It's no big secret that Biblical times were scary. REAL scary. Being stoned to death for working on the Sabbath? Cutting off your hand for stealing? CRUCIFIXION IN GENERAL? So it's no surprise the Bible is full of jarring content, but I've always found it interesting how little of that vengeful, angry stuff came from Christ's own mouth. Here are some examples:
“All that first opens the womb is mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. " --- Exodus 34:19
"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him. But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves." --- Numbers 31:17
“Any of the Israelites or of the aliens who reside in Israel who give any of their offspring to Molech shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone them to death. I myself will set my face against them and will cut them off from the people, because they have given of their offspring to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name." --- Leviticus 20
"Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father." - (Lot's daughters) --- Genesis 19:32
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would honor Christ." --- Ephesians 6:5
“Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property." --- Exodus 21 : 20-21
"And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one of the flesh of his friend in the slege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them." --- Jeremiah 19:9
Yikes. That's a whole lot of senseless slavery promoting, cannibalism, incest & murder. Now, the quotes from the man after whom the religion is named, Jesus Christ:
"My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves."
Translation: Stop charging people money for prayers and blessings, you greedy crooks.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. "
Translation: The world is full of evil so watch out for snakes but don't become like them. Maintain a kind and pure heart always.
"If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."
Translation: Take responsibility for your own thoughts, words & actions instead of projecting blame. Better to man up and accept your earthly consequences than risk eternity in Hell (or endless reincarnation cycles, or whatever your perception of eternal suffering looks like).
And my favorite:
"As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.”
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Translation: I am not holy & do not wish to be worshiped. Follow the Commandments & treat my life as an example to follow. If you're serious about entering Heaven, prove it: go sell all your possessions and follow me into the desert to find the true meaning of life. (The man was not, in fact, serious and sulked about the answer he got instead). Annoyed, Jesus turned to the crowd and bluntly stated, with great emphasis: "How hard it is for a rich man to enter God's kingdom! *Crickets.* The stunned and confused onlookers apparently thought this was a rhetorical question, so Jesus answered himself: "Harder than pushing a camel through the eye of a needle, that's how hard. In other words, it ain't happening. Oy vey!"
Jesus vs. "The Bible"
These dudes = not Jesus or God
You see how clear Jesus was when he spoke? How he emphasized personal accountability instead of blame-shifting and DARVO tactics? How his only goal in life was to love, help people & commune directly with the Divine without all the churches and temples and rituals of the day? He wanted to be an example to follow, not an idol to worship. He bravely called out greed and hypocrisy wherever he saw it, and he paid dearly with his life.
This raises the question: How much of what's in the Bible would Jesus have actually approved of? Why isn't there an account of direct quotes and philosophies from Jesus himself instead of this mish-mash of views from John, Mark, Paul, Ringo and the rest of them? Could it be because they wanted to suppress Christ's actual message--that religious institutions are greedy con men--and promote their own agenda? You know, the same reasons they took his life in the first place?
2,000 years later we still haven't grasped the meaning of it and are worse off in every way. Greed & wealth inequality, self-serving narcissistic behavior, destruction of the 1 planet that sustains life in the galaxy, entire lives wasted chasing money and power and fleeting sensation and doing it all while wearing crosses and calling ourselves Christians. And the dutiful morons clamor for the Lord's return as if they have a VIP pass into Heaven.
All I know is that you better HOPE Jesus doesn't return in your lifetime because He's not likely to be in a good mood when He sees this mess up close. ππ₯π€΄π»π€³π»π°π§π»
Jesus and God: contradictory figures representing different value systems