JewelSong wrote:And I feel very strongly that the specifics really do not matter. At least, they don't matter to me. It doesn't matter to me whether or not Mary was a virgin, or Joseph was the actual father. I don't care if the Shroud of Túrin is a fake or if people believe that a wafer and a bit of wine actually turn into flesh and blood. I don't really care if the resurrection was physical or metaphorical.
What matters to me is the message. The basic, simple message. Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. Love God. Love your neighbor. God IS Love.
I suppose my particular issue with this is that it isn’t the impression of Jesus’ message that I got from reading the New Testament. He does encourage people to love their neighbours, but the parable of the Good Samaritan seems to imply that not everyone is your neighbour.
More importantly, I can’t reconcile the idea that Jesus’ message is love with a number of key passages, like Matthew 10, where he actually gives directions to the disciples (and presumably, to all Christians):
[5]These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
[…]
[28]And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
(from the KJV)
This, I think, is why the conservative churches have always made more sense to me than the liberal ones, because their exegesis seems more sound. Jesus message isn’t all that nice or easy. He creates a start contrast between submission to the will of God and obedience to his laws on one hand and the destruction of the soul in hell on the other.
This is also, I think, why the divinity of Jesus makes a huge difference to me (and on the other side of spectrum, to mainstream and conservative Christians). If Jesus is not divine, then he speaks with no real authority on these matters. To express my own beliefs perfectly honestly, I don’t see any reason to believe that Jesus is divine and, to me, his preaching comes across as the ranting of a crackpot. Aside from a few sensible oft-quoted phrases, I see it has having little value unless his claims about the end of the world and heaven and hell happen to be true. Obviously if I believed that, then I would accept them no matter how inconvenient (just as I accept things that I don’t like if they can proved to me).