Patrick
It usually takes us at least four or five days to figure out where any given theist is coming from. I tend to think that there must be an 11th commandment, one that says you guys have to beat around the bush. Now you just posted a long,detailed and commendably thorough response to wheels in another post, and that one certainly narrows things down a bit. But it doesn't clear up all of our questions.
We like to know so that we don't go complaining about some detail of scripture that you don't agree with anyway. Each of us atheists has to work with out own version of a generic Christian until the details get cleared up. With literally tens of thousands of versions out there, simply saying that one is a Christian isn't quite enough to define even the most basic and important aspects of your belief.
It sometimes takes us days to find out if a person is a fundamentalist christian who believes in a young earth. Other times it sort of sounds like that is what they are then they tell us they aren't. So anything you could say to make it clear where you're coming from would be appreciated. It will keep us from making erroneous assumptions, that can quickly muck up an otherwise fruitful conversation.
Clearly, at least so far, your biggest interest in in Jesus and the sacrifice, etc. The emphasis on that aspect of the bible tends to miff a lot of us for myriad reasons. If that is all you want to discuss anyway, that's fine. But again, the more we know about your religious position, the better for all of us.
Just to play fair, I'll start. I'm an atheist, I don't believe in any god, even yours. I do not see the "evils" in the world as being anything other than a natural variation in human behavior, spurred on by genetics, family experiences, social conditions, propensities towards selfishness and other very human variables. As one who accepts the premise that we evolved, along side other animals, I see no reason for humans to behave perfectly, as much as I would love it if we could. I do not find aberrant behavior mysterious, and I cannot make it generic, as most Christians do (stealing bubble gum and killing are both sins, both will get you into hell (it would help to know your stance on the hell thing, by the way), and hence they are considered by most christians to be functionally equal).
Anyway, I'm trying to streamline the discussion process so that we don't all make bad assumptions about each other. The more you can do to clarify your version of Christianity, the better. If only to streamline of the conversation.