Yeah, I would like to have your ideas about this issue. Who do you think He was? What do you think of the Lord Jesus? I will give my own views after you. Thanks

I think that he grew to be important historical figure, but as you might suspect by my use of the lowercase h in the pronoun, I don't be-and-live-in the empirical-impact-of-divine-supernatural part of it.

The best comparison that I've read was that the life that Jesus lived was like a grain of sand, and everything said about him became a pearl around it. His friends wrote about his philosophy, thought it would be cool to add miracles, gathered up a following, and finally caught a break in the political climate. After that, it was council meetings in Nicaea, translations upon translations of the canon material, witch hunts, Inquisitors, Crusaders, theologians creating some pretty cool structures for how they thought the afterlife worked, charities, orphanages, community identity and identification, personal interpretations either cultivating serenity and patience and kindness and trust--or less savory traits.

It's not what I'd hubristically consider a pearl of wisdom, more like overpriced coagulated oyster snot that conceals a grain of truth...conceals it nigh completely. If other people find beauty and profound value in that, well then they do.

My understanding of this one point: Jesus serves as the keystone of Judeo-Christian mythology. The practice of animal sacrifices to temporarily cleanse sin became mirrored in the event of the crucifixion whereby Jesus was the "animal" sacrifice. He's said to have lived a human life without sin, conforming to the divine standards to show that it wasn't impossible. To accept this interpretation of the events comes with an understanding that Jesus did suffer as human beings suffer, both betrayal and sheer physical pain. So, there is an immense empathy that can be projected onto him. Whatever you're suffering now, so the story goes, Jesus has been there and done...something different and more constructive than the natural (godless, sinful) human inclination. He conformed to the virtues upheld by--Well, that last bit's one of many points where my "suspension of disbelief" as fiction writers term it, sort of descends a bit from where it is suspended.

If people can take that message to heart, that wrath can be released, that pride can be humbled, and all of that...well, if I might say so, that is all very healthy both for an individual and for society. Yay, Jesus!


But then I start thinking. Some ideas that I picked up:
- Early Christians appreciated the philosophy of Jesus, but the event of the crucifixion was almost an embarrassment, which was why earlier on his logo was a fish instead of a cross. The message of the crucifixion that I described above is, I think, immensely beautiful and it can be true if you believe in it, but the call to convert people to that attitude (or at least the label...how do you even check people's attitudes?) is ineffective because it's not for everyone. It only says that it is.
- Morality in Judeo-Christian mythology is more proscriptive than it is contextual.
- The proscriptions are, apparently, contextual. Sigh.
- Yay, empiricism! Yay, invariables, repeatability, and peer review!
- Yay, equally prominent mythologies with equally valuable messages.
- Boo, failures and paradoxes in social justice. (Elisabeth Schlussler Fiorenza wrote a whole lot of books about that, you might be interested in...or uninterested in.)
- Boo, witch hunts, inquisitors, crusaders, why did Jesus curse a seemingly-innocent fig tree, where exactly does Judas fit in to all this, and beginning and ending with faith rendering most discussions about this issue to lead nowhere unless the parties in question had the same standpoint to start with.
- Boo, imperative to convert leading to supremacy and harmful cultural norms that are essentially gaslit as not harmful because it's holy. Not that I'm some omniscient objective observer to have that opinion, of course, but if my subjective experience/opinion of it were invalidated, then what's the point of even discussing...actually, this is the same point as the above boo.

Most of the above points, of course, are pretty far removed from Jesus as a person. Like I said, he's the grain in the pearl to me.

If we'd consider comparing experiences of casual theophany, that might be closer to the topic but I'd need to start from another point to get to that and I think I've gone on far too long as is.

I don't think I know that JESUS is who he says he is, the only begotten son of God. He is the Savior of the world. He's a gentlemen because he never forces his way in, he's a best friend when you have none. I could go on but to sum him up in one word he is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

For those who don't believe he is who he says he is, ask him to reveal himself to you. Trust me he will.

writeaway07 (07:48pm Sun, Nov  9, 2014)

For those who don't believe he is who he says he is, ask him to reveal himself to you. Trust me he will.

I did this almost two weeks ago. Nothing so far. How long does it usually take?

I'm probably going to get "flocked" for this but He's my best friend. I feel His presence when I read my Bible and pray. He helps me make it through the day. I have a lot of anxiety and suffer from PTSD. If it wasn't for Him, I'm sure things would be much worse but with Him I somehow manage to find peace.