Quote Originally Posted by Byzantine Prince
I think Christ was the only true Christian, because every dogmatic leader and martyr after him have changed his message. It's quite obvious if you read the Bible actually, there are many contradictions between what Christ says and what Paul later added.
So you have actually read the Bible with an eye to what Christ truly meant, Byzantine Prince? It is hardly surprising that you come up with contradictions; there are too many contradictions in the Bible to mention in a single post. What I find hard to believe is that people try to find a consistent message in it. There is none, there are only grounds for reflection. If I were a Christian I would (like Don Corleone) seek an answer to questions such as: is salvation reached by good works (as per the synoptic gospels) of by faith (as John would have it)? The answer would be my own, based upon my own choice - not 'God's word' or 'Christ's message'.

Being a non-Christian, who regards Christ as a legendary figure at best and the Bible as the intellectual inheritance of an historic age, I tend to look for the wisdom contained in the many stories and allegories. I apply them to myself and try to gauge the 'hidden' meanings in them -- obviously I don't mean secret codes or alien messages to the human race or that sort of nonsense, but alternative interpretations that may not be obvious at first sight. I seek answers to all sorts of questions, too.

Even us non-believers are in the belly of the whale, to use a Biblical allegory.