Loved the article, we both have a similar view on the Universe, though in defense of the new testament, I do think that it and Jesus would agree with you. Perhaps its only because I never read the bible until after I formed by beliefs, but the new testament really does seem to agree with these ideas. Unfortunately modern Christians have a habit of ignoring literally everything their lord and savior says.
The most baffling to me is the idea that all you need to do to get into heaven is accept Jesus as your lord and savior. That's something propagated by Paul, but Jesus explicitly denies it.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 7:21
The will of the father is not for you to worship his child but to love your neighbor. Again he explicitly states this.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:35-40
On top of this being an explicit nod to pantheism, its one of the passages that truly tells me most Christians have never bothered to actually read the words of their supposed lord and savior.
The notion that the alternative to heaven is eternity in hell is also kind of questionable. The idea that god would banish anyone to that kind of fate always seemed extremely dumb to me. But if you look into the actual Greek it throws up some questions.
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Matthew 25:46
Sounds scary, but the word used for eternal here is αἰώνιος , which could mean perpetual, but could also mean long lasting, or lasting for an age. Jesus also doesn't ever say that hell is a place of torture. The worst thing he says about it is
where the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.
Matthew 25:46
It sounds to me like hell isn't some place of torture, but merely some kind of soul recycling plant. Which is much more logical, and that brings me to my last point.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
First of all, even on the surface this passage is super pantheistic. The Word here is Jesus. So we have God and his son, who is also God,and everything that has been made has been made by god, through god. And the pantheism here becomes even more obvious when you take a look at the Greek. The word used for the Word here is logos, or logic. So we have God and his logic, which is also God, and through them everything that has been made has been made.
I could go far further into this if you are interested. Interestingly enough some of the biggest early sects of Christianity was Gnosticism and Marcionism. Both of whom took a pantheistic stance on reality.
That's a very good response and a good addition to this post: thanks so much for that @its-kino ! The Bible is a problematic book as it provides explanations and excuses for all kinds of moral and ethical positions. You can find passages for and against slavery, for and against murder, for and against genocide and so on. But I do agree instantly that more people should read more Matthew ;-)
Unfortunately Christians take the words of Paul and the old testament over the words of their lord and savior. The four gospels are beautiful works, the worst thing Jesus does is kill a tree to make a point that went over everyone's heads.
Its Paul and the Old Testament that tell slaves to be obedient. Its Paul and the Old Testament that tell Christians to hate gay people. They both convinced Christians to turn into religious extremists which is the exact thing Jesus.
Like the tree that didn't bare fruit, I firmly believe that the Christian religion should be torn down. Though I do still find value in the words of its prophet, and hate seeing another symbol of peace and love getting corrupted by people full of hate and judgement.