My Story(Part 2, How I study)

At this time I have been studying religion for almost 4 years now. Extensively. 

When I say extensively I mean there usually isn't a week that goes by that I haven't studied at least 4-5 times for 15+ hours(many weeks are everyday) in the past 4 years.

I have had many discussions with friends and family members on the subjects of religion. Many discussions have been civil and intelligent. But there has been a few where I am subject to being talked to condescendingly, as if I have no clue what I am talking about. 

This blog entry is to at least describe the way I study, to possibly at least give some credibility or at least understanding to what I have to say.

Regardless of how much evidence is out there, for someone to learn for themselves, they have to study it for themselves. Nothing I or anyone can say will ever be believed if you don't want to believe it or want to at least be open to care about learning it for yourselves.

Depending on the subject will usually determine where I start, but regardless of the subject I use all the below ways of studying on each subject.

My first subject was the Historicity of the Bible. Of course what would you do first? Google It! The very first link is or most likely will be the wiki. Now the wiki has tons of information. It typically isn't biased and there are links to their sources of information. Also there are sub categories to go off and look up other aspects. Wiki is a great place to start, but isn't even close to my sole source of info.

How I Study:

1) If it is a social, doctrinal, or spiritual/biblical type of subject I will go straight to the Bible/Quran(scriptures) for information. I read the verse(s) on the subject. I read the context before and after these verses. Then I research the specific book/surah(why it was written, the history, the author etc..). I read other verses that either back up or contradict the subject.(and do the same research on that book/surah also).

2) Wiki. wiki will give you a broad source of information, but most importantly for me it has subcategories that branch off that I may have not thought about that pertain to the subject. Good starting point like I said before.

3) Websites, Blogs, Articles. This is my worst part of studying, reading and listening to both sides of the subject. I read articles and sites from one extreme to the other and many in between. Even though this is exhausting, it educates me on both points of view(even though I may not agree or even sometimes I find evidence that proves both sides are wrong)

4) Books. Reading books are great. Even though you are getting a singular view from that author, if the author is an expert or spent most of his/her life on the subject it is at least hearing the viewpoint in the book.

5) Debates and Lectures. Great source to watch full debates and lectures is youtube. I look up who the top experts on the subject on both sides and see if they have lectures or debates. If they have lectures it's nice, if they have debates its even better, but the best is when the top experts debate each other. Good example would be Bart Ehrman(leading scholar on new testament history) and James White(leading scholar and christian apologist, also expert in Greek and new testament history and theology). The great thing about debates is many facts are presented in their debates. Anything that isn't true or factual, gets pinpointed almost immediately. So watching these debates confirms tons of information that is found in other sources. On the flip side some information you may have read or may have thought true are revealed to be completely false. Debates are my favorite source of information combined with the other 4 sources above.

6) Forums: reddit.com is a great forum to read what people have to say on subjects. Yea there is a bunch of rhetoric and garbage to sift through, but if you decide to engage in conversation it makes you learn more. /r/Christianity or /r/Atheism are a couple good ones.

My challenge to people who question my knowledge on a religion is to ask themselves have you studied anywhere remotely to this structure? Or is it possible the information you have is from your Peers? Parents/Family? Indoctrination? Media? Religious Leader? 

I didn't study religion to debunk it, I wanted to be closer to God. I wanted so much for an eternity in Heaven. My study and research lead me to find the fact that all religion is a Myth, Lie and Scam. 

You can find information anywhere(including religious scriptures) to agree with your viewpoint or dogmas. You can post on facebook your subjects and watch as all your friends who have grown up and indoctrinated in your same religion agree with you. This in turn falsely validates them and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy that someone agrees with youa. When you read your scriptures you are biased toward them. Everything you read you are looking in a telescope of doctrines.(Example Gen 6:1-6) "the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose" I don't know how you place square peg in the round hole, but in an unbiased reading of this, God allows heavenly beings to procreate with humans then later regrets the decision of making humans, and wipes out the entire earth save Noah and his family(I leave this open here as I can already imagine the thoughts and theological excuses that are running through your  mind to justify or alter the meaning of this text to conform with what you have been taught).

