Christianity - A Religion of Death Part II

(Part I of this series can be found here: A Religion of Death Part I )

Christianity – A Religion of Death
Part II – By the Sign of Death

As the largest religion currently practiced in the world today the symbol of the Christian faith is well known by all. The cross is easily one of the most recognizable religious symbols and has come to define the belief system followed by billions of people. The Christian faith, in fact, can often be summarized by one of their most widely used mottoes “In hoc signo”, often visible in churches by the letters IHS. When translated, this motto means basically “By the Sign” which refers to the use of the cross as the symbol of the Christian religion and the victory of it’s adherents over the sinners of the world. While the cross may seem to be a symbol of hope and salvation for some, many people don’t understand its true meaning and connotation.

Most people are familiar with the major points of the story of the life of Christ and understand that he was murdered upon the cross. What many people don’t realize, however, is that crucifixion was a popular method of execution at the time of Jesus’ birth. It was used as one of the most horrifying and public methods of execution and was meant to make an example of certain people to dissuade others from following in their path. Many people had been crucified both before and after Jesus and there are historical accounts of crucified prisoners lining the Appian Way, the road leading to Rome.

The cross has come to define the Christian religion and is the symbol by which its followers live. This seems like an odd choice for a symbol, however, when one considers its use as a method of execution. Many people, in fact, see the use of the cross in the worship of Jesus to be akin to the use of a noose to represent civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. While it does seem odd when compared with what is widely believed to be a religion of love and peace, its use becomes quite obvious when one is confronted with the idea that Christianity is, in fact, a religion of death.

The brutal torture and execution of Jesus is one of the most important aspects of the Christian religion and the image of him broken, beaten and dying on the cross is always foremost inside their churches. Many people are unfamiliar with the glamorization of the execution of Jesus and are unaware of practices such as the following of the Stations of the Cross which happens shortly before the Easter holiday. Every year Christians, the world over, go to church to hear the story of Jesus’ torture and execution in graphic detail. These stories can often become quite brutal and are recounted with such vehement ferocity that one must question the idea that Christianity is a peaceful religion.

The cross is much more than just a symbol of death, however, because it is a symbol of human sacrifice. The Christian church teaches that Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice, much like the lamb sacrificed in the Jewish faith. This brutal human sacrifice is one of the most important beliefs in the Christian faith without which their doctrine of salvation is non-existent. Christians must believe that Jesus died as a sacrifice so that they can continue to believe that they will be saved from the eternal torture and suffering of the rest of the world.

The brutal descriptions and portrayals of the sacrifice of Jesus serve to harden the hearts of Christians to the suffering of those they have deemed as unworthy sinners. They use this symbol of death as an icon for their faith because it is, essentially, the ultimate goal of their religion. Christians believe that the return of Jesus will be preceded by a period of intense suffering and horror for the entire world. They believe that all the unworthy sinners, mainly those who are not followers of the Christian Church, will be forced to suffer through the destruction of the world while they, the chosen, will be saved from this horror.

Far from being a peaceful symbol of love and life, the cross, this symbol of death and human sacrifice, has been the sign by which the Christian Church has spread it’s suffering and destruction for thousands of years. One must truly wonder why a religion that claims to be so open and loving has, as it’s very symbol, a method of brutal execution. The Christian Church claims to worship the one true God, the creator of all life, yet it’s followers kneel down and pray to a symbol of death and human sacrifice. The church teaches that it’s followers will have eternal life yet almost every aspect of this religion glorifies the death and suffering of it’s originator, it’s followers and those “sinners” who refuse to follow it’s sign.

Stirrin the pot eh...

reply to post by Shadowflux


you're only telling part of the story.
it's more about what happened three days after the murder then it is about the cross.

Great second part.
You have guts pretty soon the Christians will be coming to give you a piece of their mind.
Good Luck.

Originally posted by Akragon
Stirrin the pot eh...

Just spreading the truth and trying to opening people's eyes

reply to post by slowisfast


You mean that through death and human sacrifice one can achieve salvation from the world that God created?

Originally posted by ELahrairah
Great second part.
You have guts pretty soon the Christians will be coming to give you a piece of their mind.
Good Luck.

Thank you

I look forward to the discussion

reply to post by Shadowflux


Through one death.
One willful and selfless sacrifice.

Originally posted by Shadowflux

Originally posted by ELahrairah
Great second part.
You have guts pretty soon the Christians will be coming to give you a piece of their mind.
Good Luck.

