I'm an atheist so help me understand the Christian reasoning from a rational perspective:

Critics of the Bible like yourself often ask "Why the need for sacrifice at all? Can't God just forgive?"

From the beginning we see God, due to his nature, cannot tolerate wickedness without divine vengeance on that man or substitute. In Genesis 4:10 it says, "And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."

The main proposition being conveyed to us is that God has this inherent natural compulsion for vengeance, to punish the guilty and vindicate the righteous.

Exodus 34:7 - Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

People will ask why can't God just forgive and clear the guilty? Because in order for a man to be acquitted there must be a payment made for what he has done. Why? Because God has a nature that is distinct and governs his will. His will is not arbitrary. Thus we read in Habakkuk 1:13 - Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Take for example, a man named Jeff has murdered a member of your family. He's taken into custody and appears in court. The judge says "I wish to show mercy to Jeff and set him free, with no ransom or recompense even though I know he's guilty." You would be rightfully angry, because justice was not served. So why do you question God for doing that which you want and expect an earthly judge to do?

If a judge just arbitrarily forgave the criminal, would you say the judge is just? No. Of course not. By doing that he has besmirched the value of the man that he murdered.

Jesus Christs death is the ransom and recompense for our sins in order that God may be just when He declares us sinners righteous. So what's the reason why God can't just forgive? Because He has to be just when he justifies the wicked. There must be a payment made, because He will by no means clear the guilty.

God hates evil because of the purity of His eyes, because He is perfect, just and holy. Evil is something He hates within his nature. Thus if He wills to acquit man of his sins, payment must be made.

This is why Paul says in Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Propitiation means a satisfaction of wrath.

Don't deny the gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now is the day of salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today.

Christianity is likely a composite of many different religions that were popular in that region at the time. In my opinion the Q document was what remained of the teachings of Jesus. It was embellished over time by the stories and myths in those other religions just as the traditions we follow since then were taken from other cultures. Some suggest it was the Romans under Constantine that created the religion after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. As paper and parchment were very expensive and scribes were rare it is not too difficult to justify this. Following this, the church was tasked with hiding or suppressing all evidence to the contrary. The final books of the Bible and the creed were not defined for centuries. Embellishments, fiction, Additions of midrash and unrelated stories, numerology, errors in translation, the additions of narratives, completions of gosples were all done to give the work a polished appearance but they were not coherent in the details, plus the original teachings by Jesus were likely of Buddhist origin. The Easter narative was so innovative as to be hard to dispute but it was not in the original work. Numerous versions of the New testament have been created with the flawed King James version still favored by many. In the end, the New Testament is considered go be a beautiful work, full of hidden knowledge and is a source of great comfort to those with faith in a hereafter and hopes of justice and reunification with loved ones. The creed is showing it's age though and is not spoken in some services anymore. The Lord's prayer has been retranslated and is still said. Attitudes towards marriage, women, people of color, and sexual preference are gradually changing but it depends on the faction, minister/priest and congregation. In my opinion, Christianity is still a work in progress.

Exactly.. a loving, omnipotent God kills, his only son???? And, if omnipotent, wouldn't you take men's greed, jealousy, anger, etc. AWAY, or.... even better, Not have created it , to start?????


Just a thought. 🫨

What do you mean by blood?

He bled in two different ways. He bled from every pore whilst taking on every sin we would ever commit. I think this was the result of taking on so much and having a mortal body. This freed us from the bondage of sin. He also bled when he died which was how the Romans killed people back then. He died so he could overcome death, thereby freeing us from death. It was a two part process he underwent.

Because of our mortality we all die physically and because of our sins we can also die spiritually (or rather be separated from God). Christ's sacrifice allows us to live again eternally and also be brought back into God's presence.

Why did he have to do that way? Only a sinless person could pay the debt of all our sins, as he didn't have any debt. His sacrifice paved a path for us.

Justice requires a price be paid. So either we pay it or we allow Jesus to intercede for us. We choose. How is this fair? This life is for us to have experiences, be tested, and choose. He provided a way for us to wipe the slate clean when we choose wrong. It is not as easy as just saying sorry and being forgiven though. It requires true change. So we aren't getting off scott free. True repentance requires becoming a new person. It also requires restitution as far as you are able. This also doesn't absolve you from the consequences here on earth, only spiritually, you'll be right with God.

The easy answer in humans fabricated edited and redacted the story so many times we only have the remenants which are used to inspire donations and allegiance. A more complete answer is humans corrupted the message to retain power. And or the entire thing is simply a book club that ppl follow to the point of violence. Take ur pick.

It never ceases to amaze me about the sheer volume of verbiage that Apologists use to defend their position. Most people that don't agree with them can not be bothered to read pages and pages of.... stuff..

Just sayin'...

It can't be explained rationally -- that's the whole point of religion, it has to bypass the rational to exist at all.

Its a lie to organize ppl that were starving to get a piece of bread at least daily.