Does the Crucifixion inspire you?

I see the love of Jesus for us, His brothers, sister's, sons and daughters.

The Crucifixion is a truly inspiring sacrifice from God to mankind.

I am awed at what God did for mankind. Truly i am.

The Crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ is a mark of love.

Charlie24 said:

Whether you live under the Law or by Grace there must be the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin.

Under the Law that is no longer possible, and if it were, you would have to go to Israel and have the priests offer the sacrifice for you, in the designated spot that God has chosen.

Those who claim to live under the Law are not keeping the Law. they have revised it to their standard and not God's requirement.

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This thread is not about me.

Robban said:

This thread is not about me.

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No, it's not. It's my fault the conversation went off topic.

All these recent threads about Law are stuck into my mind.

cloudyday2 said:

Does the Crucifixion inspire you? It doesn't inspire me. I don't even feel sorry for Jesus as a fellow human being who suffered, because it was so long ago and I have heard the story so many times. The teachings of Jesus inspire me though. If Christianity was only about the teachings of Jesus then I could probably buy it.

Just wondering how you feel about it and why?

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Put simply No. However the story of Yeshua does, and how he faced death to inspire us to follow, not to take up arms where death sends a stronger message to the injustices by the powers of the state, the synagogue, the church, the temple, the opposers of the Kingdom od God, our Kingdom in the here and now.

cloudyday2 said:

Does the Crucifixion inspire you? It doesn't inspire me. I don't even feel sorry for Jesus as a fellow human being who suffered, because it was so long ago and I have heard the story so many times. The teachings of Jesus inspire me though. If Christianity was only about the teachings of Jesus then I could probably buy it.

Just wondering how you feel about it and why?

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Yes, the Crucifixion inspires me.

When you love someone ... what they do, or have done, tends to matter to us, as human beings.

That Jesus would give His life to pay the price for the sins of the world is very inspiring to those of us that love Him and are following Him. His sacrificial love demonstrates to us His great love for mankind, and inspires us (His followers) to love Him and others more greatly ...

To those that do not know Him yet, the story of the Crucifixion is meant to give them hope ... to show them how much God loves them ... that He would send His Son to suffer and die for their sins ...

cloudyday2 said:

Does the Crucifixion inspire you? It doesn't inspire me. I don't even feel sorry for Jesus as a fellow human being who suffered, because it was so long ago and I have heard the story so many times. The teachings of Jesus inspire me though. If Christianity was only about the teachings of Jesus then I could probably buy it.

Just wondering how you feel about it and why?

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This is a good question, thanks.

I don't find it easy to answer, but the idea of someone completely innocent being treated so badly seems to bring a divide between the soft and the hard hearted.

For me the most profound truth about it is that it is a timeless event. Being able to kneel before the cross in 'real time' and release my burden (already taken by Him) on the cross has been a huge blessing.

cloudyday2 said:

I watched an interview of Geza Vermes who knew a lot about Christianity and Judaism of that era. He claimed that Jesus was unique in how strongly he emphasized love for one's enemies.

This ties in to what @Robban said earlier "Man v man is where the problem lay." Everybody is the enemy of everybody else to some degree. Dog-eat-dog. We all are biting and we all have been bitten. So loving our enemies is helpful.

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I do not think there is sufficient evidence to suggest He actually emphasized the "love your enemy" message to a very great degree in his teaching and evidence he treated some of his enemies, i.e. the hierarchy of the Temple and some of the Pharisees, with harsh words and sarcastic remarks not with loving-kindness. There is only one instance in Matthew5:43 -48 where he is quoted as mentioning 'love your enemy" as far as I can tell. There are several times where he chastised his enemies unmercifully including administering physical punishment. I have been told by more than one Jewish poster here that "love one's enemy" was a rabbinical teaching of the time even before Jesus arrived on the scene. I'm no rabbinical scholar so I take their words for it. What made Jesus unique was his claim to be the Son of God coupled with his Resurrection from the dead and believing in that is what informs my respect for everything else he taught. If one does not believe in those two things i.e. Jesus' deity and his physical Resurrection, then one would probably conclude that Christianity is a cult that worships a mad man.

cloudyday2 said:

Does the Crucifixion inspire you? It doesn't inspire me. I don't even feel sorry for Jesus as a fellow human being who suffered, because it was so long ago and I have heard the story so many times. The teachings of Jesus inspire me though. If Christianity was only about the teachings of Jesus then I could probably buy it.

Just wondering how you feel about it and why?

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Hello @cloudyday2 I like your discussions. Please read my comment and let me know your views. Thank you.

It inspires those who realized that they have a deadly disease and are desperate to be healed and finally found that doctor who healed them by pouring his life in treating them. Those people will be inspired by what that doctor did or had sacrificed in order to heal them when they see and know that doctor's effort.

It doesn't inspire those who are unaware of their deadly disease or how deadly it really is. So they don't see the need of that doctor who is able to heal them nor they would be able to appreciate the doctor's efforts and his desire to treat them after he identified their deadly condition and trying to reach out to save them. And it also doesn't inspire those that have realized their deadly disease but are okay with it, not desperate to be healed and are totally fine with dying from such disease. So they don't bother about finding that doctor who is able to heal and save them.