Thank you

I look forward to the discussion

Your mind is made up. Discussion, or trading volley's of yea or nay. Opening eye's? Do you have a faith in either God or Satan?

reply to post by slowisfast


For what was he sacrificed? To cleanse us of our sins? If you truly believe that all in creation originates from God then how is it that his creations are able to "sin" by living in the world He created, following natural urges that He created?

If Jesus really died for the sins of all mankind then there would be no need to worry about sinning, there would be no damnation, no judgment, no wrathful destruction during the second coming. Christianity has trouble following it's own doctrines.

If Jesus died to cleanse all of their sins then there will be no judgment, all are saved from birth.

If not, then Jesus died in vain as it changed nothing except to establish an even more divisive and violent religion which went on to murder millions of people and destroy entire civilizations.

reply to post by jrstock


I have my own faiths and my own beliefs that aren't based upon the worship of a bronze age storm god who was the patron deity of a certain tribe in the Levant.

I plan on detailing my own beliefs in greater detail in future articles.

Originally posted by Akragon
Stirrin the pot eh...

I've got an extra ladle, and I know how to use it!

Originally posted by slowisfast
reply to post by Shadowflux

 

you're only telling part of the story.
it's more about what happened three days after the murder then it is about the cross.

edit on 5-4-2011 by slowisfast because: sp

Which version of what happened three days after?

Even the writers of the bible couldn't get that one straight.

Originally posted by Shadowflux
reply to post by slowisfast

 

You mean that through death and human sacrifice one can achieve salvation from the world that God created?

And don't forget that Christ taught cannibalism too. (Or is that part 3?)

"This bread is my flesh...this wine is my blood..."

reply to post by Shadowflux


The Creator wants relationship with His creation.
He desires for us to want that relationship as well.
We have the ability to turn towards or from God.

Christians believe that the Universe, in it's entirety, was initially created perfect.
It was our own free will(which is a gift) that allowed sin to soil it all.
Christ came and taught about that relationship. How to overcome our default, sinful setting and maneuver through this physical world and impact it for the better.(something a great many Christians over the history of time has screwed up)
Christ taught love, mercy, peace, and hope. He was a radical in his time. Almost even more so nowadays.
Christ's death did not blanket the rest of human kind in salvation. It did, though, provide a way for us humans to be in a proper relationship with the Godhead.

Originally posted by slowisfast
reply to post by Shadowflux

 

Through one death.
One willful and selfless sacrifice.

Okay, here's a question regarding the whole sacrifice thing (in the form of a paragraph with multiple parts).

According to the bible, Adam sinned, and that sin was passed on to all of humanity. When Jesus was "sacrificed" on the cross, he removed ("covered") that sin for all of humanity (at least "for those who believe"). The part I don't get is why the 3000 years or so between the two of them? Why allow all of humanity to suffer for all of that time instead of just doing an Adam sins/Jesus saves thing immediately? (Sort of like how you run you run your anti-virus software right away to fix a virus problem on your computer). Is God a sadist?

Originally posted by notsofunnyguy
And don't forget that Christ taught cannibalism too. (Or is that part 3?)

"This bread is my flesh...this wine is my blood..."

I didn't know folks still use this line as an argument against Christianity!
The Cosmic Jewish Zombie still is favorite.

reply to post by slowisfast


I'm afraid I'm a bit confused by what you're saying. Apparently you don't believe that Jesus died on the cross to wash clean the sins of the world. You don't believe that Jesus' sacrifice meant salvation for all and the freedom from sin.

So, you're a heretic?

reply to post by Shadowflux


I should clarify.
I don't believe that every human being is granted salvation strictly because Jesus died on the cross.
I believe that salvation is granted when a human being recognizes that Jesus' death overcame sin when he rose.

Originally posted by slowisfast

Originally posted by notsofunnyguy
And don't forget that Christ taught cannibalism too. (Or is that part 3?)

"This bread is my flesh...this wine is my blood..."

I didn't know folks still use this line as an argument against Christianity!
The Cosmic Jewish Zombie still is favorite.

Mmm, brains...

Yeah, its a bit silly, and it's supposed to be symbolic, but it's still in there.

Along with baptism as a symbol of dying, going to the underworld, and coming back to life.

Too bad they used water to baptize in instead of dirt. It would saved the rest of us a lot of trouble.

"Saved" us...get it?