Huff Post: by Derek Flood.
Why did Jesus have to die? Was it to appease a wrathful God’s demand for punishment? Does that mean Jesus died to save us from God? How could someone ever truly love or trust a God like that? How can that ever be called “Good News?” It’s questions like these that make so many people want to have nothing to do with Christianity.
Countless people filling our pews have adopted this hurtful view of God and themselves. It has led many to internalize feelings of shame and self-loathing, thinking this is what God desires. Others have lost their faith entirely because of it, unable to worship a God who seems to them to be a moral monster. Faith motivated by fear, threat, and feelings of worthlessness. How could things have gone so wrong? When did the good news become bad news?
Why did Jesus have to die? Was it to appease a wrathful God’s demand for punishment? Does that mean Jesus died to save us from God? How could someone ever truly love or trust a God like that? How can that ever be called “Good News?” It’s questions like these that make so many people want to have nothing to do with Christianity.
Countless people filling our pews have adopted this hurtful view of God and themselves. It has led many to internalize feelings of shame and self-loathing, thinking this is what God desires. Others have lost their faith entirely because of it, unable to worship a God who seems to them to be a moral monster. Faith motivated by fear, threat, and feelings of worthlessness. How could things have gone so wrong? When did the good news become bad news?
Categories: CHRISTIANITY, Church, Faith, God, Religion
Ah well, the Qur’an’s teaching of Prophet Jesus is so much more logical and simple. And of course the Qur’an’s teaching of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful …
What is so wrong with Jesus? He never used violence but also never backed down from his opinion even he was in the minority. He never let other people die for his faith, he died for his faith. Jesus is a person that can be a model for all people no matter if they are religious or not such as me. I try to take him as a model altough I’m not religious. The story for example with the woman who committed adultery. The people wanted to stone her and asked Jesus as kind of a trap what to do with her. He was sitting in the sand and painted something with a stick in the sand. Then he said: Who is without sin may throw the first stone. All people slowly disappeared from the scene. To the woman he said then: Now go and dont commit sins anymore. That attitude and posture is great. That stonings for exmaple taking place in muslim countries as part of sharia law totally contradict the values Jesus propagated. Why should God change his opinion all the time? Does God want violence? In my opinion the teachings of God in the Bible (New Testament) are more logical than in the Quran. And dont bother so much on theological things such as trinity. Thats not important for the everyday christian in his daily life. Its just Jesus.
Turning the other cheek!
It is said that the teaching of the Bible is that if a person is smitten on the right cheek he should present the left one to the one who smites. This sounds very attractive so long as it is not put into practice. But if an attempt is made to act upon it, it is soon discovered to be entirely impracticable. It is related, that a Christian missionary used to preach in the streets of Cairo how full of love and tolerance the teachings of Jesus were. He would cite the injunction to turn the left cheek when the right one is smitten as an example, and make unfavourable comparisons with the teachings of other faiths. His discourses were couched in a very fine language and his audience used to be greatly affected. A Muslim, who had heard the missionary preach in this fashion on several occasions, became much upset. He wondered why no Muslim divine cared to tackle the missionary on the comparative merits of Islamic and Christian teachings. One day while the missionary was in the middle of his discourse this man approached him and expressed a desire to speak to him. The missionary inclined his head towards him to be able to listen to what he had to say. But the man instead of saying anything gave the missionary a violent slap on the face. The missionary was taken aback for a moment, but then fearing lest the man should proceed to further violence, raised his own hand in order to strike his assailant. The man remonstrated with the missionary and pointed out that he was expecting that in accordance with the Christian teaching, the missionary, instead of preparing to strike him in return, would turn his other cheek towards him. The missionary said, “I have decided today to act upon the teaching of the Qur’an, not the Bible.”
I am not apologizing for the all the violent and silly acts that the Muslim fundamentalists and extremists commit, but, trying to show the balance of things. The exact teachings of the Holy Quran are highlighted in the next comment.
The balance of forgiveness and punishment in Islam
The Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, the Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community writes:
http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Message-of-Peace.pdf
How can any so called “god” save any one if he could not save himself? Jesus was begging God Almighty on the cross to save him and not abandon him. Merciful God saved him from the cursed death on the cross and let him go to the lost sheep where he delivered his message before his natural death as all humans have to die one day! Remember that he was a noble and true prophet of God sent to the lost sheep of Israel. He fulfilled his mission and died a natural death. He is burried in Kashmir, India.
Zia, I agree that in practice it is often not possible to follow Jesus teachings and turn the other cheek. People are too weak and imperfect to live according to that value. Moreover are there other people who would just see that as weakness and slap, as in the example with the missionary above, again and again if there is no punishment for them. But still I think these values are good if people would not exploit that. And concerning my example with the stoning, there is also the other way. Extreme punishments that totally lack compassion. Then I prefer an ideal state that cannot totally achieved (turn the other cheek) to extreme harsh punishments and laws like the sharia.
