[Cheese]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Lately, I have been troubled in my own spiritual journey about the very function of "religion". I am a Christian. I was raised an evangelical, and I am quite content to remain in this tradition for reasons that I am still in the process of working out. Quite simply, I am most troubled by this: does my religion accurately reflect what its founder and icon intended and taught when he was alive? If we are able to strip the theological constructs that have been cobbled together around Jesus of Nazareth, what are we left with? A Galileean peasant who sought a new (or renewed?) kind of religious reform that sought to emphasize inward piety over outward expression. A fierce critic of the existing religious establishment who championed the cause of the poor, the marginalized, and the hopeless. A man who spoke openly about judgement for those who would make themselves into saints, and justice for those who had no delusions about their own social status. So, if Jesus was all of these things, how does this affect my own "religion"?

Jesus was a Jew, and because of his social standing, his geographical limitations and his own culture, he spoke to Jews. His followers were Jews. His "mission" was unto the Jews. His entire world was very thoroughly Jewish. For that reason, it only makes sense that his message adopted the deeply woven cultural fabric of Second Temple Judaism, but does this mean that Jesus was overly concerned about religion? About "Jewishness"?

I don't think so.

Religion and culture are far too closely intertwined to be easily disentangled, and I am coming to believe that we should not even bother to try. I am a "Christian" most certainly in large part because I am a Canadian of European descent. Just as Jesus was a Jew because he was, well, born Jewish. I think that had Jesus been Greek, or Roman, his message would have been similar in that he still would have championed the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized (incidently, is this not perhaps the reason why the Christian Church is thriving in developing countries? Could it have something to do with the fact that Jesus message resonates among the destitute?), but would likely also have spoken against the false sense of piety that accompanied offerings to the pantheon of Roman gods. Zeus would have been the supreme Lord of the Universe, but our devotion to him would be different than it had come to be construed.

I can't change the fact that religious strictures, dogma and traditions were developed around this truly remarkable figure who—in a very unique fashion—altered the focus of his followers away from the Temple, the rituals, the pomp and the omens and towards what really matters: altruism and virtue. I am in many ways bound to my Christian cultural distinction, and it is very much my religion. But in practice, I should like to think that my expression of my belief in God and in this man whom was claimed by others to be a god transcends my own orthodoxy.

Religion is not right, nor is it wrong, it simply is. And I think this is an important part of what Jesus sought to do: forget conversion. Forget sacrifice. Forget penance. Forget worship. Celebrate God in your relationship to one another. When Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father except through me." I think more accurately he was saying: "Look at me! I am a poor, partially literate craftsman who is hungry and tired and without a place to live. But I am feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and raising the dead! I am all about living my life for the benefit of others! This is my way! This is my truth! this is my life! And this is what matters to God!"

Why did the Jews hate Jesus? Why did they kill him? Because he threatened the very function of the religious establishment of which he was a part. With Jesus ethic and his practice in place among the masses—especially among the poor—the Temple became meaningless, and this made him a very dangerous man. I do not believe it was Jesus hope or his mission that humanity convert to Judaism; I certainly do not believe it was with the intent that everyone become Catholic or Protestant or Muslim. I believe that he believed that self-sacrifice was the key to spiritual satisfaction.

So. I will keep my religion. Not because I'm right and everyone else is wrong. I will keep it because it is apart of who I am, but it is no good unless I practice my religion (whatever it happens to be) the way Jesus practiced his.

Great post my friend...and I am very sorry to hear of your soul searching.
I hope you are able to deal with it as opposed to it dealing with you.
You are probably one of the smartest people on either side I know, and Im sure you will find your way out of your morass one day soon.
The way I view you has always been "someone who is trying to rescue your religion, or your personal Jesus from the grasps of the Moral Majority or the Religious right". Its a fight I wouldn't wade into at the best of times.
Your view of Religious History is more accurate than the 99% of people, theist or non. Of course you and I both know the line in the sand where actual proof of Jesus is skewed....and further, even if he did exist all that is attributed to him is even further distorted. The Jesus Seminar, for example, concluded that approximately 85% of the words and actions of Jesus as reported in the New Testament are not authentic.
Flatly borrowing lines from the New Testament cannot be taken at face value, the controversy regarding authenticity is too great. In saying that those who do use the NT as a guide to morality and understanding probably dont read or understand the document as its written.
I can as most do flatly use quotes and ask questions like:
Was Jesus Compassionate and pick out these..."Think not that I am come to send peace: I came not to send peace but a sword." (Matthew 10:34) "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." (Luke 22:36) "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." (Luke 19:27)

Or How Moral was Jesus and use these....If you do something wrong with your eye or hand, cut/pluck it off (Matthew 5:29-30, in a sexual context).Marrying a divorced woman is adultery. (Matthew 5:32)Don't work to obtain food. (John 6:27)Don't have sexual urges. (Matthew 5:28)Make people want to persecute you. (Matthew 5:11)Let everyone know you are better than the rest. (Matthew 5:13-16)Take money from those who have no savings and give it to rich investors. (Luke 19:23-26)
I think the Historical Jesus will always be somewhat of a stranger. No writer of his time confirms his story. The NT is contradictory and contains many historical errors. The story is filled with outrageous miracles. Most of the material is borrowed from pagan religions, and as with the pagan ideas, they are simply myths and fables. There is nothing wrong with myths and fables as long as one views the parables for what they are. You can learn a great deal from the prose of the ancient.