The religious doctrine that Jesus is our savior is a misunderstanding of what salvation is. Jesus was a messenger, and his message portended salvation as available for all...Jew and gentile. Jesus went further than this however, and set aside the cumbersome and spiritually ineffectual law of Moses (believed by so many to be inspired and given to Moses directly from God)*, and eventually even the writings called the ten commandments...in favor of the truth...

• Love God (who is our shared reality in whom we live, move and have our being)
• and your neighbor AS yourself. (because in the oneness of their reality, they are)

Although these seem like two commandments, they are actually one instruction in wisdom...for we are one with God and each other. Jesus' prayer gives clear indication that his desire and intent was that we come to realize this oneness (see John 17:20-23).

• The fact that he shared the message of the remission of sin and taught people how to remit sin does not make him a savior or mediator.
• The nature of the one law of God precludes such a hierarchy and position as a mediatory bridge between God and man...for we are already one, and not separate. Jesus' prayer was that we would come to understand this.– John 17:20-23
  
• And that law is peace (experienced in the world as genuine love) based in literal oneness as our reality, toward which law we've turned a blind eye, causing the expression that we are to appear as an apparent sinful tragedy.
  • But that is only the way the world appears, even though the evidence is staggering and fraught with fatality.
• In a single instant, amidst the storms of this world, the instruction, "peace...be still" works wonders. Become willing to rediscover genuine peace within by pausing and being still, and in that stillness where work has faded, leaving only the will of God...know the truth: "I" am God. For indeed, the truth shall set you free.
  • The very self-reference you have used all your life becomes the light at the end of a dark tunnel of refused attention, and which therefore had seemed dark...
  • ...now that self-reference is seen face to face with the light of the noticing of its "forever presence".
• The rediscovery of awareness of your inner reality which seemed lost, now brings joy rising up into the heart, and overflowing into the garden of your temporal experience...for reality is always shared.

The religious doctrine that Jesus' death on the cross magically provides appeasement to God, by which means he forgives the world its transgressions is incorrect.

BEFORE we can really look at this doctrine and what it means to us...there is a place inside us we must visit. A hint is found when we extract the gold out of the parable about talents.

     "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.      "And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey...      "But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money...      "Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:      "And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.      "His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed...      "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." – Matthew 25:14-15, 18, 24-26 & 29

When we take a cursory look within, we find a thinking mind capable of reasoning, and feelings giving us some degree of indication about at least what we like and do not like. One aspect of looking at these is finding where these balance in beneficial ways, specifically ways which are not direct contributors to increases in conflict...in other words, our conscience. An unfortunate thing is that our thinking and feeling have become exaggerated in some areas and repressed in others, throwing a spin or twisted viewpoint; which gets merged with our expression of conscience. So we have a natural conscience, and we have conditioned overlays to this, creating a skewed conscience. Once this conditioning in one form or another is in place, it can be difficult to tell which conscience is which.

Our day-to-day routines, and the constant repetitive drumming on traditional drums all around us often sets beliefs in place like blocks and locks in the mind and feelings, causing us to favor unnatural skewed conscience over that which naturally arises in mind. As the years go by, we come to regard the viewpoints of the skewed conscience as normal, as right, as necessary and so on, and we use this as a form into which we regularly pour our thinking, feeling, and choices of behavior.

It is nigh impossible to simply root out cultural, religious and traditional influences so that conscience arises naturally as expression of true will or intention. Decisions in this area sometimes become murky and people find themselves needing to think long and hard to decide what will be the best choices to make, and find it necessary to collaborate with others who are also conditioned day in and day out, in order to weigh opinions and make collective decisions thought to perhaps be better. Unfortunately, pouring more versions of conditioning into the mix just increases diversity of opinion...and thus also increases conflict and confusion, with this being in lieu of directing decisions according to true will (which is peace). Unfortunately, we find ourselves guessing and formulating hypotheses.

Since the underpinning of conscience as thought and feeling are fundamental components of the "talent" called conscience, together these arise to assist us in our journey and its inevitable decision-making. There is a third component, a sort of silent partner to the other two; which provides a natural balancing between itself (reality) and the seemingly divided components of thoughts and feelings. This also results in a higher degree of balancing between thoughts and feelings themselves. It is appropriate to call this third component a natural guide, for it has every characteristic of functioning as a governor.

