Regarding whether this historicity of Jesus’ beliefs matters for religious devotion, I don’t think it does.
From my own perspective, I personally think this historicity shows to me that Jesus is not God, but a person whose life simply mattered a lot to the development of a new religious movement. So, for me, the historical context matters quite a bit.
But, reflecting on a perspective like my husband's - who has maintained his faith throughout his deconstruction process, and is less interested in the historicity of the bible than with its wisdom - I feel as though the spiritual messaging can still be removed from this context. That is, Jesus’ “wisdom” can still be reinterpreted, applied to today, and given new meaning. Even though these new meanings may not have been what the original Jesus has meant, referred to, or intended.
My husband and I have been discussing this exact thing with regards to Revelation, and the historical connection of this text to Nero’s reign in Rome. And how, while referring to specific points in time, specific events and contexts, this book can indeed be relevant and prophetic to the world today. In the sense that history repeats, and that this can be a tool to reflect and gain spiritual wisdom with regards to the contemporary empires in our world today.
thanks for the thoughts, Maya. Certainly, there are many ways to participate in the Christian religion, some of which are centered on historicity and others are not.
Hi Tyler, thanks for this! It is definitely worth pondering - it’s a tricky topic that I don’t have clear answers for, either.
For my part, I’m wondering if the root of the problem is in our faulty perception of time. Time doesn’t really exist in the way we imagine it does - spacetime is what truly exists. I won’t get too deep into the weeds here, but I’m planning on writing an essay on the intersections between our understanding of the Arrow of Time and the ‘Coming of the Kingdom’ as you’ve mentioned here.
If any of that piques your interest, let me know. Otherwise, I’d be glad to read more about how you make sense of all this!
I agree that we don't really understand time. I think we've come to understand it as best we can to help us survive, but that understanding doesn't really correspond to the reality of time. Due to the way apocalyptic beliefs permeated 1st century Jewish thinking, I tend to think when we see figures in the NT saying things about the world ending in the near term future, they probably meant what they said but were wrong about it. But there are all sorts of creative ways to navigate the subject and your thoughts on the arrow of time and the coming kingdom sound really interesting.
Regarding whether this historicity of Jesus’ beliefs matters for religious devotion, I don’t think it does.
From my own perspective, I personally think this historicity shows to me that Jesus is not God, but a person whose life simply mattered a lot to the development of a new religious movement. So, for me, the historical context matters quite a bit.
But, reflecting on a perspective like my husband's - who has maintained his faith throughout his deconstruction process, and is less interested in the historicity of the bible than with its wisdom - I feel as though the spiritual messaging can still be removed from this context. That is, Jesus’ “wisdom” can still be reinterpreted, applied to today, and given new meaning. Even though these new meanings may not have been what the original Jesus has meant, referred to, or intended.
My husband and I have been discussing this exact thing with regards to Revelation, and the historical connection of this text to Nero’s reign in Rome. And how, while referring to specific points in time, specific events and contexts, this book can indeed be relevant and prophetic to the world today. In the sense that history repeats, and that this can be a tool to reflect and gain spiritual wisdom with regards to the contemporary empires in our world today.
thanks for the thoughts, Maya. Certainly, there are many ways to participate in the Christian religion, some of which are centered on historicity and others are not.
Hi Tyler, thanks for this! It is definitely worth pondering - it’s a tricky topic that I don’t have clear answers for, either.
For my part, I’m wondering if the root of the problem is in our faulty perception of time. Time doesn’t really exist in the way we imagine it does - spacetime is what truly exists. I won’t get too deep into the weeds here, but I’m planning on writing an essay on the intersections between our understanding of the Arrow of Time and the ‘Coming of the Kingdom’ as you’ve mentioned here.
If any of that piques your interest, let me know. Otherwise, I’d be glad to read more about how you make sense of all this!
I agree that we don't really understand time. I think we've come to understand it as best we can to help us survive, but that understanding doesn't really correspond to the reality of time. Due to the way apocalyptic beliefs permeated 1st century Jewish thinking, I tend to think when we see figures in the NT saying things about the world ending in the near term future, they probably meant what they said but were wrong about it. But there are all sorts of creative ways to navigate the subject and your thoughts on the arrow of time and the coming kingdom sound really interesting.