If you've lived in this world but a year or four, you know what (or rather who) I mean by "he".
I have come a long way since Art began this blog. You can see in his title and heading what he proposed this blog to be about.
Well, things that stay the same forever are not really learning and growing and living.
So, we continue to read and search and delve deeper into truths and, quite frankly, our beliefs have changed. Dramatically.
It's hard to identify the exact beginning of the process, as I don't think there really was one.
The first book that helped me to see the intolerence of my Christian views and beliefs was If Grace is True by Philip Gulley, James Mulholland.
I grew up in the World Wide Church of God (WCG) - in the days when it was a cult, and an exclusivist "there is only one true church" group. Somthing Mormon's claim, as do Jehovah's Witnesses and even another major non-Christian religion. My commitment to the WCG shattered many years ago, after they left some of their fundamentalist beliefs behind and embraced, of all things, Christmas. (my picture is actually a book on the subject - a wee photo of me from when I was in a classroom at Ambassador College in Big Sandy Texas)
It thrilled me to see that the exclusivity of my Christian faith was exclusive and doesn't match up with what I believe a loving God to be. If God is love then he adheres to the definition of love as outlined in I Cor 13. But using that as a template for the basic character of God, so much of the rest of the bible is grossly contradictory.
Moving on:
The first book I read that put a kibosh on my belief in Jesus as my saviour was The Pagan Christ: Recovering the Lost Light by Tom Harpur
Wow, I tell you this book had me dancing around the living room. I don't agree with everything Harpur says, but the freedom and relief that comes through knowing that the story of Jesus is not about someone that lived 2000 years ago, but a collection of retold stories of many divine god myths, was so liberating. I always cringed the history of the church to kill and destroy cultures and other people. Christianity has a blood-lust history. In fact many today still use the bible as a right to kill others.
Harpur's views are supported again and again through other scholars and religions. All one has to do is read of the other man saviors and religions that date back ten to twenty thousand years.
Some of the below is wish list, and some of them I've read. Please comment if you have other suggestions.
Christ Conspiracy
Jesus Myth
Sons of God
Born Again Skeptic
The Pagan Christ: Is Blind Faith Killing Christianity
If Grace is True
My conclusion after reading books and reviews? "He" never lived. I'm not an athiest. I believe God lives.
But I'm no longer an exclusivist. I believe God lives. But in everyone (now isn't that truly good news?)
The myths are merely there for teaching and uplifting, and showing the light that exists in everyone.
Everyone is a brother and a sister.
We ARE all one. The world fights when it sees itself and separate and divided. We can truly have peace when we see everything is God.
Categories: Bible, BibleProof, Jesus, JesusMythology, Christianity, PhillipGulley, JamesMulholland, PaganChrist, WorldwideChurchofGod, ChurchofGod, HerbertArmstrong, TomHarpur, JesusMyth, ChristConspiracy, Acharya, Leedom, ChristianityBeforeChrist, CrucifiedSaviorsBeforeChrist