I am now seeing that the bible is a book full of dreams and stories, which need not be taken literal. I’ve known that some references couldn’t really be taken as literal, but always thought that Jesus rising from the dead (literally) was to be taken as a literal account, maybe not?
I believe it sometimes, and now and then I’m not sure I do.
Since I cannot “force myself” to believe something, no amount of rehashing things or listening to anyone was going to fix it. The fact is, we have no actual physical evidence so we either believed He did, or not.
But why is it a problem? Surely some will say, “Jesus rising from the dead is necessary and required to become a Christian.” Well, maybe so, but it isn’t actually necessary to believe that to believe in and be transformed by Jesus’s teachings. Maybe for some theological reason it has to have happened that way, but when it boils down to “how do I accept Jesus’s teachings in order to be transformed and be born of the spirit,” then frankly there isn’t anything at all in the creed one MUST know for this to work.
I’m speaking entirely of becoming transformed and of new mind, like Jesus and Paul talk about greatly, and entering into the kingdom by becoming born of the spirit so that for example Rom 8 may apply. I make no claims about the theological aspects because IMO they amount to interesting head knowledge that others are experts at and that interest me but I defer to them on whether they are true.
Remember what God told us about Jesus. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” And the last words recorded by Jesus’s mother, except for alleged apparations with which I have little regard for except to respect how much others have, were “listen to Him.” Notice neither God nor Mary told anybody to “be like our Son” or “believe all that is taught about Him,” nor even “know that our Son is the Messiah,” or for that matter, “our Son was of virgin birth.” No, they just said that God is well pleased, and we should listen to Him.
If you read what Jesus says, especially in John IMO, and some of the letters of Paul, it becomes clear that a transformation of heart and mind is what is required to enter the kingdom, not an intellectual training thereabout. In fact, we hear 1 Cor 13 at so many weddings, you’d think more of us would get the point that no amount of “knowledge” about the facts of our faith, and even all prophesies, and even all Good Works, amount to nothing without love.
Where do you get love? From the teachings of Jesus. Not from the teachings of the structure of the teachings. And from the Eucharist, except without the corresponding transformation in mind and heart, it may seem really hard to believe that too.
As a result of all this, it’s easier for me to believe now. But a few years ago when I was recovering from mental illness, I recognized something. If I try to find “love” by learning all sorts of facts and do’s and don’t, that builds pride and can set a stage for a fall by which the “training can kick in” and thus faith will be tested and purified as in a Dark Night if you’re called – because that is a mode of transformation I’ve become familiar with.
But FIRST, listen to Jesus. Because scholars seem more interested in the historicity of Jesus, than being conformed to what he actually says. If you don’t believe this, try starting a thread about “do not judge” and if there are more than a few posts on it, I guarantee somebody will come in an explain all the ways we MUST judge in the name of God. It’s always covered with satanic little cliches like “judge the sin not the sinner,” which is absurd but I won’t go into why unless further provoked.
Likewise, start a thread on “loving enemies” and you will find some struggling with this but most have come to an equilibrium and become very technical about the word “hate” – they say well they don’t want them to go to hell, but … and then all the ways they cannot love.
So I see Catholics, “well versed” in faith, who refuse to even consider to imagine a world in which what Jesus says might be true. Because frankly that what we need to do, is to believe we are in the world, but cannot see it only because we are still of the world. Until something breaks that prideful construct (and so often it has to be some kind of tragedy that finally breaks it down if even that) Jesus words will never be of full benefit because they are hidden behind wrappers – and those wrappers have become disguised and stylized “bushel baskets.” So IMO we can actually use our imperfect (if not misdirected) knowledge of our faith to insulate ourselves from the actual teachings of Jesus, and I have seen this pattern repeat when Jesus’s words are actually placed against some of the common myths and considered with an open mind and heart.
Am I saying not to learn the faith? No. I am saying though, that knowing the structure and intellectual detail of our religious beliefs, and knowing the content of the teachings of Jesus, are two different things. They can supplement each other, or they can fight against each other in our hearts. Kind of like weeds and wheat. Listen to the wheat of Jesus, as well as consuming His body. But don’t isolate “good” and “bad” to a particular person, and which one based on our outward observations of their breaking the “law of sin and death” as St. Paul calls it. That’s what Jesus came to save us from, because under that system we all die. So if we still have that kind of judgment going on it is possible to be very devout and yet never taste of the kingdom until after physical death. And as far as I’m concerned, learning about the kingdom while alive is the best bet I have against whatever happens after I die. Therefore it is of no benefit to worry about hell after I die, unless I need to be motivated by fear to find love. Which is of course entirely possible.
