Musing, philosophically

I have a secret. Strange as it may sound, I really like Jesus. I didn't want to know anything about him (not capitalized, please note) for the longest time because the people who loved him seemed to really have it out for me and my kind. I thought of Jesus kinda like I do now with George Bush, I'd just rather not go there. But then, in order to really refute a Bible thumper, you have to arm yourself with knowledge. And in order to have even an iota of objectiveness, you've got to check out what all the other religions are saying, and get to know their divine beings too - the whole gang, Buddha, Mohammed, Karma, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, Earth spirits, and Devils, Demons, the Universe and even the Atheist perspective. Then, what you've got to do is go inside and find the beauty and uniqueness of you, and then see which parts of these philosophical explanations of our existence here speak to you the most. Because the basic messages are all the same. Work hard, and do lots more helping of others and expressing joy and compassion than the hurting of others and expressing hate and anger. Let's see, over here you die, get judged and are sent to a wonderful place or a horrific hell and over there you come back again and again until you get it right while still others give you one shot, this is it and then you're dirt. I think the truth is tucked away in all kinds of hidden places, many of which we haven't discovered yet or don't have the mental capacity to conceive of yet. From the mysterious anomaly of light to the unfathomable ends of the theory of relativity, (To the light, it feels like it's everywhere at once, it lives in a place without time) we have much to learn. I suspect there are more surprises stashed in our DNA, and the unconscious regions of our brains, and in the jungles, ocean bottoms and outer space. Here's something: rotate a magnet around a coil of wires and poof, you've got electricity. Why? Well it works, that's why. How? Oh, well we're not exactly sure, we can't really fully explain electricity itself. And so it is with spiritual matters. I can't prove to you the existence or non-existence of God (whatever you interpret that to mean) but I'm pretty sure I've caught him/her winking at me here and there. So back to Jesus. This guy went out and figured himself out, suffered for visions in the desert (you know like the Native Americans do) and got in touch with some higher truths, or his higher truth. Then he tried to help others find this connection to spirit. He said the answer is inside us. (Hello people, the answer is not in a book, it's not through the filter of another person's brain, it is through the knowledge of self and your own unique experience here that you can find the answers.) What a great guy, and what a pity that people bastardize his message. I've been told (with pity in the speaker's eyes) that you can't just pick and choose the elements you like from religion, that faith requires you to pick a religion even if you don't like some parts of it. And I have to disagree, do you really think God gave you that brain so that you could turn it off and give the power of your intellect to others? Well I don't, I think it's our duty to figure it out for ourselves, in our unique way. I'm pretty sure Jesus did it this way, and suggested we do the same. What a great guy!