DrM
Member
(or Psalm 22 or Catch 22)
For me to believe it is important for me to understand. . . . .The following is meant to be a realistic look at what Christians believe, mostly as the foundation of their system of belief. It is not meant to be negative or positive but a look at the scripture's words as originally written. . . . . . .Guess it is written more for me than anyone else to think through a position of acceptable belief.
The last words of Jesus on the cross as recorded in the gospels create great difficulty for the Christian. The Christian facing the problem of Jesus' last words has only three alternatives open to him or her in how to respond. The Christian may ignore the issue and bury his or her head in the sand; the Christian may create an apologetic to try and make the problem go away; or the Christian may admit the problem exists at the cost of giving up the doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy. Few Christians have the moral courage for the latter.
Matthew 27:46, "'ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHITHANI?' that is, `MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?'" In verse 50 we are told that Jesus cried out again and died. We are not told what was said or if it was merely a cry of pain.
Mark 15:34, "'ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHANI?' which is translated, `My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?'" In verse 37 we are told the same thing as above in verse 50.
Luke 23: 46, "And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, `FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.' And having said this, He breathed His last."
John 19: 30, "When Jesus therefore had received sour wine, He said, `It is finished!' And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.
It can be noted here that of the four last words of Jesus recorded above, there are three contradictory versions. Matthew and Mark are in somewhat agreement, although Matthew uses the word ELI and Mark ELOI; since Jesus' last words were in a single language, it appears suspicious that two different words are used. Luke creates more problems because he records different last words for Jesus. And Luke (or whoever wrote the gospel that goes by that name none of the gospel writers identified themselves in their works) clearly states in the first four verses of his gospel to be writing an accurate account because he does not like the other accounts already written. If he is writing an accurate account, than any variation from his account is by definition in error. John creates the most problem because he states he was a physical eyewitness to the events and was himself at the foot of the cross with the women. Even if one claims that the last cry mentioned, but not recorded, in Matthew 27:50 and Mark 15:37 are in fact the words recorded by Luke and John, the problem remains in that both Luke and John have conflicting last sentences leaving Jesus' mouth immediately before dying. Jesus may have said what Luke ascribes to him, or what John ascribes to him; but Jesus could not have had two different last sentences escape his mouth at the same moment in time. In addition, if the writers took the time to record what they regarded as important, than why is there no mention of what exactly the last cry of Jesus was before dying in Matthew and Mark? And if what Matthew and Mark wrote was so important, than how did it happen that the writers of Luke and John left these words out? How can Luke record an accurate account and leave out such an important detail? How can John physically be there and take no notice of Jesus crying out that God had forsaken him? The level of contradiction here is astounding.
The last recorded words of Jesus according to Matthew and Mark were, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This sentence destroys the whole concept that Jesus was a prophet, much less the Messiah, and even less God incarnate on earth. A person cannot forsake him or herself, anymore than a God can forsaken itself. Jesus according to Christian assertion was the Messiah of Jewish scripture. Christians ignore the fact that the Messiah of Jewish scripture is not God, does not die for sins, is not forsaken by God, does not believe he is forsaken at any point in his life; the real Messianic prophecies have the Messiah keeping the Law, being confident, and living a life of prosperity. He is a warrior king who comes once and fulfills every single prophecy about driving the Gentiles out and bringing peace to Israel and Judah.
In light of this problem one has to either admit the fact that Jesus does not measure up, or invent an apologetic in order to salvage his faith in Jesus. The apologetic of choice is to claim that when Jesus cried out, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me," he was merely quoting Psalm 22. This apologetic is paper-thin and baseless. It is such a poor apologetic that is raises more questions than it answers. It begs several questions that have yet to be addressed: 1) Why would Jesus quote this particular scripture? 2) Why would Jesus, a Jew, quote something that in its proper context has nothing to do with the Messiah? 3) How do we know Jesus was quoting scripture and not merely stating how he felt? After all, how many people in history have felt forsaken by their particular gods? It would be absurd to assume that they would all be quoting Psalm 22 and not really expressing their own thoughts. The believer may consider such questions to be impious, but why is that? Truth can handle questions; as Nietzsche pointed out in his Antichrist: truth is proven by skepticism.