My second and most important challenge... Talk with someone who has a different view on your religion(even if it is another religion). Can you make sense and defend your religious doctrines on your own? Do you find yourself not exactly knowing even a few of the answers and escape the conversation with some sentence that includes the word "faith"?

Hey how can you have new knowledge or information that my religious leaders and scholars have had for centuries? If you mean all the Christian scholars with PHD's and religious schools? over 2.5 billion Christians with all their scholars.... yet on the other spectrum over 1.8 billion Muslims with their same scholars and PHD's, that even some went to the same colleges(harvard, oxford etc..) How can both be right? Goes the same for any other religion. Religion has stood the test of time because of indoctrination, fear, and suppression of information. The internet has blasted the doors off that monopoly. And the reason these educated people in your religion don't educate you on the downfalls and holes of their religious doctrines is because they wouldn't get your hard earned cash.

Questions The Bible Just CAN'T Answer

Before reading these Questions please read this link first The Way Christians Answer

Also the majority of the links I have provided are verses straight from the Bible. Please click on them and read the verses yourself or crack your Bible out at home and look up the verses for yourself.

Look up the context before and after my links, as I make every attempt to read the context of what I present before foolishly linking something completely out of context.


(1) If Heaven and being in God's presence is so perfect, why did Satan rebel against God and Heaven? Luke 10:18 and further more why did 1/3 of the angels rebel also? Revelations 12:3-9

(2) If Satan and 1/3 of the angels rebelled against God, wouldn't that mean "Free Will" apparently exists in Heaven?

(3) If Satan was cast down prior to Adam and Eve eating from the tree as indicated in Genesis 3:1
Then Logically wouldn't Satan and his angels have been the "Original Sinners", not Adam and Eve?

(4) With God having limitless knowledge Psalm 147:5 , (knowing that they would sin)why would he allow Satan to tempt Adam and Eve? Also knowing that they would eat from the tree, why place the tree in the first place?

(5) Out of the two contradictory creation accounts, why have christians taken the account that places woman inferior to men? Created Equal vs Created FROM Man . Wouldn't hundreds and thousands of women's lives and dignity have been spared for over 5000 years? Infanticide could have been prevented for the most part. It wasn't until August 18, 1920, until women were even allowed to vote in this country. That's about 50 years after black males were allowed to vote(February 3, 1870).

(6) Do babies or mentally handicapped go to heaven?

(7) If Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible(The Torah), why did he write in 3rd person? And how could he have written about his own death? Deuteronomy 34:5-11

(8) Why did God allow his "sons" or some argue "angels" to have sex and procreate with any human woman they choose? Genesis 6:2-4 

(9) If the above truly happened and if humans were special separate created beings from creatures of heaven, how could they cross breed?

(10) How is God all knowing and all loving if he allows cross breeding from heaven and earth then "regrets" making them, in turn decides out of that regret he will destroy them? Genesis 6:5-7

(11) Admitting regret for making humans and animals would admit a mistake. How does a "perfect" God make a mistake and actually admit it in the Bible?

(12) If you pray for something and God answers, it was God's plan. If you pray for something and God doesn't answer, it wasn't God's plan. Either way prayer doesn't effect God's plan. Why then pray?

(13) There are many stories of miraculous healing through prayer. Disease, Cancer, even Aids. Why is there no miraculous healing of Amputees? Or anything that would be considered a true visible miracle?

(14) Why would a Just God answer your prayer for let's say speedy recovery from a cold.... but not answer a child who prays and worships God everyday who prayed for his sick mother to get well... then in the end they both die of hunger?

(15) If sin is the reason for death and suffering in the world... explain how sin is involved in natural disasters(like tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc..) that take the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people?

(16) How is it fair that a child born in India(becomes Hindu), a child born in Iran(becomes Muslim), a child born in China(becomes Buddhist) are subject to eternal hellfire at no fault of their own. raised to only know that religion?

