Christianity’s Challenge

by Rebecca Bynum (October 2013)

 
First and foremost, modern religion must not be an affront to reason and secondly, its morality must be of the highest order, unconfused by the superstition and paganism of the past. The ancient anthropomorphic God who was jealous, vengeful and unjust, who demanded sacrifice and suffering and found pleasure in the same, must finally be left behind, acknowledged as a stage of religious development, but no more.

The idea that the blood of the Lamb washes away our sins portrays too much paganism, reflects too much magic and barters too much superstition to uphold the mighty religion of Jesus anymore. The great lesson of the cross must be that God will not interfere in the free decisions of human beings, not that God required the suffering of his innocent son to appease his anger over the state of sinful humanity. God allowed the decisions of all those who sought the death of the Son of Man to be made freely. God does not force man to turn to him, to love him or even to recognize him. God allows man his sin because he allows man his freedom.

Finding living faith means embracing radical freedom. Is Christianity ready for that?

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Rebecca Bynum contributes regularly to The Iconoclast, our Community Blog. Click here to see all her contributions, on which comments are welcome.