I've never been sceptical enough to suggest that Jesus never existed, neither have I ever been tempted to adorn him with the epithet 'Christ'. I'm relatively confident that a man called Jesus really did wander around the banks of the Sea of Galilee, talking the righteous talk and inspiring a new religion in much the same way as, in more recent times, Sun Myung Moon, David Koresh, Jim Jones and Adolph Hitler. Like these men, he was an inspired and charismatic leader who didn't allow his illusions of greatness to interfere with his life's mission.



However, for the sake of this argument, I'm prepared to suspend my disbelief for a second and assume for a second that Jesus really was the 'Son of God'.


Now lets move forward 2 millenia to the present day and imagine Christ's return. I'm guessing that his first stop would probably be The Vatican,the foremost vehicle of His Word.


Would a man who chose to live his life in abject poverty endure the fact that the Catholic Church is the world's largest land owner? Could the man who kissed and forgave society's degenerates abide his Church's intolerance of human moral frailties? Would the Son of God, a man who spoke consistently of austerity and simplicity be happy to sleep in the great mansions of bishops?

The fact is that today's church bears little more than a passing resemblance Christ's vision and as such most realistic christians (an oxymoron?) should conclude that the organised Christian Church should not bear His .


Dr. David Starkey, in a series on BBC Radio argues a simiar point, highlighting the 5 major historical figures who have 'Killed Christianity'. His candidates:
1. St. Paul

2. Emperor Constantine
3. Martin Luther

4. Sir Isaac Newton

5. Pope John Paul II