by Mark Pitstick MA, DC

If you’ve not already, please read . . .

  1. ‘The Great News‘ (article #19 at SoulProof.com/Articles)
  2. ‘Eight Developments for Widespread Conscious Living Now’ (#125)
  3. Greater Reality LIVING Program: Integrating ‘The 8 Developments’ Into Your Daily Life (#72)
  4. Greater Reality HEALING Program: Journeying FROM Deeply Grieving TO Brightly Shining (#82)

The evidence-based information and holistic resources outlined in these articles will help you to:

  • realize your true nature as an eternal being of consciousness / life-force / energy 
  • receive guidance and assistance from highly evolved energies and Source / The Light
  • heal old wounds, release lower energies, and update erroneous teachings
  • create the greatest life YOU have envisioned (YOU = your higher self / soul)
  • help others by sharing your greatest gifts
  • make our world a better place

As enough people do this, widespread personal and planetary change will naturally unfold. 

Am I a Christian?

I often am asked if I am a Christian.  This question is generally asked by two different sorts of people.  The first are fundamentalist Christians who are quick to tell me that I will fry and fritter forever if I don’t acknowledge Jesus as the only son of God and the only way to salvation.  The second are people who have a personal relationship with Jesus but want to resolve concerns about past religious teachings.

So, am I a Christian?

Yes, but not in the way you might think.  Over the years, I’ve met many people who really want to believe the Christian message, but can’t buy the orthodox version.  I hope this article helps in that regard.

There are, it seems to me, two basic types of Christians:

  1. Those who believe Jesus is the only son of God and the only way to salvation. In this belief system, those who do not believe this way are destined to a fiery eternal hell or, for special cases, a less-than-heavenly eternity.
  2. Those who believe that Jesus was a way-shower, a very evolved soul who came to earth to teach that we each are one with God. This image of Jesus showed that loving and serving one another are the best ways to be saved, see the Light, and know that the kingdom of heaven is within.

If you’ve read anything else by me, it should come as no surprise that I am in the second group.  As I’ve shared in other writings, there are indications that I came into this earthly experience with a partial remembrance of the big picture of life.  Since I was a child, I’ve been able to use that to judge whether religious teachings made sense to me or not.

I consider myself to be a Christian because I was raised in that tradition and because of my personal experiences.  I have also benefited much from Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Sufi, and Native American teachings.  My studies of and use of practices from these approaches have deepened my knowing that I am one with the One—and so is everyone else. When I fill out official papers that ask my religion, I put “God’s.”

My Sunday school teacher, who is now ninety-three years old, still marvels at a question I asked at age six.  She had been teaching that God created Adam and Eve as the first and only humans whose children and children’s children populated the entire planet.  I asked, “If that’s true, then where did the different races come from?”  She realized that she had never thought about it.

I was raised in a Lutheran church that was an important part of my early life.  I was an acolyte and part of Luther League group for young people.  My family attended every week and my Boy Scout troop met there.

Around age 18, I began attending a fundamentalist denomination for what I then considered a vital reason: my first serious girlfriend went there.  I gave my life to Christ twice at an altar call and never took it back. During that time frame, I read the Bible every day, went to church two or three times a week, and prayed daily.  I was very serious about my faith and felt that I was among the true believers who really knew the truth. I wasn’t shy about asking others if they knew Jesus, were saved, etc.

It wasn’t long, however, before serious questions began popping up:
– What about people who were raised in other cultures and religions?  Some of them have never heard of Jesus.  Were they automatically condemned because they remained faithful to the religion of their upbringing?

– What about the mentally retarded, severe alcoholics and drug users, or those horribly abused as children?  Would they be held accountable for their decisions during their one very difficult life and thus suffer for eternity?

– What sense does it make that the actions of Adam and Eve caused everyone else to be born into sin and need salvation?

– What average earthly parents would punish their children by passing their finger through a flame even for an instant?  How, then, does it make sense that an all loving Supreme Being would punish any of his children with eternal fire?

– If you use Old Testament dates to calculate the time elapsed since Adam and Eve were created, it’s about six thousand years.  What about carbon-dated archeological findings showing Homo Sapien remains from hundreds of thousands of years ago?  The math doesn’t add up.

The list went on and on.

My fundamentalist minister and friends told me to quit asking so many questions and just believe what the Bible says. My soon-to-be ex-girlfriend said my questions ‘scared her.’  But my heart and mind couldn’t buy the whole package.  I continued to pray daily and develop my relationship with the Divine, but I began to look elsewhere for sensible answers.  Others said I was backsliding, that old Beelzebub was steering me wrong.  But I felt it was a natural progression in my walk with God and Christ, a maturation of my spiritual growth.

