‛A journey from religious dogma to Jesus’
One woman’s journey from feeling alone, afraid and lost in religious dogma to finding
true peace in Jesus
Lorraine Mason
On a personal level‚ I try to live following ‘the way’ of Jesus, and although I often
fail, I do try. To me‚ Jesus is my spiritual food, water, shelter, strength, best
friend, guiding light and living, breathing example of Goodness. Having said that,
I am also open to the teachings of others: to me – Gautama The Buddha offers mental
balance – Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama offers earthly grounding
– Mohammad, offers debate and classical thought – Judaism shows the importance of
family, ritual and how no man or woman of whatever creed or colour should ever be
considered less or become subservient to another - and all religions show me just
how readily some people (not mankind itself but predominantly earthly men) will misinterpret
‘good’ to serve their own ‘evil’ self-interest.
Now that I have explained from which viewpoint I write, I then ask‚ “If you believe
that you love Jesus, what bible events brought you to loving Him? Perhaps His virgin
birth - Him demanding the rough sea to calm - Him raising the dead Lazarus of Bethany
- Him seated with His disciples on that last night saying, “Do this in memory of
me” - Him sweating blood in the garden at Gethsemane and‚ in absolute dread‚ pleading,“My
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will,
but as Thou wilt" - Him suffering and dying on the cross at Calvary yet still asking,
“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” - or perhaps it was Him actually
ascending into heaven? If so‚ if your love for Jesus rests solely on those bible
events actually taking place then what if all or some of those events didn’t happen?
What if He did not actually die on the cross but‚ when nearly dead‚ was taken down
from the cross‚ recovered and thereafter lived for many years? What if Jesus had
brothers and sisters? Or what if Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute but rather‚
an apostle; the most treasures apostle? In short‚ “Do you love the biblical accounts
of Jesus or do you love the pure Goodness of and within the man?” This booklet will
discus those matters and, hopefully, help you towards a deeper understanding of both
yourself and your love for Jesus.
