Happy Easter, internet!
I was thinking the other day about Jesus. The standard dogma holds that he died for our sins. The historical record confirms that he lived approximately two millenia ago. Since Christian theology also holds that one does not get eternal life without believing in Jesus, even under a Creationist timescale this would mean that for 10000 years, mankind was completely out in the cold with no possibility of salvation.
If we're to also assume that God is inherently good, this doesn't make sense. So, I don't believe Jesus died for our sins, but died to tell us that God forgives us. That is, God was always a forgiving God, and man simply didn't understand that until God sent down his son to tell us directly.
What, then, of other religions? The above sentiment effectively discounts the necessity of Christianity for salvation, causing Jesus to be a messenger (though still the Messiah). If it is true that God is good, then people must have the opportunity to find salvation regardless of their cultural resources. If one were raised in a strongly Hindu society, for instance, it is quite possible that one would never encounter the idea of Christianity. I cannot conceive of a being of infinite good persecuting someone for their upbringing. So there must be some other requirement than simply owning a Bible.
It is a basic tenant of the beliefs of every major religion and of most thinking men that one ought to be "good": love your neighbor, be charitable, be kind, etc. I think the "goodness" (a word, I think, that means more in quotation marks than out) of a man, not his religious beliefs, is the true litmus test. If there is an afterlife, it is not an exclusive club for Westerners, but a reward for a life well lived.
By my hand,
~Michael Akerman
2 comments:
I share this perspective and I'm glad to see it popping up in more and more places. God = Good has a lot of counterexamples.
My understanding of the dogma is that it was a new covenant, i.e. a new god/sheep contract that Jesus negotiated via a superhuman sacrifice. Before then you had to be Hebrew (chosen) and keep all the old rules. And, God wasn't particularly good, but hey, he was God, and Hebrews thought that was pretty swell that he gave them a bye if they put goats' blood on their doors.
The God = Good doctrine is something they tell everyone very early in Sunday School / CCD. Then you don't have to think so hard about whether the scriptures and dogma are sensible. They also love to gloss over Job until you're older, because if they told you straight up, you wouldn't be attached enough to what you had believed for so long. Then they come back around and say yes God did do some nasty shit, but they blame it on human imperfection and blame that on Eve. The way to rest easy with yourself is to trust God and chauvinism.
I think the test of a person is just what you're saying, it's your contribution, not your loyalty. With that in mind I wish people would quit worrying so damn much about the afterlife and focus instead on this world with all its problems and lonely people. Faith-oriented charities are great, if closed-minded. But it's sad that most religious people are so disconnected from life.
You might be interested in the ULC and its forum. Quality of discussion comes and goes, I personally come and go, but generally most members who don't end up banned are very thoughtful and have a lot to offer.
A very thoughtful post; you'd make a great religious humanist.
Post a Comment