How is anyone who was not there able to judge whether we put too much credence in our predessessor's judgements?

Well, as I said, it just depends on how consistent it is with our current reality. If it defies everything we know, we tend not to jump to the conclusion that it is immediately true just because it was 'recorded' as such. Also it depends on how much effect it has on our lives. If an event in history potentially changes the way we live our lives, or behave towards others, then the truth of it needs to be verified and scrutinised at a more critical level.

I (sic) what respect was Jesus "not the most upstanding of guys"? How do your examples illustrate that?

Well some accounts of him show that he was quite an extraordinary man, but he was also a product of his times. My morality is derived from reason, and I come to conclusions about how to act through my own thought and experience. In this way, I challenge myself to exhibit the best behaviour I can, while leaving my choices subject to criticism from others, and from new information that I obtain throughout my life. Jesus' morality is stagnant, never-changing. It is clear that he could not escape some moral teachings that in this day and age are at best irrelevant, and at worst immoral.

So to me, Jesus, as he was portrayed in the bible, would not live up to the standards of the moral zeitgeist in today's world. There are more relevant role models to look up to today.

There you go, falling into the same old literalism that Bible Christian fall into, the only difference being that they do so to worship, while you do so to condemn.

I don't do anything to condemn. I call it like I see it. The bible condemns itself. There is more stuff in the bible that horrifies me than there is that inspires me. That you and other christians choose to ignore the bad stuff, or interpret it in ways that inspires you to act as good forces in the world is relieving to me. It also shows me that it is not an external source of authority that dictates your behaviour, but that it is you. If interpretation of the bible is subjective, and you choose to see the positive in the bible teachings, that leads me to believe that you are a good person because of yourself, not because of god.

I still concur with Jim Callum in that you already had your belief before you examined the evidence. And as long as the evidence didn't contradict your beliefs you held on to them. I don't think there's a problem with that. But it always helps to be honest with yourself :)

No need to feel guilty for letting down a spaceless-timeless eternal being. And take credit for your own achievements - if you're a good person, you're a good person because you want to be, not because someone else wants you to be :D