Rasheed,
I think with your saying that God could not save himself you dont get the picture of God how he is perceived in christianity. His strength was not to react as a ferocious ruler and smashing all the people who captured Jesus. Why should he? You cant kill God. Moreover he knew everything before. And not to use violence is the true strenght. By using violence you lose your face and honour in my society, because it shows weakness. So God is much more pleasant to me the way he reacted. Jesus was the only “messenger” of God. The differences between Jesus(Bible) and Mohammed (Quuran)are to big. God does not all the time change his opinion. He is all knowing, he knows the past and also the whole future. Changing his opinion all the time sounds to human to adapting the religion according to a present situation to fit the needs of humans. And Jesus died on the cross and resurrected after three days. But thats just faith that cannot be proven just as Mohammeds ride to heaven with his horse cannot be proven. So if Jesus is just one prophet for you among others, and died a natural death, then be it that way. Two people, two opinions.
Harsh punishments and Sharia. Once I saw a UN list of crimes of property (thefts etc). Saudi Arabia was at the end of the list. Even a European Editor commented: May be our ‘modern’ jail system does not really solve the problem…
for ‘crimes of passion’ Saudi Arabia was NOT on the bottom of the list …
What is the price for the safety from thievery? Cutting the arm off? Then i prefer thefts to these extrem harsh punishments. If you are hungry or poor and steal something and then you are punished like that? No,thats not worth it. Stoning women for adultery while the men go into brothels unpunished? No. Thats middleage behaviour. And so many rich Saudis regularly go to egypt and other countries to have fun with girls. Saudi Arabia is the most hypocritical country on earth in my opinion. Drinking alcohol at partys, fly in prostitutes from eastern europe by plane etc… but in public for the people pretending to be the devout muslim and forbiding the people everything.
And considering crimes in Saudi Arabia. How many female workers from the Phillipines or Indonesia are raped and beaten by their houselords? There are so many reports that always prove that. Some governments already forbid their nationals due to the violence they suffer there, to work in Saudi Arabia. They often see as a taken for granted that these girl belong them in every aspect, not just for work. These girls get their passport taken away and have no way to complain anywhere. The authorities are corrupt and wont help them. There are no help organisations that would help these people, because such things dont exist in the holy land of Saudi Arabia. So if they complain they are thrown out of the country without money. Well and domestic violence. Don’t think that the wifes complain about that. After a divorce they had no money to live on and would lose their honour. Moreover there are hardly organisations that would deal with that. What I want to say with that, I think all that glitters is not gold.
Dear Yundola
You make some good points. Certainly there should be better human rights in Saudi Arabia. But, as humans we should learn from each experiment of humanity. Please do not refuse the fact that deterrent punishments have shown some benefit in Saudi Arabia. It does not have to be cutting of a hand, could be cutting of little finger, in an operating room, for the first offense. Deterrent punishments have worked in other ways, this is how the taxation system was established in USA.
There is a human limitation that what is not familiar or known to a person appears odd and exotic and familiar appears normal and reasonable. This is how the Christian countries have prohibited polygamy but allowed promiscuity.
One of the reasons why Jesus appears soft and the Prophet Muhammad firm and strict to many Christians is because they never read the Quran and do not read the Bible carefully. So, allow me to link an article here to remedy this: Violence in the Bible and Jihad in the Quran.
Hello Zia,
thanks for your reply. I will read your link when I find some quiet time and then reply to it.
Just one answer to your saying “Christian countries have prohibited polygamy but allowed promiscuity”.
Thats totally wrong promiscuity is not allowed in any moral sense at all. No one says “hey I have cheated on my wife and thats good”. I does not depend on the religion. Even non religious people dont find it good if people betray each other. But if people cheat then it is just a thing between these two people and not by the government. The government and even other people should not interfere in the bedrooms of other people. Moreover muslims themselves go to brothels and cheat each other additionally to their 4 wifes. Thats nothing which only exists in christian countries. In Iran they have the marriage for a couple of hours. How hypocritical… The difference is that we have no machismo culture that only allows men to be the stallons. Both sexes have the same right. So if men live their sexuality so women are also allowed. And btw. for all the sexual partners muslim men have there also must be a muslim women. The real difference now is: In western countries women can openly speak about it, if they want to. In muslim countries the fassade of honour, that obviously lies between the legs of women, is kept up although they also practice promiscuity. Maybe other practices that the hymen stays intact, but where is the moral difference? For my opinion polygamy is just the same as promiscuity with the difference that it is linked to God so to make it morally justifiable. Do whatever you want, just link it to God and this becomes good. But having more wifes is just a thing that was created by men and then attributed to God’s will to give it moral stance. I dont mind polygamy or promiscuity or whatever you call it as long both sexes have the same rights and everything is voluntarily. Not only physical but also economical. And a man who marries a second wife anywhere in the third world where his wife would be without money if she got divorced, he is clearly exploiting her economic dependence on him. She cant protest or divorce. She just must accept it. Which woman wants her husband to have sex with other women? No matter if it is “normal” promiscuity or religiously allowed promiscuity which is the same. I think some, but not many. With more economic wealth and education in the muslim world the polygamy will disappear because women who are independet dont have the need to be the second or third wife of her husband.
We can agree on one issue that a marriage of only a few hours is not much more than prostitution. For rest of the details:
Polygamy in the Holy Qur’an