Why did God need Jesus?

[jumpingjoy]

If God is omnipotent and humans really needed 'saving', why the heck did he have to go about it in such a convoluted way?

Getting a young girl pregnant so she could bear a son, who would eventually die an unpleasant death seems totally unnecessary, unless the deity got a sadistic pleasure from it! Surely allowing all to enter heaven eventually, even if some had to serve time cleaning out the heavenly sewers to atone for their sins first, would be a much more civilised way of going about things, imo!

 

[Nerthus]

For me, that's one part of Christianity that I struggle with. I understand that Christians say it is because God loves us so much and the ultimate sacrifice is His own son - yet why He would have chosen to have His own son killed, I can't comprehend. There are so many other ways to show us the right way and to show us His love, but He chose death.

Always makes me think that He would have no hesitation killing anyone of us, seeing as He could kill His own son.

 

[jumpingjoy]

For me, that's one part of Christianity that I struggle with. I understand that Christians say it is because God loves us so much and the ultimate sacrifice is His own son - yet why He would have chosen to have His own son killed, I can't comprehend. There are so many other ways to show us the right way and to show us His love, but He chose death.

Always makes me think that He would have no hesitation killing anyone of us, seeing as He could kill His own son.

I don't see anything remotely loving about the Biblical concept of the deity.

 

[Nerthus]

I don't see anything remotely loving about the Biblical concept of the deity.

I can see the idea behind it, but allowing people to suffer in torment for eternity, or wanting you to change who you are to fit in with His rules isn't loving at all.

If He loved me, then He wouldn't want me to change and fit into a box. I wasn't created to fit into a box.

It does seem petty to me. I love the idea of Jesus, and believe He was a real person, but the God behind Him - I don't want to be real.

 

[jumpingjoy]

I love the idea of Jesus, and believe He was a real person, but the God behind Him - I don't want to be real.

I think Jesus was probably a reasonable, but very human guy, whilst the Biblical God is a monster, imo.

 

[Nerthus]

All I know, is that for me I don't want to believe in a God who will happily condone death, over some petty detail like who you fall in love with.

I'm not saying He doesn't exist, He may well do. But, that kind of God isn't for me.

I do feel that you can learn a lot from Jesus though.

 

[jumpingjoy]

All I know, is that for me I don't want to believe in a God who will happily condone death, over some petty detail like who you fall in love with.

I'm not saying He doesn't exist, He may well do. But, that kind of God isn't for me.

I do feel that you can learn a lot from Jesus though.

I agree, Nerthus.

BTW I see you live in the UK like me, do you post on the BBC Christian Topic Message Board like me? You can have quite a good discussion on the message board, although there are restrictive opening and closing times because of BBC policy. It is worth a look see if you don't already post there.

 

[Nerthus]

No I don't, I think I looked at it once but the layout wasn't very 'me friendly'!!

 

[jumpingjoy]

No I don't, I think I looked at it once but the layout wasn't very 'me friendly'!!

No it isn't brilliant I must admit, but you might give it a try and see how you get on.:yes:

 

[Nerthus]

Might do. Are you new to this forum, or have you been here before?

 

[zenzero]

Friend jumpingjoy,

Why did God need Jesus?

God is a concept developed by humans for an understanding.
Jesus was like any other human except that he transcended to be Christ or Buddha which most humans are yet to BE!

Love & rgds

 

[jumpingjoy]

Friend jumpingjoy,



God is a concept developed by humans for an understanding.
Jesus was like any other human except that he transcended to be Christ or Buddha which most humans are yet to BE!

Love & rgds

Ah but that is an assumption NOT a fact!

 

[Renji]

If God is omnipotent and humans really needed 'saving', why the heck did he have to go about it in such a convoluted way?

Getting a young girl pregnant so she could bear a son, who would eventually die an unpleasant death seems totally unnecessary, unless the deity got a sadistic pleasure from it! Surely allowing all to enter heaven eventually, even if some had to serve time cleaning out the heavenly sewers to atone for their sins first, would be a much more civilised way of going about things, imo!

Isn't this answered long time ago in the scriptures? I'm just sayin'...

 

[Renji]

Ah but that is an assumption NOT a fact!

Or rather a 'Philosophy'. Zen is just giving the concept of God, even outside Christianity....

 

[Nerthus]

But, then I often think that God knew that Jesus would rise again, so in that sense it was wasn't death, and He could of course have refused and saved Himself from being crucified, but He didn't.

So one person 'sacrificed' but then resurrected, for many millions of people to live can't be all that bad..

Oh, I don't know!

 

[Penumbra]

If God is omnipotent and humans really needed 'saving', why the heck did he have to go about it in such a convoluted way?

Getting a young girl pregnant so she could bear a son, who would eventually die an unpleasant death seems totally unnecessary, unless the deity got a sadistic pleasure from it! Surely allowing all to enter heaven eventually, even if some had to serve time cleaning out the heavenly sewers to atone for their sins first, would be a much more civilised way of going about things, imo!

People needed Jesus, not God.

Isn't this answered long time ago in the scriptures? I'm just sayin'...

Not adequately.

 

[outhouse]

If a real man, anything we may know about him is primitive mans imagination at work.

god never needed jesus, jesus was just added to the OT as a branch in judaism as a hellenistic movement. much of jesus story comes from the OT as well as previous pagen based myths.

The OP's point shows primitive man's imagination at work, many myths before him had 12 deciples and was born from a virgin. he is not the first person to use this.

 

[dogsgod]

It's all about the believers. Make it convoluted enough, get them to believe and next thing you know they'll be throwing their money into any tray that passes by them.

 

[Blackdog22]

If God is omnipotent and humans really needed 'saving', why the heck did he have to go about it in such a convoluted way?

Getting a young girl pregnant so she could bear a son, who would eventually die an unpleasant death seems totally unnecessary, unless the deity got a sadistic pleasure from it! Surely allowing all to enter heaven eventually, even if some had to serve time cleaning out the heavenly sewers to atone for their sins first, would be a much more civilised way of going about things, imo!

I agree, not to mention the misery the family went through, but if you read the story of Job it should be no surprise that God cares nothing for the suffering of humans, as long as some something petty is attained for his own sake.

The Bible verse should read, "God so loved the world he forgave them. The End." Not God so loved the world he sacrificed his own son(neat parent!), that wasn't really a sacrifice because he resurrected, and that son would die for our sins, except not, and there would be no way in hell anyone would know if he had actually died for our sins. God would allow the original effects of sin to continue such as dying, pain in child birth, snakes eating dirt(lol), men having to work for food, and earthly disasters, but would also make us believe that Jesus died for those sins. Except he couldn't of died for those sins since those things still exist, so I guess he died for some invisible sin that the Bible never mentioned and thus we have no way of measuring.

Pretty pointless story overall.

 

[Midnight Pete]

Why did God need Jesus?

Jesus was God's way of showing people His willigness to identify with us as human beings. It would have been a fair criticism of God that He did not know what it was like to be human and to suffer as we do. What better way to show how much you care than to enter the human world as a human? And a human with all the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the next man? Jesus experienced thirst, hunger, pain, sadness, tiredness. He experienced all our human emotions. When they cut him, he bled. And he was no harder to kill on a cross than the next man.