As I sat in church today, I realized that worship and the language of sacrifice are becoming much more distant to me. I have thought about how I want my Christianity to be positive rather than a list of things I don't believe. When I do see positive things and writings that I agree with, I often realize that those are a very basic part of American Buddhism.
It is really humorous to read about how Paul and the early Christian church are critical of the pagan worship. Yet coming out of Judaism, they saw the death of Jesus as an essential sacrifice for the human race. Paul and much of the theology that has developed over the years do not see much importance in Jesus's life. Exhibit number one is the Nicene Creed that just says he was born and crucified. This central creed of the Christian Church does not mention his speaking and healing ministry, are his example of love for all humankind
This does get taught through the parables but never comes across as essential. I think when Jesus was crucified the church needed to make sense of his death and used the Hebrew Scriptures to make meaning from the loss of their leader. I also accept the theories of scholars that the Gospels are a combination of two traditions. The rural peasants who saw him on their side and valued his teaching and healing ministry. Those in Jerusalem and Paul saw his life as a sacrifice and emphasized that tradition.
