(April 24, 2012 at 1:17 am)radorth Wrote: Assuming hypothetically the NT is true, what's not to love about Jesus other than perhaps his statements on punishment?
Right off the bat, you've asked a malformed question. Separating the scheme of faith-based salvation where the alternative is eternal and cruel torture from Jesus is like separating the super powers from Superman. In both cases, so much of the character was interwoven into what you want to exclude that it's hard to make any sense of what's left. At best, you have a really hollow shell left.
Quote:He talks constantly about justice and equality,
When? He uses kings and slaves often in his parables. At one point, he seems fine with the idea of a king killing those who didn't wish to be ruled over by him. At another, he says the slave who disobeys his master shall be beaten with many stripes. He certainly never took the opportunity as a godman to tell people to abolish the practice of slavery. He never advocated equality among the genders. He said nothing about abolishing the homophobic laws of the OT.
Quote:loving our neighbors.
Such pithy admonishments to love are pretty hollow when constantly accompanied by threats that if we don't love him, he'll torture us forever. Jesus was in fact quick to throw tantrums and condemn others when he felt he wasn't given the love and respect he was entitled to.
Quote:He addresses phony religious people with bitter sarcasm.
Just running down the competition.
Quote:He gives us similies more powerful (IMO) and certainly easier to understand than Shakespeare's.
What teachings of Jesus did you read? Just go here and click at random. His teachings at best made no sense and at worst were obnoxious.
Quote:He sets up a moral standard that should make all of us cringe with conviction, and stop judging each other immediately. (Anyone who judges another after reading his Sermon on the Mount is a fool, Christian or not)
The sermon on the mount is highly overrated. Love your enemies? Do good to those who harm you? Who are we kidding? If Christians actually followed his advice the religion would have been wiped out long ago. And don't get me started on the whole self-mutilation parts of the sermon.
Quote:He takes a thief who has probably done nothing good to paradise, merely for recognizing him as Lord.
...and so the message of Christian "morality" is it doesn't matter what you do as long as you just believe what you're told to believe.
Quote:He comes to preach to the downtrodden that God loves them all the same, and gives them hope for peace and justice in a desperately evil world.
Jesus: "Screw the poor. Live it up while I'm here."
Quote:Then he goes and dies on a cross so we don't have to die in our sins, doing what Ghandi called "the perfect act" of love.
How does a bloody sadistic sacrifice make anything better? How is this an act of love? How barbaric are we that we still believe that blood sacrifices appease wrathful gods?
Quote:What's not to love?
What is there to love?
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
