First of all, I'd like to define what agnostic actually means - what you and I have signed up for currently.
ag means without
and
gnosis means knowledge.
And so, when we say we're agnostic, we're saying we're lacking knowledge. Not knowledge in all respects, but knowledge about one particular subject, which is God.
We're clueless, but not quitting the search for whatever it is that may be out there (and/or in here).
Many of us have come to this conclusion based on information that was given to us labeled as knowledge, but when the rubber finally met the perverbial road, we actually had the balls to question it because deep, down, inside there was something in our minds that told us something doesn't sound right about this.
And so, we haven't thrown the baby out with the bathwater yet, otherwise we wouldn't be calling ourselves agnostic right?
We keep searching, looking, reading, studying, and repeating this process in the hopes that we'll finally find it is that we're looking for - spiritual truth, right? We're looking for the thing that brings it all together.
Well, I'm not too sold on the idea of spiritual truth myself, that's if we're talking about having a sensible experience with the divine, something that can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. If that's what your looking for as a soon-to-be-atheist, then you might as well pack your bags early. You ain't gonna find that one buddy.
Let me get to the point now.
We can be just as "without knowledge" about God, or agnostic if you prefer, even if we claim to agree with and even like the teachings of this fellow named Jesus. In my belief, the fancy titles that we read of Jesus in the scriptures were not adopted by himself, but attributed to him by later generations.
Is that scandalous or what?
Jesus' main mission, just like the many who came before him, and the many after, was to point us low-information-folks to the character of this being we call God. And so, when Jesus shared meals with the outcasts of the village, he was essentially saying: "This is what God is like. Do this and you'll experience what I'm experiencing."
We have reports that Jesus showed up to a temple one day and started wrecking shop - turning over the tables of accountants and getting all the animals out of the building. He knew the agnostics were left out of the whole "worship" experience, because they couldn't quite meet the litany of requirements to be a Jew. When Jesus wrecked shop, he was essentially saying, "God is inclusive. God doesn't demand anyone to join a club, but wants to hang out with everyone. But, God does get aggravated when people try to make money off of other people trying to connect with God."
We have reports that Jesus was executed on a Roman cross. This is how all enemies of the state died - a loser's death. He was essentially saying to we agnostics, "This is what God is like. God is willing to die for the sake of showing as many people as possible that the governments of this world are not on your side. The powers of the kingdoms of this world are out for their own, and they'll go to any length to get their way. Follow this way and you'll find freedom from the abusive power and manipulation."
In the earliest documents of what Jesus said, we have nothing about Jesus telling people to believe in himself, but everything about Jesus pointing people to God.
It wasn't until many generations after Jesus died that the movement came about that decided to place him "on the right hand of the throne of God." And, even so, it was a movement of people who believed that. They couldn't prove it any more than I can prove God exists. But, it worked for them and it stuck for a very, very, long time.
So, here's my "dare" to any of you who have utterly given up on the bible. Start reading it again, but with skepticism. Strong skepticism.
Read Paul first, then Mark, then Matthew, then Luke. That's the order in which the "Jesus accounts" were written.
Every time you read a sentence or paragraph, ask yourself, "Did Jesus actually say/do this, or did somebody later attribute this to Jesus in order to meet their own agendas? Does this sound like something Jesus would have said or done?"
Remember, when we read anything in scripture, we're reading different oral traditions that were being passed around for generations before they ever got put into writing. Essentially, we're reading the end results of "the telephone game," so there are things that were made up. But, there are also things that are historically accurate. It's up to us to do the research and find out.
Hopefully, this helps trim away some of the roadblocks for those of us who are deeply interested in connecting with God, but find ourselves agnostically inclined.
ag means without
and
gnosis means knowledge.
And so, when we say we're agnostic, we're saying we're lacking knowledge. Not knowledge in all respects, but knowledge about one particular subject, which is God.
We're clueless, but not quitting the search for whatever it is that may be out there (and/or in here).
Many of us have come to this conclusion based on information that was given to us labeled as knowledge, but when the rubber finally met the perverbial road, we actually had the balls to question it because deep, down, inside there was something in our minds that told us something doesn't sound right about this.
And so, we haven't thrown the baby out with the bathwater yet, otherwise we wouldn't be calling ourselves agnostic right?
We keep searching, looking, reading, studying, and repeating this process in the hopes that we'll finally find it is that we're looking for - spiritual truth, right? We're looking for the thing that brings it all together.
Well, I'm not too sold on the idea of spiritual truth myself, that's if we're talking about having a sensible experience with the divine, something that can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. If that's what your looking for as a soon-to-be-atheist, then you might as well pack your bags early. You ain't gonna find that one buddy.
Let me get to the point now.
We can be just as "without knowledge" about God, or agnostic if you prefer, even if we claim to agree with and even like the teachings of this fellow named Jesus. In my belief, the fancy titles that we read of Jesus in the scriptures were not adopted by himself, but attributed to him by later generations.
Is that scandalous or what?
Jesus' main mission, just like the many who came before him, and the many after, was to point us low-information-folks to the character of this being we call God. And so, when Jesus shared meals with the outcasts of the village, he was essentially saying: "This is what God is like. Do this and you'll experience what I'm experiencing."
We have reports that Jesus showed up to a temple one day and started wrecking shop - turning over the tables of accountants and getting all the animals out of the building. He knew the agnostics were left out of the whole "worship" experience, because they couldn't quite meet the litany of requirements to be a Jew. When Jesus wrecked shop, he was essentially saying, "God is inclusive. God doesn't demand anyone to join a club, but wants to hang out with everyone. But, God does get aggravated when people try to make money off of other people trying to connect with God."
We have reports that Jesus was executed on a Roman cross. This is how all enemies of the state died - a loser's death. He was essentially saying to we agnostics, "This is what God is like. God is willing to die for the sake of showing as many people as possible that the governments of this world are not on your side. The powers of the kingdoms of this world are out for their own, and they'll go to any length to get their way. Follow this way and you'll find freedom from the abusive power and manipulation."
In the earliest documents of what Jesus said, we have nothing about Jesus telling people to believe in himself, but everything about Jesus pointing people to God.
It wasn't until many generations after Jesus died that the movement came about that decided to place him "on the right hand of the throne of God." And, even so, it was a movement of people who believed that. They couldn't prove it any more than I can prove God exists. But, it worked for them and it stuck for a very, very, long time.
So, here's my "dare" to any of you who have utterly given up on the bible. Start reading it again, but with skepticism. Strong skepticism.
Read Paul first, then Mark, then Matthew, then Luke. That's the order in which the "Jesus accounts" were written.
Every time you read a sentence or paragraph, ask yourself, "Did Jesus actually say/do this, or did somebody later attribute this to Jesus in order to meet their own agendas? Does this sound like something Jesus would have said or done?"
Remember, when we read anything in scripture, we're reading different oral traditions that were being passed around for generations before they ever got put into writing. Essentially, we're reading the end results of "the telephone game," so there are things that were made up. But, there are also things that are historically accurate. It's up to us to do the research and find out.
Hopefully, this helps trim away some of the roadblocks for those of us who are deeply interested in connecting with God, but find ourselves agnostically inclined.
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