Ok, been wrestling with finding the time to start this and the wording to get it straight.  I'll take some small steps.

Here is something that makes me very uncomfortable in my faith.  Quite frequently it seems lately that I have heard something along the lines of "without the Resurrection there is no Christianity".  That to me is disturbing, because it seems to imply that what Jesus had to say wasn't very important, it was the miracle of the Resurrection that is the point.

In the Old Testament there are plenty of prophets who are the voice of God, teaching and leading the faith.  None of them were required to have been killed and raised in order to give validity to the faith of Judaism.  The Word of God was the point.  Miracles occurred to make a point in support of the faith, not to be the reason for the faith.

I believe the point is what Jesus had to say, what he taught.  I feel we should be focused on his life, on his teaching.  When it comes down to it, I think that the reason for the resurrection was not because Jesus was sacrificed for our sins, but to ensure that his message spread beyond the Jews and across the world.

More on this topic to come...