(17) Did God create Hell? If so how does an all powerful God(who can do anything) and a all loving God(who loves each and everyone of us) create a place that was originally designed for satan and his angels Matthew 25:41 for us to occupy along with them for not believing in a 2000 year old story book that has errors and contradictions?

(18) If the Bible is God's miraculous inspired word.. wouldn't it have been more miraculous for God's word to have been preserved? (No single original document exists)

(19) Even if some miracle Noah fit all the species on the ark, why isn't there any fossil evidence of kangaroo migration to Australia or penguin migration to Antarctica to which both those species are native to only?

(20) If all the species were on the ark for over a year, how is it possible to have fed the carnivorous animals like the Lions meat that would have come from other animals? They would have had to stockpile a years worth of meat with no means of refrigeration or preservation, which means they would have fed the carnivorous animals live animals. So much for 2 of every animal?

(21) Where have all the Unicorns, Witches, and Dragons gone?

(22) How is God Just if a child molesting, rapist, murderer can repent on his death bed and be saved, yet an honest person who gave to the poor and did no real wrong in his life other that not believing or not being born in the "right religion" be sent to burn in an eternal hellfire?

(23) If heaven is to be a place free of sadness, pain and suffering, then how can you be happy in heaven knowing that the vast majority of humankind is painfully burning for eternity, especially when some of them may be your loved ones?

(24) If the 10 commandments are the basis of human morality... why are almost half of them not about morality instead are about appeasing God himself(no idols, no other god's, etc..) Instead why isn't there any laws about rape, slavery, and equality? Things that humans came up with all on their own centuries later? Not only are these laws not present in the Bible... they are preserved and taught as being okay. (Rape: Deuteronomy 22:28-29, Zechariah 14:1-2) (Slavery: Leviticus 25:44-46, Ephesians 6:5) (Inequality: 1 Timothy 2:11-14, I Corinthians 14:34-35)

(25) If God was disgusted(in his own regrettable mistake) in making humans, and wiped out the earth in the flood to start over.... why then did he wait over 1000 years(time between Noah and Moses) to reveal the 10 commandments to his people? Why didn't he give them to Noah right at the start so that the human race would know exactly what God wanted them to do right away?

(26) After receiving the 10 commandments, Moses came down from the mountain to witness his people worshiping the golden calf they had made. He orders the calf ground into powder and makes his people drink it from the river. Then from a Commandment from God he tells them to strap on a sword and kill each other.... and they do so killing "about 3000".  Why would God write a commandment "thou shalt not kill" and almost immediately order his people to kill? Exodus 32:27-28
Not long after this incident God orders Moses to kill and destroy multiple cites, causing mass genocide to men women and children. Numbers 31:1-18

(27) Do you honestly think that the people thought it was okay to murder, lie, steal, and commit adultery prior to God revealing the 10 Commandments?

(28) If God is all powerful... why would iron chariots stop Him when he was helping the army of Judah? Judges 1:17-19

(29) If committing a "thought crime" like adultery in Matthew 5:27-29 lands you in eternal hell because you are actually committing the crime by thinking it, then wouldn't simply thinking about doing good things like giving to the poor work the same way?

(30) If Jesus' family especially Mary, went through an entire virgin birth ordeal with angels being told her son Jesus would be divine. Why is it that they denied him and told him he was "out of his mind"? Mark 3:20-21
Jesus then later denies them in return... Mark 3:31-34

(31) If John the Baptist was related to Jesus by their mothers(Luke 1:36) then goes through an entire baptism ordeal where the sky splits open and the voice of God declares Jesus His son, having witnessed this amazing event and surely been raised at least knowing of the miracle of his divine relative from his mother... why did John question Jesus if he was the messiah? Matthew 11:2-3

(32) In your own words and thoughts explain the Trinity?

