Let's say that you befriend a homeless man. You see him on the street corner frequently and, when you do see him, you often give him money and/or food. Not only that, but you hire him to do odd jobs for you. From time to time, you take him to church with you and you drive him to various agencies as he applies for services to help him get back on his feet again.
A few months later, you are the victim of two muggings. The first mugging is at the hands of a stranger, but the second attacker is the homeless man you had befriended. Which mugging do you think will upset you more?
I think there is no question that you will be upset with both perpetrators. Few people enjoy being physically molested and robbed! That said, I think most people would be more upset with the second attacker because this attack is fused with a sense of betrayal. Here you had befriended this man and given him much, yet he turned around to bite the hand that fed him.
In a nutshell, this is the part of the Christian story that doesn't compute in my head. God continually pours himself out to his Chosen People, yet they betray him again and again and again. While he certainly does become angry with them, his greatest wrath is expelled on people who don't know him at all.
We see this same theme all throughout the Old Testament. A nation that worships Baal or some other god[s] and possesses no prophets to bring the message of Jehovah is subject to a "one strike and you're out" policy. They do something to spur God's wrath and he wipes them off the face of the earth or "allows" the Chosen People to defeat them in battle and then to destroy their property and rape their women.
Israel, on the other hand, is afforded a "100 strikes and you're never really out" policy. Even though they are given prophets to spread the message of Jehovah, they betray God again and again. Yet, as you can read in sections like Jeremiah 3, God gives them chance upon chance to come back into the fold. The Israelites can commit the worst transgressions, yet God never wipes them out.
This whole scheme seems bass ackwards to me.
There is a saying that to those who are given much, much is expected [in return]. Conversely, less is expected of those who have not been given much of anything. Yet, in the worldview of the Christian story, this meme is turned upside down.
To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.
A few months later, you are the victim of two muggings. The first mugging is at the hands of a stranger, but the second attacker is the homeless man you had befriended. Which mugging do you think will upset you more?
I think there is no question that you will be upset with both perpetrators. Few people enjoy being physically molested and robbed! That said, I think most people would be more upset with the second attacker because this attack is fused with a sense of betrayal. Here you had befriended this man and given him much, yet he turned around to bite the hand that fed him.
In a nutshell, this is the part of the Christian story that doesn't compute in my head. God continually pours himself out to his Chosen People, yet they betray him again and again and again. While he certainly does become angry with them, his greatest wrath is expelled on people who don't know him at all.
We see this same theme all throughout the Old Testament. A nation that worships Baal or some other god[s] and possesses no prophets to bring the message of Jehovah is subject to a "one strike and you're out" policy. They do something to spur God's wrath and he wipes them off the face of the earth or "allows" the Chosen People to defeat them in battle and then to destroy their property and rape their women.
Israel, on the other hand, is afforded a "100 strikes and you're never really out" policy. Even though they are given prophets to spread the message of Jehovah, they betray God again and again. Yet, as you can read in sections like Jeremiah 3, God gives them chance upon chance to come back into the fold. The Israelites can commit the worst transgressions, yet God never wipes them out.
This whole scheme seems bass ackwards to me.
There is a saying that to those who are given much, much is expected [in return]. Conversely, less is expected of those who have not been given much of anything. Yet, in the worldview of the Christian story, this meme is turned upside down.
To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.
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