Prudence, there is so much good and insightful here, very helpful for me in the analysis of myth becoming fact in the history of belief and Christianity. As you may expect, I humbly disagree (and quite strongly) with your conclusion. I agree with Soren Kierkgaard quoted in my last post. In making a strong distinction between Christendom and Christianity, he notes the more Christendom gains in power and in adherents, the more it loses the true faith. The true faith lies in the imitation of Christ. I would add not only in the "spirit" as you suggest, but in the hard reality of Jesus the Messiah (Christ) as God incarnate, as the Word or Logos. Exclusivity or the perception of it is a challenge in the pluralistic world and I will comment on that soon. But, to maintain the transformative power of Christ both in our world and especially in our lives, if we throw out the divinity of Jesus, then we are indeed throwing the baby out with the bathwater.