By Carl S ~
Someone awhile ago commented, “I didn’t ask him to die for me.” The claim that ”Jesus died for your sins,” gets pushed into young minds like mashed turnips into the mouth of a distracted baby. And it stays there, like the multiplication tables. Along with this message is the claim that you ought to be grateful. These teachings originated with St. Paul, the founder of Christianity. (Funny how this, along with many other matters of vital importance, is seldom mentioned in Christian indoctrination, isn’t it?)
Image via WikipediaPaul came up with the whole Original Sin and consequent redemption spiel, which is unsubstantiated by the Genesis texts he refers to, where no such consequence is predicted. (See “The Uses of the Past
,” by Herbert J. Muller, historian, 1952, pg. 159).
Well, this particular “saved” person (in no need of being “saved” from Paul’s imagined, fabricated “sins” in the first place) is ungrateful. I’m ungrateful not only for the fact that my so-called “sins” aren’t worth anyone dying for, but also for the fact that someone who never met me would do so, thinking so little of his life to begin with, when he could have got away to live another day and do more good, instead. And who the hell has the nerve to assume that a man who died two thousand years ago, or even one hundred years ago, “Did it for you,” before you were born? It’s like Moses or Lincoln died for you personally. Silly.
But St. Paul and his followers pursue this old god-savior belief, and create a religion based on it, in spite of a gospel text in which Jesus is reputed to have said those now-famous, and soldier mentality inspired words: “Greater love has no man, than he lay down his life for his FRIENDS.” Notice there is NO GREATER. In other words, throwing oneself in front of a truck to save the life of a stranger’s child or sacrificing one’s life to save an enemy recognized as a fellow human being, is not greater.
This sacrificial love is contingent, however, for in the very next sentence, Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do the things I command you.” Which is to say, he can’t have any greater love than to give his life, but only to those who do as he commands. This seems to be more the words of a David Koresh or Jim Jones, and begs the question, isn’t he saying that he dies only for those who are willing to not save for the future, sell their goods and give away their money to the poor, reward thieves, and let people slap you around, even castrate yourself or cut off your hand, because he commands it? Is he saying, I died for you, though maybe you didn’t want me to, but you owe me, now go and do likewise? (Be a soldier for Christ?)
Let’s conclude with St. Paul, the source of this delusional “saving” of mankind theory, who says this redemption was in “The mind of Christ Jesus.” He never actually met Jesus, let alone knew what was in his mind. His own fantasy Christ was embellished in his flowery writings, which became helpful to the powers-that-be who followed him.
There is nothing to be grateful for, nor ungrateful about. You are free and always have been. Don’t take any wooden nickels, as the saying goes. There are no “Get Out of Hell Free” passes, either.
Someone awhile ago commented, “I didn’t ask him to die for me.” The claim that ”Jesus died for your sins,” gets pushed into young minds like mashed turnips into the mouth of a distracted baby. And it stays there, like the multiplication tables. Along with this message is the claim that you ought to be grateful. These teachings originated with St. Paul, the founder of Christianity. (Funny how this, along with many other matters of vital importance, is seldom mentioned in Christian indoctrination, isn’t it?)
Image via Wikipedia,” by Herbert J. Muller, historian, 1952, pg. 159).Well, this particular “saved” person (in no need of being “saved” from Paul’s imagined, fabricated “sins” in the first place) is ungrateful. I’m ungrateful not only for the fact that my so-called “sins” aren’t worth anyone dying for, but also for the fact that someone who never met me would do so, thinking so little of his life to begin with, when he could have got away to live another day and do more good, instead. And who the hell has the nerve to assume that a man who died two thousand years ago, or even one hundred years ago, “Did it for you,” before you were born? It’s like Moses or Lincoln died for you personally. Silly.
But St. Paul and his followers pursue this old god-savior belief, and create a religion based on it, in spite of a gospel text in which Jesus is reputed to have said those now-famous, and soldier mentality inspired words: “Greater love has no man, than he lay down his life for his FRIENDS.” Notice there is NO GREATER. In other words, throwing oneself in front of a truck to save the life of a stranger’s child or sacrificing one’s life to save an enemy recognized as a fellow human being, is not greater.
This sacrificial love is contingent, however, for in the very next sentence, Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do the things I command you.” Which is to say, he can’t have any greater love than to give his life, but only to those who do as he commands. This seems to be more the words of a David Koresh or Jim Jones, and begs the question, isn’t he saying that he dies only for those who are willing to not save for the future, sell their goods and give away their money to the poor, reward thieves, and let people slap you around, even castrate yourself or cut off your hand, because he commands it? Is he saying, I died for you, though maybe you didn’t want me to, but you owe me, now go and do likewise? (Be a soldier for Christ?)
Let’s conclude with St. Paul, the source of this delusional “saving” of mankind theory, who says this redemption was in “The mind of Christ Jesus.” He never actually met Jesus, let alone knew what was in his mind. His own fantasy Christ was embellished in his flowery writings, which became helpful to the powers-that-be who followed him.
There is nothing to be grateful for, nor ungrateful about. You are free and always have been. Don’t take any wooden nickels, as the saying goes. There are no “Get Out of Hell Free” passes, either.
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