Who Died and Left Paul in Charge?

Far too much of the systems of belief of the Christian Religion founds its base on the writing of Paul.

When I read the words and follow the model of the love of Jesus, I see only remnants of this philosophy in the writings of Paul.

In Paul, I see a push to retain the structure the Pharisees established; the structure that requires penance and hierarchy.

When I grouse about the amount of focus the church has put into hell, punishment, and the need for "repentance," someone will almost always invariably say, "But did not Jesus preach repentance of sins to inherit the kingdom?"

Sure.

But did Jesus preach that punishment, payment, or homage was due to inherit the Kingdom? I don't think so.

I believe that His message was that we need to repent and turn to living in love...to repent from judging, measuring, and defining what is or is not "sin..."

And when ALL do this, we will BE His kingdom. When all live the kind of life Jesus modelled...or Ghandi modelled...or Buddah modelled...or anyone else who modelled love... THAT will be heaven. 

This is not Paul's mission. Paul wanted to establish an order that mirrored that which came before Christ; that which still called for sacrfice, penance, and hierarchy.

I believe the return of Christ will be when a world finally mirrors His love; when the last person on earth relinquishes their insistance on order and religion but instead just agrees each person is as valuable to God as the first day God put them in Eden.

Heaven is Eden. Heaven is every person being able to see the perfect beauty God created in each person. Heaven is uncategorical loving. 

If your faith requires more legalism than love, it is of Paul and not of Jesus.  The religious Christian church is not of Christ. It is of Paul.