My Credo (Jesus Christ, rituals, moral, testimony, Earth)

[excarver]

I have struggled with the idea of God demanding the slaughter of innocent animals for a human's sins for years. And the whole idea of Atonement is based on that premise. I am nearly 92 years old and suddenly a new light has dawned for me. Let me explain. I call this "My Credo".

To begin with let us set the record straight, religion is simply a set of beliefs and practices generally held by a community, involving adherence to codified beliefs which are nothing more than psychological states in which an individual is convinced of the truth of a proposition. Like the related concepts truth, knowledge, and wisdom, there is no precise definition of belief on which scholars agree, but rather numerous theories and continued debate about the nature of belief and rituals, that is words of a "rite", which are said as a part of a ceremony which is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community.

All patriarchal religions present a common quality, the "hallmark of patriarchal religious thought": the division of the world in two comprehensive domains, one sacred, the other profane. Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine, or of the highest truth. Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular philosophy. Religion is also often described as a "way of life".

O.K.? All Ancient civilizations in the Near East were deeply influenced by their spiritual beliefs. Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. The spiritual, involving perceived eternal verities regarding humankind's ultimate nature, often contrasts with the temporal, with the material, or with the worldly. A sense of connection forms a central defining characteristic of spirituality — connection to something "greater" than oneself, which includes an emotional experience of religious awe and reverence. Equally importantly, spirituality relates to matters of sanity and of psychological health. Like some forms of religion, spirituality often focuses on personal experience.

Now let's get to some of the early rites of those ancient folk. Animal sacrifice was practiced by nearly all Ancient civilizations and was the ritual killing of an animal as part of their religion. The practice of sacrifice is found in the oldest human records available. And the archaeological record contains human and animal corpses with sacrificial marks long before any written records of the practice. It was practiced by many of these religions as a means of service to God or changing the course of nature. Animal sacrifice has appeared in almost all cultures, so it was certainly not surprising that the Jews picked up on it and practiced it until after the destruction of the Second Temple.

Let me point out that not all Jews accepted the idea of animal sacrifice for the Essenes certainly did not. They were followers of a religious way of living in Judaism that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. Maybe that is why I have such deep respect for them. They not only decried the practice of animal sacrifice they were pacifists. So you see there were dissenters even back in the 2nd century before Christ. And so, they were Jews who kept all the Jewish observances, but they would not offer animal sacrifice or eat meat. They actually considered it unlawful to eat meat or to make sacrifices with it. I say good for them!

Then in the next century the prophet Micah came along and prophesied throughout the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, roughly 735–700 BC. Micah was brought up to fear the Lord in a small hometown, and it was in this small village that God Almighty based His great plans for him. Micah grew up in the poorer, working class of his small farming community. The quality of his prophecy, however, has caused many scholars to believe that he received a good education and/or may have been one of the wealthier members of the community, a land owner. Still others consider him as an elder of the community, indicating his respect among his people. At any rate, because he grew up in such a community, he was well aware of the avarice and injustices of the rich. And thus he cried out against the evils of his day:

With what shall I come before the LORD
And bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
With ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:6-8)

Then in the very next century along came Jesus Christ. Who is this man who claimed to be God? What were the major events in Jesus Christ’s life on Earth? Was Jesus Christ truly the Savior of the world? Those questions and many more like them have been bandied about ever since his arrival on the scene. I personally believe that he is the very best and highest knowledge we have of who God is and what God is like. Remember he said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." John 14:8-10 I believe his testimony.

He also said many times that the secret of eternal life was, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:26-28

Jesus concluded his Sermon on the Mount by saying:
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies] and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Well, so now just where did all the strange beliefs of the Christian Church come from? Let me attempt to tell you! The Apostle Paul, bless his heart, can be blamed first of all. Remember he was a converted Jew, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. That was his claim to fame. And his purpose was to convert other Hebrews to his new found way of life. He was steeped in the old animal sacrifice theology so why wouldn't he transpose it over into Christian thought? And he did it, and sold it to his Christian brethren, lock, stock and barrel. And Jesus has been the atonement for sin ever since. Paul's gospel theme was Christ and Him crucified for the justification of sinners (1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 1:4). Of course, the other apostles also bore witness to the salvation of sinners through Jesus, but Paul shows how the gospel is a revelation of the righteousness of God (Rom. 1:16, 17).

I trust you see how this all fits together. It is my firm conviction that Jesus never intended, nor did he ever proclaim that he was the lamb of God. It was Paul who carried this idea forward and then it was implemented by the Council at Nicea. Jesus message was so simple that even I can understand it, "Love God and my neighbor." With that he rested his case! And that is good enough for me. And you know what else, that message prohibits me from killing my neighbor, period. And he certainly illustrated who my neighbors are with his Samaratin story.
Excarver