(This is the ninth in my series of Bil’s ideas about ten misconceptions in Christianity today. This post suggests that the institutional church thinks Jesus died to save us. He didn’t!)
As I drive the freeways to Los Angeles, I see a huge sign on top of a tall building that says “Jesus Saves.” Facetiously, I always wonder, “at what savings and loan association?”
Then, on big trucks, on car bumpers, and in front of certain churches, the same message appears: “Jesus Saves.” I know what those who market this message mean, but I strongly object to their following insinuations:
- Jesus died on a cross so I can have a relationship with their God, an anthropomorphic being living in his mansions above the third firmament of the flat earth.
- If I believe in that Jesus, and only that Jesus, I can be saved from going to their hell. Otherwise, I’m destined for an eternity (whatever that is) in a hot place with ongoing fires, living among awful people who are also unsaved.
This reeks of snake oil salesmanship. I didn’t know I needed saving, except from these hucksters. I don’t want to be saved from a place that doesn’t exist, but I do need positive, creative ideas for living this life to the fullest. Jesus and the gospels give me this for free.
I don’t believe in Original Sin (OS) or in the idea that any person, yes, any person, is a wretch. (Sorry, “Amazing Grace,” I don’t know any wretches.) OS is BS! I believe in Original Goodness (OG). There are no bad people, just people who have made mistakes, probably because of some sort of mental illness, but they are still good. Consider Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest in LA, who started Homeboy Industries (of which Homegirl Café is a part). This organization supports many folks who have made mistakes, maybe many and some rather nasty, who wish to bring their OG back into their daily living. This is unconditional love.
I don’t believe Jesus died on a cross to save us from our sins. I believe he died on a cross because of the sins of a few powerful leaders who were annoyed by his constant attacks on them. They made up lies and had him executed. I believe the cross is the most awful symbol Jesus’s followers could have; it represents humanity at its worst, a symbol of torture, power, and injustice. I want a dove to be the symbol of the agape (unconditional love for all) that Jesus preached.
I have no interest in a fictitious image of some old White guy “up there” who can be meaner than a junkyard dog and will only love and forgive me if I do what some clergyperson orders me to do. This has worked for centuries, but no longer.
The church needs to stop saving people—because it can’t—and start loving them unconditionally.
What goes through your head when you see or hear the message “Jesus Saves”?
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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