Jesus really lived?

[Monica]

I view the Bible the same way I view other historical records, myths and legends from other cultures - stories that reflect that particular culture's attempts to make sense of existence. I don't take any of them literally. I don't think the Bible is any more special than, say, Aboriginal tribal myths or Native American legends about the Great Spirit.

Thus, I have no reason to think Jesus was a historical character, except for the fact that Ra said he really lived. That's enough for me, since I personally have chosen to trust Ra.

So I accept that Jesus really lived, and was a Wanderer who took on a very important mission. Beyond that, what do we really know about him? Are the words attributed to him in the Bible accurate? I doubt it, being that the gospels were all written several decades after his death, and remember, they didn't have tape recorders back then!

So essentially, what we have here is a collection of channeled works. I would use discernment about this particular set of channeled works, just the same as I would towards any modern channeled work. I don't take, say, the channeling of Michael or St. Germain or Ramtha or any of the myriad others as absolute truth, 100% undistorted, so why should I totally accept the Bible? which is, after, all, just another channeled work. Actually, it's a collection of works, with what, some 40+ different authors?

The whole myth surrounding Jesus - the birth in the manger, the crucifixion, etc. - in my opinion has value in an allegorical sense, more so than literally, since I highly doubt those stories are literally true. (The 4 gospels differ wildly on certain details, by the way.)

Jesus was clearly one helluva love dude, ya know? His story - his magnificent portrayal of unconditional love - has far more value for the lessons it teaches, than for whether or not it was literally true.

Therefore, I don't concern myself about whether it really did all go down the way the bible says it did. I seriously question the part about the resurrection, virgin birth, etc. I find those about as believable as the talking snake and the creation of the universe in 6 days...But so what? It doesn't matter. What matters are the concepts that the story of Jesus represent - unconditional LOVE, forgiveness, healing, non-judgment, etc.

The myth of Jesus has become bigger than the reality, but the mainstream Christian version, unfortunately, has totally corrupted it. They've turned it into a lottery - all you have to do is believe a certain way and you get your free ticket to 'heaven.'

But we don't have to settle for that. Nor do we have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We can reject the mainstream interpretation of Jesus' mission and still accept that he did indeed live, and that his life had tremendous meaning and significance.

Is this picking and choosing which parts of the Bible I accept? You bet! I pick and choose the parts that resonate: the parts about love and forgiveness. A lot of the words attributed to Jesus still carry a strong vibration of love and wisdom. Probably the best way to read the Bible is to focus only on his actual words. Whether he really said those things or not, doesn't matter, because there is some cool stuff in those passages attributed to him. I wouldn't take any of it as absolute literal, authoritative truth, though.

Another good source for studying Jesus is Edgar Cayce. I gained quite an appreciation for Jesus when I studied the Edgar Cayce readings. I trust them way more than I do the Bible.