Thanks… yeah, Jesus was not a “chicken soup for the soul”, kind of guy… he was gutsy, and different, and challenging and questioning… and trustworthy. I would have liked him… and maybe he would have liked me too…❤️
OH MY GOSH! YES! (I'm screaming this here b/c I can't scream it out loud in my apt right now. Lol!) I cannot love this more! This confirms I'm on the right path! Yes, parts of the journey have been painful, but so worth it still. Can't wait to see where it leads me next.
OK .. all good. Sorry, maybe this is another conversation so feel free to redirect me! Very simply, what is the best argument against the position that 'predestination' and being one of the 'elect' shows that God's already figured out who goes to heaven and who gets damned?
I'm not sure about Jesus' divinity but I do think there's never been anyone like him. And I think he'd be pretty unhappy with a lot of people who claim to be his followers. Thanks Joe for connecting these dots. I love the idea that deconstructing is imitating Jesus.
Yes! Yes! So many clarifying points in this writing for me I don’t even know where to start! I’ve had conversations with other ‘Faith re-thinkers’ and we’ve both said “I’m afraid to voice some of these thoughts to certain people; they’ll go ballistic!”.
And then I read your statement: “He’d say something so disruptive it might get him killed.”
That HIT me - the courage of Jesus; the cowardice in me.
It's comforting to think of the character of Jesus outside the frame of some of the folks who have coopted him in ways that make me furious, but I've also heard progressives characterize him the way you do: a radical, a reformer, etc. It doesn't fill me with divine awe to think of him that way either. I think your ending statement resonates. "even if you don't believe in him anymore."
I quietly left Jesus for a few years before reconstructing. It was the human Jesus who drew me back to him. I don’t so much see him as divine like I once did…
The greatest heresy Jesus committed wasn’t breaking rules — it was breaking the spell.
He didn’t burn it all down because he hated it.
He cracked it open because it couldn’t hold the Infinite anymore.
He was less “obedient pew-warmer” and more “holy saboteur with a parable-shaped crowbar.”
Not polishing golden idols — flipping their tables and laughing while the coins rolled.
Virgin Monk Boy would add:
"The true temple was always built in the heart — not in the fear of authority, but in the fire of awakening." 🔥
And if you really want to walk where he walked?
Remember what he said in the Gospel of Mary:
"There is no such thing as the sin of the world."
You haven’t fully deconstructed until you can sit with that truth without flinching, without jumping, without whispering, "Wait... did Satan just tell me that?"
If you're questioning, wrestling, deconstructing —
Thank you for helping me see old things in new ways.
❤️
Thanks… yeah, Jesus was not a “chicken soup for the soul”, kind of guy… he was gutsy, and different, and challenging and questioning… and trustworthy. I would have liked him… and maybe he would have liked me too…❤️
:)
OH MY GOSH! YES! (I'm screaming this here b/c I can't scream it out loud in my apt right now. Lol!) I cannot love this more! This confirms I'm on the right path! Yes, parts of the journey have been painful, but so worth it still. Can't wait to see where it leads me next.
This has me smiling. :)
Bravo... bravo ..amen!
:)
He’d challenge the dominant religious narratives.
He’d call out the people who weaponize faith to maintain power.
He’d reinterpret the sacred to make room for the excluded.
He’d love people over doctrine.
BRING ... IT .... ON!!!
haha. nice to see you got all fired up, Rob! i like it
OK .. all good. Sorry, maybe this is another conversation so feel free to redirect me! Very simply, what is the best argument against the position that 'predestination' and being one of the 'elect' shows that God's already figured out who goes to heaven and who gets damned?
Maybe I’ll write about it soon, but I’d argue there is no hell to damn anyone to…did you see my post on hell? It might help some.
So true! I love this. Paul said he wanted to know Jesus. That’s my goal too. However, the longer I know him the more my image of him changes.
Yes - and it may change because we change :)
I'm not sure about Jesus' divinity but I do think there's never been anyone like him. And I think he'd be pretty unhappy with a lot of people who claim to be his followers. Thanks Joe for connecting these dots. I love the idea that deconstructing is imitating Jesus.
Ohhh yes!!
And that last sentence...at the moment I'm not sure what to believe...
But this...this is helpful - thank you!
❤️
Yes! Yes! So many clarifying points in this writing for me I don’t even know where to start! I’ve had conversations with other ‘Faith re-thinkers’ and we’ve both said “I’m afraid to voice some of these thoughts to certain people; they’ll go ballistic!”.
And then I read your statement: “He’d say something so disruptive it might get him killed.”
That HIT me - the courage of Jesus; the cowardice in me.
❤️
Absolutely!
:)
It's comforting to think of the character of Jesus outside the frame of some of the folks who have coopted him in ways that make me furious, but I've also heard progressives characterize him the way you do: a radical, a reformer, etc. It doesn't fill me with divine awe to think of him that way either. I think your ending statement resonates. "even if you don't believe in him anymore."
I quietly left Jesus for a few years before reconstructing. It was the human Jesus who drew me back to him. I don’t so much see him as divine like I once did…
Exactly.
The greatest heresy Jesus committed wasn’t breaking rules — it was breaking the spell.
He didn’t burn it all down because he hated it.
He cracked it open because it couldn’t hold the Infinite anymore.
He was less “obedient pew-warmer” and more “holy saboteur with a parable-shaped crowbar.”
Not polishing golden idols — flipping their tables and laughing while the coins rolled.
Virgin Monk Boy would add:
"The true temple was always built in the heart — not in the fear of authority, but in the fire of awakening." 🔥
And if you really want to walk where he walked?
Remember what he said in the Gospel of Mary:
"There is no such thing as the sin of the world."
You haven’t fully deconstructed until you can sit with that truth without flinching, without jumping, without whispering, "Wait... did Satan just tell me that?"
If you're questioning, wrestling, deconstructing —
Congratulations.
You're not abandoning Jesus.
You're finally catching up to him.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Oh wow! This sheds a whole new light on Jesus and on deconstructing… 🙌💯🤩