Spiritual Manifestations

I don't know (I've mentioned this several times already) if I could truly be called an atheist and I may be closer to an agnostic.
Could there be a positive force or energy in the universe? Could Christ and others such as Buddha be physical manifestations of this energy? Of course, none of this can be proven scientifically. My ideas are purely speculation based on (possibly faulty) observation.
I was a Christian for twenty years or so and I still find myself wondering about Jesus. Who was he? I believe that he was a real, historical figure but I wonder at the rest of it...the miracles and the peak of his career: crucifixion. The "earthly" reason he was crucified was because it was ordered as a punishment by the powers that be.
Let's say that Jesus is a manifestation of all that is good and holy in the universe. What of his teachings about sin and his sacrifice on the cross(according to Christianity)? Has a mythology been built around Christ over the centuries? Has he been misquoted to support this mythology? Does he still live...somewhere...as a part of the good energy?
Now that I am not a Christian, I find the whole thing confusing. I used to have faith that "God" would not steer us wrong by allowing falsehoods and mistakes in the Bible but since I don't believe in a god anymore, the Bible's inerrant nature is open to speculation.