Again I fail to recognize one who brings plagues and kills children as a loving god. Chuck Flickinger claims to relate to God the Father and wrote that it is “what any dad would do.” I hope not!
The Biblical superhero, God the Father, is vain and vindictive but seeks respect and recognition, demands to be loved but has anger management issues so becomes violent when things don’t go his way. He is boss. He characterizes the best and worst of a human father.
Virgin Mary and God the Father had an innocent son together so the story goes. Jesus seemed kind, a wanderer, unmarried, possibly homeless, a good talker, and healer type who could draw a crowd. Maybe at times he became too full of himself. Jesus was not the first innocent nor the last to be tortured to death. People are capable of great cruelty to each other. We feel sad about Jesus dying and tend not to acknowledge so many others who have died unjustly.
As children we were raised to feel guilt, shame, remorse for our imperfections, and infractions. We don’t necessarily outgrow the guilty feelings as adults and expect that we should be, or deserve to be punished. The story makes Jesus, the innocent son, the scapegoat for our punishment. The story is told to redeem and relieve our anxiety.
Stories were spun to explain plagues, natural disaster, and dead children in lieu of science. Dramatic stories are told to make us feel better. We prefer a story has a happy ending, so Jesus lives on even though a missing corpse is not evidence of a resurrection. We do not want an end to our lives either so heaven is invented.
We have a better world, but many who worked to achieve a more civil and enlightened society claimed that Bible stood in the way at every turn. Maybe we can agree on one thing. To love is the best way to live. It is science that tells me so.
Geri Jensen
Grand Marais
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