Christus natus est.
Whether you think that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God or not, has his message, which I acknowledge was not new, good or bad for humanity? Up front, I will say that I don't believe any of the Christian mythology about virgin births or rising from the dead. I do however, believe wholeheartedly in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, enough to call myself a Christian - perhaps more realistically so than those that jump up and down screaming these days about their "faith".
The people that proclaim their "Chritianity" most loudly seem to adhere to the vengeful, angry God of the Old Testament, conveniently ignoring Jesus' message of unconditional love, tolerance and radical charity. I am convinced that if Jesus could look down on us today, he would not recognize the worldwide religion that he founded, nor would he condone things that have been done in his name, mostly good, some horrifyingly bad (the Crusades and the Inquisition come immediately to mind). I still consider myself a disciple of Jesus, even though I really can't stand most of the folks that also claim that title.
Discuss...