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[Newbie]

I was raised Christian, but I have a hard time buying it these days unless I make it very abstract.

For instance, why turn water into wine? For God in human form, this seems a bit small time. I tend to think of Christ as this being who has attained oneness with the mind of God. I am leaning more and more towards the Gnostic opinion that Christ's resurrection was not physical, but rather symbolic for the transformative process that one undergoes once they come to know Christ. I think of most signs and miracles as symbolic of something that really only an AD 70 Jew would understand. We make the mistake of interpreting Christianity in this literal sense and I think that is where we go wrong. Are my views just misguided?

Also, how/why do you trust Paul? To me, he's just some guy who claims to be an apostle. I appreciate his writings because he's the earliest source we have, but you have to wonder

[jimwalton]

Some biggies here. I'll try to bite them off one at a time, and deal with them only briefly (at the risk of being misunderstood, but it's better than writing a wall of text). Hopefully we can continue the discussion and I'll have more chance to explain if that is warranted.

> why turn water into wine?

The miracle is dripping with symbolism. Basically it was about the inadequacy of Judaism as a means to salvation, and to begin teaching the disciples about his own redeeming death.
- Wine was a symbol of Israel (Isa. 5.7), and so also their religion and their covenant with God. "They have no more wine." Jesus brought a new wine that would break the old wineskins and create a new covenant in his blood.
- Jn. 2.4: "My hour has not yet come." "Hour" in John refers especially to his death on the cross. It's a messianic statement, anticipating his Passion.
- The six stone water jars (used for ceremonial washing) may symbolize Judaism.
- Jesus filled the stone jars (6 has symbolism too) with water and turned it into the best wine, superseding what was there, while using the same structure. The new wine of the new covenant is written about again at the Last Supper.

Are you catching on without me having to go further?

> Christ's resurrection was not physical

It HAD to be physical, or it was worthless (1 Cor. 15.12-34; Heb. 9-10; Rom. 5, and others). Several books of the NT were written specifically to combat what was called Gnostic heresy. The "Spiritual" interpretation of Christ, his death and resurrection are contrary to Scripture. I would be glad to discuss that more if you wish.

< how/why do you trust Paul?

Hm. I guess I'd have to know more about what your question is and what you're getting at? Why not trust him? His explanations of Jesus conform to the teachings of Jesus and help us understand more deeply. His ethical and theological teachings build on the foundation of Christ, so I guess I would need to know what you're after here. I don't just want to write paragraphs of text in the wrong direction.