Most people, I think, are aware that this weekend represents Easter, the time when Jesus is said to have been crucified and then rose up 3 (really 2) days later. (Brains...brains...) The whole idea is that god sacrificed his son in order to allow us to be saved. So, let's look at this idea for a minute here. (I won't get into the patent absurdity that god demands a sacrifice of his own son in order to convince himself to allow himself to forgive us for sins that he placed upon us...at least not in this post.)
In the OT, when people needed atonement from god, they would sacrifice an animal. The idea was that one's sins could be transferred to the animal and then burned away through the act of offering a gift to the god. By the time of the early Xians, this practice apparently wasn't enough. The story of Jesus represents what is essentially a human/god sacrifice. Although Jesus is said to have risen again, the whole point of the story is that Jesus had to endure pain and suffering and death - all on our behalf. This is nothing more than the old idea of transferring one's sins to another vessel as atonement through sacrifice writ large.
Bottom line: Xianity is built on a human sacrifice. Now, why would we believe that such barbarism is worthy of our worship or that an all-loving god would require such barbaric acts?
7 comments:
Christians will often point out the great suffering that Jesus went through for our sins. They don't seem to realize that lots of people have suffered as much and even more than Jesus did. Crucifixion is a horrible way to die. But, humans have figured out even more gruesome ways. During the Dark Ages and Inquisition many people suffered. Burning at the stake (Bruno), the brass bull, drawing and quartering, impalling, flaying (Hypatia) are all gruesome and inflict about as much suffering as can be imagined. Not only has humans suffered more than Jesus did, often they were being made to suffer in Jesus' name.
Dinner is on jesus!
Now is the time to celebrate jesus' resurrection by pretending to drink his blood and eat his flesh...it's picnic time to cannibalize on jesus.
Oh the barbaric tradition that will go on tomorrow..yuk!
An act to most will be viewed as honorable and sane.
I would shy away from calling it a human sacrifice because Jesus' death wasn't meant as a sacrifice. It was simply the routine execution of a heretic.
Tiger:
I think the point is that God demanded a human sacrifice, namely Jesus, in order to forgive humans their sins. Why does this make sense?
If God wants to forgive, he can forgive. If he doesn't want to forgive, he doesn't have to forgive. How psychotic is it that God wants to forgive, but he must have the sacrifice of his son's life, in order to forgive? Who made that deal? I guess God did. Why does the death of the son allow the forgiveness? And, how is the forgiveness prevented before the death of the son? God can do whatever he wants, right? He's either going to forgive, or not. How does the crucifixion change anything?
And, God and Jesus are both God, right? Plus, the Holy Spirit. And, this Trinity-God is about a monotheistic religion?
I actually think this religion has more than the Trinity. What about the Blessed Virgin? She's a god, too! People pray to her, she comes to people in visions, she heals people, she performs miracles. How is the Blessed Virgin different from a god?
This monotheistic religion has 4 gods!
By the way, this notion that you could transfer all you sins onto another being, and then kill it, is where we get the word "scapegoat." People used to do away with their sins by killing a goat.
Primitive, superstitious, Bronze-age barbarism.
Tiger,
From the standpoint of the Jews or the Romans it would simply be killing a heretic. For the Xian, however, Jesus supposedly died for our sins. This is human sacrifice, just as 'scapegoating' was (Thanks TB). I wouldn't shy away from calling it what it is. It was meant as a sacrifice in the Xian god's plan.
God bless you all. I hope you realizes how much God loves you.
He loves us so much that he'll torture us in hell after we die.
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