Neither, but closer to "a" than "The." 'Cause I'm an atheist.
Really, it's the word "truth" that gives me pause. I think that from a strictly objective point of view, the story of Jesus is not absolute truth, but that portions of the teachings of Jesus[1] expose moral truths. For example I believe many of his methods of dealing with others are correct, but do not accept the idea that he was the direct son of God[2].
Which reminds me... I read some survey results where the number of Americans who believe Jesus was the direct son of God is about 15% higher than the number who believe Mary was a virgin. I'm not sure what that says about how those people think Jesus was conceived. Maybe Joseph was acting on behalf of God?
----------------------------------- [1] Assuming he existed. I'm not fully conversant with the issues, but apparently there is some honest question if he really lived among historians. I tend to default to the idea that he did exist as a person.
[2] After all, not believing in God would make accepting that... problematic.
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Date: 2006-01-24 08:43 pm (UTC)Really, it's the word "truth" that gives me pause. I think that from a strictly objective point of view, the story of Jesus is not absolute truth, but that portions of the teachings of Jesus[1] expose moral truths. For example I believe many of his methods of dealing with others are correct, but do not accept the idea that he was the direct son of God[2].
Which reminds me... I read some survey results where the number of Americans who believe Jesus was the direct son of God is about 15% higher than the number who believe Mary was a virgin. I'm not sure what that says about how those people think Jesus was conceived. Maybe Joseph was acting on behalf of God?
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[1] Assuming he existed. I'm not fully conversant with the issues, but apparently there is some honest question if he really lived among historians. I tend to default to the idea that he did exist as a person.
[2] After all, not believing in God would make accepting that... problematic.