Over at My Descent into Madness, there have been several posts and comment threads that have dealt with atheism, Taoism and Christianity. Three of the commenters are decidedly Christian and several of their comments have spurred me to write posts here. This post is in response to the following sentence by one of the Christian commenters: "None of us follows all of God’s laws perfectly."
As I mulled over this statement, a thought jumped out at me: Not only do humans not follow God's laws perfectly, neither does he!
One of the 10 Commandments states that you shouldn't kill or murder people. However, if you even casually read the Old Testament, God kills and murders (whether directly or by giving orders to others) all over the place. Sometimes for major transgressions, but often for very petty reasons. The body count genuinely is staggering.
Another of the commandments states that stealing is a big no-no. Yet, according to the OT, God directs many of the Hebrew kings to steal land, possessions and women from other tribes, almost always by the edge of the sword.
And then there is the commandment against adultery. God violated this one big time when he impregnated the betrothed Mary. In Jewish law,
It could also be argued that, by impregnating Mary, he concurrently violated another commandment as well: coveting thy neighbor's wife.
Of course, I do realize that most any Christian will argue that, since God made the laws, he is above them. These commandments were meant to be followed by humankind; he isn't bound by any of them.
While that may be true in a strict sense, words that conflict with actions are problematic. In this life, we tend not to respect people who do not walk their talk. Parents who tell their children one thing, but behave in the opposite manner, tend to raise really screwed up kids!
In this same vein, it makes it very difficult to fathom why people would want to worship a divine being who doesn't model the behavior he considers worthy. What we are left with is a supreme creator who tells his minions, "Do as I say, not as I do."
Additionally, I would submit that the Christian faith has incorporated this strange dichotomy into their belief system as well. When adherents sin (actions), all it takes to wipe the sin away is repentance (words). Once the slate has been cleaned, they go out to sin again and, via words, they then ask for forgiveness anew. It creates an endless cycle in which their actions and words seem to be in constant conflict...the very same problem their heavenly father is beset with.
As I mulled over this statement, a thought jumped out at me: Not only do humans not follow God's laws perfectly, neither does he!
One of the 10 Commandments states that you shouldn't kill or murder people. However, if you even casually read the Old Testament, God kills and murders (whether directly or by giving orders to others) all over the place. Sometimes for major transgressions, but often for very petty reasons. The body count genuinely is staggering.
Another of the commandments states that stealing is a big no-no. Yet, according to the OT, God directs many of the Hebrew kings to steal land, possessions and women from other tribes, almost always by the edge of the sword.
And then there is the commandment against adultery. God violated this one big time when he impregnated the betrothed Mary. In Jewish law,
unlawful intercourse with a woman betrothed to a man was adultery, because the betrothed woman was deemed as inviolable as the married woman.We all know from the gospels that Mary was betrothed to Joseph. We are also told that Joseph is not the one who impregnated her. Consequently, regardless of whether God physically or spiritually had intercourse with her is irrelevant. By impregnating a betrothed woman, he violated his own commandment.
It could also be argued that, by impregnating Mary, he concurrently violated another commandment as well: coveting thy neighbor's wife.
The root ("to betroth"), from which the Talmudic abstract ("betrothal") is derived, must be taken in this sense; i.e., to contract an actual though incomplete marriage. In two of the passages in which it occurs the betrothed woman is directly designated as "wife" (II Sam. iii. 14, "my wife whom I have betrothed" ("erasti"), and Deut. xxii. 24, where the betrothed is designated as "the wife of his neighbor"). In strict accordance with this sense the rabbinical law declares that the betrothal is equivalent to an actual marriage and only to be dissolved by a formal divorce.The fact that God wanted Mary -- a woman who "belonged" to Joseph -- to birth his son means he had a desire to take Joseph's "property" for his own use. That is the essence of coveting.
Of course, I do realize that most any Christian will argue that, since God made the laws, he is above them. These commandments were meant to be followed by humankind; he isn't bound by any of them.
While that may be true in a strict sense, words that conflict with actions are problematic. In this life, we tend not to respect people who do not walk their talk. Parents who tell their children one thing, but behave in the opposite manner, tend to raise really screwed up kids!
In this same vein, it makes it very difficult to fathom why people would want to worship a divine being who doesn't model the behavior he considers worthy. What we are left with is a supreme creator who tells his minions, "Do as I say, not as I do."
Additionally, I would submit that the Christian faith has incorporated this strange dichotomy into their belief system as well. When adherents sin (actions), all it takes to wipe the sin away is repentance (words). Once the slate has been cleaned, they go out to sin again and, via words, they then ask for forgiveness anew. It creates an endless cycle in which their actions and words seem to be in constant conflict...the very same problem their heavenly father is beset with.
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