bradleykavin said:
my real question is, could someone argue how jesus is the savior, and why he, did things and is more special than any other man that has healing abilities.
Obviously, there are lots of different answers to this question, depending upon who you ask. Different people view Jesus differently.
To me, Jesus is a character in a story. I don't know if the story is historically true, or partly true, or completely false, but I don't think that matters. What matters to me is that the message of the story is true. The message of the story is that God's love acting within us and through us toward each other can heal us and save us from ourselves ... if we will let it. People say that Jesus was God because in the story Jesus was the human embodiment of God's love and forgiveness. And it was through this human embodiment of God's love and forgiveness (that we call "Christ") that mankind learned that we
could be saved from our own fear and greed and violence and stupidity, and so the story of Jesus as the manifestation of God's love is called the "gospel" (meaning the "good news"). And it
IS good news.
But it's also a challenge. It's a challenge because not everyone is willing to allow themselves to become human expressions of God's love and forgiveness as Jesus did, and so may very well wish to abuse and victimize those who do. "Turning the other cheek" is a very difficult and dangerous thing to do in a world where not everyone believes in the healing power of God's love and forgiveness. Jesus himself was brutally murdered when he "turned the other cheek" to some frightened, selfish, and violent people. But still, he believed in the saving power of God's love and forgiveness so much, that he suffered even torture and death to exemplify it's message for the rest of us. And so have many other people in the years since.
We have been promised, and in fact it's only common sense, that if we will let ourselves become the embodiment of God's love and forgiveness, to each other, as Jesus did, that "heaven" and Earth would become one and the same place. But to accomplish this, we need to find the courage to be the first ones to "turn the other cheek" to those who have not yet recognized or accepted this message and pathway to our universal salvation.
Christ is both a great message of hope, and a great challenge to each of us, at the same time. Are you (and I) willing to set aside our own fears and desires and allow ourselves to become human vessels of God's love and forgiveness to others? Sometimes I am, and sometimes I'm not. I struggle with this challenge every day.
Yet I do believe in the message of hope and salvation that the story of Jesus' life and death conveys. I have myself been healed and saved from a terminal addiction by God's love and forgiveness as it was expressed to me through other people. So I know that Jesus' message is true. But I still fail to allow myself to become the servant of that love to others, sometimes ... even often. And each time I have to forgive myself and try again, just as I have to forgive others when they fail, too. But every day's a new day, and a new chance to love and to be loved, and I do think my life is a kind of "heaven". I am very, very grateful for every moment of it, and I'm not just saying that.
bradleykavin said:
how could we not be the only life out there? how does the bible interpret the big bang, or evolution? how does the bible work with a time period such as ours now, where we have cell phones and computers, child pornography and constant swearing in movies? if we are all sinners, and so few that are true to their religion, are we all doomed for an eternity of fire and burning in hell? is there a hell? lol my questions could go on forever. i hope i came to the right place
The bible is just a collection of religious stories, and poems, and platitudes, and whatnots. Human beings wrote those texts and what they wrote represents how those human beings perceived and experienced "God". But man's idea of God is just man's idea of God. Take from these ideas what you find good and useful, and leave the rest behind. Don't worship holy books as if they were "God's commands". They aren't. And doing that is called idolatry.
Christ is not a religion, and you don't have to follow a religion to be a "Christian". Christ is God's love expressed in human form. If we learn to look for that love being expressed, in the daily activities of the people around us, we can learn to see Christ at work, right before our eyes. And if we are willing, we can become the expression of that love to others, too. It's not about religion. It's about love and forgiveness, one human (or alien, if they should happen by) to another.
Well, this is how I view "Jesus the savior", and why he's important to me. I hope this helps you out in some way. And thank you for being both honest and curious. Both of those traits will serve you very well in your life, I think.