Even in my most conservative religious days, I struggled to reconcile the conspicuously contradictory pacifist practices of the biblical Jesus Christ with the wrathful, vengeful and jealous conduct of the Old Testament creator, Jehovah. I, as did most Christians to whom I’d listened, decided that He must be both angrily retributive and compassionately loving, similar to how an ideal human father would behave towards his wayward child. After all, He is said to have created us in His own image. Three decades later, however, I’ve come to sincerely contemplate unconventional Christian theological concepts, yet as one who still believes that Jesus is who/what the New Testament basically describes him to be. Most notably, did God really require, as so widely believed, the immense bodily suffering (and some Christian quarters believe the literal shedding of sin-free blood) by His own incarnation, Jesus, in place of that (impossibly) sustained by anything-but-innocent humankind as atonement for His consistent disdain for any sin whatsoever. What if Jesus didn’t greatly suffer as actual payment for humankind’s sins, but rather he was torturously killed because of our collectively serious sinful nature? Might he have been viciously murdered because he hadn’t in the least behaved in accordance to corrupted human conduct and since he was not of the enraged wrathful nature so many wanted or needed their Saviour to be and therefore believed he’d have to be? What if he was brutally crucified in large part because so many insisted upon God being a reflection of Man’s nature, although we probably didn’t even realize it? Could God have become pacifistically turn-the-other-cheek personified, performed numerous unmistakable miracles, then experienced intense suffering and death before his resurrection, to prove to us that there really was hope for all, including the many enduring hopeless disbelief in a Jehovah they were always taught was/is readily angry and retributive? (I personally like to imagine Christ being one who’d enjoy a belly-busting laugh over a good, albeit clean, joke with his disciples, rather than always being the stoically serious kind of Saviour.) Also, what if it’s the blood of God’s animals that is being literally shed for our gratuitously carnivorous consumption (perhaps represented scripturally by the forbidden fruit so unnecessarily eaten by Man in the Garden of Eden)? Although I, as part of my own meat-eating heritage, perceive no other practical use for common food animals (e.g. pigs, beef cattle, chickens, fish, etcetera), that doesn’t mean that their sole purpose, practical or otherwise, is in fact in my stomach. Lastly, could our need for retributive ‘justice’—regardless of Christ (and great spiritual leaders) having emphasized unconditional forgiveness—be intrinsically linked to the same unfortunate morally-flawed aspect of humankind that enables the most horrible acts of violent cruelty to readily occur on this planet? What if humans, including the men who scripted biblical texts, insistently though unconsciously make God’s nature out to be in our own retributive image?

Amen

❤️🙏😇🇮🇱🇬🇧🇺🇸

Amém

Amen

Happy Passover to all the children of HASHEM AMEN 🌴🎚🕎🌊🌊

Amen

ABBA F-THER, we say AMEN AND AMEN!!

Amen

That is:- Islamic Jihad.

Going up to the Golan Heights tomorrow and other Israeli places of interest on my wonderful hols to God's Chosen Land. God Bless Israel 🇮🇱❤🇮🇱❤🇮🇱❤

God Bless Donald Trump for his stance on Israel. God Bless THE USA.

I like it. We must defend our territory.

But not the so called West Bank it seems??

G-d bless the USA and the IDF defending Israel against vicious antiZionism in the Middle East 🇮🇱🇬🇧🇮🇱

Great News! GOD's favour upon USA. GOD bless President Donald Trump, jis Vice, Mike Pence and their team. Long live Israel, Long live USA.

God bless the President for standing up for Israel , and God bless Israel

God Bless Israel

Next we need key settlements in Judea and Samaria to be included... all in good time

Next - Judea and Samaria officially part of Israel.

My hope one day is to see Gaza included in the map of Israel. At present, under Hamas rule, it is a cesspit of hatred, violence and suffering.

God bless Israel, God bless America !!

Fantastic move, may God bless the president Trump administration and PM Benjamin administration

ABBA F-THER we THANK YOU FOR THE COURAGE OF OUR PRESIDENT TO DO THE RIGHT THING BY ISRAEL, PLEASE BLESS AND PROTECT HIM, HIS FAMILY AND ADMINISTRATION AGAINST ALL EVIL, AND PLEASE BLESS AMERICA, SHALOM/AMEN AND AMEN!!

Go Israel. Take back what is rightfully yours. Stay safe

Israel's forever!

Thank you for sharing this with me.

Beautiful.👉🏻💪👈🏻❤️❤️❤️

About bloody time. If only my own country was big enough to recognise this x

Wonderful hallelujah

So they should its israel

Ok but it doesn’t go far enough .

Beautiful

Justice