Jesus had the right to condemn the church, because he did God’s work better then they did. I condemn the church and sit by idly dealing with my own issues and no one else’s. I quote the scripture, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to care for orphans and widows in their afflictions (James 1 vs 27)". But have never met, cared or donated to one. Yes the church is hypocritical and capitalistic, and I do not believe that attendance will get you to heaven. But I’m not sure if what I’m doing will either. People go to church because they don’t want to be Christians. They want the church to do that for them. They give money so the church can sponsor some missionary group in South America far from the comfort of our air conditioned lives. It’s so easy to point out the faults in a group of people, but I don’t think I could do it better. So what do we do? Fall into darkness because the light is dingy?

I don’t know what to do. I can’t do what Jesus did. I am both too selfish and too scared. Is that what he saves us from or did he show us a path to salvation that we are too weak to follow. My questions go unanswered and my tears are wasted salt. I pray that God leads me closer to him, but I am starting to realize that it is his people he wants us to reach out to. I remember Nanny praying that God helped her to love people because she didn’t like them very much. And even though I saw he unselfishly do for people I know she didn’t enjoy it. How do we change our core personalities? We can act like we love people, but how do we really love people, if we can’t stand them?

Sorry, I didn’t mean to make a blog of my own. These are questions I’ve been dealing with and I have questions about God’s true desire for our lives. I have to hang on to the belief that it is Jesus that gets us to heaven and nothing we do ourselves.





15"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are Mathew 23:15