Christ Is Not Religion

By Kurt Hamilton

Are you religious? According to Scripture, being religious means very little. The Bible says that demons are religious and believe in God, and surely demons are not going to heaven (James 2:19; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15)!

This book is inspired by a true correspondence between two men: Kurt (the author) and Matt. The "Matt Letters" are actual letters emailed between the two men; nothing has been edited except Matt's expletives. Kurt is employed by a Christian company which has placed the Christian "fish sign" (ixthus) on its packages of merchandise. Matt is a non-Christian who has purchased this product at a local do-it-yourself center and is extremely upset that the Christian sign is being displayed in a public place. In Matt's correspondence, he communicates to Kurt that he is bisexual. Matt believes that the religious community has rejected him, and therefore, Matt vehemently rejects Christ and Christianity.

Kurt explains to Matt that though he has been rejected by religion, he will not be rejected by Christ. Christ is not religion. Religion is of man; Christ is of God! In fact, Christ rejected many of the religious leaders of his day. The religious leaders adhered to man-made commandments and meaningless traditions, which resulted in nothing more than religious bondage. They did not embrace God's love, nor did they embrace God's power and therefore, were unable to genuinely care for the people. The religious leaders rejected Christ because Christ associated with sinners. Jesus, in turn, told the religious leaders, "Thieves and harlots will enter the kingdom of God before you" (Matthew 21:31)! These leaders were, to say the least, a poor representation of a compassionate God.

There are many mainstream religions today steeped in religious bondage that poorly represent the true, compassionate God. They believe themselves to be the "Way to God," yet in reality, religion alone is not the way to God at all. Religion does not free a person from that which can destroy the physical, emotional, or spiritual aspects of life. Religion can change a man's mind, but it cannot change a man's heart. Simply said, religion is not perfect because man is not perfect (Heb. 7:19; Colo. 2:23; Gal. 3:1-3; Rom. 8:3). The Scriptures say, "Our gospel did not come in word only but in power." Christ has come to turn men "from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God" (Acts 26:18; 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Cor. 2:4-5).

Matt is bisexual. Will Christ accept Matt?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781098097196

Book preview

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Christ Is Not Religion

Kurt Hamilton

ISBN 978-1-0980-9718-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-0980-9719-6 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Kurt Hamilton

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Scripture citation is predominantly from the King James Version and New King James Version. New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by Permission. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

The Matt Letters

Chapter 2

Does God Speak to His People?

How Does God Speak to Us?

It Is Christ Who Speaks to Us!

Conclusion

Chapter 3

Satan: A Hoax?

Demon Possession

Tragedy

Satan, the Ruler of This World

A Root of Darkness

Conclusion

Chapter 4

You Must Be Born Again

Chapter 5

Sin

Love

Defining Sin

Sex

But They Were Cowards

Chapter 6

Homosexuality: Genetic or Sin?

Science

Does Prayer Always Work?

Is Homosexuality Genetic?

The Great Deceiver

Transgender?

Conclusion

Chapter 7

What Is Truth?

Cultic Religion—Beware!

Recognizing a False Religion

Denial of Christ as God

Popes, priests, and prophets

Chapter 8

Yes, Jesus Christ Is God!

Who Is Christ to You?

Who Has Seen God?

The Human Body of Jesus Was Not God

How Is Christ God?

Chapter 9

Christ Is Not Religion

Following the Ten Commandments Does Not Provide Salvation!

The Religious Leaders Scorn Christ

The Old Covenant Based Upon Religion Is Abolished

Is the Religious Law Good?

Saved by Grace, Not by Religious Works

Infant Baptism: A Work of God or Man?

Conclusion

Chapter 10

What Is a Christian?

The Definition of a Christian

Faith Works Miracles

My Greatest Gift

There is no greater joy in my life than my family!

—K. Hamilton

Chapter 1

The Matt Letters

The following is a true correspondence between two men: Kurt (the author) and Matt. Nothing has been edited except Matt's curse words. Kurt is employed by a Christian company which has placed the Christian fish sign (ichthus) on its packages of merchandise. Matt is a non-Christian who has purchased this product at a local do-it-yourself center and is extremely upset that the Christian sign is being displayed in a public place.

