By Gonny 
Jesus taught love. But the church grew strong through fear.
How did that happen?
Let’s rewind.
Jesus, 2000 years ago, never wrote a book.
He didn’t leave behind scrolls, manifestos, or a carefully structured theology.
He spoke, told stories, asked questions.
He taught through experience, parables, silence, and presence.
The Gospels, the stories we now associate with Him, were written decades after His death, not by Jesus Himself, but by others who had walked with Him or heard about Him.
-Matthew was a tax collector, likely literate, writing for a Jewish audience to show that Jesus fulfilled the Hebrew prophecies.
-Mark is considered the earliest Gospel. He was a companion of Peter, and wrote a fast-paced, almost breathless account ….full of urgency.
-Luke, a physician, was not a direct disciple but gathered stories carefully and wrote with a heart for healing and inclusion.
-John, or more likely the spiritual community around him, gave us a poetic, mystical gospel….focused on Light, Spirit, and the eternal “I Am.”
They weren’t transcribing Jesus word for word.
They were capturing the essence of His message, as they had come to understand it, years later.
And yet, despite the distance, the core still shines through:
Love. Forgiveness. Inner truth. The end of fear.
But then something happened.
As the Jesus movement grew, it became… a system.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Love doesn’t make good systems……Fear does!
Fear builds hierarchy. Fear keeps people in line. Fear motivates donations, attendance, obedience.
So over time, the original invitation…to awaken…was slowly replaced with rules, rituals, guilt, and the ever-threatening image of a punishing God.
What would Jesus say about that?
Probably the same thing He said back then:
“You have heard it said… but I say unto you…”
A gentle correction. A new choice.
Because the message was never supposed to be “Obey or burn.”
It was always:
You are loved. You are whole. Wake up from the dream of fear.
In the light of A Course in Miracles, this all makes perfect sense.
The ego will take anything…even the teachings of Jesus…and use them to strengthen itself. It will dress up fear in holy robes, build cathedrals on guilt, and say, “You’re not worthy unless…”
But ACIM gently pulls back the curtain:
“Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.”
Fear? Unreal.
Guilt? Unreal.
The angry God? Ego-projection.
Love is real. And Love doesn’t punish.
So how did fear take over?
It didn’t really. It just made a lot of noise.
The voice of Love never stopped speaking. It just got harder to hear beneath the dogma. But now, in our own quiet minds, we begin to listen again.
We remember what Jesus actually meant.
Not sin and shame. Not judgment and control. But freedom, truth, gentleness, and joy.
And that voice….the real one…still whispers the same message today:
“You are already free. Come home.”
With love and light,
G.