Sometimes I'll have religious discussions with people, and hearing me talk about God leads people to ask why, then, I don't consider myself Christian.
Now, to be Christian, you must believe in the holiness of Christ, yes? Seems essential. And I just don't. So here's why.
I don't really "buy" the Bible. There are a lot of things I disagree with, there are a decent amount of ridiculous rules, and it just doesn't do much for me. So that's the bottom line. I just don't believe it. But let's pretend.
Say Jesus was, indeed, everything the Bible says he was. We'll go for fully divine and fully human (shout out to the Nicene Creed for that one...indecision at its finest..."we choose...BOTH!"). So say he died for the sins of humanity, for atonement. He was miraculously conceived, he performed miracles, etc.
It seems to me that Jesus was meant to do what God willed for him to do. Now I know there's the whole "he had freewill" argument, but how many times does God impregnate a woman and then the son doesn't obey his father(God)?
1- Totally against the Commandments, I'm assuming really against the commandments if your dad wrote them.
And 2-Never. According to Christianity, he's one for one.
So, in my mind, Jesus was being puppetted by God. Whatever Jesus did, he was either willed to do by God, or he had specific instructions from him. I frequently feel like decisions would be easier if I had specific instructions from God on what's right.
Also, I'm pretty sure that if I was told that my death would lead to salvation for every person to live after me, I would die too. Soldiers die every day. People jump in front of busses for others. And that's just for one person, community or country. Apparently, Jesus died for everyone. Ever. I get that it was still selfless, but I don't think it'd be a tough sell to most people.
In terms of theological study, many people find comfort in Jesus because he offers divinity in human form. People can relate to him and feel like he is a compassionate listener who provides a direct line (of prayer, communication) to God. What is a more direct line of communication to God, however, is actually communicating with God. I don't see any reason to have a liaison in my relationship with God, whether it's a priest or a prophet or an alleged son.
People delight in personal relationships with Jesus, but if Jesus is the son of God, and God is the almighty and all-knowing...why not cultivate that personal relationship with God directly?
So the main point is...I don't believe the stories of the Bible are hard fact. I think they're stories to make points. I think Jesus is a metaphor for God's love for us and desire to have a relationship with us. But if Jesus was real and did all the things the Bible outlines, it all still points back to God. Everything looks back to God, so whether it was truth or metaphor, I don't see how the importance of Jesus matches up to, much less supersedes, the importance of God.
And that is why, at least to me, Jesus doesn't matter.
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