It is best we not drag out discussions wherein we have so much disagreement when it comes to Jesus and God. I am not a theologian, nor Biblical scholar. I merely majored in Religious Studies and first read the Bible (the KJV my grandmother gave me). At age twelve, I had an illness and was out of school for four weeks. I later purchased a copy of the NRSV and finally, a scholar's Bible. From that one, I learned more from the footnoted explanations than from the Bible itself since I had read the two I already had, in their entirety. In full honesty, I did skip most of the "begats", knowing those were intended to show that long periods of time had passed between various events. In my 'teen' years, friends sometimes asked me how I remained calm in the face of adversity, and my answer was "read the Bible". I don't know if any of my friends took that advice, but it was honest advice. A few times I was asked why "things just seem to come to me" without a great deal of effort; my advice: trust God and you'll never be let down. Again, that advice was probably ignored, but I felt a responsibility to try, so I did.

I wish you all the best, Jeff, and know that all people find God eventually but each in their own way; far be it from me to interfere with anyone's Path to God.