Christ was viciously murdered largely because he did not in the least behave in accordance with corrupted human conduct and expectation — and in particular because he was nowhere near being the angry and sometimes even bloodthirsty behemoth so many theists seemingly wanted or needed their Creator and savior to be and therefore believed he’d have to be.
Christ’s nature and teachings even left John the Baptist, who believed in him as the savior, bewildered by his apparently contradictory version of the Hebraic messiah, with which John had been raised. Perhaps most perplexing was the Biblical Jesus’ revolutionary teaching of non-violently offering the other cheek as the proper response to being physically assaulted by one’s enemy. The Biblical Jesus also most profoundly washed his disciples’ feet, the act clearly revealing that he took corporeal form to serve.
Perhaps some ‘Christians’ even find inconvenient, if not plainly annoying, trying to reconcile the conspicuous inconsistency in the fundamental nature of the New Testament’s Jesus with the wrathful, vengeful and even jealous nature of the Old Testament’s God. But for many of us, Godly greatness need not be defined as the ability to destroy and harshly punish, as opposed to the willingness and compacity for compassionate forgiveness, non-violence and humility.
Jesus Christ was about compassion, charity and non-wealth. His teachings and practices epitomize so much of the primary component of socialism — do not hoard gratuitous resources, especially in the midst of great poverty. Yet, this is not practiced by a significant number of ‘Christians’, likely including many who idolize callous politicians standing for very little or nothing Jesus taught and represents.
Prominent actually-Christlike Christian leaders/voices should often strongly-emphasize what Jesus fundamentally taught and demonstrated to his followers. However strange that sounds, institutional Christianity seems to need continuous reminding. They all should consider that the Biblical Jesus would not have rolled his eyes and sighed: ‘Oh, well. I’m against what the politician stands for, but what can you do when you dislike even more his political competition?’
It seems to me that America is well on its way to being damned; never mind it somehow being God-blessed: Seriously, some of the best humanitarians that I, as a big fan of Christ’s unmistakable miracles and fundamental message, have met or heard about were/are atheists or agnostics who, quite ironically, would make better examples of many of Christ’s teachings/practices than too many ‘Christians’. Conversely, some of the worst human(e) beings I’ve met or heard about are the most devout believers/preachers of fundamental Biblical theology.
I can understand corpocratically-inclined and extreme-wealth Americans supporting Trump’s soulless — hell, completely un-Christlike — and most ugly Big Beautiful Bill. But there are so many voters and elected Republicans who claim to be Christian yet defend, or at least are noticeably quiet about, the bill, despite its ultimate cutting of access to health services and food aid/supports for the poorest Americans.
It’s bad enough for the Donald Trump government, that’s widely supported by the institutional Christian community in American, to cut whatever minimal government support there is for poor people, especially children, lacking food and/or those without access to privately insured health care. But to do so in large part to redirect those funds via tax cuts to the superfluously very wealthy — including those who have no need for more money, and likely never will — is plain immoral.
The money will mostly go towards an attempt to satiate the bottomless-pit greed of unlimited-growth capitalism and hoarded wealth. It’s morbidly shameful conduct by a supposedly Christian nation’s government, which is largely politically supported by institutional ‘Christianity’ in America. Jesus must be spinning in heaven.
Thank you for your comment. Very good insights here. Indeed, I believe it was Marcus Borg who said something like compassion is the Holiness of God flowing through us for others.
Christ was viciously murdered largely because he did not in the least behave in accordance with corrupted human conduct and expectation — and in particular because he was nowhere near being the angry and sometimes even bloodthirsty behemoth so many theists seemingly wanted or needed their Creator and savior to be and therefore believed he’d have to be.
Christ’s nature and teachings even left John the Baptist, who believed in him as the savior, bewildered by his apparently contradictory version of the Hebraic messiah, with which John had been raised. Perhaps most perplexing was the Biblical Jesus’ revolutionary teaching of non-violently offering the other cheek as the proper response to being physically assaulted by one’s enemy. The Biblical Jesus also most profoundly washed his disciples’ feet, the act clearly revealing that he took corporeal form to serve.
Perhaps some ‘Christians’ even find inconvenient, if not plainly annoying, trying to reconcile the conspicuous inconsistency in the fundamental nature of the New Testament’s Jesus with the wrathful, vengeful and even jealous nature of the Old Testament’s God. But for many of us, Godly greatness need not be defined as the ability to destroy and harshly punish, as opposed to the willingness and compacity for compassionate forgiveness, non-violence and humility.
Jesus Christ was about compassion, charity and non-wealth. His teachings and practices epitomize so much of the primary component of socialism — do not hoard gratuitous resources, especially in the midst of great poverty. Yet, this is not practiced by a significant number of ‘Christians’, likely including many who idolize callous politicians standing for very little or nothing Jesus taught and represents.
Prominent actually-Christlike Christian leaders/voices should often strongly-emphasize what Jesus fundamentally taught and demonstrated to his followers. However strange that sounds, institutional Christianity seems to need continuous reminding. They all should consider that the Biblical Jesus would not have rolled his eyes and sighed: ‘Oh, well. I’m against what the politician stands for, but what can you do when you dislike even more his political competition?’
It seems to me that America is well on its way to being damned; never mind it somehow being God-blessed: Seriously, some of the best humanitarians that I, as a big fan of Christ’s unmistakable miracles and fundamental message, have met or heard about were/are atheists or agnostics who, quite ironically, would make better examples of many of Christ’s teachings/practices than too many ‘Christians’. Conversely, some of the worst human(e) beings I’ve met or heard about are the most devout believers/preachers of fundamental Biblical theology.
I can understand corpocratically-inclined and extreme-wealth Americans supporting Trump’s soulless — hell, completely un-Christlike — and most ugly Big Beautiful Bill. But there are so many voters and elected Republicans who claim to be Christian yet defend, or at least are noticeably quiet about, the bill, despite its ultimate cutting of access to health services and food aid/supports for the poorest Americans.
It’s bad enough for the Donald Trump government, that’s widely supported by the institutional Christian community in American, to cut whatever minimal government support there is for poor people, especially children, lacking food and/or those without access to privately insured health care. But to do so in large part to redirect those funds via tax cuts to the superfluously very wealthy — including those who have no need for more money, and likely never will — is plain immoral.
The money will mostly go towards an attempt to satiate the bottomless-pit greed of unlimited-growth capitalism and hoarded wealth. It’s morbidly shameful conduct by a supposedly Christian nation’s government, which is largely politically supported by institutional ‘Christianity’ in America. Jesus must be spinning in heaven.
Thank you for your comment. Very good insights here. Indeed, I believe it was Marcus Borg who said something like compassion is the Holiness of God flowing through us for others.