QUOTE(shamanwizard @ Jul 16 2008, 06:59 AM)
actually, according to some gnostic beieves, the serpent which its spoken in the bible its not really evil, its the giver of wisdom and understanding of good and evil, making us, humans, the true children of God, because we become Gods ourselves with the help of this serpent....but thats just acording to some gnostics, others dont think the same
Who was Jesus? This took me a while, but after the reading I've done, I gradually came to the conclusion that he was an extremely highly advanced soul who wanted to help others to become the same way.
Was he the son of God? I've gradually come to believe that he wasn't someone who truthfully claimed any kind of exclusivity for himself whatsoever, and in fact actually told people
not to worship him. He wanted to help people develop and reach their own potential, and I believe he also expressed that any time someone takes any other master, it slows down their own development.
Do I believe in the miracles? Yep. They are consistent with accounts of various siddhis being produced in other people, and/or what we commonly refer to as "paranormal abilities." Jesus told the people around him at the time, that anyone could do what he was doing, and that is true, too.
Was he crucified? Yep. Jesus was telling people they could liberate themselves, both developmentally and spiritually, was proving it with the miracles, and he was also telling people about what bad guys the Jewish clergy were. They didn't like that one bit, and the liberation stuff also really scared them because they felt they needed to maintain an appearance of being subservient to Rome, because they were worried the army would come and kill all of them if they didn't.
Was he resurrected, and did he ascend? This one I'm a little unsure on; but I will say that if there's anyone I've ever read about who I think could have done it, it's him.
(Note: All of the above is my opinion. Some people might agree with it; some won't)