If one assumes Jesus was quoting Psalm 22, then one must concede that Psalm 22 is Messianic in nature. If Psalm 22 is Messianic, then every single verse and word in it has to apply to the Messiah because it is about the Messiah. If Jesus is God incarnate, as Christians maintain, then every verse and word in Psalm 22 applies to God. Yet, if Psalm 22 is read correctly in its proper context, there are a number of issues that destroy the Christian assertion about it referring to Jesus. The subject of the work is not God but the author. To grasp the extent of the weakness of the apologetic that Jesus was quoting Psalm 22, one need only read each verse and ask the question: Does this sound like something God or the Messiah would say about himself? Do these verses speak of God incarnate?
Here as some problem verses ignored by Christians: Verse 1: The apologetic assumes that Jesus quoted a half verse out of a two verse sentence. What is ignored is, "Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning." Does this sound like something either God or the Messiah would say?
Verse 2: The author claims that he cries out to God who does not answer. Does this sound like something either God or the Messiah would say?
Verse 6: The author says "I am a worm, and not a man." Does this sound like something either God or the Messiah would say about himself?
Verse 10: The author says that God has been his God from his "mother's womb." Does this sound like something God would say about himself?
Verse 11: The author calls on God not to be far from him. Does this sound like something either God or the Messiah would say?
Verse 15: The author says that God has laid him "in the dust of death." Does this sound like something God would say?
Verse 20: The author wants God to deliver him from the sword. Does this sound like something God would say?
A more detailed examination of Psalm 22 shows that the true context of this work is not Messianic in nature; it is not a prophecy at all. It is merely a Psalm about hope. In Jewish scripture, scripture is classified in four categories according to degree in inspiration: The Torah (first five books of the Bible), The Major Prophets, The Minor Prophets, and the Writings. The fourth category contains works designed to be teaching tools for students. Psalms is classified among the fourth category. Works like the Talmud would in a sense be of the fifth category.
The conclusion of all this is that Jesus was not quoting Psalm 22, and even if he was, the subject of Psalm 22 is not the Messiah, much less God. The contextual subject of Psalm 22 is its very human author writing long before Jesus ever came on the scene who is trying to reassure himself that God actually cares about Israel and the author. To believe otherwise is to blaspheme the very idea of God. God is not a worm; but the author of Psalm 22 clearly states, "I am a worm, and not a man."
Deism is a great belief without the stress of having to justify unjustifiable writings.
For me to believe it is important for me to understand. . . . .The following is meant to be a realistic look at what Christians believe, mostly as the foundation of their system of belief. It is not meant to be negative or positive but a look at the scripture's words as originally written. . . . . . .Guess it is written more for me than anyone else to think through a position of acceptable belief.
The last words of Jesus on the cross as recorded in the gospels create great difficulty for the Christian. The Christian facing the problem of Jesus' last words has only three alternatives open to him or her in how to respond. The Christian may ignore the issue and bury his or her head in the sand; the Christian may create an apologetic to try and make the problem go away; or the Christian may admit the problem exists at the cost of giving up the doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy. Few Christians have the moral courage for the latter.
Matthew 27:46, "'ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHITHANI?' that is, `MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?'" In verse 50 we are told that Jesus cried out again and died. We are not told what was said or if it was merely a cry of pain.
Mark 15:34, "'ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHANI?' which is translated, `My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?'" In verse 37 we are told the same thing as above in verse 50.
Luke 23: 46, "And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, `FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.' And having said this, He breathed His last."
John 19: 30, "When Jesus therefore had received sour wine, He said, `It is finished!' And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.
It can be noted here that of the four last words of Jesus recorded above, there are three contradictory versions. Matthew and Mark are in somewhat agreement, although Matthew uses the word ELI and Mark ELOI; since Jesus' last words were in a single language, it appears suspicious that two different words are used. Luke creates more problems because he records different last words for Jesus. And Luke (or whoever wrote the gospel that goes by that name none of the gospel writers identified themselves in their works) clearly states in the first four verses of his gospel to be writing an accurate account because he does not like the other accounts already written. If he is writing an accurate account, than any variation from his account is by definition in error. John creates the most problem because he states he was a physical eyewitness to the events and was himself at the foot of the cross with the women. Even if one claims that the last cry mentioned, but not recorded, in Matthew 27:50 and Mark 15:37 are in fact the words recorded by Luke and John, the problem remains in that both Luke and John have conflicting last sentences leaving Jesus' mouth immediately before dying. Jesus may have said what Luke ascribes to him, or what John ascribes to him; but Jesus could not have had two different last sentences escape his mouth at the same moment in time. In addition, if the writers took the time to record what they regarded as important, than why is there no mention of what exactly the last cry of Jesus was before dying in Matthew and Mark? And if what Matthew and Mark wrote was so important, than how did it happen that the writers of Luke and John left these words out? How can Luke record an accurate account and leave out such an important detail? How can John physically be there and take no notice of Jesus crying out that God had forsaken him? The level of contradiction here is astounding.
