The following is only an expression of the current belief of the author (Bill Henson), and is never to be considered the word of God by anyone. These beliefs are sure to change over time, and this "gospel" will either change to reflect that or be erased.

The Gospel According to Bill

Chapter I God

1) YHWH WAS examining a small world circling a third rate yellow sun in the corner of a small galaxy located on the rim of one the smaller universes. 2) There were many other planets circling much more impressive suns, but this one was special. 3) The creatures on it were not as well behaved as were the other world�s inhabitants. 4) Somehow, even the creator did not really know why, the creatures that caused the most trouble were dearer than those who caused no problems. 5) The creatures on this particular planet were more troublesome than all those on the hundreds of other worlds put together.6)They appeared to be spiritually deaf. No matter how great the effort to communicate with them, they never seemed to get it right.

7)Unlike other worlds a single group had been selected to teach the others, because these beings were so wayward that it was possible to work only with small numbers of them. 8) Only one in a thousand of them could hear at all, and even they invariably made such silly mistakes, that just how much they were able to hear was debatable. 9) Some of those who could hear, and were willing to listen to him, kept records of their experiences, but those accounts were often combined with customs and beliefs borrowed from neighboring tribes. 10) The resulting mixture not only were made into scrolls with great influence over them, but contained some of the most outrageous mistakes imaginable.

11) Surely intelligent beings could not believe that of him. 12) They actually believed that the stench of burnt flesh was enjoyable to their deity, and that He required them to supply it at regular intervals. 13) They seemed to feel guilt over absurdly trivial offenses, and then commit horrendous crimes and blame YHWH for them, apparently with no sense of guilt at all. 14) One of the weirdest things was that they thought that he was angry at them all the time.

15)Nearly all of their ceremonies were dedicated to placating him for some imagined offense. 16)The small faction of this tribe that had taken on themselves to do all the burning and placating sometimes considered fantasies to be communications.
17) The sum of all these events made the people totally unmanageable. 18) It was a definite problem, but what could be done about it?

19) If only there was one of them who could be reached who would really listen, and had the verbal skills and the compassion, to truly give a genuine message without distortion. 20) Such were not to be found. If anything could be done Yahweh knew that he would have to do it himself.

21) Maybe a combined approach against the priestly caste and the sacrificial system would work best to eliminate both. 22) They wanted priests and sacrifices maybe he could blunt their appetites for such things. 23) The priests might be eliminated by making sure that everyone knew that relationships were the only important spiritual element.

24) Compassion for each other would give them a taste of eternity. 25)Serving others should be their greatest joy, and at the same time give them the sense of importance they seemed to crave 26) Then after they learned the important things they would get a sacrifice that they wouldn�t forget, the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. 27) Perhaps such a great impression could be made that they would mark time by the event.

Chapter II Y�shua

1) Mary was pleased but a little puzzled by her new baby. He acted like a lot of other babies she had seen, but there was something different about her own. 2) Perhaps it had something to do with the dream she had had about the angel. 3)She had told Joseph about the angel and the dream but he had not seemed too impressed and didn�t really seem to like the child. 4)She didn�t understand him at all she had thought he wanted a child, didn�t he know that his antipathy toward the boy would cause talk in a community as small as theirs. 5) Oh well, time would draw them together and they would learn to love each other, she was sure of it.

6) Her mother had told her that men often resented the first child, because they were children themselves and only married to keep a mommy with them at all times. 7) She thought she would name the child Y�shua, because the angel had said that he would save his people.

8) Y�shua watched the people who came to John to be baptized. He also watched the kibitzers and critics on the bank, they were of the priestly clan that he hoped to disband. 9) Their certainty about spiritual matters was astounding, especially considering that nearly everything that they said was wrong. 10) They needed what he had to offer but were too proud and ignorant to accept it. 11) It was a shame, because if they could be converted then the nation of Israel would follow. 12) The only reason that the common person didn�t support the temple and priesthood more now, was because the self-absorbed religious leaders imagined that they were self-sufficient.

13) Y�shua had spent several years just observing the human scene and deciding on the best way to proceed. 14) Few would listen to him, anyway, before his physical body reached about 30 years of age, so he was using the time constructively until then.

15) The heart of John was evident to Y�shua and he was pleased with him, maybe this baptism was a symbol he could use against the priests, they certainly didn�t make much use of it themselves.

16) After allowing John to baptize him, Y�shua walked away deciding to start his campaign to turn the hearts of the people to YHWH. 17) He realized that since he would not be able to work with those already in religious circles, because their hearts were closed to him, he would have to work with those whom the priests had given up on, the disenfranchised, the outcasts, the sinners, the expendables of society.
18) It would work out fine since those were the ones most likely to accept him.

