As an Interfaith minister I find it valuable to study the hero's journeys of the world's religious leaders because this universal experience is a beautiful metaphor for the spiritual journey.

I take the stories literally in the sense that they mirror the journey we travel continually throughout our lives. I see the details - such as virgin births, death and resurrection - as metaphors that hold rich meaning. These stories speak to the depth of human experience, and seek to explain the unfolding events of human evolution.

Most important, though, is the invitation that you trust your own experience in the literal or metaphoric exploration of these stories. They mean different things to different people, and I encourage us to respect one another when posting personal feelings.