(July 4, 2014 at 1:13 am)whateverist Wrote: Well if the way you interpret the story is as flexible as all that, then just how do you 'hold' your faith? Is it all wisdom stories and parables with those who recognize them as such keeping it on the down-low? I think many clergymen loose the literal beliefs but stay in the community and to feel like the shepherd. I'm probably making too much of this.No, you're making just enough out of this, and that is an important question that I need to answer.
I know that a Jesus figure did exist and certain people wrote about him.
Did he rise from the dead? I don't know, he hasn't proven that he did, to me anyways.
Worst case scenario: He didn't. His body decomposed and is humus on its way to the planet's core. That would be disappointing; he seemed like such a nice guy. But it has no effect on my life; the Christian practice of loving your neighbor is not affected by whether or not a Jew walked outside of a cave on Sunday morning. That doesn't even mean that what he taught was false; I'd still agree that we need to help the poor for reasons other than, "Jesus said so." To think otherwise would be an appeal to hypocrisy.
When I talk about Biblical events, I don't mean to say whether or not they happened. I'm just acknowledging that that is what somebody wrote down in a book.
