(Thunder1;34753)
Garbage Man you are asking how and where Jesus fits in. These two lovely people already have answered your question... haven't they.
Actually, His By Grace's answer has made me see something I hadn't before.(His By Grace;34726)
You trust through a hope that your body will keep working. You can't see hope, but you use it every day. Why do you believe the wind really exists? Do you see it? No. Do you see evidence of it? Why, of course. You trust that the chair you sit in will hold you, but it might not.
I get the comparison you are trying to make, but I feel there is a bit of a difference: I trust my body to work because 1) I know its functioning is required for me to do anything, and 2) I can take care of my health, but if it fails there is nothing I can do about it, so I might as well behave as though my body is going to keep working. Faith in god, on the other hand, seems the opposite: I don't know that believing in god will do me any good, and so it doesn't feel like my only choice.(His By Grace;34726)
How much of it have you read for yourself? I noticed in one of your posts that you had Jesus being tempted for 40 days after the resurrection. This is out of sequence. When you take time to read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) for yourself, then you will have a better understanding of the concepts and who Jesus really is. You will never regret it
I admit it's been a while since I've studied the bible, and I never read through the whole thing. I've actually been meaning to pick one up and go through it.(His By Grace;34726)
He was the sacrifice to satisfy the Father God's requirement for a sin payment(Hebrews 10). The normal payment was an unblemished lamb, goat, bull, or birds. These were slain to replace the person and the flame went up as a pleasing aroma to pay for sin. The covering for sin is in a blood atonement, just like when God had to kill the animals to cover Adam and Eve when they found out they were naked.
God... wants blood? God wants pain and suffering from his children? That sounds like if I have a three-year-old who spills a glass of milk because he was running while holding it, and I respond by whipping him in public square. Or, more akin as a metaphor to Jesus, it's like if I make him watch me whip
myself, and then make him feel guilty about it.(His By Grace;34726)
Sin required a covering.
No... no, that's incredibly wrong on so many levels. If God is infinite, then decides what is and is not required. Suffering need never have existed in his universe. God's hands cannot be so tied by such a stipulation; if he demands blood then that blood is on no one's hands but his own. Ultimate power is synonymous with ultimate responsibility. I will not be called to hate myself or feel guilty for things over which another being has absolute control. (His By Grace;34726)
I know this is long, but I really tried to be detailed so as to help you understand
A warning to those who read is in John 15:22-24 and it's what Jesus told the people of His day. We have no excuse once the truth is revealed to us. Be careful how you choose. I say this because I have a genuine love for all who don't believe or are struggling to believe.
I do thank you for trying to help me understand, because you did in fact help me to see something I had never considered before. But I'm sorry to say you won't like it. It sounds to me like the christian God is a bloodthirsty, violent, hateful being who created life for the sole purpose of exacting psychological pain and torture on them. How is this different from all the pagan gods who were vain, spiteful, and demanded sacrifices of blood and torment? I thought the christian God was supposed to be different, but the way you make it sound, that is not true.I'm sorry for the way this must sound, but I am shocked at the burst of insight you've helped me to have.Now I don't know what to think.