(33) Out of all the horrible sins that we are capable of(rape, murder, molestation, etc..) all of them are forgivable except one.. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit Mark 3:28-29 There is no description of how this is done or what constitutes "blaspheming", what the holy spirit itself "is" is still being debated,  and it is the only time it is mentioned. Why is that? and wouldn't the only unforgivable sin(that lands you to eternal hellfire) have more elaboration?

(34) If Jesus is God... who was he praying to? Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16

(35) If Jesus is God... why does he constantly say he is lesser than God? He can do nothing without God? God is greater than him? God had sent him? His words are not his but Gods? etc... John 5:30, John 14:28, John 7:16, John 12:49, John 14:24

(36) Where in the Bible does Jesus explicitly say he is God?

(37) If Jesus is God... or even the Son of God... and according to Christians some of the stories about the Jewish priests who cornered Jesus and drew up stones to stone him for blasphemy are proof of Jesus claiming divinity... Why is it then when Jesus was arrested and taken to trial for blasphemy(even with false witnesses and testimony) they couldn't convict him? Mark 14:55-56 Later he was brought to Pilate and convicted of treason for claiming to be King(of the Jews), not God. Where were these Jewish priests who had proof of Jesus claiming divinity?

(38) Considering it is the most important doctrine for salvation...where in the Bible did Jesus actually say he will die for our sins?

(39) If the Gospels are written by eyewitnesses why do they contain verses that are in 3rd person? Matthew 9:9, Matthew 10:3, John 21:20-24, and in Luke 1:1-4 he states that the account he was about to write were "handed down" to him.

(40) If Jesus is God... Why did Satan tempt Jesus with kingdoms on earth? Matthew 4:8-9 Why would God be tempted with anything on earth(that he created)? Furthermore where in the world(even in the 1st century) is there a mountain that you can see all the kingdoms on earth?(The writers obviously still believed in a flat earth)

 (41) If Jesus is alive in heaven sitting at the right hand of God Matthew 26:64, being loved, cherished, and worshiped by millions of people each day. Jesus suffered less than half a day on earth before his earthly body died... How is that an "Ultimate Sacrifice" if he isn't dead and he suffered less than let's say Job, or even millions of children each year who suffer months of starvation and illness before death? How is it an "Ultimate Sacrifice" if all Jesus did was die the same as every single human will? How is it an "Ultimate Sacrifice" if he is still alive? (Pretty sure most people would have their hands and feet nailed to a cross each day for a year to get the sacrifice reward Jesus got.)

(42) If Jesus is God... Right before he was to be arrested he was "deeply distressed" and prayed to God to "take this cup from me"(not allow him to go through the impending death")Mark 14:32-36. Then right before he dies he cries out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"Mark 15:34. If he was God and him dying was the ultimate goal and sacrifice for mankind... why would he be distressed, pray to himself to not go through with it, and then pray to himself asking himself why he forsake himself?

(43) If you believe Jesus is not God, but the Son of God... Then are there 2 gods? where does the Holy spirit fit in? Refer back to Question #(32). 

(44) If Jesus is not God but the Son of God, but they are "one", Why did Jesus say he will be at the right hand of God?(Separate)Mark 14:62, Mark 16:19. Again refer back to Question #(32)

(45) There are over 33,000 different "Christian" denominations/sects Source, With so many differences in beliefs between each one...What makes "your" denomination "right" when it comes to salvation?

(46) Why do you cherry pick laws from the Bible, and throw out ones with the excuse of "That's from the Old Testament", when Jesus explicitly stated until earth and heaven disappear not one single law will be removed? Matthew 5:18

(47) Many people claim that their faith is based off of spiritual experiences. If your God is the only true God, how is it that people of different religions share in these same spiritual experiences? Real Spiritual Stories (Site that catalogs peoples spiritual experience stories from all over the world)

(48) The majority of scholars agree that the Gospel of Mark was the first gospel written. It is also agreed upon by majority of scholars that the ending of Mark is not part of the original gospel and that it was a later addition written in by scribes. So if the author of Mark wrote a gospel of Jesus' life, why did he fail to mention 2 of the most important events that support Christian doctrine?(Virgin birth and Resurrection)

