The Fickle Finger of God. Part Two
By Carl S ~
A lesson unaddressed by clergy and scholars alike, comes from seeing Jesus as his Jewish audience did. His whole mission was silly, and rather pointless. Come on, what do we expect to happen when a man claiming to speak for his god contradicts that god, by teaching that, instead of an eye for an eye, instead of seeking vengeance, you must forgive your enemies, do good to them who harm you? He had the audacity to claim this god is a father to the whole human race, not only the Jews. Jesus says his god forgives those who disobey him and repent, rather than destroys them; he especially forgives those who forgive their enemies. Oy vay! His is a god opposing the God of the Jews, a false god. Bible God is not amused.
Jesus had created his own god. What happened to the God who demanded that revenge and punishments be meted out by the accusers, the insulted, and the wronged? That isn't what God wanted, that isn't the way of his Holy Land, where the revenge of “an eye for an eye, life for a life,” is still the norm, thousands of years later. Original Bible God has to triumph over the God preached by Jesus. If you don't believe this, consider: In a restoration of the original God, the “good news” New Testament itself ends (in Revelation) with vengeance, violence, slaughter, the destruction of our entire Earth, in fire. This time God's plan will bring everlasting joy!
Also, Jesus preached against God's choices; that was blasphemy. His god of compassion was un-Godlike. It follows Jesus had to be killed. God's “infinite wisdom” decision. After he was executed, Jesus then became just another symbol of the conquest of death, and “Jesus,” trademarked, is used, and his cross became O.T. God's militant symbol to conquer others. Later on, God's plan included Mohammed, restoring the one true, original biblical god. Once again, conquest by the sword was the plan God used to spread his, a.k.a., their, word.
The cross remains a reminder of what happens when a man like Jesus crosses God. To this day, that cross is “God's” weapon for revenge, conquest, bigotry, prejudice, and military might, even against those merely suspected to be “his” enemies. It is O.T. God, not the loving false father-god promoted by Jesus, who sits watching his children being tortured, burned alive, his women being buried alive and stoned to death. It almost makes you want to believe in this god, so that you can have the pleasure of rejecting him.
According to Christian, Islamic, and Jewish dogma, God's choices and plans are morally justified and a sign of his infinite love. Now, all their clergy tell us that we, as mere humans, don't understand them because “God's ways are not our ways,” and we must never question the decisions of their all-wise deity who “works in mysterious ways.” They warn: those who condemn his decisions will be subjected to eternal torment, compliments of same “loving” God. They say he's the same forever. Being all-wise, he can't change his mind.
God's ways: kill homosexuals, adulterers, those who worship any other gods but him, and disobedient sons, witches, heretics, (each religion regards those of the others as “heretics”). We must be willing to kill one another, even our children, for him. God's own ways are to punish severely the questioning, or even thinking for ourselves, about the results of his decisions. His are not humane, compassionate decisions, choices to be merciful rather than punitive. Compassion is the human answer; it's how we treat one another.
The struggles in bible-dominated lands come from allegiance to their various chosen versions of biblical God, and often to the father-god promoted by Jesus (the one who will punish, on his fickle whim, in his kangaroo-court, for the “crime” of merely not believing in him). Christian fundamentalists in the U.S. are merrily working to bring America back to the O.T. God and his punitive, vengeful choices on our society. Their ends justify their means. They're not humane, caring, compassionate, unless it involves their maudlin obsession with the unborn. Let's halt their fundamentalist agendas, their pleasure in taking away human rights for their god.
So what if we choose human, non-theological, non-mysterious allegiance to one another, by striving to make life more fair, just, compassionate, secure, available for happiness, for all humans? All of the human sacrifices for God and gods, with all the other sadistic inflicting of suffering and death to please him/them, have done nothing to save the world from pain and suffering. But our “non-mysterious ways” human compassion does. We are the ones making merciful decisions. We so love the world as to know what love is - and isn't. Aren't you glad our human ways are Not God's Ways?
Jesus had created his own god. What happened to the God who demanded that revenge and punishments be meted out by the accusers, the insulted, and the wronged? That isn't what God wanted, that isn't the way of his Holy Land, where the revenge of “an eye for an eye, life for a life,” is still the norm, thousands of years later. Original Bible God has to triumph over the God preached by Jesus. If you don't believe this, consider: In a restoration of the original God, the “good news” New Testament itself ends (in Revelation) with vengeance, violence, slaughter, the destruction of our entire Earth, in fire. This time God's plan will bring everlasting joy!
Also, Jesus preached against God's choices; that was blasphemy. His god of compassion was un-Godlike. It follows Jesus had to be killed. God's “infinite wisdom” decision. After he was executed, Jesus then became just another symbol of the conquest of death, and “Jesus,” trademarked, is used, and his cross became O.T. God's militant symbol to conquer others. Later on, God's plan included Mohammed, restoring the one true, original biblical god. Once again, conquest by the sword was the plan God used to spread his, a.k.a., their, word.
The cross remains a reminder of what happens when a man like Jesus crosses God. To this day, that cross is “God's” weapon for revenge, conquest, bigotry, prejudice, and military might, even against those merely suspected to be “his” enemies. It is O.T. God, not the loving false father-god promoted by Jesus, who sits watching his children being tortured, burned alive, his women being buried alive and stoned to death. It almost makes you want to believe in this god, so that you can have the pleasure of rejecting him.
According to Christian, Islamic, and Jewish dogma, God's choices and plans are morally justified and a sign of his infinite love. Now, all their clergy tell us that we, as mere humans, don't understand them because “God's ways are not our ways,” and we must never question the decisions of their all-wise deity who “works in mysterious ways.” They warn: those who condemn his decisions will be subjected to eternal torment, compliments of same “loving” God. They say he's the same forever. Being all-wise, he can't change his mind.
God's ways: kill homosexuals, adulterers, those who worship any other gods but him, and disobedient sons, witches, heretics, (each religion regards those of the others as “heretics”). We must be willing to kill one another, even our children, for him. God's own ways are to punish severely the questioning, or even thinking for ourselves, about the results of his decisions. His are not humane, compassionate decisions, choices to be merciful rather than punitive. Compassion is the human answer; it's how we treat one another.
The struggles in bible-dominated lands come from allegiance to their various chosen versions of biblical God, and often to the father-god promoted by Jesus (the one who will punish, on his fickle whim, in his kangaroo-court, for the “crime” of merely not believing in him). Christian fundamentalists in the U.S. are merrily working to bring America back to the O.T. God and his punitive, vengeful choices on our society. Their ends justify their means. They're not humane, caring, compassionate, unless it involves their maudlin obsession with the unborn. Let's halt their fundamentalist agendas, their pleasure in taking away human rights for their god.
So what if we choose human, non-theological, non-mysterious allegiance to one another, by striving to make life more fair, just, compassionate, secure, available for happiness, for all humans? All of the human sacrifices for God and gods, with all the other sadistic inflicting of suffering and death to please him/them, have done nothing to save the world from pain and suffering. But our “non-mysterious ways” human compassion does. We are the ones making merciful decisions. We so love the world as to know what love is - and isn't. Aren't you glad our human ways are Not God's Ways?
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