In short, if that were what is necessary to be a Christian, I would not be one (I guess there are some people out there who believe that I am not).
Here's my code to what I think about the beliefs Jim outlines:
X = I do not believe this
- = There is a nuance to this belief, so that depending on how it is defined/explained, I may have to change from X to no X or vice-versa. That is to say, that there is a little bit more nuance to the statement that needs to be explored.
+ = This belief really is central to the faith, as I see it. (maybe or maybe not necessary, depending on who you ask)
+ That God exists.
* That God is still involved in the universe he created.
+ That God cares about us.
X* That God cares what religion you are in.
X* That God is the Christian God, not the Jewish, Islam, Baha'i, Mormonism, etc.
X* That all other religions are in grave error. (despite those faiths having equally compelling claims and theology to lay claim to this honor)
X* That God interacted directly with humanity in the past, and chose the Jews as his people above all others.
- That God guided the oral history of the Jews.
-* That God wrote the Bible, indirectly.
-* That God edited the Bible into its present form, indirectly.
X That God prevents textual errors from being introduced during copying, indirectly.
XThat God would not allow the Bible to mislead us, but would allow other religious texts to mislead us.
X* That sins are against God, instead of against other humans.
X* That we have original sin that needs to be redeemed.
- That virgin births can occur.
- That Jesus was born to Mary as the Son of God.
- That Jesus could redeem sins through his death and resurrection.
+* That Jesus rose from the dead.
X* That the story of Jesus was accurately told orally for a hundred years.
X That the hundreds of contradictory written fragments and letters from the time after that don't matter, because:
X The editing process to sort everything out was also guided by God, again, indirectly.
X That the Gospels were then transmitted down with no textual errors in copying or translation thereafter, thanks to God, indirectly.
X That the parts of the Bible and the Gospels that don't make sense don't contradict any of the above.
X That if you choose wrong, despite this inconsistent and inexplicable chain, you are damned to hell.
I will admit I have lots of questions on faith and not sure how much I truely believe. That being said a lot of the things you Xed I would have also. I in general terms think that Humans are flawed, I also think that some things in the Bible where put in there as a way to control people. But I also think that when a story is told it changes over time. So if a story is told for a couple or maybe 400 years then written down it couldn't be exactly the same, yes it could still have the same meaning but some stuff would have to change. How ever I also think some things that have been taught were done so to put down other faiths. The greeks where known to have gay or at least but sex or maybe both so then that is where you get the thing about a man shall not lay down with another man. Also the Greeks had Multiple gods so that leads to the thing about only one god and to put no god before this god, sorry I don't know the exact quote. But that being said one can still think that there is a god. I think it is good that you explained your views in a post in response to (e:jim).
Thanks as always for taking the time and engaging with me over this stuff :)
It's helpful to hear other perspectives then the more hardcore proponents from my youth and family that are hanging out there in the back of my head coloring my views on this stuff.
Cheers,
Jim