(49) When did Jesus ascend to Heaven? (Day of his crucifixion? Luke 23:43), (Day of his resurrection? John 20:17), (A couple days after his resurrection? Mark 16:19), or (40+ days after his resurrection? Acts 1:3-9)

(50) Human fossil record for Homo Sapiens(humans) dates to over 250,000 years.Homo Sapeins, Let's just say for sake of argument that humans are only 50,000 years old... It is believed that the earliest books were written no earlier than the 16th century BCE, although most scholars agree that they were written between the 8th and 5th centuries BCE. For sake of argument lets say they were written in 2000 BCE. Being that humans walked the earth over 50,000 years ago and God's law and morals were handed down to Moses a mere 4000 years ago... Where was God for the other 46,000 years?

(*) There are many more unanswerable questions... The last questions I'd like to ask are can you answer any of these questions without creative twisting of theology? If you think you have an answer to one of the questions... is your answer backed up in the bible and if so does it conflict or disagree with another part in the bible? Lastly... would you feel comfortable asking these questions to your church leaders? If not, why? If so, I'd like to challenge you to do so and see if they can answer any of them without using the tactics I laid out in the link at the top of the page.

The Way Christians Answer

When questioning the Bible or Christian doctrines, Christians and their apologists answer your questions in a way typically in one of the following themes.

Theme 1 = Theological:
  A theological response is usually given. These are responses that typically have no realistic factual, historical, or real logical basis.
An easy example of this is in Genesis where it states God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days. A typical theological response to this would be that a "day" is metaphorical and most likely you will be given a  quote from Paul about how a day is equivalent to 1000 years. Or that God is all powerful and if he wanted to create everything in 6 days all things are possible to Him.
Both of these responses give no factual basis and the quotes from other verses are usually way out of context.
These type of  answers to a bias christian usually make perfect sense to them, but objectively if they were to step back and critically think about it... the question isn't truly answered.

Theme 2 = The Redirect:
  This one is my favorite... Usually it goes something like this. "Why did Jesus say such and such?" The dance response would go something like this... "Well he couldn't have meant that because in this other verse it states such and such and he says this"
What has been done here to the biased person is that you have been blindly redirected to an alternate verse that completely agrees with not only what you want to hear, but what the person who is answering wants you to hear.
What you don't realize is that not only did the person indirectly admit that the first verse says exactly what it says, there is also a verse that completely contradicts that verse. Which also indirectly admits that there is a contradiction.
Again the question isn't answered.

Theme 3 = The Cop Out:
  These are the typical answers you get like.. "God works in mysterious ways", "God's plan isn't always understood", "That was Old Testament laws", "You just have to have faith".
These are basically answers given when the person just doesn't have an answer for you. Instead of admitting it you will get a response like this or something like "You shouldn't question God, Satan is tempting you"
These are all "cop out" answers. A response given to you because the question is simply unanswerable and these answers give comfort to the responder because the answer they just gave you satisfies them.

Even those these are the big 3, there are other types of responses.
Honorable mention would be Repetition. This is where the responder just simply repeats a so called answer over and over like it is logical and you don't get it. Usually it is a response theme that comes from one of the above 3 themes.

God Kills...Babies!..and Everyone Else.

Can you think of even one reason for the justification of killing a healthy new born baby? God did.. and commanded it on numerous occasions. This is one of the reason why I do not believe the Bible is God's word.

Genesis 6:6 "The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled."
To have "regret" is to admit mistake. The God portrayed here in the above verse sounds more human than God.

So God Begins Killing...
How Many People does God Kill? Mathematically over 2 MILLION, but taking into account the entire world in the flood and the numerous cities the bible doesn't give a number for, the estimated death toll is over 25 MILLION.  

God Wipes out the Earth(Including all the babies):
* Genesis 6:7 "So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”" 
* Genesis 7:21-23 "Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind." 

God inflicts disease (Because God Believed Abram's Lie):
* Genesis12:17 "But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai."

