We love God, because he loved us first (1 Jn 4.19). We do not love God out of the goodness of our hearts, which means that we cannot love our neighbour out of selfless commitment, either.
It seems that we have been created inherently depraved, and this is not a far fetched assertion, we need only look around to see more strife than brotherhood. my theological friend, on his way I'm sure to sainthood for what he has and will continue to contribute to the faith, would say that in becoming perfect we love God solely because he is Good. But to this I ask, how can we have fallen, and become so corrupted?
I cannot successfully defend the Old Testament Yahweh against atheists, the best I can think of is, "Well, they deserved it.", or "We don't fully understand the situation", and these are insane rationalizations!
I can, however, defend my faith, I can stand up and with (almost) complete confidence say the words "Jesus Christ" (and this is partially because I feel his name has been taken in vain so many times by false prophets, that, for me, it is too difficult to differentiate when it is sincere or not, and thereby projecting my own insecurities onto others, wondering if they think of me the same, or even, what for me would be, worse - labelled a flake).
But I have as of late been returning to my pre-baptismal Gnostic thoughts, and am once more pondering, could the Father whom Jesus loved be a different being than the God of the Hebrews? Is this why Jesus repeatedly said that we do not know his Father, and therefore nor him?
However, Jesus said that if we knew him, then we would know his Father (Jn 14.7), for he and the Father are one (Jn 10.30); Jesus also said that the world did not recognize him (Jn 1.10). It could conversely be, then, that the Jews did not truly understand their God: they wrote about a brutal and seemingly unjust God in their scriptures.
Jesus said that he who loves him will keep his words (Jn 14.23), and that his words were actually his Father's words (Jn 14.10). His commandment was to love one another, as he loved us (Jn 13.34 + 15.17). The good shepherd dies for his flock, and we are to die to self when we lift up our cross, follow Christ, and embark upon a life of service and charity to others. Yahweh in the Old Testament would seemingly not turn the other cheek, he would give an eye for an eye. With Christ, we may learn that we did not truly know Yahweh, and that the Old Testament has as much folklore in it as genealogical history, that we should not confuse with God in and of himself.
What I have noticed over the years through social media, is a violent hatred toward Christianity, and in such, insultations against its adherents. More recently, I have noticed this defiance is influenced by certain passages from the Old Testament. Jesus was a prophet, and so perhaps this is why he said, "Now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in the law, 'They hated me without a cause.'" (Jn 15.24-5)
"'O righteous Father! The world has not known you, but I have known you." (Jn 17.25). Jesus makes a far more bold statement than we realize here. He is saying that Israel did not actually know their God (which again indicates that he is not the horrific deity that commands them to kill and eat their newborns, rape and pillage, and commit genocide). Jesus' statement is more than fiece, it is a condemnation, and reveals the Jews (and the world) need a saviour, who will do more than rule a nation, but who will be good because their God is good, and they will know him, "I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts (instead of stone tablets); and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jer 31.33).
The Messiah was to show Israel, and then after he had been glorified through his passion, the world, who the Lord really was - what Jesus was ("I and the Father are one" [Jn 10.30]), and that was gentle, humble, and someone who we may find rest in. (Mt 11.29).
Notwithstanding the beauty that our lives become once we give our lives to God, people who follow the Old Testament ought to ask themselves, who is this violent God, and was Jesus right when he said that we did not actually know him. Because if Israel did not actually know Yahweh, then who exactly were, and still are today, worshipping?
I cannot successfully defend the Old Testament Yahweh against atheists, the best I can think of is, "Well, they deserved it.", or "We don't fully understand the situation", and these are insane rationalizations!
I can, however, defend my faith, I can stand up and with (almost) complete confidence say the words "Jesus Christ" (and this is partially because I feel his name has been taken in vain so many times by false prophets, that, for me, it is too difficult to differentiate when it is sincere or not, and thereby projecting my own insecurities onto others, wondering if they think of me the same, or even, what for me would be, worse - labelled a flake).
But I have as of late been returning to my pre-baptismal Gnostic thoughts, and am once more pondering, could the Father whom Jesus loved be a different being than the God of the Hebrews? Is this why Jesus repeatedly said that we do not know his Father, and therefore nor him?
However, Jesus said that if we knew him, then we would know his Father (Jn 14.7), for he and the Father are one (Jn 10.30); Jesus also said that the world did not recognize him (Jn 1.10). It could conversely be, then, that the Jews did not truly understand their God: they wrote about a brutal and seemingly unjust God in their scriptures.
Jesus said that he who loves him will keep his words (Jn 14.23), and that his words were actually his Father's words (Jn 14.10). His commandment was to love one another, as he loved us (Jn 13.34 + 15.17). The good shepherd dies for his flock, and we are to die to self when we lift up our cross, follow Christ, and embark upon a life of service and charity to others. Yahweh in the Old Testament would seemingly not turn the other cheek, he would give an eye for an eye. With Christ, we may learn that we did not truly know Yahweh, and that the Old Testament has as much folklore in it as genealogical history, that we should not confuse with God in and of himself.
What I have noticed over the years through social media, is a violent hatred toward Christianity, and in such, insultations against its adherents. More recently, I have noticed this defiance is influenced by certain passages from the Old Testament. Jesus was a prophet, and so perhaps this is why he said, "Now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in the law, 'They hated me without a cause.'" (Jn 15.24-5)
"'O righteous Father! The world has not known you, but I have known you." (Jn 17.25). Jesus makes a far more bold statement than we realize here. He is saying that Israel did not actually know their God (which again indicates that he is not the horrific deity that commands them to kill and eat their newborns, rape and pillage, and commit genocide). Jesus' statement is more than fiece, it is a condemnation, and reveals the Jews (and the world) need a saviour, who will do more than rule a nation, but who will be good because their God is good, and they will know him, "I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts (instead of stone tablets); and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jer 31.33).
The Messiah was to show Israel, and then after he had been glorified through his passion, the world, who the Lord really was - what Jesus was ("I and the Father are one" [Jn 10.30]), and that was gentle, humble, and someone who we may find rest in. (Mt 11.29).
Notwithstanding the beauty that our lives become once we give our lives to God, people who follow the Old Testament ought to ask themselves, who is this violent God, and was Jesus right when he said that we did not actually know him. Because if Israel did not actually know Yahweh, then who exactly were, and still are today, worshipping?
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