God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of The Bible (51 page)
Read God Hates You, Hate Him Back: Making Sense of The Bible Online
Authors: CJ Werleman
Paul, still imprisoned in Rome, predicts the coming of his death, which ultimately results in a beheading at the order of the Roman Emperor Nero. Thus the importance that Timothy understands that the success of the Church is now in his hands, as Paul writes:
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For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8 NIV)
Paul also advises Timothy to prepare for the final days before Jesus’ second coming, suggesting again that Paul was convinced that Christ would return at least during the lifetime of his new charge:
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But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-4 NIV)
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Christians must disregard [scientific hypotheses or theories] that contradict the Bible.”
Biology for Christian Schools
This is a letter from Paul to Titus. Titus heads the church in Crete and the letter is just a reminder that Titus should carefully appoint righteous elders to head all churches in the region, whilst also remaining vigilant against rebellious or questioning followers and to act promptly to suppress those who may cause division from within. Paul writes:
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For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach.” (Titus 1:10-11 NIV)
Silencing opposition, the hallmark of all oppressive regimes from Fascism to Totalitarianism.
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I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”
President George H.W. Bush
In terms of number of words, this is the shortest of all books of the Bible consisting of only 335 words. It is letter written by Paul, whilst imprisoned, to Philemon, a leader in the Colossian church.
The letter reveals nothing as to the reason Paul finds himself in prison, nor for what duration is his sentence. It reads simply as a plea to some guy called Philemon, that a fellow prisoner may be released because he has converted to Christianity.
This is the final letter of Paul before his execution.
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A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.”
Albert Einstein
The Book of Hebrews is written by an unknown author, but whilst his identity may remain a mystery, the target audience is obvious, the Jews. The book urges Jews to cease their worship of what the author claims are now secondary prophets such as Abraham, Moses, Joshua and David, and to put their complete faith in the one and only Jesus who now supersedes all that came before him. For this reason many scholars regard this book as the fifth Gospel.
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In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his wonderful word.” (Hebrews 1:1-3 NIV)
If there is a single more offensive passage to Jews then you will do well to find better than this, as the author shows no timidity and thus pulls no punches when he claims that Jesus is far greater than Moses:
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Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what could be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.” (Hebrews 3:3-4 NIV)
Sorry Moses, but the Christians want a new star.
The book of Hebrews offers the all too familiar warnings to non-believers of Christianity, such as death and destruction in fiery pits of sulphur. But it does advise them that it is not too late to convert because the final days have not come yet. Using a jab of mockery he belittles the Jews for their non-belief as a matter of poor intellect:
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We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.” (Hebrews 5:11-13 NIV)
The above derogatory statement is the equivalent of, “Hey, we Christians understand you don’t get the stuff about virgin births and resurrection after death, because your brains are not as evolved as us vastly superior Christians!”
If this book hadn’t upset Jews by now, then the most controversial of all passages in this book relates to the denunciation of the old covenant between the Jewish people and God, and it’s replacement with the one made via Jesus.
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The ministry of Jesus has received is as superior to theirs (Jews) as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said, ‘The time is coming when I make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Hebrews 8:6-8 NIV)
The last sentence of the above passage is taken by the author from Psalm 110, i.e. from the Old Testament. Henceforth, God never said during or after Jesus’ lifetime that the death of his son was to be the new covenant. Just another example of early Christian writers cutting and pasting verses from the Hebrew Bible to justify the Christian faith and credibility.
Nothing sacred of Jewish belief is left unscarred in Hebrews, even the sanctimony of what Jews regard as the holy of holy, the Tabernacle. The author derides the Tabernacle and all its inclusions as nothing more than man-constructed ceremonial nick-nacks as offerings to God, but the blood spilled by Jesus on the cross is now the new covenant and to honor his sacrifice is far holier than worshiping some fine curtains, candles and golden altars.
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For this reason Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” (Hebrews 9:15 NIV)
The author includes a relatively long passage on the importance and virtue of faith. And that God will reward those who put their faith in him and his son Jesus, just as he had rewarded Abraham with children; Noah with the ark; and Moses in his exodus from Egypt.
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And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)
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God made so many different kinds of people. Why would he allow only one way to serve him?”
Martin Buber
It is now widely accepted that the author of this letter, addressed to the twelve tribes of Israel, is James the brother of Jesus. The address of the twelve tribes is generally interpreted as being that of the Jewish converts to Christianity. It seems plausible to me that this is in fact a relative or at least close friend of Jesus, as the author is quick to bless the poor and weak and curse the rich, just as Jesus had been quoted.
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The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.” (James 1:9-10 NIV)
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Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised?” (James 2:5 NIV)
Not only is this just shameless popularist politics in an attempt to appeal to the masses, but it does seem somewhat harsh to lump all wealthy individuals into the corrupt basket and it does remind me of a scene from Monty Python’s
Life of Brian
, in which John Cleese’s character remarks after hearing Jesus’ sermon, “Blessed are the meek? Well, Jesus has certainly got that wrong. It is the meek that cause all our problems!”
In this letter, James claims, unequivocally, that prayers are not only listened to by the Almighty but they are also actioned upon. This is of little comfort now to the deeply religious majority of the American South, where hundreds of lifelong serving Christians prayed for salvation during Hurricane Katrina, in their rooftop attics as the water levels rose higher and higher, until these poor souls eventually took the last breath before being consumed by a horrible death. Jesus didn’t hear those prayers did he now? Proving the adage that nothing quite fails like prayer.
Yes, I could list a shopping list of examples where Jesus stayed put on the sidelines to watch his sheep get slaughtered, which according to the Bible’s claim makes him complicit in his ambivalence, but I will refrain, as the point is obvious. James writes:
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Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” (James 5:13-15 NIV)
If prayer cured illnesses and Christians believed this to be true, then why do believers bother with the cost of health insurance? And why visit a doctor? Why take medicine? Well, the so called Christian Scientists amongst us do ignore the marvels of medical technology and healthcare in substitute for prayer and these dim-witted nuts end up watching their children suffer painful deaths from common ailments that could have been treated with a simple antibiotic tablet. The tragedy of ancient beliefs!
And what is the point of petitionary prayer? If God is omniscient, he would’ve taken all our needs and desires into consideration. If God is working to his plan then petitionary prayer should not make him second guess himself and change course just for you.
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How can the Church be received as a trustworthy guide in the invisible, which falls into so many errors in the visible?”
John W. Draper
The Book of Peter is a letter written by Saint Peter during his time as the Bishop of Rome, estimated to be approximately one hundred years after the death of Jesus. The intended audience: church members scattered throughout the Black Sea coastal area.
The letter reads similar to many of Paul’s preceding letters with the overarching theme being that of a Christian rally cry, to remain steadfast whilst non-believers persecute you, and a reminder to adopt the blood sacrifice of Jesus as the comparative bar for enduring suffering.
Peter urges followers to remain ‘holy’, obedient and steadfast and that salvation will come after death through their belief in Jesus. To this end Peter also includes the contentious claim that has divided many Christian observers throughout time:
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For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 4:6 NIV).
A truly remarkable assertion given that it suggests that Jesus visited the dead in Hell before being resurrected three days after his death. That is some journey for even a Messiah to make. Can’t imagine Satan being the gracious host and I am surprised the horned one didn’t take the opportunity to take the son of God as his hostage. Surely, God would have paid a handsome ransom?