Thursday, August 14, 2003

Why be mad at the Jews?

The recent hubub over the new Mel Gibson movie, "Passion", brings to mind something that has always puzzled me. According to Christian doctrine, Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin and eternal damnation. That sounds to me like a good thing. Why then be angry with the Jews for killing Him? (I know, I know, it wasn't the Jews, it was the Romans, but that has never stopped people from being mad at the Jews.) I mean, if the Jews (or whoever it was) hadn't killed Jesus He might have grown old and died of cholera or some other unpoetic natural cause, and we might all be condemned to roast in hell forever. If any emotion at all is justified (and that is highly questionable 2000 years after the fact) it should be gratitude, not anger. But Christianity has never let logic get in the way of a good witch hunt.

The fundamentalist Christian outlook on life is full of this sort of hypocrisy. For example, if you really believe that your soul is saved and that when you die you go to spend eternity with God, then death ought to be something to be embraced, even rejoiced, not avoided and mourned. And yet it is fundamentalist Christians who are typically at the forefront of "right to life" movements. I don't get it. Why is life such a big deal when you have the afterlife to look forward to?

You actually find this more sanguine attitude towards death in Eastern philosophies, particularly Zen Buddhism. Also, Muslims have lately managed to convince a fair number of young and impressionable people of the foregoing logic to unfortunate (in my opinion) effect. One of the nice things about not believing in an afterlife is that you don't have to wrestle with these issues. This life has value because that's all there is.

5 comments:

daylight said...

There is so much confusion in your understanding/knowledge of Christianity...

> The fundamentalist Christian outlook on life is full of this sort of hypocrisy. ... Why is life such a big deal when you have the afterlife to look forward to?

You can NOT define Christians by what you observe in people who profess to be saved. There are "Wheat and Tares", i.e. there are those who are truly saved, and those who think they are, but are not. For the truly saved, the Bible says in Philippians 1:21 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The so called "right to life" in unbiblical. Why? The Bible says "... all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" and "For the wages of sin is death;" So we have no "right to life", but only deserves death because of our sin. Life is a gift from God, and we are thankful for life. Why do we mourn for death? Because death is not a good thing, it is the result of sin. Nothing to embrace or celebrate.

> if the Jews (or whoever it was) hadn't killed Jesus He might have grown old and died of cholera or some other unpoetic natural cause,

I'm sorry, but this is blasphemous. You have no idea who Jesus is -- He is Holy God Himself. He never ceases to be God. He has No sin, so he could not die like us sinful human because of our sin. He Lives Forever. He died to pay for the penalties of the sin of His Elect so the elect could have eternal life. But do you know He Arose? Who can overcome death like Christ? Human die, that's it; but Christ died, and He Arose. That's what we celebrate it in our hearts every day! Do you know the song "I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES"? It's so true.

>...the Jews for killing Him?

This is a very complicated issue. Consider John 19:7. It gives some clues to this issue...

Ron said...

> You can NOT define Christians by what you observe in people who profess to be saved.

Of course I can. In fact, that's the only way I can define Christians, by those who profess to be Christian. Otherwise I have to start making my own judgements about who is and is not a Christian, and I have no basis for doing that.

> I'm sorry, but this is blasphemous. You have no idea who Jesus is -- He is Holy God Himself. He never ceases to be God.

He must have ceased to be God for the three days that He was dead. You can't be "the living God" and be dead at the same time. That is the very definition of a logical contradiction.

> Consider John 19:7. It gives some clues to this issue...

That completely misses the point. The question is not so much: why be mad at the *Jews* for killing jesus as why be mad at *anyone* for killing Jesus? Why not be grateful, since Jesus's death is the basis for our salvation, which is surely a good thing?

Citing John 19:7 is just a thinly disguised excuse for anti-semitic bigotry.

daylight said...

> Of course I can. In fact, that's the only way I can define Christians, by those who profess to be Christian.

There is a another way, the way of the Bible, the Way of Truth. The Bible defines what it is to be a Christian. It is Christ centered, not human centered. Human can not to trusted, but God we can:

Romans 3:4: ... yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;

> He must have ceased to be God for the three days that He was dead.

Do you know Holy Trinity? God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? This is super Holy ground, there is no room for any of human's so-called logic.

> Citing John 19:7 is just a thinly disguised excuse for anti-semitic bigotry.

The Bible says "all have sinned", and "For there is no respect of persons with God."(Romans 2:11). So the unsaved Jews and non-Jews are alike, sinners. Sadly, many self-processed Christian do not live according to the Bible. It gives Christians a bad name, but it does not affect the Truth of the Bible, nor what Bible says about what it is to be a true Christian/Follower of Christ.

The death of Jesus is a very complicated matter. Because you are not following the First Principles of Bible Study, you have no understanding of John 19:7, nor the death/sacrifice of God.

Ron said...

> The Bible defines what it is to be a Christian.

That's news to me. The word "Christian" appears exactly three times in the Bible:

Acts11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Acts26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

1Pet4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

None of those look like a definition to me.

> there is no room for any of human's so-called logic

Yes, that is becoming apparent.

daylight said...

> the word "Christian" appears exactly three times in the Bible: ... None of those look like a definition to me.

You may also want to check out http://www.searchgodsword.org/, search for Christian in The KJV Strong's Version, and look for its Definition and the word Origin. It mentioned "follower of Christ", "anointed", "enduing Christians with the gifts of the Holy Spirit"...you may find that helpful.

Regarding what is considered a follower of Christ, according to the Bible, I want to point again to publication titled "First Principles of Bible Study"(http://www.familyradio.com/graphical/literature/study/study_contents.html), written by Bible teacher Harold Camping. Excerpts below. Hope it sheds some light as to what the Bible defines as follower of Christ/True Gospel.

***Begin Excerpt***

The constant concern of the child of God who dearly loves the Lord is to know and to do the will of God. He recognizes that the Bible is the source book of truth. It is the only authority that discloses the will of God for his life,

...
the Bible is to be Obeyed

Because the Bible is God’s revelation, it is to be obeyed. God emphasizes this principle in I John 2:3,4, where we read:

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

The Bible is the law book or rulebook that presents the commandments, which are to be obeyed. This is the reason that the devils can believe and acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ who has come in the flesh and yet they are subject to eternal damnation. They are correct concerning the doctrines of Christ but by no means are they ready to be obedient to anything and everything that is in the Bible.

In I John 4:2 we read: "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God." The key word is "confess." We commonly use this word to mean a simple and open admission of truth, but the Bible’s use implies not only admission of the truth, it also implies identification with that truth. Therefore, only a child of God, a person born of the Holy Spirit, actually confesses the truths of I John 4:2,3, for only he is ready and willing to be altogether obedient to the Gospel.
When we read about false prophets in Matthew 7:15-23, we discovered that although they claimed to identify with the Christ of the Bible, they were unsaved. In that context (verse 21), Jesus declares:

Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

The false prophets did not do the will of God, and therefore we know that their gospel could not be trusted. God is teaching that the true Gospel is intimately associated with obedience to the Bible, because the Bible is the record of God’s will.
Therefore, two principles can be firmly and safely stated.
1. The whole Bible is the Word of God. It is the ultimate authority and the Word of God.
2. A follower of the true Gospel is ready to be obedient to anything and everything in the Bible. It is the authority to which we are to submit.

God summarizes these principles in Revelation 22:19 where He warns:

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

***End Excerpt***