So I was just having a fruitful discussion with a few people on Facebook about the fact I sort of invent Jesus or God into my own image (in some ways)…and I think we all do.
I find it funny when a Christian tries to tell me how well they know God (or Jesus) and what was meant within the scriptures. I don’t have much of an issue with that – each to their own about how well they think they know a deity they cannot even prove, nor see, nor have met (including me). Nonetheless, the scriptures are used for justification about it and/or other church beliefs/practices.
My issue is simple: how can you be sure you are not inventing a version of Jesus (or God) based on what your church believes or your own preconceived notions shaped by the 20th and 21st century? How sure, on a scale of 1-100%, can you be about what you perceive Jesus to be?
Ok let’s get into some small things to consider on this topic.
(1) Jesus – followed Judaism or invented a new faith called Christianity?
(2) Jesus – believed himself to be God or believed himself to be messiah/christ? Can you see the difference?
(3) Mary – virgin or not? And if so, why is that necessary?
(4) God – a trinity or One? Can you actually see the qualitative difference between the numbers 1 and 3?
(5) God – does he/she/it have a name? If so, what is it?
(6) Faith – Do Gentiles follow the Jewish faith or not? If not, what are they asked to follow from the disciples? Why do we use the Tanakh (OT)?
(7) Faith – How come Christianity has sprung up so many various strands of denominations (and other faiths) if it is so easy to define? How can you be sure you’re faith is the correct one?
I find it rather funny that any Christian could say, with 100% certainty, they have there ‘beliefs’ correctly managed.
Loosing My Religion 