Category: Religion

Atonement Theories Are For a Death Focused Religion

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Cemetery Image by kalhh from Pixabay

I don’t subscribe to any atonement theories. (Summary of 7 Atonement Theories) Atonement theories tend to revolve around the death of Jesus as the central focus. They typically are attempts to answer the question, “What was accomplished by the death of Jesus on the cross?” This is the central question of a death focused religion that has as it’s central themes, the death of it’s central figure, and what happens to you when you’re dead. Jesus said God is not God of the dead, but of the living. I have no agreement that the point of the story is in death and at the cross. I think that’s the focus of a death focused religion, and by no means the focus of the stories told in the first four books included in what we call the New Testament. The reason why there are atonement theories is because it’s the attempt… Read moreAtonement Theories Are For a Death Focused Religion

Reading the Bible as Literature

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constellation-3301781 https://pixabay.com/images/id-3301781/

My esteem for the text which we call “Holy Bible” is as high as my regard for literature, art, poetry, and music. Those things which convey a certain truth, beauty, and wisdom in a way that causes the need to turn inward and consider what is being presented. Hold Literature in High Esteem I often encounter something that is along the lines of claiming that if the Bible is not literal and historical, then it’s “just” another book. This is where my issue is. Why is there such a low view by Biblical literalists for literature? Why is there such a dim view of writings that self acknowledge as being metaphorical, allegorical, fictional, or opinion? I frequently notice statements that seem to imply that those who wrote the text were ignorant, and did not know how to properly explain things without attributing the unknown to supernatural phenomena. I suggest that… Read moreReading the Bible as Literature

Trinity Is An Illustration

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https://pixabay.com/photos/rope-knitting-heart-love-together-1469244/

The concept of the Trinity is an illustration. It is not cosmic anatomy. This is why every single attempt to go beyond the illustration of Trinity into an explanation always results in something that is classified as an heresy. The Trinity is the expression of communion, harmony, being knit together in one accord as one being with singleness of heart. It is about many parts being intertwined and interdependent. It is about being incomplete without Com-Union (together in union). The whole is only whole when it includes all parts. The Trinity is an illustration that expresses Unity in Plurality as contrasted with: Division in Individuality (In-Divided-ality) aka Us Versus Them, or Separation in Singularity aka Me Versus the World. Trinity tells us that the Godhead is one God in three persons and is indivisible and singular. It is not merely one God expressed in three persons but one God expressed… Read moreTrinity Is An Illustration