Just think about this for a moment.
God creates us. He creates laws. We break those laws. God sets the penalty for such disobedience. That penalty is death.
He ends up killing nearly everyone.
So, this god character needs to come up with a new plan.
"AHA!," he says, ''I've got it! I'll forgive them!''
...."But first I need a blood sacrifice."
And so he sacrifices himself to himself in order to atone for us breaking the laws he himself created. Now we're all forgiven.....sort of.
Wait just a minute....he sacrificed himself to himself to save us from himself?
Let's let that sink in.
And now we are supposed to view it this as mercy? Why couldn't he just forgive? Or change his rules? Or, you know, see all this coming, since he is supposedly omniscient?
But nope. None of that. There had to be death.
Why?
Just because.
Now go tell your young children that they have blood on their hands. Or should I say on their 'soul'? Someone they did not know was brutally murdered to atone for the sins of their ancestors, for which they somehow carry the burden.
That's fucking disgusting.
EDIT: See HERE to get some more perspective as to why the entire story of christianity is reprehensible- and ridiculous. If, after reading both this and that, you still do not agree, please proceed to click HERE, as clearly that would be the perfect description for you.
Jesus' Crucifixion is the story of a man who understood the complex political and social circumstances of his time and place, and chose to disregard the established laws of the land and preach love and forgiveness instead of war and hate. Those who read the Bible as an isolated book without any sense of historical context lose the point.
ReplyDeleteYoung children in Christian-based schools are taught the message of love and forgiveness. I've witnessed these children practicing Gospel teachings on the playground, showing compassion for one another, their community, and the world around them. Some of those children grow up to participate in positive reinforcement of their faith. Others grow up to reject the whole based on their own life experiences. Hey, to each his own......
Negativity, judgement, ignorance, and hatred, lead those angry and confused souls of the world to look upon Jesus' sacrifice for his friends and disciples as murder. Rather, it remains a glaring example of political corruption, greed, and mistrust. Why is it that most television shows, movies, and video games are based on some sort of violence, and many people feel just fine allowing their children to watch and participate, yet telling the story of Christ's suffering and death somehow encourages guilt?
What else but guilt can the story of blood being on a child's hand engender? How is it that children are ressponsible for the supposed 'sins' of their ancestors?
ReplyDeleteAs for the violent media, those shows, movies, and games are not geared towards children. Let me ask you, what parents would take their kids to see a movie that consisted of a man being brutally tortured for an extended period of time? The answer: the parents who took their kids to see the passion of the christ.
It's not ''Negativity, judgement, ignorance, and hatred, lead those angry and confused souls of the world to look upon Jesus' sacrifice for his friends and disciples as murder.'' It's an honest appraisal of a situation from a non indoctrinated perspective.
You never asnwered the question: WHY a blood sacrifice? Why not just forgive? Don't forget, there was no reason for this sacrifice in the first place. 'god' makes the rules, does he not?
As for this:
"Young children in Christian-based schools are taught the message of love and forgiveness. I've witnessed these children practicing Gospel teachings on the playground, showing compassion for one another, their community, and the world around them,"
are you going to claim that this is exclusive to Christian schools?
In the years 10BC to 50AD, Jews, Gentiles, Arabs, etc in the Middle East regularly performed public crucifixion on criminals, for a variety of crimes. Children were exposed to state-sponsored capital punishment undoubtedly many times during their early development. Jesus' fate was no different than many others in early civilization.
ReplyDeleteWhy a blood sacrifice? Because blood is the life-force, the central need of all humanity. Examine popular societal practices and euphemisms...."blood" brothers, "blood is thicker than water", "blood-ties". What type of sacrifice would better suit?
The implication of guilt is a distinctly self-imposed phenomenon. Guilt is a self-inflicted emotion, and nowhere in the Bible is guilt encouraged. If human beings interpret their faith as a manifestation of guilt, well...I feel for them. Obviously they have other personal problems that prevent them from appreciating the generosity of spirit promoted in the Bible.
Why not simply "forgive", without a sacrifice? Well, that's slightly over-simplified. How, for example, would we know what it feels like to be happy if we've never been sad? How would we know security without knowing fear? How do we "forgive" without a conscious or sub-conscious recognition of the transgression?
In early civilized society, the story of Jesus spoke to the average person living in difficult times. Today, there are a million ways to send out a message to many. As such, the messages can often be diluted and lose their effectiveness. Who knows what Jesus' story would look like today? I DO know that children who learn the ENTIRE story feel compassion for both the man on the cross, and his persecutors, which I believe is the whole point.
I do not claim morality is exclusive to Christian schools or homes or families. Hopefully, I do not seem so narrow-minded and foolish as that.
