How could you miss it? I think that you expected others to find what only you can find for yourself. Now you are disappointed that "they" led you astray, as if you are some "victim" of religion.
Personally, you could toss out all of the NT save the Sermon on the Mount and, if you followed it, you would be the LIGHT of the world......few opt to go that route though. Most are looking for somebody else to tell them how to get to the kingdom.
You should simply accept that Christianity was made political long ago, but that doesn't alter the initial intent of Jesus Christ and His teachings.....go read the Sermon on the Mount again and you will "see" it more clearly.
I think that you expected others to find what only you can find for yourself. Now you are disappointed that "they" led you astray, as if you are some "victim" of religion.
Nope.
Personally, you could toss out all of the NT save the Sermon on the Mount and, if you followed it, you would be the LIGHT of the world......few opt to go that route though. Most are looking for somebody else to tell them how to get to the kingdom.
I've heard of cafeteria christians before, but that takes the cake.
And no one needs a fictional 'sermon on the mount' from a fictional 'jesus' to be able to live peacefully with others. One could just as easily obey the 42 Laws of Maat. Or any other set of moral/ethical principles. Or one could just be more self-centered and realize it is just better to be at peace than at war.
Compassion? The Sermon on the Mount is about compassion and, personally, I do think that this world could use more of it. Frankly, I don't know of any Christians who follow the Sermon on the Mount. One Christian told me that it was meant for angels, others tell me they can't be "perfect" like that because they are sinners......but I do know Buddhists who practice the teaching and they sure do shine, which reveals the truth in the teaching about being the light.
The problem is, it is spread so thin among those that do not deserve compassion that the term has become meaningless.
Compassion is beyond the age of blame. It is the love of ONE for ALL with no exceptions. So there is none who "do not deserve" compassion as this is a judgment on others from a limited perspective within a linear time stream. Compassion can only arise when love supersedes the need to judge and where forgiveness is a state of being and not an occasional act granted on a whim.
IMO this "love for all" also dilutes love to the point of meaninglessness. No one is this one-dimensional. Even the jew 'god' does not make such a claim in scriptures where it is quoted verbatim somehow. bible.cc/isaiah/45-7.htm