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Most of what people say about Christ these days seems irrelevant to me.
Conservative Christians worry about abortion and homosexuality, when as far as we know, Jesus never cared about either of those things.
Liberal Christians think Jesus was mainly concerned about helping the poor and being nice to everyone.
I think both liberals and conservatives are seeing Christianity through their own cultural perspective, which has nothing to do with the real meaning of the religion.
This is what, in my opinion, Christ and Christianity are really about:
Blood sacrifice -- extremely important, in many or most cultures. Central to ancient Judaism.
Need for salvation -- we can't begin to imagine what happens after we die. Should we just cruise along, assuming it will all work out somehow, without us doing anything? According to Christianity, we need perfect faith in GOD to avoid serious disasters. I don't know, but I think maybe that is true, or partly true.
The dark side -- Satan is REAL. There is always a dark side to everything, there has to be! Satan just represents the opposite of whatever we want, whatever we love, whatever we strive for. Satan is always there to oppose us, to make life a challenge. Life HAS TO BE a challenge!
Christ is the helper god, the guiding spirit, who can guide us through the maize of life, and the after life. Who we can call on in our constant efforts to overcome Satan.
Jesus and Christ are not the same thing. Christ is a symbol for the supernatural being who is available to each of us. Christ can be different for each of us. It also is called a Higher Power. Not the same as the infinite God, Christ is more personal and more accessible to us.
Jesus was a mortal human being, not biologically related to the Jewish God. He was a teacher, a healer, a prophet or shaman. There were people like Jesus in every ancient and prehistoric society.
Most of what people say about Christ these days seems irrelevant to me.
Conservative Christians worry about abortion and homosexuality, when as far as we know, Jesus never cared about either of those things.
Liberal Christians think Jesus was mainly concerned about helping the poor and being nice to everyone.
I think both liberals and conservatives are seeing Christianity through their own cultural perspective, which has nothing to do with the real meaning of the religion.
This is what, in my opinion, Christ and Christianity are really about:
Blood sacrifice -- extremely important, in many or most cultures. Central to ancient Judaism.
Need for salvation -- we can't begin to imagine what happens after we die. Should we just cruise along, assuming it will all work out somehow, without us doing anything? According to Christianity, we need perfect faith in GOD to avoid serious disasters. I don't know, but I think maybe that is true, or partly true.
The dark side -- Satan is REAL. There is always a dark side to everything, there has to be! Satan just represents the opposite of whatever we want, whatever we love, whatever we strive for. Satan is always there to oppose us, to make life a challenge. Life HAS TO BE a challenge!
Christ is the helper god, the guiding spirit, who can guide us through the maize of life, and the after life. Who we can call on in our constant efforts to overcome Satan.
Jesus and Christ are not the same thing. Christ is a symbol for the supernatural being who is available to each of us. Christ can be different for each of us. It also is called a Higher Power. Not the same as the infinite God, Christ is more personal and more accessible to us.
Jesus was a mortal human being, not biologically related to the Jewish God. He was a teacher, a healer, a prophet or shaman. There were people like Jesus in every ancient and prehistoric society.
Two questions. What is your source material about Jesus? In this source material, what is Jesus quoted saying about Himself?
OP, Christianity has as much in common with teaching of Jesus, as the last year melted snow. You look at the wrong source. Find HIS original word. That's actually is not easy, as it is well concealed from masses.
Jesus was a mortal human being, not biologically related to the Jewish God. He was a teacher, a healer, a prophet or shaman. There were people like Jesus in every ancient and prehistoric society.
That's pretty much how I see him: special and possibly even Special. Like Newton, da Vinci, Shakespeare, Einstein, Mel Blanc, Yogi Berra, Pope Francis et al.
OP, Christianity has as much in common with teaching of Jesus, as the last year melted snow. You look at the wrong source. Find HIS original word. That's actually is not easy, as it is well concealed from masses.
All we have of Christ's teaching is the gospels. It seemed to me there was very little in the gospels about Jesus being the biological son of God. He said very little about himself. His teaching was mostly about how to get to the kingdom of God.
Jesus never referred to himself as God. And if he seemed to imply it, that could have been inserted into the text later.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
That is the blood sacrifice aspect of Christianity, which is very central to the religion, and maybe to all religion.
Why is blood sacrifice so extremely important in ancient and prehistoric religions?
While he was alive, no one thought of Jesus as a blood sacrifice. That was decided after he died. Also note that he did not die like a typical sacrificial victim.
Jesus was a leader of a Jewish sect, the Christian religion that came later incorporated concepts from other religions. For example, the god who dies and is reborn, and the god who is half human. And, of course, blood sacrifice.
I am NOT saying Christianity isn't true, or real! I am just saying it's a much broader more general kind of truth. Too many Christians are hung up on physical specifics that just don't matter, or just can't be known.
Biological son of God? Can't possibly know, doesn't make sense anyway. Physically rose from dead? Can't possibly know, who cares anyway.
Crusader against homosexuality and abortion? No, not Jesus.
Socialist who advocated for the poor? No, not when you consider Jesus WANTED his followers to be poor. Modern socialists are the opposite.
Just saying -- so much that is IMPORTANT about Christianity is ignored now days, and so much that is irrelevant or unrelated is focused on.
We have an awful lot to be afraid of, and I believe we need something like Christianity to guide us. But for most Christians, it is being misused and misunderstood.
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