God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah(Including all the babies):
* Genesis 19:25 "Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain,s detroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land." 
* Genesis 19:26 Oh and Lot's wife also.

God Kills Er for being Wicked:
* Genesis 38:7 "But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death."

God Kills Onan for not Impregnating his Brother's Wife:
* Genesis 38:8-10 "But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also."

God sends Famine across Pharaoh's Land to Profit Joseph:
* Genesis 41:25-56 "and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food."

God Commands Moses to Release the Plague of Blood:
* Exodus 7:19-24 "The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt."

God Commands Moses to Release the Plague of Bools:
* Exodus 9:8-12 "and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land."

God Commands Moses to Release the Plague of Hail:
* Exodus 9:13-33 "because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die."

God Finishes his Plagues by Releasing the Plague of the Firstborn(Killing more Babies):
* Exodus 11:1-10 "So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. ⁵ Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well."

Because God Killed all the Firstborn of Pharaoh, He demands in return the Death of the Israelite's Firstborn Males(More Babies Dead):
* Exodus 13:1-15 "When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’"

I am only at Exodus here and not even halfway through. Link in the beginning shows the Math and just about every killing.

Before You scream out Context!! or God's Lesson's!! I just really want you to scroll up and read the first question again. This time step back and really ponder... in what circumstance is it okay to kill an innocent baby?

And if you still believe the context is misplaced... here is a video to at least watch.

 

Other Gods Like Jesus

Many Gods and myths prior to Jesus in the first century describe gods with the same characteristics and identical stories of Jesus.

FitzRoy Somerset wrote a book on his studies of tradition dealing with the archtype "Hero".
The "Mythic Hero Archetype" is a set of 22 common traits shared by many heroes in various cultures, myths and religions throughout history and around the world.

Listed here (Mythic hero archetype) , the 22 traits are listed out. Reading these you will immediately see the resemblance to Jesus' traits. He has 19. Among the other "heroes" most are ancient greek gods that were prior to Jesus' time.
Oedipus with all 22.
Theseus with 20.
Romulus with 17.
and so on.

See also Jesus Christ in comparative mythology
Arguments from both sides are given in this link.

Horus :
* Miraculous birth
* Begotten Son of a God
* Became King
* Considered God of light
* Son of truth
* Father was Osiris "Creator god", "god of afterlife and resurrection", "god of the ram",
"god of rituals pertaining to eating of bread", "god of judgment after death, according to your moral fitness", "judgment was eternal life or thrown into the devourer with no eternal life".

Dionysus :
* Miraculous Birth
* Said to be Born in winter solstice(December)Dionysian Mysteries
* Son of a God
* Mother was human
* At birth had to be protected from being killed
* God associated with wine
* God associated with the fig tree
* Rejected at his home town
* Descended into hell
* Brought before a King for charges of claiming divinity
* Died
* Resurrected

Krishna :
* Royal bloodline
* Divine conception
* God Incarnate
* Came into earth as human from being Supreme God
* Came to earth to rid sin
* At birth had to flee to escape death
* Battles against a serpent
* Became King
* Earthly body ascended into heaven

Inanna :
  Descent to the underworld:
* Descended into hell
* Died
* Resurrected after 3 days and 3 nights
* Depictions of the number 7(gates and judges)

I was going to go on and list more(there are a lot more) gods with similar traits and events that mirror the story of Jesus, but it would be long and redundant and the information is easily accessible.
The point of this blog is that prior to Jesus there were many gods that resembled and did the things that Jesus did.

There is one character that I recently stumbled onto though. He is from the Bible and I have no idea why I have never heard of him until recently.
His name is Melchizedek
This priest is mentioned 2 times in the old testament and a few times in the book of Hebrews Paul compares Jesus to him and even sways the argument that Jesus now replaces him as ...'a priest forever'.
Paul refers to Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:3 ^"Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever."