19) Walking along the shoreline he headed for the area where James and John Boanerges and Peter and Andrew ben Simon docked their fishing boats. 20) They worked in a cooperative manner, aiding each other in hard times, even though both families ran independent businesses. 21) He had had his eye on them for a long time thinking that they would have made excellent prophets had their situations been different. 22) After greetings were over and having helped them get their nets in shape Y�shua talked to them about leaving the boats for awhile and helping him start his ministry. 23) They weren�t hard to convince since each had wanted a closer relationship with God and been disillusioned with the temple leadership, 24) They had also grown a little weary of fishing everyday and wanted to try something else.

25) In a few days he had gathered enough other men and women, whom were captivated by him and were eager to help, to start his training sessions. 26) It was immediately apparent that Joanna, James, John and Peter would be the leaders in the group, with Andrew and Mary the greatest help and most dependable. 27) Judas was going to be trouble, Y�shua could see it coming, he was rather narrow minded and seemed sure that he knew what just exactly what the world needed.

Chapter III Y�shua�s ministry

1) Y�shua encouraged baptism but decided not to baptize anyone himself, as he knew it would have legal significance if he baptized others, a requirement. 2) He wanted nothing to be required for the heavenly kingdom except belief and trust in YHWH.

3) Y�shua traveled the countryside teaching about the kingdom of God and healing those who came to him for help. 4) In all cases he healed the spirit first, he had found that a sick spirit infected the entire body. 5) In some cases the spirit had so degenerated that it�s greatest desire was to die, and it would attempt to kill it�s own body to accomplish this.

6) During his ministry to the people in the surrounding countryside and his teaching periods with his disciples, his greatest hindrance was from the priests and the Pharisees. 7) They would gather to heckle him and ask questions designed to entrap him and make him look foolish in front of the crowds. 8) In these attempts to derail his ministry, however, these efforts to sabotage only increased his reputation as a master teacher and sage. 9) They also tried to belittle him by telling stories about his drinking and association with the lower classes and criminals. 10) It soon became clear to them that their enmity toward him only served to increase his popularity, which enraged them further and they decided that he had to die.

11) In order to protect themselves from the crowd they decided that Y�shua�s death had to appear to result from a collusion between Rome and his own followers. 12) They immediately began lobbying efforts with Rome, talking about how dangerous he was and that he would soon have the countryside enflamed if he was allowed to continue stirring the people up.

13) At the same time some of them began efforts to turn his disciples against him with money and the offer of special favors if they helped stop him and the threat of serious trouble with the authorities if they continued to follow him. 14) Y�shua was apprised of these offers as soon as they started by everyone involved except Judas. 15) He realized that Judas would soon turn against him but as this would help him in his eventual goal he did nothing to stop the event from happening.

16) Y�shua began his ministry in earnest. He had to give as many as possible a chance to accept the thing that were important. 17) The disciples were still largely untrained but they would have to get most of their training in actual situations.
18) He began to talk about trust, compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness. 19) He taught about how to treat those one lived with and among. 20) Do you want to honor God? Then do so with your neighbor, with your enemy, and with those in need. 21) If you have family or friends who object to your service to God then ignore them, it is better to be estranged from family or friends than from your own spirit and from God.

22) He freed those who believed in him from the burden of doing charities to earn points with the religious establishment and opened the way to do those things out of love and compassion. 23) If a person was no longer judged for his own sin then why would they judge others harshly for theirs. 24) If they still believed that their deeds earned their way to heaven, then they would feel justified in condemning all those whose deeds did not measure up to some predefined standard. 25) All were forgiven therefore there was no reason to fear death, and no reason to harbor resentments toward who did not appear to be "living right". 26) The kingdom of God was here, not in some pie in the sky by and by, but here to be lived and enjoyed in the present.

27) Y�shua told many stories to illustrate his teachings, knowing that the stories would be around long after his principles were forgotten. 28) He continually stressed forgiveness, non-judgmental attitudes, love for each other, and acceptance of one�s self. 29) You have received all of these things from God, you are not a savings account, so now you must disperse these things as quickly as you received them.
30) The dead sea was dead and devoid of life because it only received, hoarded, and gave up nothing.

31) He taught them to pray by showing them how to open their minds and hearts to God. 32) He often prayed so himself, because even though he and YHWH were one, fitting an infinite multi-universe spanning God into a mortal body was impractical.
33) YHWH thus had only put what part of himself was necessary into the body of Y�shua, and the greater part was still in the heavens. 34) Y�shua used the father/son model because it was easy for humanity to understand. 35) He also used other models; that of friends, lovers, bread, water, bride/groom, master/servant, employer/hired hand, etc..

