First off, I usually stay away from posts or opinions about Religion, especially in my blog. Why, you ask? Because I know better, that's why! Because I don't want to be one of those people, who constantly bicker about it. Religion (and maybe politics) has been the one subject in human history that split continents, nations, families etc., when really by design, it was meant to bring us together.
To set the record straight, as quiet as I may seem to the outsider about religion, and many people take that silence as a sign of me not being religious at all or even atheist, this could not be further from the truth. I'm Catholic, I was born Catholic and if that is possible, I feel Catholic. Or better I feel most affiliated with the Catholic Church. Do I believe everything that Catholicism preaches? Absolutely not. Do I believe in God? ABSOLUTELY. I just refuse to publicly argue a subject that, I feel, should be private for each individual and everyone should be allowed to determine their own level of involvement in and with Religion. My grandfather, an avid church-goer and Catholic, taught me that you don't need a church building to be close to God or to pray, the same way my family has always believed that you don't feel closest to a deceased family member by standing at their grave site. I'm not saying that other people should feel that way, too. But I'm saying, I do.
Well, enough of the intro. The reason why I'm venturing out of my comfort zone, or even actually into my absolute "discomfort-zone", is the fact that I read a story in the news about an ancient bible that surfaced in Turkey and contained the Gospel of Barnabas, claiming, among other things, that Jesus may not have been crucified.
Don't worry, I don't have a theory that is going to change Christianity as we know it, nor do I claim to have solved an ancient mystery that the professors, philosophers and preachers of the world have not been able to crack.
No, I claim none of that. But I must share what has baffled me for years and compelled me to finally put it down in words: I have always had trouble with the controversy, people arguing about whether or not what the bible says, is all true.
Don't get me wrong now, my trouble, is not with whether the bible is fact or fiction. My trouble is with the fact that there is an argument at all, and why it would matter? The part that confuses me is, if you choose to believe in God and Jesus, if you have made the conscious choice to believe, why would changing details of the story of Christ's life, or even an alteration of the outcome of the story, matter? Why would that change someone's belief? I am here to say to you today: "So What?"
So what, if Jesus was actually married? So what, if he was not actually crucified? I'll even go as far as to say, so what, if he was not God's son at all, and there was just some kind of historical inaccuracy or misinterpretation?
There have always been rumors for centuries that the Vatican may know the "real truth", but must keep it hidden to "protect" Christianity. I don't understand why Christianity needs protecting. If you say you believe in Jesus Christ. And you chose to believe. Then there you have it. You made your choice. Would it really be so bad to believe in a historical figure, that we can all agree on by historic accounts, lived among us, and, who has done great things in his life?
So what, if he may not have had supernatural "god-given" powers or may even have been a regular person, who just made a major difference in so many people's lives? And is remembered and worshipped for it? And people re-tell/re-print his story over and over to remind ourselves that there's good in the world?
Does a possible lack of divinity hence deserve less of our belief? Is it really so crazy to think that we just believe in a good Samaritan? I, for one, would be completely fine with that. For me that is enough. Must we really have the miracles, the virgin birth and a gruesome death by Crucifixion in order to believe in someone that has made it his life's purpose to make others feel better, physically and spiritually?
We should believe in good people, who do good to help others, who are selfless, compassionate and giving. I'm sorry, but from where I'm sitting that is a no-lose kind of situation: You believe in a genuinely good person, the thought of and prayer to whom make you feel fulfilled and grateful. And if he was Jesus, the divine and all-knowing, wouldn't he be happy to see that we as a people have chosen to believe unconditionally in just a normal person, who did good deeds and lived their life right. Wouldn't we then exactly live by HIS example? Food for thought.
To set the record straight, as quiet as I may seem to the outsider about religion, and many people take that silence as a sign of me not being religious at all or even atheist, this could not be further from the truth. I'm Catholic, I was born Catholic and if that is possible, I feel Catholic. Or better I feel most affiliated with the Catholic Church. Do I believe everything that Catholicism preaches? Absolutely not. Do I believe in God? ABSOLUTELY. I just refuse to publicly argue a subject that, I feel, should be private for each individual and everyone should be allowed to determine their own level of involvement in and with Religion. My grandfather, an avid church-goer and Catholic, taught me that you don't need a church building to be close to God or to pray, the same way my family has always believed that you don't feel closest to a deceased family member by standing at their grave site. I'm not saying that other people should feel that way, too. But I'm saying, I do.
Well, enough of the intro. The reason why I'm venturing out of my comfort zone, or even actually into my absolute "discomfort-zone", is the fact that I read a story in the news about an ancient bible that surfaced in Turkey and contained the Gospel of Barnabas, claiming, among other things, that Jesus may not have been crucified.
Don't worry, I don't have a theory that is going to change Christianity as we know it, nor do I claim to have solved an ancient mystery that the professors, philosophers and preachers of the world have not been able to crack.
No, I claim none of that. But I must share what has baffled me for years and compelled me to finally put it down in words: I have always had trouble with the controversy, people arguing about whether or not what the bible says, is all true.
Don't get me wrong now, my trouble, is not with whether the bible is fact or fiction. My trouble is with the fact that there is an argument at all, and why it would matter? The part that confuses me is, if you choose to believe in God and Jesus, if you have made the conscious choice to believe, why would changing details of the story of Christ's life, or even an alteration of the outcome of the story, matter? Why would that change someone's belief? I am here to say to you today: "So What?"
So what, if Jesus was actually married? So what, if he was not actually crucified? I'll even go as far as to say, so what, if he was not God's son at all, and there was just some kind of historical inaccuracy or misinterpretation?
There have always been rumors for centuries that the Vatican may know the "real truth", but must keep it hidden to "protect" Christianity. I don't understand why Christianity needs protecting. If you say you believe in Jesus Christ. And you chose to believe. Then there you have it. You made your choice. Would it really be so bad to believe in a historical figure, that we can all agree on by historic accounts, lived among us, and, who has done great things in his life?
So what, if he may not have had supernatural "god-given" powers or may even have been a regular person, who just made a major difference in so many people's lives? And is remembered and worshipped for it? And people re-tell/re-print his story over and over to remind ourselves that there's good in the world?
Does a possible lack of divinity hence deserve less of our belief? Is it really so crazy to think that we just believe in a good Samaritan? I, for one, would be completely fine with that. For me that is enough. Must we really have the miracles, the virgin birth and a gruesome death by Crucifixion in order to believe in someone that has made it his life's purpose to make others feel better, physically and spiritually?
We should believe in good people, who do good to help others, who are selfless, compassionate and giving. I'm sorry, but from where I'm sitting that is a no-lose kind of situation: You believe in a genuinely good person, the thought of and prayer to whom make you feel fulfilled and grateful. And if he was Jesus, the divine and all-knowing, wouldn't he be happy to see that we as a people have chosen to believe unconditionally in just a normal person, who did good deeds and lived their life right. Wouldn't we then exactly live by HIS example? Food for thought.
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