This character is without mother or father, without beginning or end. He is essentially a god, Paul describes basically as God, because only God has no beginning or end if he is the ultimate creator.
These are key verses that promote the doctrine of the eternal Jesus. The question would be that doesn't remove this character from existence. Yes Paul compares Jesus with Melchizedek, and even goes as far as Jesus replacing him as the eternal priest, but who was this eternal priest? How can God be eternal and creator of all things... if there is another 'being' without beginning or end?  

Jesus The "Sun" of God

Malachi 4:2 "...the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves."
Psalm 84:11 "For the Lord God is a sun and shield"

The evidence of sun worship is abundant in the old testament. The Israelite people were warned and condemned of its practice in many verses.

Deuteronomy 4:19 "And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven."

Deuteronomy 17:2-3 "...and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky,"

2 Kings 23:5 "He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts."

Jeremiah 8:1-2 "They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground."

Leading up to, during, and long after the time of Jesus, people worshiped the sun. 
The events that transpired in unifying the December 25th date of Jesus' birth directly is linked to Sol Invictus 
Solar Deity  "During the Roman Empire, a festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun (or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti) was celebrated on the winter solstice—the "rebirth" of the sun—which occurred on December 25 of the Julian calendar. In late antiquity, the theological centrality of the sun in some Imperial religious systems suggest a form of a "solar monotheism". The religious commemorations on December 25 were replaced under Christian domination of the Empire with the birthday of Christ"
Sol Invictus and Christianity and Judaism "It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnised on that day."

During the Winter solstice or also December solstice which happens from December 20-22 each year, the sun in the northern hemisphere appears to disappear into the earth for 3 days. On or near the 25th of December after the Sun's ebbing presence seen by sun worshipers as a 'reversal', the sun appears again being "reborn". In essence, the Sun dies, is buried in the earth for 3 days, and then resurrected.

Orion's belt has 3 stars also known as "Three Kings", who point the way or "follow" the brightest star Sirius. Same as the 3 magi who follow the star to the birth of the "son". At the time of the winter solstice you have the 3 kings following the star Sirius to the birth of the "sun"

The Zodiac "is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude that are centered upon the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year."

Here we have the "Sun" as the central focal point around 12 signs. Jesus being the "Son" and focal point around his 12 disciples. Another thing to note is the 30 degrees, Jesus begins his ministry with his 12 disciples at the age of 30.

 
I could go on and elaborate in my own words just mirroring what is already out there. Instead I will post a site that from start to finish explains in great detail the mythology of the sun and how it has intertwines with Judaism/Christianity... Solarmythology

The site explains everything that Jesus did in correlation with the sun's movement across the Zodiac. From meeting John the Baptist, walking on water, the transfiguration, and so on.

Can You Be A Christian If You Don't Believe Jesus Is God?

Blog Article:  Very good series presented by an ordained minister with the thought that Jesus doesn't have to be God to follow Jesus and be "Christ Like"(Christian)

This topic all hangs on the definition of "Christian".
If being Christian is believing that the doctrines of Jesus is God(or Son of God, ie:trinity) and/or Jesus having died for your sins, and believing in these is your only salvation then the answer is No.

Being that during Jesus' ministry his disciples and the people he presented his message to did not believe in these things because Jesus in fact just plain didn't teach these doctrines. Even speaking privately to the 12 apostles about his upcoming death they didn't understand(Luke 18:31-34).

Jesus in his own words never explicitly stated he was God and for anyone to worship him. He never said his death was for the salvation of mankind. He never stated he was God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit all wrapped up in one. These are later theologies and teachings pulled from the author of John, and in-laid into Paul's letters.

What Jesus Taught: - Looking at what Jesus taught and following his message and principles, in which in his own words were directly given to him from God(John 7:16), we can deduct that being "Christian"or "Christ like" the answer to this post is most definitely YES you can be a Christian if you don't believe Jesus is God. Following Jesus' Core Message and his humble teachings is the entire reason that Jesus was sent in the first place. To realign his people from tradition and instead to God's core message of loving Him and doing good works.