Why I'm identifying as agnostic...

[Aractus]

Hmm, you know a lot more about the bible than I ever did. I don't really know what it says, but I do agree that it is other people's motivated selection of stories attributed to Jesus.

Well yes you could say that in the sense that the stories particularly about Jesus that record his actual teachings are only found in the Synoptic Gospels and John, and that Acts and the other Epistles are all based on Jesus but don't record his actual teachings. There are some exceptions to this of course, for instance Paul's epistle "1 Corinthians" records the Last Supper which is an actual near indisputable historical event concerning Jesus and his disciples. But most of it is theology that has been negotiated agreed upon with Matthew, James etc that he is teaching to the Corinthians or to the other recipients of his various epistles.

What I think I've internalized is just the desire to understand everyone's perspective as somewhat inevitable given their life experience. Giving them the benefit of the doubt so far as possible. Now I often enough do not succeed but I don't mind admitting I admire people who give respect to others first, not just as pay back. But I don't think of Jesus as a savior or lord or sacrifice or any of that stuff.

Nor do I, anymore. Once Jesus is not accepted as a messiah I see him as wanting to strip away Judaism back to its textual roots - meaning that he isn't necessarily proclaiming to be the messiah or the son of god that may have been written about him but not accurate, but he did certainly want is for Jews to go back to following what their god teaches and not what has been added to, etc, by the so-called teachers of the law and those in authority.