HOW CAN I MAKE SUCH A BOLD CLAIM WHEN I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU?
Excellent question. Here is a quick preview of the points I will make:
* It is unlikely that Jesus ever existed as a historical person as described in the Christian bible. But even if there was compelling evidence to support the historicity of Jesus, he would have died over 2,000 years ago.
* There is only one way an individual can meaningfully be said to have a personal relationship with a deceased person.
* The "personal relationship" you have is fundamentally a relationship you have with yourself.
Let's get started.
THE HISTORICAL JESUS
I admit that the existence of a historical Jesus is not particularly relevant in terms of evaluating your claim that you have a personal relationship with him. I've included this one only to remind you that there are two very serious problems with the claim that a historical Jesus existed. First, there is little evidence to suggest that any such person ever lived. Second, and this is far more important, none of "the evidence that should be there" if such a person lived when and where he is claimed to have lived in the Christian bible is present. That is, if such an individual has lived and had done many of the things Jesus was described as doing, it would have been reflected in contemporaneous records like other important events; it was not (see my review of "The Jesus Puzzle").
The good thing is that we can set this aside for another time because it is not directly relevant here. Even if there was a historical Jesus that somehow escaped the notice of all contemporary authors, he's long dead.
ONE CANNOT HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH A DEAD PERSON
Anyone who has lost someone close to them knows what it means to have a relationship with a deceased individual. The "relationship" is not a relationship at all but a remembering of the individual and our own feelings about them. This is the only way one can meaningfully claim to have a relationship with a dead person.
It is not uncommon for someone who has lost a loved one to hear the person's voice or even see them from time-to-time. But this is not a relationship. This is simply an example of what our minds can do. The person is not "out there," but in our own minds.
Jesus is no different. It is natural for believers to report feeling that they are interacting with Jesus, but those without schizophrenia generally recognize that the interaction is occurring through their own minds. This may be interpreted as a spiritual experience, but it isn't exactly a personal relationship with another party.
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF
The relationship you think you have with Jesus may be important, and you may even derive some benefits from it. However, it is not Jesus that you have a relationship with but your "idea of Jesus". You have synthesized everything you've been taught about Jesus from your family, your church, your bible, and your culture into a concept of Jesus that is similar to that of others but not quite identical. In this sense, religious worship is a form of self-love.
The good news is that this makes you part of an even larger whole than you may have previously recognized. What we have described here is something that all humans do, including persons of all religious faiths and even atheists. You may attach religious labels to this while we do not, but really, we're all in this together. We are all on the same journey, struggling to understand ourselves, our worlds, and the interface between the two.
So no, you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. But nobody does. Instead, you are a human facing the same struggles we all face and coping the best you can. Do not fear this; celebrate it.
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