21/12/2024
The sooner we realise that Yeshua (Jesus) is not the Property of Christians or Christianity, the better for the world. EVERYBODY is welcome to Yeshua. It is not those who call His Name who are for Him. It is those who obey His teachings rather than their leaders' dogmas who are with Him.
Christians MUST, not should, MUST understand that Christianity does not have a monopoly on Yeshua, whom some call Jesus, and on how He is perceived. He is for the whole world and, in specific terms, can be claimed by every Abrahamic religion.
The historical Jesus was born, raised, lived and died as a Hebraic Jew. I do not know if you have been to Israel. I have. And Hebraic Jews believe Yeshua was a Rabbi. He was their own Kith and Kin, according to the Flesh. So, are you telling me that if His own Kith and Kin put up a sign saying 'Yeshua (Jesus) is a Rabbi, and not the God we worship', you, who are neither Hebrew nor Jewish, will be offended and start demanding that they must perceive Him exactly as you perceive Him? Then who is now the fanatic?
Is this not why we have been fighting wars worldwide for millennia? And in 2024, we want to do the same thing.
Please fact-check me: Most of the Christian holy sites in the Holy Land are being cared for by Muslims. Nazareth is Israel's largest Arab town and is overwhelmingly Muslim. It is Muslims who look after the holy sites in Nazareth. I have been there. I guarantee you that if you visit Nazareth, your chances of getting a Christian guide are slim. It is either a Muslim or Jew who would give you tours. Muslims have shops outside the churches there selling Crosses and anointing olive oil made in Nazareth with locally grown olive oil.
Bethlehem, where Yeshua (Jesus) was born, used to be a Christian village. It is now 90% Muslim and is in Palestinian-controlled land. Yet, Christian pilgrims are not molested. They are allowed free and unlimited access—Ditto for Jericho, which is part of the Palestinian West Bank. I have been there. It is almost totally Muslim, and they are so particular about the holy sites because whatever is considered sacred to Christians is respected by them.
Are you, therefore, going to tell Muslims, who governed the entire nation of Israel for 400 years under the Ottomans, and never denied Christians access to these sites and permitted Jews, Christians and Muslims to coexist in Jerusalem, that they cannot describe Yeshua as they want because it offends you?
This is why I say that travel is absolutely necessary to complete both your faith and education. When you do not travel, and you also do not study (which many of us as sub-Saharans are guilty of), you become a tool in the hands of denominations who weaponise you and turn you into a fanatic who thinks it is the other person who is willing to have another perspective, that is, the extremist. Says Reno OMOKRI........
