Church Double-Talk

I had a computer geek come to our house, and very quickly, he told me that he was a born-again Christian—an organization that is steeped in double-talk—and that he believed Jesus died for his sins—again, more double-talk. That phrase always triggers a red flag for me, but I was paying by the hour, so I didn’t push it. The idea that Jesus “died for our sins” bugs me.

A week later, I was reading a book by an Episcopal bishop, who suggested she wasn’t comfortable with the concept of “dying for our sins” but still espoused it. The double-talk continues.

A long time ago, I heard a Black theologian say that Jesus didn’t die for our sins, but he died because of our sins. I agree with that.

The for demands you believe that Jesus was or is part of a larger plan created by a god who resides above the third layer of the flat earth in his many mansions. Most Christians are compelled to believe that this white guy (he’s always white, no matter your race) actually did this.

Question: If the son, Jesus, is a Palestinian Jew, then isn’t the father, God, also a Palestinian Jew? His mother was. According to Matthew and Luke (the only two Gospels to tell birth narratives, each very different), this son was conceived by this god having sex with an underage teenager, and now we have a new god, Jesus. This is messy!

When I joined a church, its followers told me I had to believe this if I wanted to be part of their community. When I suggest that this story is outrageous (rape, sex with a minor, planned homicide), I am told that I am no longer welcome, even though I believe that Jesus is my Christ. This club wants me to believe that a pedophile god raped a poor Jewish teenager, and the product of that rape died for my sins. I just can’t believe that.

I also can’t believe that this god, a father to his son, designed a convoluted plan that his only child should be turned over to the Roman authorities and allowed to be tortured in an unbelievably cruel fashion—all for my sins. I’ve often wondered why this god didn’t send an embolism into Jesus’s brain and kill him immediately? It achieved the same result.

I also wonder why a so-called loving god doesn’t make me responsible for my own “missing of the mark”? (One definition of sin comes from an archery term meaning “missing the mark.”) I found it irresponsible when my fraternity brothers went to confession every Friday afternoon, confessed their mistakes and missteps, and were assigned a pile of Hail Marys and trips around a rosary, leaving them off the hook without ever having to accept any responsibility. In my opinion, this doesn’t foster healthy, responsible adults.

I believe Jesus died because he threatened the Jewish and Roman authorities by speaking truth to power. Armies won’t change the course of civilization but rather the power of agape—unconditional love for all with no exceptions—will transform and conquer the world.

Why do intelligent, rational people cling to so much of the church’s double-talk?

PeaceLoveJoyHopeKindness

Bil

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P.S. People often ask me provocative questions about current events, both religious and secular. I have found that some of these questions are being asked universally. I’ll be periodically alternating regular articles with one of those questions and my answer. I invite you to send me your question to bilaulenbach@yahoo.com.

 

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