Sacrifice for the benefit of others must be willing. If it is not willing, then it is not sacrifice, but coerced. Ask yourself, did the goats and bulls slaughtered in the ancient Hebrew religion volunteer themselves or were their throats cut and their blood shed without their permission?
“ Doubt is the origin of wisdom.” — Rene Descartes, ‘Meditations on First Philosophy’
In the movie, The Three Musketeers, the lovely, voluptuous, and decidedly evil character of Milady De Winter, played by Rebecca de Mornay, made a comment which, I believe, is far deeper in meaning than what seems to be the driving force of the moment. At a time when Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) tried to proposition her with the threat that he could destroy her with a snap of his fingers, she countered by sticking the point of a dagger into his gut and replied,
“With a flick of my wrist, I can change your religion.”
In other words, according to this, one’s religion is based on circumstances, which, in our current economic, political, and philosophical climate may not be far from the truth. But, that’s another story.
I am not a dogmatic, stubborn, emotional believer in anything. I question everything and reject what doesn’t hold up as logical and reasonable. I have no problem at all with discarding something I once thought true if, after consideration, I found it to be rationally inconsistent with the basic premise of the argument. Religion is, after all, nothing more than a belief in a specific theological philosophy which seeks to explain the meaning of life, death, good, and evil, and raises one or more entities and law systems to the position of sovereign, over and above all others. All religions, including Christianity, are cut from this cloth and deserve, in my opinion, to be scrutinized closely to find the flaws and inconsistencies of the narrative which is supposedly “The Truth”.
End of argument. Except that it’s not.
A few months ago, I posted an article in which I said that I was having serious trouble with recognizing that a violent, bloody sacrifice was necessary to mollify God and to provide sufficient “payment” for my sins so that the Gates of Heaven could be opened to me forever and ever. I find it disturbing that one of the most brutal, murderous, and blood-thirsty “gods” of history, Yahweh, is still worshipped in a cleaner, more sanitized version of religion by the hundreds of millions of Christians who inherited their religion from the Hebrew Jewish tradition. In addition, not only do Christians, by and large, fervently support the notion of blood sacrifice as payment for sins, but many of them also fervently support the actions of the brutal, murderous and blood-thirsty State of Israel which claims that it, and it alone, has the God-given promise of being the “chosen people”, which means they think they can get away with anything and their Christian sycophants allow them to.
I was brought into this world against astronomical odds. It is staggering that I (or you) were even conceived. One specific sexual union between my father and mother, at one specific time, with 300 million sperm cells all competing to enter into one specific ovum, and only the one which actually “won” created the specific individual that I am. If this had varied by an infinitesimal amount, if another sperm had penetrated the egg cell wall before my own did, then I would not be here, but my brother or sister would. If my parents had not engaged in sex on that particular day, none of this would have happened.
To put it bluntly, life itself is a chance encounter. Should I be found guilty before God because I was conceived in a manner over which I had no control and which can be attributed entirely to chance, simply because Jewish and Christian tradition and teaching promote the idea that all of the sinfulness of humanity is derived from a decision by the first two people, Adam and Eve, who made the wrong decision, thereby condemning the rest of their descendants to a lifetime of misery and an eternity of torture? All because they made a poor choice?
That is a peripheral argument and does not play into my present dilemma, so I will say nothing more about it. What I am really struggling with is the idea that I must have, MUST HAVE, some entity, animal or human, killed in a bloody, violent manner to atone for my own personal failings and flaws, so that God will be satisfied with the “payment” and my relationship with God can be restored. This is what MUST HAPPEN according to the accepted and cherished beliefs of most of those who call themselves Christian.
I am going to go out on a limb and saw it off!
I have come to the understanding that this is bullshit. It is nothing more than an extension of an ancient religion which taught that God, whatever or whoever God was or is, can be placated and bought off by the destruction of a part of His creation and, as a consequence, will extend mercy and forgiveness to those who are attempting to purchase a “Get out of jail free” card. Since I have gone this far and see no good reason to recant and confess my unbelief, I might as well go all the way. Christianity, at least the way it has been taught for millennia, has always been based on fear. People live in panic-driven fear that they will “go to Hell” if they do not accept the premise of the faith, being that God, Yahweh, basks in the “sweet savor and aroma” of spilled blood to show humanity that they are incapable of attaining righteousness on their own.
Well, that last part, at least, is true. I cannot become righteous in my own efforts, even by religiously obeying the commandments laid down to the extreme jot and tittle. There is no doubt in my mind that I am imperfect, flawed, mistake-prone, and, yes, sinful, to use the term as a descriptor of the distance between myself and the perfection of God. But this is where the Spirit of God comes into play–teaching, showing, persuading, influencing my daily thoughts, decisions, words, and actions to bring me closer and closer to the ultimate ideal of godliness, holiness, and righteousness. What I have to do is admit my own failings, confess my own need for assistance and guidance, and accept that God, Who loves me, will enable me to emulate and experience His nature while I am on this planet.
“He has shown you, O man, what is good: And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
You can’t beat something with nothing.
Certainly, the Christian belief in the atoning death of Jesus is something and I do not discount that at all. Not the least bit. The issue here stems from the belief that it was necessary, in order to restore man’s relationship with God, Who demanded that something or someone die to compensate for man’s sins, that this death be violent and bloody. I do not accept that any more, therefore, it is incumbent on me to produce something better and it is my intention to do so. I do not expect to cover this in one singular posting and I still do not have a firm grasp on the concept myself. It is a work in progress, compared, Biblically speaking, to the beginning of labor pains and the “child” which is birthed from it may be beautiful or it may be a monster akin to the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I simply do not know, but I have to push, push, push, anyway, no matter the pain of the moment.
Poor Roger's Almanac 