The last recorded words of Jesus according to Matthew and Mark were, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This sentence destroys the whole concept that Jesus was a prophet, much less the Messiah, and even less God incarnate on earth. A person cannot forsake him or herself, anymore than a God can forsaken itself. Jesus according to Christian assertion was the Messiah of Jewish scripture. Christians ignore the fact that the Messiah of Jewish scripture is not God, does not die for sins, is not forsaken by God, does not believe he is forsaken at any point in his life; the real Messianic prophecies have the Messiah keeping the Law, being confident, and living a life of prosperity. He is a warrior king who comes once and fulfills every single prophecy about driving the Gentiles out and bringing peace to Israel and Judah.
In light of this problem one has to either admit the fact that Jesus does not measure up, or invent an apologetic in order to salvage his faith in Jesus. The apologetic of choice is to claim that when Jesus cried out, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me," he was merely quoting Psalm 22. This apologetic is paper-thin and baseless. It is such a poor apologetic that is raises more questions than it answers. It begs several questions that have yet to be addressed: 1) Why would Jesus quote this particular scripture? 2) Why would Jesus, a Jew, quote something that in its proper context has nothing to do with the Messiah? 3) How do we know Jesus was quoting scripture and not merely stating how he felt? After all, how many people in history have felt forsaken by their particular gods? It would be absurd to assume that they would all be quoting Psalm 22 and not really expressing their own thoughts. The believer may consider such questions to be impious, but why is that? Truth can handle questions; as Nietzsche pointed out in his Antichrist: truth is proven by skepticism.
If one assumes Jesus was quoting Psalm 22, then one must concede that Psalm 22 is Messianic in nature. If Psalm 22 is Messianic, then every single verse and word in it has to apply to the Messiah because it is about the Messiah. If Jesus is God incarnate, as Christians maintain, then every verse and word in Psalm 22 applies to God. Yet, if Psalm 22 is read correctly in its proper context, there are a number of issues that destroy the Christian assertion about it referring to Jesus. The subject of the work is not God but the author. To grasp the extent of the weakness of the apologetic that Jesus was quoting Psalm 22, one need only read each verse and ask the question: Does this sound like something God or the Messiah would say about himself? Do these verses speak of God incarnate?
Here as some problem verses ignored by Christians: Verse 1: The apologetic assumes that Jesus quoted a half verse out of a two verse sentence. What is ignored is, "Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning." Does this sound like something either God or the Messiah would say?
Verse 2: The author claims that he cries out to God who does not answer. Does this sound like something either God or the Messiah would say?
Verse 6: The author says "I am a worm, and not a man." Does this sound like something either God or the Messiah would say about himself?
Verse 10: The author says that God has been his God from his "mother's womb." Does this sound like something God would say about himself?
Verse 11: The author calls on God not to be far from him. Does this sound like something either God or the Messiah would say?
Verse 15: The author says that God has laid him "in the dust of death." Does this sound like something God would say?
Verse 20: The author wants God to deliver him from the sword. Does this sound like something God would say?
A more detailed examination of Psalm 22 shows that the true context of this work is not Messianic in nature; it is not a prophecy at all. It is merely a Psalm about hope. In Jewish scripture, scripture is classified in four categories according to degree in inspiration: The Torah (first five books of the Bible), The Major Prophets, The Minor Prophets, and the Writings. The fourth category contains works designed to be teaching tools for students. Psalms is classified among the fourth category. Works like the Talmud would in a sense be of the fifth category.
The conclusion of all this is that Jesus was not quoting Psalm 22, and even if he was, the subject of Psalm 22 is not the Messiah, much less God. The contextual subject of Psalm 22 is its very human author writing long before Jesus ever came on the scene who is trying to reassure himself that God actually cares about Israel and the author. To believe otherwise is to blaspheme the very idea of God. God is not a worm; but the author of Psalm 22 clearly states, "I am a worm, and not a man."
Deism is a great belief without the stress of having to justify unjustifiable writings.
