Faith Meets Hubris (Or: “Who was Jesus and how can we meet him?”)

I mentioned to Cedomir my desire to start a Christian-focused online meet-up space. I have two ideas for the theme, focus, and goal of such a space.

Firstly, something I said to the Collins brothers in our recent talk: “If much of Christianity is heretical, do we have to risk heresy in order to be Christians?”

For me, the answer is a resounding yes, and I would say this is an unavoidable realization and that we have Jesus of the Gospel as an example. (If Jesus came back again today, how many Christians would recognize him?)

The second focus is,“Who was Jesus and how can we meet him?”

These two goals are complementary: to find out who Jesus was and where we can find him, at least insofar as we are using scripture as a compass, is a cognitive, intellectual process, as well as a heart-centered and spiritual one.

The scriptures may point the way to Christ, but they cannot get us all the way there. How can we even be sure we are headed in the right direction unless we understand them properly?

And how closely does an accurate, individual reading of the Gospel conform to any of the “official” interpretations of the various churches? Is even Paul’s read on Jesus 100% correct?

Below are the original 40 questions which I posted a little under two years ago (see here, for the many comprehensive responses I received); I have added 40 new questions, with a specific, more detailed focus on the scriptures (mostly the gospels), most of which require some familiarity with the texts. I intend to go through these in the coming weeks, either here in written form or at future meetings, should there be any (or both).

The format for an online Christ-ian exploration group could be an introductory talk by myself followed by some interaction, an open discussion that includes all attendees, a dialogue between myself and a few selected speakers with or without an audience (no more than 4 or 5 speakers), or a combination of all three.

If you want to attend a group discussion and/or be an audience member, or come as a featured speaker, please let me know by DM (in the chat area), or by emailing me to “my first name” at proton mail.1

Below are the questions; copy-paste them if you want to respond in the comments (free subscribers can DM and I will post them). At the end of the post, behind Paywall, I have given some of my own thoughts on the first 20.

1. Does God exist? (Yes, No, Maybe; alternatively: is “God” a useful word?)

2. Does enlightenment exist?

3. Is there such a thing as objective reality?

4. If so, how can we know it? If not, what?

5. Do you consider yourself a Christian?

6. What does it mean to be a Christian?

7. Is being a Christian a matter of self-identification, group affiliation, action, belief, or something else?

8. How essential is reading the Bible to being a Christian?

9. How essential is belonging to any particular Church?

10. Is the idea of enlightenment compatible with being a Christian?

11. Was Christ like us or fundamentally different (more-than-human)?

12. What is the basis for your morality?

13. Is some form of a belief in God essential to community relations?

14. Do you own a Bible?

15. If so, how often on average do you read it?

16. What’s your ratio of interest for Old vs. New Testaments?

17. Do you attend a church? Would you consider it?

18. How essential is attaining knowledge to wisdom, enlightenment, or revelation?

19. How essential is revelation to knowledge?

20. Is the Bible a work of revelation, a moral code, a manual, or something else?

21. Is it the word of God?

22. If so, what percentage? 100%? 50%? 5%?

23. How essential is the Old Testament to Christianity?

24. Is the Christian God the same as Yahweh, the God of the Tanakh (Old Testament)?

25. If so, how? If not, how not?

26. Are Jews still God’s chosen people? Were they ever?

27. Is it okay for God to have a chosen people/national identity?

28. Does the fact of a passage or book being in the Bible give it special validity? If so, how so?

29. Is it okay to pick and choose which parts of the Bible are true? By what criteria?

30. Can someone be a Christian without ever having read the Bible? Or without knowing it?

31. Is there such a thing as a personal God?

32. What does “personal God” mean to you?

33. Did God create Satan and evil?

34. If so, why? If not, where did they come from?

35. Does the doctrine of original sin contradict that of free will as the cause of evil?

36. If we can choose good over evil, can we choose to go to Heaven or Hell?

37. Does God act on the world and humans externally? Internally? Not at all?

38. Does God reward good behavior and punish bad?

39. If so, how? If not, why not?

40. Can God become a man (or a woman), or vice versa?

40 More Questions for self-identifying or aspiring Christians (all others are welcome to answer)

41. How important is the idea of a Virgin Birth to Christianity?

42. How important is the idea of Original Sin?

43. How does the Virgin Birth play into the idea of Original Sin?

44. How essential is Mother Mary to (your own) Christian faith?

45. What does the Resurrection of the Body mean to you?

46. Does Christ speak of it in the Gospel, and if so in what terms?

47. Is bodily resurrection part of the Old Testament?

48. Is the afterlife?

49. Are all the quotations from the Old Testament that claim to prophesy Christ’s coming in the Gospels correct?

50. How consistent, convincing, or substantive is the evidence presented in the New Testament for Christ’s bodily resurrection?

51. Does the resurrection of the dead described by Paul include everyone, or only Jews?

52. How does the idea of eternal torment for sinners square with Christ’s forgiveness of all sins and a loving Creator-God?

53. If only those who accept Christ/obey the commandments inherit eternal life, can hell also be eternal?

54. Is the Eucharist a true teaching from Christ, or a later addition/adaptation of Catholicism?

55. What does the Eucharist mean to you?

56. How do you account for the many inconsistencies between the four gospels?

57. How essential is Christ’s physical resurrection to the meaning of the New Testament?

58. How important are Paul’s letters to understanding Christ’s teachings?

59. How reliable are they/was Paul as a conveyor of Christ’s message?

60. To what degree do either the gospels or Paul’s letters advocate a fundamental antagonism between spirit and flesh?

61. How consistent is John’s picture of Christ-as-Logos with that of the synaptic gospels?

62. Was Jesus Christ born as the Son of God (Logos, as in John), or did he only become so through his resurrection (Romans)?

63. Is belief in the words of the New Testament sufficient, or is understanding also required?

64. Roughly what percentage of the New Testament do you feel confident you understand?

65. According to the New Testament, what is required to receive eternal life?

66. Is this clear and consistent throughout the different parts of the book?

67. Why do you suppose Christ’s followers were unable to recognize him after the resurrection?

68. Why did all of Christ’s disciples vanish after his arrest and only reappear after his resurrection?

69. Is the Book of Revelation’s tone and message consistent with the rest of the New Testament?

70. Do you read Revelation as a literal prophecy of worldly events, as a symbolic narrative, or as something else?

71. How consistent is Christ as avenger of martyred saints and punisher of evil-doers with Christ in the Gospel?

72. What is the purpose of institutionalized Christianity?

73. How essential is skepticism/free thinking to faith?

74. Are the gospels journalistic history, theological propaganda, inspired or “channeled” materials, or a mixture of all three?

75. What are some significant differences between the synaptic gospels and John’s gospel?

76. Did Jesus believe the kingdom of God/end of history was coming in his lifetime?

77. How close is the theology of the New Testament to the theology of Christ?

78. What is the meaning/explanation for the apparent paradox of Christ being wholly human and wholly divine?

79. What’s the relationship between Jesus’ miracles and his being the Messiah?

80. Is there a scriptural basis for the second Coming, and how do you interpret this idea?

Last up, can you list any other written sources you have found helpful to understanding the Bible, God, Christ, Judaism, and Christianity.