WHAT ABOUT JESUS?

If we are all children of God, what is so special about Jesus?

Having been raised as Christians, Desmond and I understand that many readers will want to know how or whether Jesus fits into this dogma. One of the hardest things for us to accept was that Jesus was a messenger, too. Perhaps the greatest one of all, but a messenger nonetheless. His message was communicated by word-of-mouth for at least a century before it was written down, and parts of it were lost or changed along the way. Some concepts like feminine equality were considered too extreme for societies at that time. In fact, the role of women in his life was deemphasized by the male-dominated church, such as Mary Magdalene being mischaracterized as a harlot.

The same kind of things happened with his life story, especially the supernatural parts of it. Early Christians had to compete with the Hellenistic religions of the Greco-Roman world, as well as such established religions as Judaism and Zoroastrianism. There were also pagan cults that worshipped deities like Mithras, Isis and Dionysus (Bacchus). It was not enough that Jesus rose from humble origins to become a great teacher with a message that still resonates. To attract converts, his followers deemed it necessary to make Jesus more god-like. The notion of a virgin birth is one example. That is common in mythology, but it just doesn't work that way among humans.

Before dismissing us as heretics, Christians should ask themselves which of these propositions is more acceptable: that Lot procreated with his daughters after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as stated in Genesis 19:30-38; or that Jesus was born of the union of Joseph and Mary? In any event, belief in virgin birth is not a prerequisite for receiving Christ as your savior. It would serve no purpose to dwell on this topic. We would only risk further offending those who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, or giving credence to the skeptics who claim that Jesus was a myth. He lived, he taught and he was crucified by those who feared his message.

Next: What Is The True Religion?