Yea he lived. No question. He worked Miracles. I believe it. But is packaging your whole life into worshipping through specifically his name the answer?
Is tend towards a gnostic view, but feel it could be a distraction
I'll preface this by saying there's nothing I can do to force you to believe anything, but I like talking about this stuff so I'll offer things to consider. Take them or leave them.
Why jesus and not somebody else? Well who else would it be?
There were prophecies about jesus in the old testament that were hundreds of years old. It's basically mathematically impossible that any one person would fulfill them. Yet he did.
The old testament is full of references to the arrival of somebody like Jesus. If you look at the names of Adam's descendants they even spell out the gospel. You don't have to arrange it or anything, it goes straight down the blood line.
Name: Meaning
Seth: Appointed
Enos: Mortal
Cainan: Sorrow
Mahalaleel: Blessed God
Jared: Come down
Enoch: Teacher or teaching
Methuselah: His death will bring
Lamech: Despairing
Noah: Comfort
Mortals are appointed to sorrow but the blessed God came down teaching that his death will bring comfort to the despairing.
And it just so happens that Noah was the last member of his age before the flood. As if the flood was a period at the end of the sentence.
I personally could only see stuff like this so many times before admitting that it must be true. As an honest thinker you have to admit when the evidence has you beat. That's why I think most people who don't believe in it have probably not honestly examined it for themselves, or they just don't want to be bothered with all the changes that believing would demand. There are entire books about all the things the bible got right. If nothing else, the book should be regarded as the spookiest document the world has ever seen. And the whole thing is pointing to Jesus. What other religion even comes close to that? That's how I see it
Excellent.
So do you ‘worship’ Jesus and follow strict rules as interpreted through his teachings?
Like would you ever have anal sex with a woman?
How are you different with Jesus as opposed to without?
What strict rules are you referring to? In any case, his teachings are so that we can live a good and full life:
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10
It took me a while to realize that. I used to think being a Christian was just a bunch of rules and you weren't allowed to have fun. But that's only if you have a warped definition of fun. How many people take up excessive partying and drugs only to regret it later in life?
It's like when you have to tell little kids to go to sleep or eat healthy food because it's a better way to live, even though they're too dumb to know it. God tells us not to do things that we shouldn't want to do anyway. Don't murder, don't steal, don't covet, don't sleep around, etc. Stay away from these things and you'll have a good life. It's not because God wants to be a sky dictator, it's because it's better. People naturally learn to give up all these unhealthy things without ever knowing the bible said it the whole time. I lost count of how many times I learned something the hard way only to find out the bible had a warning about it. After enough of those experiences I started to take it more seriously.
As far as worship goes:
"And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?" Deuteronomy 10:12-13
Doing the things he said to do, which are good for you anyway, is all the worship he ever asked for.
Anal sex. Not too long ago I probably would've said, sure why not. But I know better now. Sex is supposed to be something that builds intimacy between a husband and wife, and makes babies. Anything that reduces sex to a mechanical action for a dopamine hit is a perversion that robs people of that intimate experience. It creates a rift between husband and wife. I've experienced that rift. It sucks.
How am I different with Jesus. I'm not afraid anymore, for one. Christians are commanded to fear no man:
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28
I used to keep all this stuff to myself because I was afraid of being ridiculed or the NSA would know all my crazy beliefs. A lot of times I don't know the benefits of heeding the bible's advice until after I do it. But we are told not to fear. So we speak up even though we don't want to. Then we find a lot of other people felt the same way, it's just that nobody wanted to speak up. Then the truth starts to snowball and suddenly pedophiles start to go to prison.
So I don't care anymore what anybody thinks. Jesus is lord and 13% of the population commits 50% of the crime. Get offended, hate me, I don't care anymore. And to be honest, everybody should be confident enough in their truth to speak it boldly. Otherwise, do you really believe it? Are you just bullshitting yourself and everyone around you?
I used to understand very little about the world around me. My father is a model boomer and didn't teach me anything. I don't hate him or anything, that's just how it is. I woke up one day and I was married and had kids but had no idea what my role was with regard to any of them. I was a brainwashed moron sitting in the driver seat of a family. I almost took off because I didn't feel like I was cut out for it. But instead I prayed for understanding. And God taught me abundantly, which Jesus said he would:
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." John 16:12-13
I know I sound like a complete lunatic, but it's true. I went years in foggy ignorance and as soon as I asked for clarity it all came flooding in. For a couple months I kept finding exactly what I needed to learn as soon as I needed to learn it. I had never experienced anything like that before. It wasn't mere chance.
After all was said and done I was basically a completely different person. I no longer saw my kids as a financial or climate burden like I was taught to believe. Now I see them as a blessing and honorable responsibility. I enjoy teaching them the things nobody else will, because nobody else can.
I used to wonder what the bible meant when it said those in Christ are a new creation. I get it now. It really is being transformed by the renewing of your mind. But few people experience it because it requires a leap of faith. When I asked for guidance I no longer cared about my life. I gambled it all on God and said "your will be done." because I was all out of ideas, I didn't care anymore. I went all in like Tolstoy. And that's basically what it takes. First you believe, and then you see. People get upset about that and call it "blind faith". I suppose it is. It's like walking out of a boat like a moron and then realizing you can walk on water.
So there's my rambling attempt at an answer. I could say a lot more but it's getting long. My best advice would be to interact with the bible as much as you can. Would it have saved you from student loans? (Yes) Did it warn you about marrying a woman that had sex before marriage? (Yes) After a while you'll get sick of it being right every time
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