by Claudia Windal

Created on: August 29, 2008

There were NO Christians in Jesus' day! Jesus was himself a Jew. His teachings were reforms of strict legalistic Jewish traditions. We note in scripture that Jesus continued to speak in the synagogue (temple)and was often called rabbi.

The Judaism of Jesus' day was one grounded in law. Although brought up by Jewish parents, Jesus realized a need for reform and refocus. The "blessed are the....." of the beatitudes replaced the "thou shalt not's" of the Judaism of Jesus' time.

Jesus stressed an inclusiveness and equality that was not present in traditional Judaism. He welcomed children into his life and loved them as he did the adults. The Sermon on the Mount defined "Christians" without using a word not yet in existence. "Blessed are the poor" is a far cry from the need of religious Jews to have at least two sets of dishes in order to keep kosher! "Blessed are the peacemakers" emphasized an acceptance of differences and a willingness to engage in conversation with another.

I don't believe that Jesus ever intended to establish "Christianity." His position was that of reformer of what already existed. There is so very much that we do not know about Jesus. The authors of the gospels began writing them 60 or more years after Jesus' death. We believe that the disciples continued to worship in the temple as good, religious Jews, while meeting occasionally to break bread as Jesus did during Passover (his Last Supper)in order to do as Jesus commanded:"Do this to remember."

There is a wonderful fictional story about someone hunting for the "Keys of the Kingdom" thought to be handed over to Peter by Jesus. The "keys" were the teachings of Jesus that outlined a radical reform of Jewish religious tradition and practice! Peter didn't take a new name (POPE PETER), there were no organized churches (different from the synagogues), and the Hebrew scripture was still the only WORD OF GOD that anyone had.

Christianity evolved after the death of Jesus and the growth of followers of his teaching. Ordinations came years and years after Jesus and the rules and regulations of "Christian" spirituality and worship were long being realized and formed.

Unfortunately, the church that evolved seems to be the Roman Catholic church which posits that it is the Church founded by Jesus Christ. When unity is discussed, it is always with the intention that every denomination come fully around to the Roman Catholic Church. Changes in Church law do not occur "because if Jesus wanted it to be this way, he would have made the change." "Jesus did not ordain a woman. If he wanted women to be ordained, he would have ordained his mother, Mary." Jesus didn't ordain anyone as we understand ordination. He appointed his disciples to continue the reform that he set into motion, not to build church buildings and set themselves apart as priests and bishops OR popes!

The question forming the title of this article is impossible to answer. Jesus laid the groundwork for what would one day become Christianity. Most importantly, he grounded his teachings in love: love of God and love of neighbor. If we learned nothing else from Jesus, we would still be good followers of his.

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