Even the Loving, Compassionate, Forgiving, and Patient Jesus Christ Overacted, or Not? - On Christian Censorship

Reading the Bible, several passages perplexed me. The loving, compassionate, forgiving, and patient Jesus Christ used such strong words to criticize certain people or events that even I, a believer in Christ, believed that He overreacted.

Referring to the clergymen at that time, He says, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows" houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation." (Mark 12:38-40) He also says, critically, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? ...Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" (Matthew 15:3-9). And, astonishingly, He even goes to the point of condemnation, "... woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." (Matthew 23:13).

Why did Jesus Christ use such strong words, even condemning the clergymen at that time? How could the loving, compassionate, forgiving, and patient Jesus Christ use such strong words?

When I read these passages for the first time, I was secretly happy at finding one of His personality faults or shortcomings, "Gotcha, the loving, compassionate, forgiving, and patient Jesus Christ overreacted! He overreacted!" I remained happy at such findings until a pastor at a large church in Los Angeles asked me to remove one of my articles titled The Nature of God According to Jesus Christ and Learn to Follow the Teachings of Christ to Love, Forgive, be Humble, Relate to God on Our Own, Seek for Knowledge, and Grow Spiritually from a mobile social group of church members. I followed his request. "No big deal," I thought. "This is just a lone incident." We live in the United States, and we supposed to have the freedom of speech. I was just sharing information that I learned, which strengthened my belief in Christ. The pastor must had his reasons that I was not aware of.

Another incident made me think twice. Curious about the early history of Christianity, I registered an account at one of the largest Christian forums in the US. I asked the questions, and also brought up Roberta Grimes and the book "Thiaoouba Prophecy", a book that strengthened my belief in Christ. I was hoping that the faiths of other people like me can also be strengthened by reading the book. However, my account was immediately deleted without warning. Please note that I used the word "deleted", not "suspended", meaning that there is no second chance. I contacted their administrator, trying to see if I violated any of their rules, and hopefully, with sincere efforts, my account could be reinstated. The answer is No. It was deleted because I mentioned the book "Thiaoouba Prophecy" and Roberta Grimes. I thought there was only suppression of freedom of speech in North Korea, and Iran, not in Christian communities. I never knew that censorship existed among Christians. (Well, I know thousands of people died during the Spanish Inquisition, and Cathars, groups of peace loving Christians, were also killed.)

Despite what happened in history, most Christians do give the impression that they are friendly, loving, compassionate, forgiving, and patient, if you follow their doctrines. Questions can be asked, with certain limitations. As long as you follow their rules, you will be fine. Wait a second, am I talking about Christians or the North Korean government? They do seem to have a lot of similarities. They must get along well.

Compared to the suppression of freedom of expression, hypocrisy seems to be a bigger issue. In the past, the clergymen, or the scribes, "go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers." Today, do you think that some of the priests in Catholic churches updated such descriptions to a more modern style? Has anyone checked how some of the most well-known Catholic churches or organizations spend their money? Why did Roberto Calvi, an Italian banker, also known as "God's Banker" by the press because of his close association with the Vatican (the Holy See), died mysteriously?

Do we really have freedom of expression? If I am requested to remove my article that strengthened my belief just because it also wrote about the book Thiaoouba Prophecy, and if my account is deleted just because I asked some questions about the early history of Christianity and that I mentioned Roberta Grimes and the book Thiaoouba Prophecy, do you think they would allow me to bring up the death of Roberto Calvi?

In order not to be censored further, I will just stop here, with an ending quote for your thoughts:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. ... A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them." (Matthew 7:15-20).

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