I thought since I had been exploring my thoughts about God I should share my love of Jesus! Yep, this atheist/agnostic/free thinker LOVES Jesus. I know you are shocked, but let me explain this deep affection for this amazing miracle worker.
First, MY Jesus was a great man. He wasn't the son of God anymore than any of you and I are. He didn't actually do any miracles. He never rose from the dead. Now that we have that straight let me tell you about WHY I love Jesus.
This was a man who lived in a highly regulated time. Everything had a rule (think Old Testament here). People were blindly following the rules without really thinking about their meaning. So, Jesus, a little disturbed by all of this goes out into the desert to meditate on the meaning of life. So, he sat (yep, he took the One Seat). While sitting he got in touch with who he was, the nature of God, the nature of love and how we should interact in the world. Then, inspired or on fire with this feeling of being awake he rushed to tell his friends and family. All of which who looked at him a little sideways.
So, he decided to SHOW them how to be. He treated those of the lowest caste with great love, he told the money changers that houses of worship were to be treated with awe and honor, and he taught us to love. Love your neighbor. Love your enemy. Love nature. Love God. Just love.
It is that radical love that I LOVE. I could be a Jesus Freak if we followed his radical example of how to love in our lives. If we were to see him as the absolute answer to negative action, harsh words, war, violence and to respond with love I would proclaim to everyone that I love Jesus.
The problem is that Jesus has been taken over by Christians. They took their Old Testament need to sacrifice a lamb and create blood rituals to absolve their inability to choose love at all times (ie: sin) and made poor radical Jesus their scapegoat. Too bad because Jesus rocks all on his own!
