Musings of a Maverick Methodist on a Journey of Faith to Universalism

By Rudy Barnes, Jr., January 4, 2025 

John’s Gospel introduces Jesus as God’s Word, or the Logos (John 1:1), and it sums up the teachings of Jesus with the new command to love one another (John 13:34).  Jesus called his disciples to follow him as God’s word, not to worship him as the alter ego of God.  We should question all church doctrines not taught by Jesus--like the crucifixion as God’s blood atonement for sin.

Faith is not the same as religion.  It normally begins with religious beliefs that are later challenged by life experiences.  My experiences have caused me to question exclusivist church doctrines that were not taught by Jesus; and that God does not judge us on our religious beliefs, but on how we treat the least of those among us. (Matthew 25:31-45; James 2:26).  

I’m not ashamed to acknowledge that I question doctrinal Christian beliefs.  At the trial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).  That question has resonated down through the ages.  While most Christians continue to recite the mystical exclusivist beliefs of their church creeds, many have doubts about Christian doctrine never taught by Jesus.

Jesus was a Jewish prophet who taught that God’s universal love could reconcile and redeem all people, and that salvation was not limited to Christians.  Jesus never claimed to be divine or advocated a new religion, despite exclusivist Christian doctrine that limits salvation to those who accept the divinity of Jesus and the blood atonement of his crucifixion. 

Jews and Muslims reject the divinity of Jesus as blasphemous, but accept Jesus as a prophet who taught God’s universal word, as summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors of other races and religions as we love ourselves.  It’s taken from the Hebrew Bible, was taught by Jesus, and is accepted by Muslims as a common word of faith.

In the cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil, God’s will is to reconcile and redeem people of all faiths, while Satan’s will is to divide and conquer.  But Satan has done a convincing imitation of God in the church and politics and exploited human depravity to provide demagogues with political success; and the church has done little to limit Satan’s evil power.

Donald Trump and his GOP surrogates have used the church to promote Satan’s will, and Trump will be rewarded with a second term as President on January 20.  The church in its myriad variations has promoted demagogues like Trump, Netanyahu and Putin.  Independent thinking Christians are needed to clarify God’s will with the altruistic teachings of Jesus.

To gain popularity, the church has promoted complex doctrines that Jesus never taught. Those in the military are taught to “keep it simple,” and the same principle should apply to our faith.  The altruism in the greatest commandment and the new command summarize the teachings of Jesus and are simple enough to be understood by the mind of a child (Matthew 18:2-5).  

                    

 

Notes:

(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html

(1/18/15): Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/love-over-law-principle-at-heart-of.html

(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/who-is-my-neighbor.html

(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/the-politics-of-loving-our-neighbors-as.html

(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/03/altruism-missing-ingredient-in-american.html.

(4/5/15): Seeing the Resurrection in a New Light

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/seeing-resurrection-in-new-light.html

(4/19/15): Jesus: A Prophet, God’s Only Son, or the Logos? 

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html

(10/4/15): Faith and Religion: The Same but Different

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/10/faith-and-religion-same-but-different.html

1/2/16): God in Three Concepts

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/god-in-three-concepts.html

(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/01/religion-and-reason-redux-religion-is.html

(1/28/17): Saving America from the Church

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/01/saving-america-from-church.html

(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/04/the-relevance-of-jesus-and-irrelevance.html

(6/17/17): Religious Exclusivity: Does It Matter?   http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/06/religious-exclusivity-does-it-matter.html.

(7/22/17): Hell No! 

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/07/hell-no.html.

(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism  

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/08/the-universalist-teachings-of-jesus-as.html.

(8/5/17): Does Religion Seek to Reconcile and Redeem or to Divide and Conquer?

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/08/does-religion-seek-to-reconcile-and.html.

(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism  

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/08/the-universalist-teachings-of-jesus-as.html.

(9/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Resurrection of Christian Universalism

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/09/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on.html.

(11/23/19): Musings on Jesus and Christ as Conflicting Concepts in Christianity

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2019/11/musings-on-jesus-and-christ-as.html.

(1/11/20): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christians as a Moral Minority

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2020/01/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on.html.

(2/18/23): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Jesus as the Logos in John’s Gospel

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/02/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on-jesus.html.

(2/25/23): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Irony of the Logos in John’s Gospel

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/02/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on-irony.html.

(3/11/23): Musings of a Maverick  Methodist on the Future of Christianity and Democracy

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/03/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on-future.html.

(5/20/23): Musings on God’s Simple, Universal and Timeless Truth

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/05/musings-on-gods-simple-universal-and.html.

(12/23/23) Musings on the Advent of Jesus as the Light of the World and the Universal Logos

https://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/12/musings-on-advent-of-jesus-as-light-of.html. 

(2/4/23): Musings on the Need for Universal Religious Standards of Morality

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/02/musings-on-need-for-universal-religious.html.