Transplanar

If God is capable of making a human woman from a rib bone, it seems easy enough that God can bend the rules of reality any way he pleases to whatever end he chooses. Christians keep saying how God sacrificed his own son to forgive our sins but... why did he have to do that? Couldn't he have just snapped his fingers and made it so?

Never mind the fact that Jesus was killed by non-Christians. It wasn't like he went out with a thunderbolt clashing down on his body to save the world from sin superman style. Was it Jesus's intention all along to die for the sins of man? Was it an afterthought as he carried his cross along before his crucifixion?

Furthermore, if God and Jesus are supposed to be of one substance... this makes even less sense. It sounds more and more like it's essentially a publicity stunt more than an actual procedure that was required to forgive mankind for their sins.

Am I missing something here? If God has the power to make a woman from a rib bone without a fuss, why is it that God had to have his son (or... himself?) killed in order for that to be accomplished?

EssEff

Jesus' "sacrifice" (which isn't much of a sacrifice considering he was resurrected anyway & lives forever in Heaven now) was fulfillment of prophesy in Isaiah. He did it himself intentionally to martyr himself & he knew it was coming. His "prediction" of being betrayed was actually a command. "You will betray me."

God could do anything he wants but he's a malevolent, self-centered, narcissistic asshole so he makes us suffer if we don't kiss his conceited ass once a week.

Sven

This is sarcasm, right? Just checking...

Ruhan

The problem with NT theology is that Paul probably did not have access to the gospels which were written much later on. We hear Jesus say that we should turn the other cheeck and forgive our enemies, yet Paul's God requires a human sacrifice in order to simply forgive our sins.

It's a double standard.

mountainman

The fabrication of the new and strange testament is a fiction
of men composed by wickedness. It was created by those in
power for the purpose of ridding and robbing the empire of its
ancient Hellenic traditions, temples and treasures, and literature.

The ROMANS were professional rulers, they kill all sorts of men
and their gods, and had been doing just that for centuries. The
new technology of literature was harnessed by Constantine, and
he enjoyed contributing to the text. His favorite contribution was:

"Render unto god the things that are god's
and unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's".

It was a WIN-WIN situation for the supreme imperial
mafia thug, and Basilica Builder.



Pete Brown

Black Feather

Sometimes I think they have Jesus and Paul mixed up. Paul decided what it is to be Christian I guess--yet the godhood figure to follow was a jewish rabbi. So no Christians are to follow the same traditions that their own godhead followed when he had a body.

Very convoluted.

DaBuster

You make an interesting point. If Jesus was truly the immortal, eternal son of God, then the ultimate sacrifice would have been if he had died on the cross and stayed dead. Instead, we are told that Jesus died knowing that he would only be out of action for three days, and since a thousand years are like a day to God, three days is like…well, not very long. Not much of a sacrifice, indeed.

This seems like an argument that might have been used against those who argue that Jesus’ death on the cross was such a potent sacrifice that it remitted the sins of all mankind. Does anyone know what, if anything, any of the early church fathers wrote regarding this particular line of attack?

jesus_is_creepy

I'm a bit confused if jesus was dead for three days where was he during that time? He couldn't be in heaven and he was obviously dead so not on earth.

Nero's Boot

"You know, God....a simple 'I forgive you' would've sufficed. The BDSM self-mutilation show'n'dance really wasn't necessary, was it?"

--this just goes to prove that BibleGod demands blood, gore and pain in everything he does NB

butswana

This is the argument that I use. To the creator of the universe who can make ANYTHING possible, there is no real sacrifice. It would have been a con job. God is an 'Indian giver'! The only responses I've recieved were an angry "You think you are so smart" and a dismissive "The Lord works in mysterious ways".