In the parable about talents, the man with but one talent (above) was afraid, conservative and frugal with his talent. Because of this, his talent did not grow, but lay dormant, allowing waning and atrophy of his capacity to use that talent. The result was that he did not give life (the third component of awareness of reality) to his talent so that it could grow, and therefore did not have his talent (conscience) in abundance by which to make the best choices. And because he lost track of how to make the best choices from inner abundance, he lost out on the outer abundance he could have had.

In order to go to that place within I spoke of, one must cultivate the third component (awareness of reality) and mix it more and more into the other two (thought and feeling). So let's try to look at what desires and choices, and resultant behaviors might look like in the case of 1)-skewed conscience with uncultivated awareness of reality, and of 2)-naturally balanced conscience governing the mixture of thought and feeling such that the best choices are made. Best choices result in peace and joy ("joy" that is peace rather than blissful feelings).

Again:

The religious doctrine that Jesus' death on the cross magically provides appeasement to God, by which means he forgives the world its transgressions is incorrect.

Remembering:

Matthew 7:22-23, it hints to us..."Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.". Here are people who are deep into their beliefs about Jesus, and who are practicing it according to their best understanding, and yet they discover this is not what is required.

Matthew 25:29, it hints to us..."For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. Here is an example of someone who is trying to operate without the talent he had available. When we begin to realize that the only "real" talent is that which restores us to our rightful place, then we might consider that there really is a specific requirement...not one that is arbitrary according to an edict from a separate, distant and powerful God, but one which is the one law of love, governing all in peace. That law is returning to awareness of our shared reality, for it is only in operating according to its influence that we have understanding to live together in peace. And that is a daily return to awareness, for like manna in the wilderness, if not replenished fresh often, it spoils and cannot edify.

Jesus cannot do this returning for us...we are required to become meek and willing like a child and to return because we hear this inner influence calling to us...not as a voice per se, but as the result of being attentive and waiting upon the in-flow of insights, knowledge and understanding. Therefore we recognize it when it arises. God...or our reality, is not angry or quick to wrath as has been suggested, and is not one to devise a master plan which includes murder of his son in order to find his own willingness to forgive. That sort of a "God" is not God at all. We have mistaken the voice of fear, which has become like a taskmaster, for the voice of God. God's voice...our reality's voice...is not in words, but may evoke many words...is not in visions or imagery, but may evoke many visions. It is subtle only to people who are unaccustomed to noticing its presence. "FORE GIVENESS" is that which has always been true, and has nothing directly to do with a dispensation of overlooking or tolerance or setting aside of horrendous judgments against us. There is nothing like that in God, and therefore this is not what we need saving from...but only from our blindness by judgment (the false sense of "good and evil") by which we judge ourselves and one another. We are therefore instructed to love one another instead. The only way to love one another is to know one another...and the only way to do that completely is to immerse oneself in the awareness of our shared reality...a gentle baptism if you will.

It is clear within that whoever wrote this doctrine about salvation related to Jesus did not understand the message and good news they were given. Jesus' prayer calling for us to come to the understanding of our oneness and equality with God gets right to the point. It is up to us to pause what we're doing and what we're believing...and to wait and see, that the true lord or governor or guide within, is always present, always gentle and helpful, and never overbearing or threatening us with punishment as many biblical writings present. Prophets or apostles of old being inspired does not make their words valid, even if they had a vision of what seemed to be God.

Turning away from our shared reality is turning away, whether intentional or not. And turning back to that reality is turning back, and there is no other remedy or way to salvation. Returning our attention to our reality is salvation because it is returning to that which is "fore given"...or that original reality in which no judgment of "good and evil" exists. There we see that despite all the temporal evidence to the contrary, based in ideation of good and evil, we are one with God instead of being what those judgments proclaim...and as that very reality, we realize that we are forever innocent and filled with peace.

To believe in the doctrine of a special, personal savior is to pass over to someone else our own responsibility to return our attention to that which guides us, thus never exercising the talent we have. That won't land us in fires of hell...it will just rob us of needed edification...and hide us from the peace that we are in God.

