This is a story of atrocity, of abuse by the church! We so often hear reports of how church leaders have abused children who have been in their care. Some of the things that church authorities have done are horrendous. Not only today, but throughout history there has been abuse. Wars have been fought in the name of religion. Millions upon millions have been slaughtered for having a different religious belief to people who were in power! While these types of things are terrible, is this adequate reason to reject the idea that God exists?

The Bible reveals God as fair, just, and loving. Religion and religious people so often are far from being like the God they profess to follow. There is another story of abuse by the church that is often forgotten about.

Jesus is without a doubt an actual historical figure. He claimed to be here to reveal the true character of God. The Bible affirms Him to actually be God come to Earth in human form. What we find in His story is but another account of atrocity committed by the church.

Jesus faced much opposition from the religious leaders of His day. He went about teaching people to love and care for each other, yet the religion of the day sought for ways to silence Him. In the end, they ended up bringing Him to trial on false accusations and heaped a lot of abuse on Him, eventually having Him cruelly executed by crucifixion.

The religious leaders rejected and cruelly abused their own God in one of the great atrocities of history. The enemy of God (Satan) had hijacked religion. It is still true today. However, this does not mean that God does not exist, nor does it mean that there are not genuine followers of Jesus out there.

Jesus said that the way we treat other people, including little children, is like as if doing it to Him. In this sense, Jesus is still being treated the same way He was when He walked the Earth.

Where are the true, honest, kind, caring people who will show what it really means to be a follower of Jesus? Maybe it is time for people who see the flaws in religion to “come out” and show the world what a follower of Jesus really is!