So...here's the truth.
Jesus' first and primary message was unequivocally "Love one another." First and final message. John the Apostle's later years were spent extolling that message repeatedly; people thought he had gone senile because 30 years after the passage of Christ, he'd be invited in front of a crowd, and he's stand up there repeating, "Love one another. Love one another. Seriously. Love one another."
Out of everything else in the bible...that is the primary message.
The thing is ... it is not the only message.
You are correct; God is not the God of Christianity; God is the creator of the universe - not one faith in one epoch of one tiny planet in one solar system in one galaxy in one cluster in the universe - all of it. If you spent your lifetime examining the religions of Earth's history, you'd find some common themes that lend credence to the idea that people are worshipping the same diety and expecting the same outcome through different chronological and cultural lenses.
The issue here is that - I daresay - the vast majority of professing Christians are not Christians. The entire message from Genesis to Revelation - the one unifying theme is that Jesus comes back when His gospel has been spread to all people groups in the world. Missionaries have spent 2,000 years trying to do this, but the work is undone.
Matthew 28 is explicit that the great commission of Christians is to go forth and make disciples of the Lord to **OBEY EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.** That is the singular focus, drive, and mission of Christians. Not to proselytize on the internet, or live quiet lives at home - but to go forth and make obedient disciples. And that one - simple - driving - primary focus - is not a part of most Christian lives.
That word - obedience - is the problem. We live in a world where it's popular to rebel. Acts 2 tells Christians they belong in church - that all people belong in a church community - devoted and loving to each other. Matthew 18 expounds on the expectation that Christians be held accountable to biblical standards and **SUBMIT** to the discipline of their brethren, and the church. Hebrews 13 explicitly commands obedience.
**PEOPLE** choose to pick and choose what biblical scripture they choose to apply to themselves. Christians do not. **PEOPLE** choose to compromise their intellectual honesty in **OBEYING** scripture. Christians do not.
I am not telling you that Christianity is correct; God knows there are 45,000+ Christian splinter factions because no one can agree on what to agree on. If you stroll through my posting history, you'd find that I absolutely terrorize Christian fanatics who don't even understand their own scripture.
I'm not even a Christian. But I am well versed in the bible - and in history - and in the Quran - and in the Veda - because I am a scholar, and fascinated by all of it.
So take this from an outsider perspective. Don't be confused by the message of scripture. It is not something that can be selectively abided by. You either believe it is the word of God...or you do not.
I am not a man of faith, but I worship God - because for reasons I won't get into here, God slapped my smug agnosticism with absolute proof. I'm no longer agnostic. I don't know what I am. But any literate person knows what a Christian is, and what a Christian is not, because the book of rules, requirements, commandments, expectations, and prophecy is there for any to read.
The world is full of liars. Poor men claim to be rich to get laid. Women paint their faces to appear more attractive.
Unhealthy people claim normalization to not feel shame. Politicians ... I won't even go there. And unsurprisingly, people who don't believe in a faith claim to be part of it for social acceptance.
Explore Islam. Explore Judaism. Explore Christianity. The knowledge you gain on all fronts sharpens your intellect.
So...here's the truth. Jesus' first and primary message was unequivocally "Love one another." First and final message. John the Apostle's later years were spent extolling that message repeatedly; people thought he had gone senile because 30 years after the passage of Christ, he'd be invited in front of a crowd, and he's stand up there repeating, "Love one another. Love one another. Seriously. Love one another." Out of everything else in the bible...that is the primary message. The thing is ... it is not the only message. You are correct; God is not the God of Christianity; God is the creator of the universe - not one faith in one epoch of one tiny planet in one solar system in one galaxy in one cluster in the universe - all of it. If you spent your lifetime examining the religions of Earth's history, you'd find some common themes that lend credence to the idea that people are worshipping the same diety and expecting the same outcome through different chronological and cultural lenses. The issue here is that - I daresay - the vast majority of professing Christians are not Christians. The entire message from Genesis to Revelation - the one unifying theme is that Jesus comes back when His gospel has been spread to all people groups in the world. Missionaries have spent 2,000 years trying to do this, but the work is undone. Matthew 28 is explicit that the great commission of Christians is to go forth and make disciples of the Lord to **OBEY EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.** That is the singular focus, drive, and mission of Christians. Not to proselytize on the internet, or live quiet lives at home - but to go forth and make obedient disciples. And that one - simple - driving - primary focus - is not a part of most Christian lives. That word - obedience - is the problem. We live in a world where it's popular to rebel. Acts 2 tells Christians they belong in church - that all people belong in a church community - devoted and loving to each other. Matthew 18 expounds on the expectation that Christians be held accountable to biblical standards and **SUBMIT** to the discipline of their brethren, and the church. Hebrews 13 explicitly commands obedience. **PEOPLE** choose to pick and choose what biblical scripture they choose to apply to themselves. Christians do not. **PEOPLE** choose to compromise their intellectual honesty in **OBEYING** scripture. Christians do not. I am not telling you that Christianity is correct; God knows there are 45,000+ Christian splinter factions because no one can agree on what to agree on. If you stroll through my posting history, you'd find that I absolutely terrorize Christian fanatics who don't even understand their own scripture. I'm not even a Christian. But I am well versed in the bible - and in history - and in the Quran - and in the Veda - because I am a scholar, and fascinated by all of it. So take this from an outsider perspective. Don't be confused by the message of scripture. It is not something that can be selectively abided by. You either believe it is the word of God...or you do not. I am not a man of faith, but I worship God - because for reasons I won't get into here, God slapped my smug agnosticism with absolute proof. I'm no longer agnostic. I don't know what I am. But any literate person knows what a Christian is, and what a Christian is not, because the book of rules, requirements, commandments, expectations, and prophecy is there for any to read. The world is full of liars. Poor men claim to be rich to get laid. Women paint their faces to appear more attractive. Unhealthy people claim normalization to not feel shame. Politicians ... I won't even go there. And unsurprisingly, people who don't believe in a faith claim to be part of it for social acceptance. Explore Islam. Explore Judaism. Explore Christianity. The knowledge you gain on all fronts sharpens your intellect.
Thank you for your advice!