At age nineteen, I was driving on an ice-covered four-lane highway on the way to my dear grandma’s funeral.  I was running late and was supposed to be a pallbearer so I sped up to twenty miles per hour to pass a semi-trailer truck that was going fifteen. After reaching an assured clear distance ahead of it, I carefully steered into the right hand lane, but went into a spin.

My car became a spinning top on pure ice and every revolution showed me that the semi was bearing down on me.  I could see the driver’s face contort as he frantically tried to stop without jackknifing. Thinking that I would probably die, I yelled out, “Jesus, help me!”  Immediately, my car shot off the road and into a ditch as the truck just missed me.

Laws of physics show that an outside force is needed to cause a spinning object to take a sudden change in trajectory.  Imagine the power necessary to alter the force created by my car’s mass spinning and speed.  This experience strengthened my inner knowing that there was something real to my relationship with Jesus, even if I didn’t believe the fundamentalist version.

During college, I read widely and enjoyed learning different philosophical and religious views.  I meditated and practiced yoga to more clearly access my inner consciousness.  I continued to pray daily and considered my expanding views to be a positive process. After graduating with a pre-med degree and working in hospitals around a lot of death and suffering, I had even more questions.

Next, I attended a Methodist theological school to find out for myself about the Christian message and to train in pastoral counseling.  The Biblical history classes taught there is very little objective evidence to support a literal interpretation about the story of Jesus.  It was originally an oral tradition that was written anywhere from several to many decades after his death.

The four gospels contain many differences and contradictions.  The Bible had been substantially changed via additions, deletions, translations and interpretations.  Great Protestant theologians such as Bonhoeffer, Tillich, Bultmann and others agreed that the Christian story must be primarily taken on faith.

This information allowed me to increasingly trust the messages that flowed from my heart and mind, especially during and after praying and meditating.  I learned that millennia-old stories from Africa and North America told of visits from a bearded stranger wearing sandals who had rare powers.  They considered him to be the greatest reflection of Great Spirit from the East.  All this made me more comfortable synthesizing common threads that surfaced in various spiritual wisdom sources.

Jesus used parables and metaphors, stories that people of all ages could hear.  These were not meant to be taken literally.  For example, a loving being of that magnitude would not slay unbelievers with a sword in his mouth and cast them into a lake of fire. That was added later to scare people and it worked very well.

Also added later were motifs present in other cultures that existed before the time of Jesus.  These themes included virgin birth, the only son of a deity, a savior carrying a cross, the crucifixion, and others.  According to some, these were added to strengthen the newly forming Christian church and withstand competition from other sects.  The emperor Constantine added aspects of other beliefs to make Christianity the official religion. These included:

– changing the Sabbath to Sunday to attract worshipers of a sun god

– creation of the holy trinity to attract followers of a three-headed god

– making December 25th, a day when the births of several other gods were celebrated, to also be the birth of Jesus

– celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Easter, another ‘pagan’ god holiday that existed before the birth of Jesus

There’s no doubt that details about the life and teachings of Jesus have been changed and misused by powerful church and political officials.  But those who have a personal relationship with the Source can read between the lines and differentiate between truth and distortion.  As Thomas Jefferson said, the truth is scattered in the Bible like diamonds in a dung heap.  Many children can tell the difference between the two.

I share this information, not to demean or disprove the message of Jesus, but to encourage people to appreciate his true teachings.  You can discover these by ‘reading between the lines’ and discerning what a loving, wise teacher would and would not say. Many people have rejected Christianity entirely because they feel or know parts of that message have been distorted.

I consider Jesus to be a master teacher and part of my spiritual support group.  I envision him to be just one embodiment of his inner Christ spirit.  That spirit has a message and impact for all people for all times.  And, the best part, we each have access to that same Christ Consciousness, a cosmic awareness that can be utilized in every aspect of life.

That Jesus is still active has been reported by multiple evidential mediums, life between lives clients, and near-death experiencers.  This clinical data adds to my belief that Jesus is a very illumined soul, probably one of the most advanced ever to visit earth.  This great teachers continues to powerfully assist and guide.  He volunteered to incarnate in an ignorant and fearful time, knowing that his ministry would likely result in suffering and death.  He did it anyway and, for those who look for the love-based messages, made a huge impact on the evolution of human consciousness.

Recently, I watched a documentary film about the life of Gautama Buddha. The Buddhist scholars interviewed freely admitted that they have no idea where fact and fiction begin and end regarding his life and teachings.  Such questions are secondary, they said, to the power and spirit of the message that has connected many people with their inner Light.  I feel that many people are ready to accept this about Christianity, thus my sharing this topic.

In 2019, I awakened one morning thinking about a cross I wore for many years forty-five years earlier.  I found it among some old momentos and started wearing it again.  I felt it was time to remember more deeply that I am a Christian – just not the kind that has 90% of people on the planet going to hell forever.  It felt good to more deeply feel Jesus as my master teacher, way shower, and spiritual brother.