Chapter IV Beginning of the End

1) Y�shua knew that the priests plans were nearing completion. 2) Judas had yielded and agreed to help them. 3) Rome had fallen in with the treason charge and decided to try him on it. 4) His own plan was about to be finished. 5) He was tempted to take a little more time and make sure that his message had been received, even though he knew that another four or five years would make little difference in the end. 6) Besides all sides were at the moment converging on one solution to the problem, and changing the timing might more harmful than beneficial to his overall plan.

7) Now was the time to really emphasize the main points of his message to those who were willing to listen. 8) The time for worship of God in temples or holy mountains was over. Man should worship in spirit and in truth, wherever he found himself to be. 9) No intermediary was necessary or permitted between mankind and God. 10) God would write his laws in the heart and instruction from religious experts was not needed. 11) Such instruction would cause the clear message to be twisted if it were sifted through the biases and ignorance of priests and other religious experts.

12) When man was living life to the fullest he would have little interest or motive in attempting to control the lives of others. 13) Above all Y�shua would return to the hearts of mankind and would always be with them to give them insight and instruction on the proper way to live. 14) This was to assure them that the spirit of God would always be with them in whichever situation they found themselves.

15) One day while he was talking to his disciples, Judas appeared followed by a large contingent of soldiers. 16) Judas approached Y�shua and kissed him, whereupon the soldiers immediately arrested him. 17) The disciples, confused by the surprise visit and arrest upbraided Judas for allowing the soldiers to follow him. 18) Judas� defense was that their meetings were hardly a secret and in fact were well within eyesight of the temple, and that the arresting officers were on the way there anyway and did not need a guide.

19) Taken immediately before Pilate, Y�shua was interrogated by him, before being sentenced to death by crucifixion. 20) Pilate was determined to keep the peace in Judea ,and if it took getting rid of a rabblerouser to do it, then that is what he would do. 21) He saw and heard nothing that indicated that this fellow was dangerous, but why take chances? These quiet guys often were the worst ones.

22) Y�shua said nothing during the questioning or sentence, there was nothing to say, and after all this was part of the reason for his incarnation. 23) He realized that his silence was further incriminating, but since everything had been pretty well decided before his arrest anyway, anything he could have said would have made little difference.

Chapter V The end times

1) Y�shua was crucified at 9 A.M. There had been no notification from the authorities for the time, and so no one was there that he knew, when he was hung on the cross. 2) The women who had traveled with and cared for him arrived about an hour late. They left for the execution grounds as soon as they heard that it was taking place. 3) None of the men made it as they were afraid that they would be arrested.

4) Y�shua spent the time in prayer for himself and his followers. He was in despair because he knew that his message would be changed almost before he left earth for heaven. 5) The disciples would make small changes in it and distort it just enough so that the resulting message would be diluted.

6) A new religion would be formed that bore his name but those in charge would be nearly as bad as those they were replacing. 7) Most doctrine would be intended to increase the power of the church, and maintain control over those who needed comfort and support.

8) Through his despair he realized that he felt alone and cut off from himself.
9) He had began to think of himself as being more and more distinct from his heavenly self, and focusing more on the things around him and on the situations that he was in, than on the ultimate plan. 10) He had even found himself pleading with himself for more time. 11) This he realized suddenly was probably what humans felt like all the time. 12) Uttering forgiveness for the people responsible for his being where he was, and an apology to Job, he gave up the ghost.

13) Mary and the other women pleaded for the release of his body, and Joseph of Arimithea donated the tomb, which he and Nicodemus used to inter the body of their master. 14) Defeated and broken hearted they finally dispersed and made their way home. 15) A few days later Mary, Joanna, and a few friends made their way back to the tomb to prepare the body, as they had had no time to do so before the holiday set in, on the night of the crucifixion.

16) On their arrival, however, they found the stone removed from the opening and Y�shua waiting to talk to them. 17) He sent them out to tell the others, and half in delirium and half in stunned joy, they went excitedly to carry out his wishes. 18) No one would believe them until they made the trip to see for themselves.

19) The following day Y�shua met with his disciples and continued his instruction, knowing that much of it would be forgotten or changed, but also knowing that enough would be remembered to give them a start on the right way. 20) Perhaps now some would be able to understand him and be able to tell others of his desires. 21) He at least could understand their helplessness better and maybe that would aid in communicating with them. 22) After several weeks of fellowship and instruction he returned to his place in the heavens, and watched them make a shambles of his message.