In Matt's correspondence, he communicates to Kurt that he is bisexual. Matt believes that the religious community has rejected him, and therefore, Matt vehemently rejects Christ and Christianity.

Dear company with fish sign,

I just got back from Home Depot…had to buy some product…and yours was the only one on the shelf. I just want u to know that if your competitor's product is ever on the shelf, I always pay more just to avoid your Jehovah's Witness approach to marketing! And every time I buy something with a fish on it, I make sure I use his name in vain at the checkout counter so everyone can hear. Good thing u weren't raised in f——g Afghanistan…you'd have made model terrorists. And if I know anything about f——g Christians (and I have a whole family of them)… Jesus wouldn't want u representing him!

From Matt

Dear Matt,

I agree with you 100%! You are right in your thinking!

What's interesting is that Jesus accepted prostitutes (Mary Magdalene), murderers (Paul the Apostle), tax collectors, and thieves—many of whom ended up being His disciples. He had compassion on everybody because largely they were hurting, confused people.

The only people Jesus rejected were the religious, the hard-hearted priests and religious scribes. He called them hypocrites because though they were very religious, they had no compassion for the people.

I see that you too are fed up with religious confusion. Amen! You are much closer to Christ than you realize.

I have a son, Luke, who has been very hurt by me—his father. Because of me, he hates God. I love my son very much. Someday he will see that, and on that day, he will see how much the Lord God loves him as well.

Thanks for listening,

Kurt

Dear Kurt,

Sorry to hear about your relationship with your son. Sounds exactly like the relationship I have with my father, thanks to religion. Interesting that your religion caused your son to do the same thing that my father and his family and religion caused me to do to religion…and God…and Jesus…and all that other baggage. Oddly enough I didn't realize that all the beliefs I had in that stuff was just childhood programming and brainwashing…and that once I pulled the loose string, it all unraveled into a pile of s——t.

My father is 83 now, was in a religious commune for 25 years before the head of it ran off with everyone's life savings, and left my father penniless…but he would have been penniless anyway, because in accordance with the scriptures gold is the root of all evil and he always gave away any money he had, and continues to do so now at 83. That is particularly frustrating because I can't give him any money for things he needs, because he will just give it to the first sob story he hears. And one of my 2 sisters is virtually estranged from me because of her beliefs. She's a fundamentalist preacher, has a gay son and daughter, which she blames on me because I am bisexual (I come from a family of humans that could have just as easily fell on one side of the fence as the other… I won't bore u with all those stories). I'm convinced she's a lesbian, but because of her religion can't act on it, and is thus miserable in life, but because she chose not to act on it, the rest of us should have made the same choice to be miserable too.

So…any time I see a fish on anything…or the word family on anything… I just go ballistic…and from what I remember about human psychology, and what Christianity should be all about, anything that causes those kinds of reactions from people that could have otherwise been converted…should be avoided at all cost! If I were Jesus, I'd be royally pissed at the people who try to represent me and my standards!!!!! In my experience in life, any time I see a fish on a business card, or people going out of their way to express their faith, it's because there's something deep inside that they're trying to cover up, or they're just using the fish to exploit other idiot Christians.

And the only thing I ever pray about is that on my deathbed I don't pray to Jesus for forgiveness. If I haven't lived my life in a way that I'm proud of, then if someone would forgive me for being a jerk and idiot at that point in time, it wouldn't mean much. And BTW, in my examples of people that I'd expect to see in heaven, based on religions around the world, I would never want to be sentenced to heaven. There won't be a more horrible boring place to be than with all those hypocritical idiots that I have nothing in common with. And… If heaven were such a wonderful place to aspire to, why the f——k do Christians go out of their way to pray for healing and avoidance of death on earth?

