Hi carjean, welcome to Beliefnet and Agnosticism forum! Have you read Karen Armstrong's History of God?

I listened to a rather interesting podcast from Don Cupitt - he suggests that Jesus has been underrated as a philosopher and that he was truly a radical humanist. Here's a link to download this podcast if you'd like to take a listen...It was rather intriguing how he arrived at this conclusion and led me to a greater understanding of progressives who have stripped away the superstition that surrounds Jesus and are inspired by the "heresy" of Jesus.

Carjen wrote:

Thomas Jefferson once did something similar. I don't remember what he called it, but he basically rewrote the stories of Jesus, omitting the miracles and keeping the moral teachings intact.

Actually, what Jefferson did was take the four gospels and edit out the parts that did not meet his test of factuality. He called it The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, but later publishers simply refer to it as The Jefferson Bible. As I understand it, new members of the U. S. Senate receive a copy when they take office. Some have used this informtion to demonstrate the dominance of conventional Christianity, but Jefferson and his version of the Bible are certainly not conventional.

There is a group of biblical scholars called The Jesus Seminar. They have identified what they believe to be the authentic portions of the gospels. Their aim is somewhat different from Jefferson's, but then he predated them by more than a century. Many folks who call themselves progressive Christians have undertaken similar projects. They are not agnostics, but their approach to religion helps provide for a place where people can exchange views about religion in general and Christianity in particular in a more civil and non-dogmatic way. I believe that agnostics, with their more open-minded approach to belief have much in common with these folks.