Stephen T-B
Stephen T-B
I offer this summary as the basis for a conversation (sorry for its length)...
The Story.
Stage 1.
An immortal entity, worshipped as a god and referred to variously as God, Lord, Yahweh, the Godhead, creates the universe and the Earth and two fatally-flawed temporal beings (Adam and Eve, progenitors of all humanity) who are possessed by metaphysical souls which, on account of that inherent flaw, perish along with their hosts.
Stage 2
The god entity selects a subsequent being (Abraham) to be the founder of a nation (the Jews), whose souls will attain immortality provided their hosts observe a plethora of rules regulating diet, food preparation, clothing materials, beliefs, religious rituals (along with various kinds of sacrifice) and general behaviour.
Stage 3
The god entity generates a humanoid version of itself (Jesus) with the commission to enable the souls of all humankind, regardless of race, to attain immortality provided their hosts;
a) worship the god entity;
b) acknowledge the divinity of Jesus;
c) acknowledge the flaws in the flawed nature they inherited, plus other specific wrong-doings they may have committed,
and
d) treat one an other with respect.
Jesus is to achieve his commission by offering himself up as a blood sacrifice on behalf of humankind to appease the god entity which continues to be offended by the flaws in the flawed nature it gave Adam and Eve and which all their descendants inherited.
Stage 4
Hell and eternal torment become central features in main-stream Christian doctrine, and simultaneously, Satan graduates from subversive mischief-maker and tempter to becoming the embodiment of evil; the enemy of God, intent on inducing humans to offend him, thus condemning their souls to eternal torment in Hell, over which he presides.
(Stage 3 has a variation, in that some people acknowledge the divine commission given to Jesus but deny his divinity, and stage 4 has variations, among which is a belief that the dead will be resurrected on Judgement Day, their souls winning immortality or being finished off, permanently.)
The Story.
Stage 1.
An immortal entity, worshipped as a god and referred to variously as God, Lord, Yahweh, the Godhead, creates the universe and the Earth and two fatally-flawed temporal beings (Adam and Eve, progenitors of all humanity) who are possessed by metaphysical souls which, on account of that inherent flaw, perish along with their hosts.
Stage 2
The god entity selects a subsequent being (Abraham) to be the founder of a nation (the Jews), whose souls will attain immortality provided their hosts observe a plethora of rules regulating diet, food preparation, clothing materials, beliefs, religious rituals (along with various kinds of sacrifice) and general behaviour.
Stage 3
The god entity generates a humanoid version of itself (Jesus) with the commission to enable the souls of all humankind, regardless of race, to attain immortality provided their hosts;
a) worship the god entity;
b) acknowledge the divinity of Jesus;
c) acknowledge the flaws in the flawed nature they inherited, plus other specific wrong-doings they may have committed,
and
d) treat one an other with respect.
Jesus is to achieve his commission by offering himself up as a blood sacrifice on behalf of humankind to appease the god entity which continues to be offended by the flaws in the flawed nature it gave Adam and Eve and which all their descendants inherited.
Stage 4
Hell and eternal torment become central features in main-stream Christian doctrine, and simultaneously, Satan graduates from subversive mischief-maker and tempter to becoming the embodiment of evil; the enemy of God, intent on inducing humans to offend him, thus condemning their souls to eternal torment in Hell, over which he presides.
(Stage 3 has a variation, in that some people acknowledge the divine commission given to Jesus but deny his divinity, and stage 4 has variations, among which is a belief that the dead will be resurrected on Judgement Day, their souls winning immortality or being finished off, permanently.)