My understanding of messages from Jesus:

  • love one another and follow the Golden Rule
  • you are one with God just as I am
  • bodily death is not the end of life so fear not
  • build your life on granite foundation of optimal self-care, spiritual awareness, service to others, having kindred spirits, and awakened living
  • don’t judge others but celebrate diversity as children of God

Simple, right?  But difficult to consistently remember and demonstrate on this planet.  When others ask how I discern the truth about religious and spiritual teachings, I recommend:

  • develop a personal relationship with Creator and however you envision Her emissaries: Jesus, Buddha, angels, guides, etc.
  • study the perennial philosophy, the golden threads of wisdom that run through all great religious and spiritual teachings
  • pray to talk to God and meditate to listen each day
  • assuming you are sane and do not harm others, trust your inner voice about what makes the most sense to you

For those desiring additional information on this topic, I recommend The Bible: A Biography and A History of God by Karen Armstrong; Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World by Bishop John Spong; Did Jesus Exist and Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman, PhD; I Am: The Secret Teachings of the Aramaic Jesus by Neil Douglas-Klotz, PhD; and Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor by Joseph Campbell.

                                                              *       *       *       *     *       *      *

Thank you for telling others about this article!  Your life, and that of others around you, will be more enriched when you:  

  1. read the article again so you really know it.
     
  2. discuss with close family and friends to more deeply internalize it.
     
  3. take action steps that seem right for you.
     
  4. share it with others via social media, discussion groups, and other ways.

Hugs, love, blessings, and let it shine!
Mark

Mark Pitstick, MA, DC
author, lecturer, counselor, and holistic chiropractic physician; spokesperson, research assistant, and strategic planner for the SoulPhone Project; founder of Greater Reality Living, Healing, Helping, and Sharing Programs

SoulProof.com    SoulPhone.org   GreaterRealityPrograms.com

Mark Pitstick, MA, DC is a master’s clinical psychologist, holistic chiropractic physician, and clinical nutritionist.  He has also helped others in pastoral counseling and suicide prevention / education settings.  His goal is to help you know and show that this earthly experience is a totally safe, meaningful, and magnificent adventure amidst eternity. 

To learn more about the Greater Reality LIVING, HEALING, HELPING, and SHARING Programs, visit ‘Greater Reality Programs’ top tab at SoulProof.com and SoulPhone.org.  Also see  articles #19, 72, 82, 119, 122, and 125 at SoulProof.com/Articles.

SoulProof.com provides many FREE resources:

  • 8 e-books Radiant Wellness, Soul Proof, The Eleven Questions, Greater Reality Living, The Big Picture of Life, The Afterlife Evidence, Ask the Soul Doctor, and Shining Light Parents Speak
  • 10 audio programs Holistic Breathing; Afterlife Contact; Ask Your Soul, Angels, and The Light; Pre-Birth Planning; Identify and Fulfill Your Purposes AND Enjoy Your Greatest Life; Your Life Review; Appreciate, Realize, and Transform; Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness; Past Life Regression; Heal and Transform Your Suffering
  • 4 audio books (Greater Reality Living, Soul Proof, Radiant Wellness, and Shining Light Parents Speak; we don’t have control over the others)
  • 125 Articles (as of 3/1/25) answering the most commonly asked questions and providing holistic solutions for your toughest challenges
  • 25 Radio Shows: interviews with experts on consciousness, afterlife, and creating an optimal earthly experience. These include Wayne Dyer, Brian Weiss, Anita Moorjani, Raymond Moody, Michael Newton, Caroline Myss, and others. 
  • 27 Videos on different pages
  • Monthly newsletters (subscriber sign-up at bottom of each website page)

Instead of payment, he asks that you: (1) fully use and appreciate the products, (2) share them with others, and (3) help others in ways you feel called, that is, pay it forward.

The following are also available for a fee:

  • 8 printed books Radiant Wellness, Soul Proof, The Eleven Questions, Greater Reality Living, The Big Picture of Life, The Afterlife Evidence, Ask the Soul Doctor, and Shining Light Parents Speak
  • Coaching / Counseling Sessions with Dr. Pitstick by Zoom to gain answers to your biggest questions and holistic solutions to your toughest challenges.

Note: This article is intended as a reference source, not to replace professional treatment for physical, emotional, or mental problems.  The author disclaims any liability arising directly or indirectly from the voluntary use of action steps discussed in article. 

I created this article while ‘wearing the hat’ of a clinician, counselor, and educator.  My statements are based upon some scientific research; much clinical and experiential evidence; my personal experiences; and my best current understandings.  This program does not reflect my roles with the SoulPhone Project since those require solid scientific data for all statements.