Questions to ask oneself:

• Why would God need obedience so badly?
• Why would horrendous fatal punishment to appease anger be the corrective action chosen?
• How would intentionally having an innocent son murdered satisfy such anger?
• What is loving about such radical measures...especially in light of God's being all-powerful in the first place?
• Looking back at the history of the doctrine about sacrifice in exchange for forgiveness, why have those who held this belief been so brutal everywhere they went in the world...at the same time building cathedrals and missions using funds raised from the poor, and coercing the people under threat of death to believe this doctrine? (see Matthew 7:15-23)
• A common belief in Christianity is that the earlier sacrificing of animals by the Jews was a symbolic reference to the future salvation being provided by sacrifice, with Jesus being sent similar to sending a lamb to the slaughter. It remains to be told why such savage behavior could have to do with saving grace.
• When Abraham, according to his belief in absolute obedience (no matter what the consequence to anyone), proceeded to put his son on an altar to become a burnt offering to God, this tells us in plain obvious terms that what Abraham was dealing with was not instruction from a loving father or God, but was something entirely different. This is vitally important! Back in the 70s, I met a couple who ended up in jail because they had withheld insulin from their diabetic son, causing his death...all because they believed it was the way to show "faith" in God according to their beliefs. These people and Abraham had different beliefs in some ways, and yet both had the exact same willingness to sacrifice someone for beliefs thought to be "right", rather than opening their heart and looking upon the reality of love arising from peace, and knowing this type belief is entirely contraindicated.

At some point, people must use the talents they have, and discern what is "right" and "better" for themselves, without passing that responsibility off to someone else such as a priest, or even to what they believe to be God, God's instruction, or a savior. Otherwise, mankind cannot restore what was lost or be saved from the results of previous poor decisions.

It is pretty simple actually. The doctrine is not true. Whatever Jesus did, spreading a message of oneness and forgiveness, it wasn't about a mysterious, magic formula for salvation.

Then what is true about salvation? This is also simple. In the course of creation and manifestation in the world, each one who enters here gives up the whole vision of reality as being obvious and present in mind. It is yet available, but the mind is distracted learning of the overall created environment it is experiencing...its bodily experiences, feelings of pleasure and pain, and much more. This self-imposed blindness often becomes exacerbated, causing both positive and negative excesses, as perceived results of a seeming lack of knowledge and understanding. This "turning away" from whole vision and thus from the single source of that vision, has but one remedy, and that is "turning toward" a more direct awareness of the whole vision of reality.

• It is unfortunate that so many accept traditional teachings as true, contributing to the dysfunction and pain of the world in which we live. Reliance upon a book, or a teacher, rather than using the talents readily available within, has historically led us down a very difficult path. It is time we look up from our reading and reverently listening to others, and that we pause and allow true governance to arise in our minds once again, dissolving the unseemly behaviors we've been doing and calling righteousness. Once brought into the light of reality's awareness, "good and evil" are not so. The only real good is the influence of understanding from the wholeness of knowledge...peace arising into the world as the expression called love. Although regular inspired influence can be denied and refused and although we can turn away from it in mind, real good has no opposite called evil. Such concept of evil never had a reality, and never entered into any place or any person at any time...beyond an imagination trapped by believing in "good and evil". The kingdom of God (reality) is everywhere, and nothing that defiles can enter...for there is nothing else beyond or outside of that infinite kingdom. – Revelation 21:27
  
  When judgment as "good and evil" is actively promoted and entertained, this results in exacerbated, denial-generated, mental blindness and confusion about the "only good" of our shared reality. That is why the wise instruction was given in the garden (metaphorically) and is yet given within today. Partaking of judgment with increasing levels uses the mental dividedness of "good and evil", and we would do well to heed the warning this biblical story provides. Judgment becomes what seems like a cruel taskmaster. This judgmental, wrathful, genocidal, and totally insane mental taskmaster has been misidentified as inspiration, and as the voice of God. However difficult this may seem, it is necessary to face it head on and deeply consider its implications. This type of belief, wrapped up in a complex belief system in many versions, has held the world in bondage for millennia, reaping harvest after harvest of war and needless death. Our children are sent off to war in support of the writings of those who misidentified this taskmaster as God. Know the truth now and be free. To know God, we must pause belief in this clearly erroneous voice for a moment...regularly, and stop expressing our fear by taskmaster-pleasing behavior and illusory-world-accommodating behavior, and allow awareness of the true reality of that which we are to arise in mind and be seen as it is. In that reality is only good as love arising from peace. There is no "good and evil" there, but only pure good. Therein lies the peace of God with nothing resisting it or causing conflict, violence and pain.