I believe I read somewhere that records have been turned up of a Joshua bar Joseph who was crucified by the Romans as an agitator back about the right time. What may make this significant is that 1) Jesus, I am told, is the Greek form of the name Joshua and three of the four Gospels were written in Greek, the fourth in Hebrew (so what would Jesus' disciples have called him in Aramaic?); and 2) this Joshua bar Joseph had a bunch of followers who were avidly devoted to him. This, of course, was not unique at the time. There are records of about twenty-some-odd self-appointed rabbis who wandered the Holy Land either proclaimed themselves the prophesied Messiah come to save the people, or were dubbed so by their enthusiastic disciples. This Joshua bar Joseph was considered enough of a royal pain in the ass by the authorities that they hauled him in and nailed him up in the prescribed manner of execution at the time.

I make no claims regarding the accuracy of this find, or the divinity of this person, or if this is evidence of the historical Jesus, but if this person actually did exist, it would not be unusual for a body of mythology to grow up around him, usually borrowing from religions that have gone before. Unusual arrival into the world, the performance of miracles, and departure in an spectacular manner. These are characteristic stories attached to almost all religiously significant figures.

And a close examination of the basic theology surrounding most of these figures, once you strip away the smoke and mirrors, shows that they are almost identical in advocating a drive toward self-improvement, a deep regard for the welfare of others, and reverence for those things that preserve and protect life. This seems to be a message much needed by humans in general, and heeding and following it certainly helps promote the survival of the species.

The problem comes with the excesses of some of the more benighted and unimaginative followers who are so small of mind that they believe the metaphors expressed in the mythology are actual facts of reality. These people are called "fundamentalists." They try to lead their chosen religion away from those basic principles that give it real merit, and almost invariably give it a bad name, and if unrestrained, often commit real atrocities in the name of the god they claim to worship. Fundamentalist Muslims and fundamentalist Christians seem to be the worst, at least these days. Fundamentalist Druids don't seem to be much of a problem, except, perhaps, to Weyerhauser.

Lotsa people, both pro- and anti-religion, get all tooted up over the trappings and miss the main point. I believe this is what ails GUEST,Tunesmith.

By the way, McGrath is right. Myth is metaphor. It illustrates a point. Not factual. But true.

End of sermon.

Don Firth