You know with Trump for at least another four years, we are coming closer and closer to a theocracy in this country. So in case you don't already know the Christian message, allow me to summarize: You burn for all eternity for being even a virtuous atheist. God prefers immoral Christians. But moral. Allow me to define moral. It means those who put fortune tellers to an immediate death, Exodus 22:18. Unless you repent on your deathbed. Hitler might have done that we were told in RC grade school (he was Catholic, you know). But Jesus already paid for your sins. So if you don't sin, he died for nothing. (That's called antinomianism, and is found in Romans 8:6-7, 2 Peter 3:15-16, Matthew 5:17-19, Romans 7:12, Romans 1:18, Romans 6:1-15 and Deuteronomy 5:29.)
Nobody quoting a book containing detailed instructions for selling your daughters as sex slaves gets to lecture me on morality.
I think of the "Christian message" as the teachings and example of Jesus as presented in the Gospels. Love of God and Neighbor, the Golden Rule and the Beatitudes. Christianity is unique in yoking these to an ancient book written over many centuries and containing the wisdom and folly of a remarkable people. Unfortunately, some folks get confused about this. I heard a chilling interview of a "Christian Nationalist' on the morning news, in which he was claiming folks who disagreed with him were "traitors' deserving death under the Leviticus principle of "an eye for a tooth,' What was strangely missing from a self-styled "Christian" was mention of Jesus' famous position on the subject: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." (Mat. 5:36-39)There are many memorable and forgettable passages in the Old Testament, many with little or no relevance to morality. I take an historical-metaphorical approach to it, and became a Christian as a result of my reading of Gen.1:27. Do I take Genesis literally? No way! Gen.1 isn't a science manual, but rather an assertion of monotheism and a refutation of the Babylonian creation myth. I think evolution, biological and cultural, are central to God's plan. Gen.2 & 3 describe the paradox of the human condition: two people in paradise who can't get their minds of what they don't have, suckers for the Serpent's pitch "Make Paradise Great Again!" How topical is that? I don't think so. I agree with Justin Martyr and Pope Francis that an atheist who believes in good conscience that there is no god and commits to a moral life will have his/her eternal reward, and it won't be hell!. You're talkiing Paul's doctrine of vicarious atonement. I prefer Luke's alternative. Does Luke Have Contradictory Views of the Atonement? | The Bart Ehrman Blog Does Luke Get Rid of the Atonement? | The Bart Ehrman Blog Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross For Our Sins Crucifixion: A New Way to Think About Jesus' Death Nonsense on stilts! What human (other than perhaps Jesus Himself),hasn't sinned? Antinomianism, in the context of Christian belief, is the heresy of taking the principles of salvation by faith alone to mean that believers aren't bound to follow the moral law in in the Ten Commandments. The notion was criticized both by Martin Luther, who coined the term to criticize it as a distortion of his own belief, and by John Wesley. Methodist theologian Adam Clarke explained: "The Gospel proclaims liberty from the ceremonial law, but binds you still faster under the moral law. To be freed from the ceremonial law is the Gospel liberty; to pretend freedom from the moral law is Antinomianism." Clarke's Commentary, Gal. 5).
