ANCIENT ECHOES PODCAST: WHY I NO LONGER BELIEVE IN GOD (JESSUP PA)

By: Jeric Yurkanin

There is a question that has been on my mind for several years. If Jesus is supposed to be the center of Christianity, why do many churches, pastors, denominations, and Christian movements spend so little time focusing on the teachings that Jesus himself emphasized the most? This is not meant to attack Christianity. For many years I was an evangelical Christian myself. I loved Jesus, studied the Bible, defended my faith, and believed I was following truth. But when I started reading the Gospels again with fresh eyes, I began to notice something I could not ignore. The Jesus I found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John often sounded very different from the version of Jesus preached in much of modern America.

The Jesus of the Gospels talked constantly about loving your neighbor, helping the poor, forgiving enemies, rejecting greed, showing mercy, welcoming outsiders, and serving others. Yet much of American Christianity seems to spend more energy on political battles, culture wars, protecting power, defending money, and building tribal identities. Jesus said people would know his disciples by their love, not by their political party, not by how loudly they condemn others, and not by how much power they gain. So the question is fair: if Jesus is the center of Christianity, why aren’t his teachings the center?

One of the most ironic things is how often certain Bible verses are used loudly in public, while the teachings of Jesus about greed, money, pride, and neglecting the poor are often ignored. We hear certain verses quoted over and over, but how often do we hear people publicly write on their hats, signs, or platforms, “You cannot serve both God and money”? How often do we hear Matthew 25 preached with the same fire and passion? How often do we hear Jesus’ warning that whatever we do to the least of these, we do to him?

Jesus did not treat care for the poor as a side issue. In Matthew 25, he connected himself directly to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, the naked, and the imprisoned. He did not say, “I was rich and you admired me.” He did not say, “I was powerful and you protected me.” He said, “I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” That should shake every church, every pastor, every believer, and every Christian movement that claims to follow him.

Jesus also warned clearly about money. He said you cannot serve both God and money. Not that it is difficult. Not that you should try to balance both. He said you cannot. That is a hard teaching, especially in a country where success is often measured by wealth, comfort, business, buildings, status, and influence. Many churches will preach against many sins, but greed often gets a free pass. Pride often gets dressed up as confidence. Wealth often gets treated as blessing. Power often gets treated as favor from God. But Jesus was not impressed by any of that.

The story of the rich young ruler is a perfect example. A man came to Jesus wanting eternal life. He was religious. He had followed commandments. But Jesus saw the one thing that owned his heart. He told him to sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow him. The man walked away sad because he had great wealth. That story is uncomfortable because it reminds us that someone can be religious, moral, and respectful, yet still be controlled by money. Jesus knew greed could quietly become a god.

That is why it is ironic when modern Christianity becomes loud about certain issues but quiet about wealth, greed, pride, injustice, and neglecting the poor. It is easy to condemn someone else. It is much harder to examine our own love of money, our own lack of compassion, our own comfort, our own hypocrisy, and our own desire to feel superior. Jesus spent a lot of time warning religious people about that exact danger.

Jesus’ greatest commandment was love God and love your neighbor as yourself. When he told the story of the Good Samaritan, he made the outsider the hero. The religious people passed by the wounded man, but the Samaritan stopped and showed mercy. That story still speaks today because many people who claim religion walk past suffering while people outside the religious system often show more compassion. Jesus was making a point. The real neighbor is the one who shows mercy.

This is why many people have walked away from Christianity. Not because they rejected Jesus, but because they never truly saw Jesus represented. They saw judgmentalism, and Jesus opposed judgmentalism. They saw hypocrisy, and Jesus opposed hypocrisy. They saw greed, and Jesus opposed greed. They saw religious pride, and Jesus opposed religious pride. They saw people using God to gain power, and Jesus challenged religious power when it harmed others.

This blog is not about saying every Christian is bad. Many Christians do amazing work. Many feed the poor, care for the sick, serve their communities, and live with humility and love. But as a whole, American Christianity must ask a serious question. Are we following Jesus, or are we following a version of Jesus we created to fit our politics, comfort, money, and culture?

If Jesus is truly the center, then his teachings should be the center. Matthew 25 should matter. Loving your neighbor should matter. Loving enemies should matter. Rejecting greed should matter. Caring for the poor should matter. Humility should matter. Mercy should matter. Forgiveness should matter. Compassion should matter.

Maybe the way forward is not more religion, more power, more money, or more arguments. Maybe the way forward is returning to the Jesus of the Gospels. The Jesus who loved the outcast. The Jesus who challenged the rich. The Jesus who warned the proud. The Jesus who welcomed the stranger. The Jesus who said the greatest commandment was love.

Because if Christians claim to follow Christ, then Christ’s teachings should not be hidden in the background. They should be front and center.