Matt

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the letter. You shared some very personal issues in your life—that is awesome. It is great to see that you are a real person struggling with what life has dealt you just like I am trying to do. I too am far from perfect. At times I am simply a lousy husband, a lousy father, a lousy employee, and a lousy boss. Some people say, Well I am just not quite there yet, but I say, I'm never going to be perfect; I'll never quite get there, and I am what I am. So, you are definitely not alone in your struggles—I am right there with you!

As a Christian, the scripture I can best relate to is this:

What I want to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do… But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. (Romans 7:14–25)

It is comforting to know that Paul the Apostle did not quite reach perfection either—for he wrote this after his conversion to Christianity.

Sir, we are not so different, and if anyone ever tells you that you are not worthy, they are wrong because you are

Please let me tell you a little about myself. I really am a person, not just a pen on the other end of email. I am married with seven kids. I am not sure how it all happened—it just did. I like surfing big waves with my oldest son (and I am getting too old for that). I have a CR250 and Moto X with my second son (and I am definitely too old for that). I am sort of a sport nut—water skiing, mountain biking, snow skiing, all of which centers around my wife and kids. I have not always been a Christian. In fact, I was very antagonistic toward Christianity until some very miraculous events occurred in my life that changed my perspective.

What do I think about homosexuality? I think God loves homosexuals very much. One of my sons (#2), when he was a baby loved to have me tuck him into bed, then I would just lay there with him for maybe ten or fifteen minutes until he fell asleep. It was healthy for him and it was healthy for me as a father. It secured my son in his father's love which is reflected in his personality today. Emotionally, he is confident, happy, and secure about himself. I have found there is nothing more devastating for a child than to have never been loved. A child can endure physical discipline, even beating, but to have never been loved, to feel worthless, and abandoned is heartbreaking!

If you talk to any homosexual, they will tell you that there is a tremendous amount of hurt, feelings of worthlessness, and abandonment which results in anger toward their father or mother and toward God, but please let me tell you, God loves them very, very much. They may not love God, but He loves them.

Men void of a father's love may seek another male love to satisfy that void. I believe that God sees that void and the hurt caused by it. He sees through the sin and into the pain of a person's life. Homosexuality is not out of the reach of God's compassion.

Too often Christians point their finger at homosexuals and accuse them of being in sin. First of all, everyone has sin. According to the Bible, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).

Instead of condemning homosexuals, the Christian community needs to see the hurt and devastation incurred in some of these people's lives. Isn't that what Christ did? Mary Magdalene, one of Christ's greatest followers was the town prostitute. Paul the Apostle, prior to his conversion was a murderer. Christ's followers were fishermen and tax collectors, most of whom were simply viewed as the scum of the earth. But they all had one thing in common—they had needs, they had hurts, and as they came to Christ they were healed and set free of the elements destroying their lives.

I have had the opportunity to pray for drug addicts and alcoholics, and what I have found is that most addicts do not want to be addicts; they want to be free from substance abuse. Unfortunately, they are so emotionally devastated that ridding themselves of their addiction is seemingly impossible.

Do you think prostitutes like being prostitutes? Probably not. Imagine a young girl who has been beaten up her whole life and then is thrown out on the street at 13 or 14 years of age. She sells her body just to survive. That's devastating! Her sin is not a result of lust but a result of pain and hurt. Look at kids caught up in gangs. They have been emotionally and physically beaten up and kicked around, and now their only identity is in a gun. Their revenge is on anyone and everyone.

What is sin? Sin is hurt. Sin doesn't hurt God, it hurts us it destroys our life. Christ didn't come to condemn the world but to set people free. Most people simply do not know or understand why Christ came! Jesus said, "People hate me without a cause, and it is true (John 15:25). People hate Christ and don't even know who He is or why He came. Why did he come?

People say, Christ came to die on a cross or to forgive people of sin. Well that is true, but still they are missing the big picture. The Bible says, For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Now people say, I believe in God, but I do not believe in the devil! Unfortunately, a person cannot believe in one and not the other. They are equally intangible, they are both spiritual, and they confirm each other. Jesus said there was a devil (John 8:44–47) and the demons said that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God(Mark 5:7). It is interesting that people do not know who Christ