Jesus

[spencer]

I'm not worried about if he is real or not (although I do believe he was a real guy) and I'm not worried about whether or not he was crazy.

My personal theory is he was a real guy, did some cool stuff, and perhaps some of it got exaggerated. I dunno, just what I randomly think but I don't really care.

I don't follow Christianity, I'm not against it because I would feel that to be morally wrong and I would be honored to be invited to anyone's religious event regardless of their religion if they were asking because they wanted to share a veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryxinfinity personal part of their life with me.

I believe what I believe not because it's logical, makes sense, or sounds sane. I believe what I believe because it is what I feel works for me. I follow my religion based on what I well, personally think is true based upon faith and it's what allows me to be a happier, healthy, kinder, and more productive member to society.

Basically because of faith I have no need to be concerned about if it's true or not. I just follow it because it feels right and it feels good and I never forget that that feeling may show itself in a different form for different people.

So I guess my answer is, if I'm enjoying what he's saying, if it's feeling right to me, if it's making sense even in a nonsensical way, if I'm just clicking with it. Sure, I might say yeah he sounds like a lunatic but it feels right to me. So I believe it.

That's not really a question I find to be really...important. The big question I think is really what kind of person is this making you be? Are you bettering yourself? Are you bettering society? Are you being a good person? Are you finding yourself at peace in times of trouble or when it comes to death? Those are the things I find to be worth the pondering. Not whether or not it's real. When it comes to religion it's a matter of faith and I think people forget what faith means. If they knew they wouldn't be bothering with thinking about real or not.

[LateBloomer]

I've nearly sworn off all these religious topics but what the hell, I dip my toe back into this one for a second.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was raised Catholic, left the Church, considered myself an atheist for many years, but now I'm back in the Church as a practicing Catholic.

I believe my experiences help me to see both sides of the coin.

I'm neither zealot, nor skeptic.

Agree with BA that these discussions always boil down to our personal faith. But where I feel everything breaks down with respect to the "value" of the teachings is whether or not these stories (lessons) should be taken literally.

My answer is, sometimes yes; sometimes no.

CLEARLY (to me at least) what was taught was not meant to be taken literally. But the zealots can't stand to hear that. Christ may have been an actual historical figure who walked the face of the Earth. But did he really heal the sick, walk on water, rise from the dead? Was he really the Son of God?

Depends on what it means to be sick!
Depend on what water means to you!
Depends on what life and death mean to you!
Depends on who your Father is!

Oh yes, this kind of talk would bring gasps of shock and horror in catechism class. But I don't have any more crises of faith. I don't have to defend the illogical.

Carl Jung said it best (and I paraphrase): We have a dual nature. Logical and Illogical. Rational and Emotional. Physical and Metaphysical. We're healthiest when our two sides are balanced.

Too much logic, you're a heartless machine.
Too much emotion, you're CUCKOO!!!

[sephirothtx]

actuyally we have absolutely no evidence jesus existed, no historical records, no great reocrdings of revelations or his teachings, no physical evidence, nothing but the scrolls in the bible, nothing but the records written many years after his alleged death


and that by no means is any more proof we have of jesus than we do of superman or batman, we have books, that said they exist, and they did great things, but nothing to back them up.

[Dreamer]

No Jesus was not real.

Virgins can't get pregnant.

The world is not flat.

Women are not equal to cattle.

Slavery is wrong.

Incest is wrong.

Selling your daughter as a sex slave is wrong.

Child abuse should never be condoned.

Bashing babies to death against rocks isn't nice.

Genocide is highly reprehensible.

Rape is never ok, no matter what voices in your head tell you otherwise.

Ritualistic human sacrificing is deplorable.

Unicorns, as cute as they may be, don't exist.

Giants don't exist.

Bearded misogynistic sociopaths in the sky impregnating virgins don't exist.

The world is not 2,000 years old.

Snakes can't talk.

Humans can't multiply via the ribs of their fellow man.

People can't be brought back from the dead.

A large demon does not occupy residence below the Earth's crust.

Need I go on?

A book written over 2,000 years ago by dehydrated, opiate-fueled savages, hallucinating in the desert trying to understand the origin of life shouldn't be taken literally, like most of it isn't today by cherry-picking "Christians", and other delusional people of "faith".

[LateBloomer]

A book written over 2,000 years ago by dehydrated, opiate-fueled savages, hallucinating in the desert trying to understand the origin of life shouldn't be taken literally, like most of it isn't today by cherry-picking "Christians", and other delusional people of "faith".

Just because some of those ideas shouldn't be (and were never meant to be) taken literally doesn't mean they have no value.

The VALUE is finding the lesson in the parable (story).

The PROBLEM (like any -ism) is people perverting a body of work (like, say, Marx's Communist Manifesto or the U.S. Constitution) for their own selfish reasons.

Why not just let the work stand on it's own without judging it?

[Counselor]

This thread, along with years of Christian bullshit-gulping, has inspired me to go to other nations and spread Druidism.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

This thread, along with years of Christian bullshit-gulping, has inspired me to go to other nations and spread Druidism.

Considering that the druids were wiped out and didn't have a written record, that will be hard to do.

[sephirothtx]

Just because some of those ideas shouldn't be (and were never meant to be) taken literally doesn't mean they have no value.

The VALUE is finding the lesson in the parable (story).

The PROBLEM (like any -ism) is people perverting a body of work (like, say, Marx's Communist Manifesto or the U.S. Constitution) for their own selfish reasons.

Why not just let the work stand on it's own without judging it?

i believe i can just randomly point out dozens of problems with leaving the bible as it is and using it as a good parable.

such as, my children aren't listening to me, i should drown them all

there is plenty about the bible which is neither good, or naturally moral, i say naturally moral because moralities split depending whether it comes from true nature of logic and reason, or mythology

[Counselor]

Considering that the druids were wiped out and didn't have a written record, that will be hard to do.

I figure some light Wicca blended with Tao and hippie ideals, topped with some pagan rituals and a sprinkling of natural magic, I think I'll be close enough. Wanna help?

[Bowyn Aerrow]

I figure some light Wicca blended with Tao and hippie ideals, topped with some pagan rituals and a sprinkling of natural magic, I think I'll be close enough. Wanna help?

I'm a Christian, so I guess that is kinda sorta against my religion. :eek: