Jesus was not a Christian.....when there is nothing to hang on to

And Mohamed wasn't a Muslim, and Buddha wasn't a Buddhist......and, and, and, and........................

When you begin to study the Bible, especially the New Testament and the Gospels, you begin to slowly realize that there are many myths that have evolved into the Christian story. For a new Christian this can be rather unsettling. You are taught quite early in your relationship with the church that, "as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:14-17
Whether or not this Bible passage or any other says it is so, it is taught that the Bible is the infallible word of God.Seeing that the holy scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, and that is is God-breathed to boot, you find within your studies that much of what you have been taught may be slightly skewed.
Jesus was a carpenter.
The Greek term tectone or tekton, which is translated as “carpenter,” actually means “artisan” and refers to a skilled craftsman whose medium might be metal, stone or wood. In the Middle East at the time of Jesus, wood was scarce but stone was plentiful. Since European building focused more on woodworking and carpentry, a cultural bias led to the choice of “carpenter” rather than “stonemason.” It’s possible Jesus was a woodworker, but the words used to describe him have a broader meaning than one particular vocation. Despite tradition, a translation as “stonemason” may have more evidence to back it up. (source) Jesus was born on December 25th The Bible itself tells us that December 25 is an unlikely date for His birth. Palestine is very cold in December. It was much too cold to ask everyone to travel to the city of their fathers to register for taxes. Also the shepherds were in the fields (Luke 2:8-12). Shepherds were not in the fields in the winter time. They are in the fields early in March until early October. This would place Jesus' birth in the spring or early fall. It is also known that Jesus lived for 33.5 years and died at the feast of the Passover, which is at Easter time. He must therefore have been born six months the other side of Easter - making the date around the September/October time frames. (source)

-or perhaps the fly in the ointment-
Jesus was the Messiah (Christ) The story that we have come to believe is that Jesus was both the "Son of God" and the fulfillment of Jewish prophesy. The Jews do have a very good counterargument that Jesus did not fulfill the prophesies. (source)
In time, the wisdom of the Sufi parable begins to take shape;

The Mulla was made a magistrate.
During his first case the plaintiff argued so persuasively that he exclaimed:
‘I believe you are right!’
The clerk of the Court begged him to restrain himself, for the defendant had not been heard yet.
Nasrudin was so carried away by the eloquence of the defendant that he cried out as soon as the man had finished his evidence:
‘I believe you are right!’
The clerk of the court could not allow this.
‘Your honor, they cannot both be right!’
‘I believe you are right!’ said Nasrudin.

Your journey leads you to a truer sense of faith; a state of openness or trust with regards to the universe and your place in it. What you seek cannot be found in books or in the words of teachers, preachers or sage. You sense that they are all but fingers pointing to that destination, to that way which is beyond words. When you find yourself stuck in religion, dogma or tradition you find as Watts pointed out so aptly, "The common error of ordinary religious practice is to mistake the symbol for the reality, to look at the finger pointing the way and then to suck it for comfort rather than follow it."

Thus leads us to a point of gaining a truer sense of faith that inevitably leads to a loss of faith but an understanding that is also beyond faith;

"...The intellect understands when it has succeeded in fitting the unknown into a framework of familiar ideas. But every ideological framework is a limited structure, and therefore everything understandable is of limited content and potentiality...Zen has only one thing to say finally, and that is “To thine own self be true; thou canst not then be false to any man.” Or “Be true to any man, thou canst not then be false to thine own self.” Or “Be true to anything, thou canst not then be false to anything else.” In short, “Be true,” that is, “Be the living truth itself.” “Be real, be reality itself.” Or in the shortest possible terms, Zen would only say, “Be”" (..)

I have pasted upon my opening page the following koan;

If I see you have a staff,
I will give it to you.
If I see you have no staff,
I will take it away

THIS IS...... Where I am.......
It is a place of great promise,
of growth,
of wisdom and compassion..........I know this.....

It is said, "When the student is ready the teacher will come." (you think, build it and they will come was original?) I have been ready....but I cannot release myself to be the understudy of anyone. I consider myself to be a cult survivor. Fundamentalist Christianity is a cult. And yet, not unlike my father. (who left Catholicism as a younger man, recited Hail Marys on his death bed) Will I too, ask for the help of Jesus? Will I speak in tongues?

There are those that lead their lives with nary a religious thought. I cannot remember a time when I did not. From my earliest memories I looked to the heavens and the inner world for guidance. And I wasn't from a particularly religious family. It is what makes me what I am. For better or worse.

But....it is me.

Namaste

Tao1776