POWER BLOG

Actually, they're not really lost, they're just swept under the carpet. You can find them in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the new testament of the bible. Isn't it strange that we rarely hear sermons on Jesus' teachings, (unless you are a toddler in Sunday school class) but we can hear Paul quoted almost every Sunday in almost any church or on almost every Christian TV station.

Have we outgrown the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords?" Was his message only meant for pre teens and toddlers? Love your enemies? Turn the other cheek? Remove the log from your own eye first? Do unto others? Who can argue with these? "That's the problem" , you "can't" argue with these!

At least with Paul's teachings, we can pick a subject, then find some poor fool who will debate with us about it for hours, if not days or months. Then we get to prove them wrong and show everyone how knowledgeable and holy we are.

I'm sorry. I know I tend to come off cynical (because my wife told me) [Hey! I'm a work in progress, just like the rest of you] but there are many Christians who are "very" knowledgeable of the scriptures, who only use their knowledge to debate with and "show off". (and I've known some)

So when Jesus says: Treat others the way you want to be treated, it hardly leaves room for a great theological debate. As with most of the things he said, it is what it is, he said what he said and it just plain makes sense! You can't debate it.

Did you ever notice that with the teachings of Jesus, he is always telling "you" what you can do, to get to heaven, where as the people who quote Paul are always telling you "what you can't do?" Don't drink, don't smoke, don't dance, don't wear makeup, don't wear pants (women) and if it looks fun, "Just Don't!"

Read the sermon on the mount in Matthew, chapters 5 through 7. When Jesus says "don't", it is related only to these things: Don't judge, don't give what is holy to dogs, don't use meaningless repetition in prayer and don't worry about tomorrow. These are all rules that pertain to the individuals well being.

However, after a person has read Paul's letters, they use the "dont's" like arrows to shoot at other people. Jesus' teachings are mostly preventative measures a person should take. Though the teachings of Paul are wonderful, there is too much lead way for people to use them to attack other people. And they do.

I am not saying that Paul's teachings were wrong, I'm saying people use them wrong. When in doubt, read the Red Letters!