Jesus “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father"

William Blake spoke of the Good News, the Gospel:-

[i]What can this Gospel of Jesus be?
What Life & Immortality,
What was it that he brought to Light
That Plato & Cicero did not write?
The Heathen Deities wrote them all,
These Moral Virtues, great & small.
What is the Accusation of Sin
But Moral Virtues' deadly Gin?
The Moral Virtues in their Pride
Did o'er the World triumphant ride
In Wars & Sacrifice for Sin,
And Souls to Hell ran trooping in.
The Accuser, Holy God of All
This Pharisaic Worldly Ball,
Amidst them in his Glory Beams
Upon the Rivers & the Streams.
Then Jesus rose & said to [men altered to] Me,
"Thy Sins are all forgiven thee."
Loud Pilate Howl'd, loud Caiphas yell'd,
When they the Gospel Light beheld.
[“Jerusalem” he said to me del.]
It was when Jesus said to Me,
“Thy Sins are all forgiven thee.”
The Christian trumpets loud proclaim
Thro' all the World in Jesus' name
Mutual forgiveness of each Vice,
And oped the Gates of Paradise.[/i]

[i]In its earlier ages the Church was in constant expectation of the Parousia, the Second Coming of the Lord, not in the obscurity of the manger but in the full panoply of the King of Heaven, in the midst of his angelic hosts. As the centuries have passed without Gabriel’s trumpet rending the skies, this expectation has largely fizzled out, except in the lunatic fringe of Protestantism. Obviously, the Church has been looking for the Parousia in the wrong direction — in the outward skies and not in the realm of heaven which is “within.” The true Parousia comes at the moment of crisis in consciousness, not in the world of newspaper reality.[/i]

From "Beyond Theology: The Art of Godmanship" (Alan Watts)

Excellent reading for anyone seeking a Christianity of greater depth.

I hope I get liked enough from any god. Only hate from people at work and home can damage anyone emotionally. 😵‍💫

More barely veiled threats. The "Prince of Peace", incarnation of the God who "changes not" and whose mercy "endures forever", now eagerly being looked forward to "coming back" with condemnation, judgement and - lets face it - pure vindictative vengeance towards those who have rejected him (i.e. his own enemies, when we are called upon to love our own)

To be honest, I'm quite tired of this sort of thing. Christianity can be so much better. Maybe it just needs the true eyes of the spirit?

I will not respond any further. It is pointless.

Amen, may we have more courage to share the gospel!

Yes you are right there!!