We have another “Friday Flashback from 9 years ago.” The concept of substitutionary atonement—something that Hitchens used to beef about—has always confused me, as it simply makes no sense. By killing his own son, who is really part of himself, God gave us all the possibility of going to Heaven. Whaaaat?
Mo takes it apart here:
Was raised Christian and have no idea how to explain this, never made sense. Not everyone who believes needs it to make sense.
“…it simply makes no sense.”
If religion made sense would it still be religion?
I always find it interesting when people use reason to justify religion. To me this seems to make religion subordinate to reason. At which point why not just drop the religion?
I remember this from the first time around. Still as hilarious as ever.
There are party games that give rise to interesting and sometimes completely ridiculous stories. Perhaps this was similarly concocted. There are examples outside of religion as well. And even when a story ‘makes sense’, it might be completely false. People like stories. We’ve probably been selected to like stories 🙂
As they said in the Monopoly game, Go Straight to Hell, Jerry. 😉
Christianity appeals to humankind’s most masochistic impulses. It wraps these with absurd deepities that demand faith in order to accept and “understand” them. Not surprisingly, the religion has great appeal to the poor and suffering (who are forced by circumstance into masochism) and the uneducated (who are susceptible to and easily cowed by illogical deepities) and the overeducated (who enjoy trying to make sense of illogical deepities, hence theology).
There are Christadelphians in my extended family. They don’t believe in the Trinity. They don’t believe in demons. Jesus was not born of a virgin, but was adopted by God. They don’t believe in Hell. But, miracle of miracles, they call themselves Christians.