The thread is weird because a question was posed in the liberal forum but many of the answers are from people who I think would not self-identify as liberal.
Does it matter? Maybe. Not all Christians would consider “Do you accept that you are a sinner who needs Jesus as your savior?” the first question to ask.
In my view a Christian is a follower of Christ. But being a follower of Christ has many implications, and different Christians emphasize different ones. I don’t think many of us would think that the place to start is that you’re going to be judged for rebellion if you don’t accept Jesus. I’m not denying that God will judge us, though maybe not in quite the way some Christians think.
It’s just that I don’t think most of us think that’s the place to start. I certainly hope that Christians have higher motivations than saving themselves from judgement.
If someone is interested in Christianity, I think the recommendation from most of the actual liberal participants is to start with the Gospels. If being a Christian means being a follower of Jesus, then you need to start by getting a conception of who Jesus is.
I’d probably do it with the aid of some kind of guide. You can probably get enough just from reading the Gospels to think that Jesus is worth following. But knowing the historical and religious background is useful. The most conventional recommendation would be some kind of commentary. N T Wright is well regarded here, and has some excellent brief guides intended for people like you. I’d be inclined to start with Matthew, and use
http://www.amazon.com/Matthew-Every...1461808002&sr=8-2&keywords=matthew+n+t+wright as a guide (and the second volume for the second half).
A more interesting recommendation would be Harvey Cox’s book “When Jesus came to Harvard.” Despite the title (which comes from the fact that it’s based on a course he gave at Harvard) it’s a walk through Jesus life, from a perspective that I think you’d like.
The other thing to note is that Christianity is a community enterprise. Everyone has to make a commitment for themselves. But Jesus gathered a community of disciples, and many of his teachings are about living in community. I would strongly suggest finding a good mainline to liberal Church* and talking with the pastor about the best way to learn about the community. Simply showing up one Sunday for worship is not necessarily the best way, since churches are like the icebergs where supposedly only 10% show above the water. The church service is where the whole community gathers, but much of its life occurs in smaller groups and in doing specific activities.
Talk with us here, as well.
As you learn about Jesus and the fellowship he set up, there’s a good chance you’ll decide you want to be a follower.
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*You seem to be in Australia. That means I can’t help you identify specific denominations. Unfortunately a seeker with the kind of background you have would likely find 90% of churches pretty offputting. But there should be liberal churches even down under.
