For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Donald Woody
"To the Jews who BELIEVED Him Jesus said, hold to my teachings and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." First of all we need to stop linking the teaching of Christ in to a category called religion. Christianity is not a religion. It is LIFE. Jesus did not come to start a religion. Christianity is about choosing life now for all eternity. We are here on earth for one reason and one reason only to make a choice.
That choice is to choose God and be perfect for all eternity or not choose God and live as we want for all eternity without Him. That is the true hell and eternal condemnation because HUMANS were not created to be separated from God. We have never been without God even in our fallen state. What God has done is give us all the data we need to make a well informed choice. It was imperative for Adam and even to Eat the apple; inorder for us to see the full spectrum of Good and Evil so that we could make the best choice.
So far God's way has proven to be the best choice to make. Christianity is not about follwing a bunch of rules and do/s and don'ts. It is the training material God gave us to get us on our way after we have made the choice for Him. We are a work in progress to be finally completed with Jesus comes back and full actuallizes us so that the idea and thought of doing evil and sinful things will not ever occurs to us ever again. It has been done before LOOK AT THE HOLY ANGELS!
Christiianty is not a religion. Everything else its. Religion is man's way of telling God how he (us, humans) will served HIM,.
Christianity to the life means to the greatest end result Being sinless for all eternity; not because God has the power to make us that way but because we give Him free reigns to make us that way because WE CHOOSE TO BE THAT WAY. In the beginning God could have made us all sinless robots but He want us to decide for ourselves. He has show us both sides of the coin.
Religion is not in the Bible that is why Jesus said "HOLD TO MY TEACHINGS'! tHE REASON WE HAVE all These religons is because men did not want to hold to the teaching of the bilbe but changed to suit their own purpose nullifying the word of God.
Tommy campbell
Religion is man's attempt to reach God , Christianity is God the Father reaching to us.
Timmy Keil
In Jesus day on earth, Messiahs were like Santa Clauses- there was one on every corner! The Jews were an educated people and not unaware of the meaning of the messages of their prophets. A Messiah was definitely coming, but how to tell? Every Jew had his own ideas about what Messiah meant and how He might appear, and those ideas were as varied as the ideologies represented today by over 33,000 Christian denominations. Jesus was just one more Messiah among a hundred on a block of Jerusalem, but with one exception...
We don't hear about a single one of those "other" Messiahs today. They are not recorded in history and there is no documentation or evidence that survives them to inform us that they ever existed. In short, they are dead. Only one still lives today. Only one is recorded more in history and evidenced by more reliable documentation and evidence than any other man. Only One is still discussed today in every segment of society from the academic elite to the humble refuse of humanity. And this One- Jesus of Nazareth- without the benefit of social media or media at all- reaching less people with his message in his lifetime on earth than might attend a really poor turnout at an Ohio State game on a cold and rainy day in November- this Jesus turned the world upside down and changed the course of history in a way that no other single mortal man aside of any ascension of power, wisdom and authority could ever hope to do. By this we know the Truth- because it still stands.