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[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

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Hi Scott,

You've mentioned that you're not religious and don't believe in the Bible. You have quoted Jesus, though. Who, in your view, is Jesus?

Kind regards
Alida

Hi, Alida Spies,

Thank you for your question!

To me, Jesus is a historical figure whose legendary life is described in four conflicting accounts in the Christian Bible that were each separately told and repeated orally until their altered hearsay versions were written down over a hundred years after Jesus's death.

I look at Jesus the same way I look at Socrates and Buddha.

I don't necessarily agree with everything they have been quoted as saying, but their overall messages and teachings are something that I find extremely agreeable and inspiring.

The teachings of all three, as quoted in the documents and legends we have available to us now, are somethings that have deeply inspired me, taught me, and helped guide me throughout my life and continue to do so to this day.

Indeed, in any given situation, if I am hesitant about which way to proceed or what to do, I can ask myself:

"What would Socrates do (or say)?"

"What would Jesus do (or say)?"

"What would Buddha do (or say)?"

"What would Yoda from Star Wars do (or say)?"

I include the last example to illustrate this point: Even if I found out Socrates, Jesus, or Buddha were actually totally fictional characters that never existed at all but rather were totally made up by some clever storyteller, I would still agree just as much, no more and no less, with their teachings and be just as inspired and guided by those teachings.

A fictional character or fictionalized version of a real person can inspire me and be a role model for me just as much as, if not more than, a real person.

Truth is true even if it is fictionally spoken by a fictional character. Wise words and helpful teachings are just as wise and helpful and worth believing and following regardless of who says them or even whether that person is real.

I'm not saying that I think Jesus, Socrates, or Buddha are fictional, but rather that it wouldn't matter to me if they were or are.

That also speaks to why I also love the Greek myths, such as the stories of the tempting addictive magical siren mermaids who could lure sailors to their deaths with just a song and Icarus flying too close to the sun and burning off his wings.



With love,
Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
a.k.a. Scott

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