No, I didn't say that at all, Mike. I said that everyone interprets what they read in the Bible in their own fashion...or else they just let a church "elder" interpret it FOR them. That is the way it goes in the majority of cases. Most people would rather be TOLD what to think, when it comes right down to it. Being told what to think is not good enough.

There are plenty of people out there (including me) who believe in Jesus just as fervently as you do, and still cannot agree among themselves about what he really stood for...or why he was crucified...or whatever.

You find them on every side of every political and social issue imaginable.

In my opinion, everyone has a relationship with the Living Christ. It's impossible not to. That doesn't mean, however, that they are aware of their relationship with the Christ, nor does it even mean that they are Christians. Jesus was NOT a Christian, and you do not have to be a Christian to have a relationship with the Christ. You can belong to any religion, or not religion at all, and still have a relationship with the Christ. You can have never heard of the man, Jesus, and still have a relationship with the Christ, because the Christ is an indwelling Spirit that existed before and after the physical man, Jesus. It is in all of Life.

My way includes you, Mike. I get the impression that your way doesn't include me. If so, that's too bad. God does not exclude anyone from God's Love, but the ego's entire basis for existence is exclusiveness. The ego wants to proudly say this: "Only MY way is right. Only MY holy book is of God. Only MY Christ was the real Christ. Only MY religion is the true religion. Only MY interpretation is the one that will save the soul...all others are of Satan."

The ego IS Satan, if you want to give it a name. It thirsts for the destruction and division and chaos that follows from exclusive thinking.