God Is Not 3 Guys

Elastico’s comment to Why I write needs a response. Religions are not rival parties. They are various types or brands of spirituality, which use various languages to express the reality we call God. Religions offer a variety of images to express this spiritual reality but, at their core, they have a common purpose—to bind or connect humanity with Spirit. Our ways of imagining Spirit may vary, but we do not have to compete. Trying to best each other only hurts us all. Let’s respect each other’s differences and cooperate for the good of all. Kathleen’s facts are correct. Florian is troubled by my inclusive interpretation of Christian doctrine, unfamiliar to him and, to him, wrong. (By the way, I take pains to point out that portrayals of the historical Jesus are educated guesses.) I’ll let readers decide whether Florian and the more bitter comments of Elastico accurately describe my language and my evidence in God Is Not Three Guys in the Sky , but I urge all to distinguish between diss...

I’ll get back to Goddess in the Bible, but first I address Florian’s comments because they state precisely my reason for writing God Is Not Three Guys in the Sky . In one of his many comments, Florian wrote that a core teaching of Christianity is that Jesus Christ is the unique, divine Son of God. . . . then it makes sense to think of Christian revelation as some sort of 'special' or 'unique' revelation, some 'final' or 'ultimate' revelation of God to humanity. Here we have it—the belief I take issue with. The evidence in my book comes from researchers within our own tradition, and I urge readers to use my bibliography for extended research of their own. Hearing “Son of God” applied to Jesus only, the idea attained an absolute meaning for later generations that was never intended by the first Jesus followers who used it (Jesus himself never did). My direct statement that Jesus is not God seems blasphemous to literal believers, but I notice Catholic theo...

A new comment has gone up on my older post "Confused Teaching? Or Correction?" Florian says I'm guilty of discriminating against my own religion by rejecting the exclusive claims of Christianity. He "cannot condone" rejecting orthodoxy while continuing to call oneself Christian. It's not up to Florian to "condone" it. Each of us has to take her or his own moral responsibility. He is correct in stating that other sons and daughters of God do not claim unique divine status, but incorrect in implying that Jesus of Nazareth did. Belief that Jesus is God grew out of unique historical/cultural developments. The man who actually lived in history never made that claim, as I explain extensively in God Is Not Three Guys in the Sky . This realization is growing among theologians but continues to be suppressed by the hierarchy. Florian advises against discarding the claim to Christianity's unique status "so casually." I don't know anyone who...