Jesus' fate was no different than many others in early civilization.
ReplyDeleteYes it was. He was consciously sent to it by his father (himself?).
Why a blood sacrifice? Because blood is the life-force, the central need of all humanity. Examine popular societal practices and euphemisms...."blood" brothers, "blood is thicker than water", "blood-ties". What type of sacrifice would better suit?
I am asking WHY a sacrifice to begin with? Why would a god need to 'sacrfice' anything to begin with. He's saving us from his own ruleset. And was it really a sacrifice to begin with? Dying for 3 days and then returning to eternal life isn't much of a sacrifce. A real sacrifice would have been dying and spending eternity in hell so we don't have to. Not that I would ever posit that as a good idea. I'd be here admonishing that as well.
The implication of guilt is a distinctly self-imposed phenomenon. Guilt is a self-inflicted emotion, and nowhere in the Bible is guilt encouraged. If human beings interpret their faith as a manifestation of guilt, well...I feel for them. Obviously they have other personal problems that prevent them from appreciating the generosity of spirit promoted in the Bible.
Really? Is it that obvious? They don't see it the way you do, therefore they have personal problems that prevent this? How incredibly condescending and presumptuous.
As for guilt being self imposed, how do small children self impose guilt? It's imposed upon them by their preachers and parents. Anytime a person feels guilty for performing a natural and healthy act, like masturbation, that guilt is directly imposed upon them by those with power over them.
Anytime a homosexual kills themselves out of guilt, that guilt is imposed upon them by the backwards scoietal views with which they have to co-exist.
Why not simply "forgive", without a sacrifice? Well, that's slightly over-simplified. How, for example, would we know what it feels like to be happy if we've never been sad? How would we know security without knowing fear? How do we "forgive" without a conscious or sub-conscious recognition of the transgression?
I'm talking about 'god' forgiving us in the first place. The question is why does god need to forgive US for the supposed transgressions of the supposed first two humans?
I DO know that children who learn the ENTIRE story feel compassion for both the man on the cross, and his persecutors, which I believe is the whole point.
So to teach children to feel compassion we must tell them a horrific story of death and torture which was carried out for their benefit before they were even born? Really?
No other way to do it?
We're no longer residing in the Bronze age.
I do not claim morality is exclusive to Christian schools or homes or families. Hopefully, I do not seem so narrow-minded and foolish as that.
No, and I am glad you are not, but you do seem quick to apologize for something that should, and would be, horrifying, given a different context.
This is so true. I think I might need to rethink my religion....
ReplyDeleteWow. If that comment is legitimate, I'm very surprised to read that. I'd be lying if I said I did not like the idea, but I have to say in all fairness that this post, if you agree with it, merely shows the immorality of your belief system; it does not demonstrate that it is untrue (although it does show how it stretches the limits of credulity).....well, perhaps that stretching of said limits is the part that got you thinking?
ReplyDeleteDude I totally agree that christianity is disgusting and wrong in every way. But have absolutely no fucking idea what you're talking about. If you're going to talk down upon someones beliefs, at least know what the fuck you're talking about. Christianity is disgusting. Statements that are based on the ignorance of the populous are also disgusting.
ReplyDeleteWith what statement(s) are you taking issue? I will address your points in detail.
ReplyDeleteYou totally bypassed all of my points. Ask yourself why that is....cognitive dissonance, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteWhat actual need is there for a sacrifice if your "god" loved you. Or if jesus was really the son of god. Jesus had a message yes, but was not a son of god. It's pointless to sacrifice something that doesn't die. Now, on top of that there are other religions that are also models of acceptance. For instance, Luciferianism is about Acceptance, Spreading Wisdom, and Freedom to be happy. We do not preach an eternal punishment for no reason other than i don't believe. We don't shun people's choices of who they marry, if they wait to have sex, if they want to marry the same sex. It's all fine with us. We do not push people to join us. We do not look down on others for worshipping contradictory beliefs and gods, and we do not see worship as a relevant thing. We do not shun scientific advancement or knowledge. We do not preach that any other faith or group of people should die. I have read your bible as well as the torah, the qu'aran, the Zen Avista, ect. You name a religion, i study it. Point is you can not hate anything you do not understand 100%. And i do not hate christians. I hate ignorance. There is no dogma in my religion, but if there was a standardized belief in a common sin that we all hate, it is ignorance. You people are ignorant.
ReplyDeleteOn a more positive note, i quite like your article. Magx01. You may not understand all the points i made, but i know you probably got just as irate reading these incompetant arguements. Not sure if this blog even matters anymore, and i probably wont be back, but well done.