Do the healthcare professionals who are helping patients during this pandemic putting their lives at risk inspire you, maybe at least a little bit?

cloudyday2 said:

Does the Crucifixion inspire you? It doesn't inspire me. I don't even feel sorry for Jesus as a fellow human being who suffered, because it was so long ago and I have heard the story so many times. The teachings of Jesus inspire me though. If Christianity was only about the teachings of Jesus then I could probably buy it.

Just wondering how you feel about it and why?

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For a long time I was like you, and what draws me to Christianity and believed it is a message of God is Jesus said "Love God with all your soul heart and Love your neighbor as yourself". I thought that is all. That is what got me out of the world religion and to Christianity (not from atheism to theism).

But later on it is apparent that is no enough, we need to be saved by external power. I still don't fully understand it as we are all limited.

It is not something you "buy it", if God's holy spirit comes you will understand, else even if you are convinced, it is no use. as it is the Holy spirit that moves people, not me.

When I was in junior school we had assemblies that involved hymns and bible study (Church of England school). I remember feeling very sad and even angry at the idea of the crucifixion, I remember not being able to understand why no one rescued him.

As an adult and an atheist I suppose the idea of self sacrifice is an interesting message at the core of a philosophy but to be honest I can't get passed the strangeness of the act to think it either good or inspiring. God, despite being all powerful, is seemingly bound to the technicality of carrying out a blood ritual to forgive sin - I can see how this is a very powerful metaphor to an audience that still practised ritual sacrifice but to 21st century me it feels, I don't know, kind of superfluous?

ThievingMagpie said:

When I was in junior school we had assemblies that involved hymns and bible study (Church of England school). I remember feeling very sad and even angry at the idea of the crucifixion, I remember not being able to understand why no one rescued him.

As an adult and an atheist I suppose the idea of self sacrifice is an interesting message at the core of a philosophy but to be honest I can't get passed the strangeness of the act to think it either good or inspiring. God, despite being all powerful, is seemingly bound to the technicality of carrying out a blood ritual to forgive sin - I can see how this is a very powerful metaphor to an audience that still practised ritual sacrifice but to 21st century me it feels, I don't know, kind of superfluous?

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I think (my opinion only) is that real sin (our sin, all the bad thoughts and acts) requires real sacrifice to lift.

cloudyday2 said:

I suspect that there may be a confusion between "love your enemies" and "do unto others" (i.e. the Golden Rule). The Golden Rule was not new, but according to Vermes "love your enemies" was new. "Turn the other cheek", "bless those who curse you", "go the extra mile", etc. seem to be other ways of saying "love your enemies". From what I understand Jews are not taught to "turn the other cheek" - they are taught to assert their rights when they are wronged.

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…Proverbs 25:21

21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

cloudyday2 said:

Does the Crucifixion inspire you? It doesn't inspire me. I don't even feel sorry for Jesus as a fellow human being who suffered, because it was so long ago and I have heard the story so many times. The teachings of Jesus inspire me though. If Christianity was only about the teachings of Jesus then I could probably buy it.

Just wondering how you feel about it and why?

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I wouldn't say that I find the crucifixion of Jesus, all by itself categorical self, inspiring.

In fact, I remember the first time I ever encountered the 'idea' about Jesus being crucified. It was when I was a young child of 6 or 7, and as I perused the Children's Living Bible which my parents gave me for Christmas, I happened upon one of the nicely done illustrations which I found scattered through its pages.

Thereupon in one of those illustrations, I saw a gruesome scene of three men having been apparently hung upon 3 crosses in what seemed to be a quite agonizing set of postures. My little child-like mind was aghast; my emotions were extremely sad and thereupon, I asked Mommy, "Mommy, why are there dead men in this picture?...," for I couldn't comprehend that there was any fairness expressed in what I was seeing, a picture of unfairness in a book I was told related to 'God,' to say the very least.

Of course, at that child-hood moment, I didn't yet understand the 'rest of the story' either, all of which, when I later not only heard it more expansively, but also better understood it, it began to make more sense and I gained the ongoing opportunity to develop a growing appreciation for that singular instance of unjust death that I still find today within the pages of the New Testament.

Personally, I don't think that one can appreciate the crucifixion if it, as an entity of thought, is separated from the rest of the many contexts in which it is embedded. It doesn't stand alone, even if it may seem that it gets preached in some churches as the individual centerpiece of Christian theology.

cloudyday2 said:

So what do you see as the rest of the story?
(a) example of obedience to the Father (prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane)
(b) fulfillment of prophecy (suffering servant in Isaiah)
(c) ultimate passover lamb (gospel of John's placing of Crucifixion on Passover rather than before)
(d) yet another example of the rebelliousness of Israel and humanity in general by not recognizing the promised Messiah (that's my choice)

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All of the above that you've listed is surely a part of that.

However, since I was referring mainly to the fact that from the point of my having had a childhood level of understanding of Christianity that was so very paltry, the 'rest of the story' for me eventuated in my having come to realize that not only was Jesus Resurrected, but that I should expect to 'see' the world, and myself in that same world, caught in a perpetual state of less than advantageous political and existential "being" ...

... and so, here we are.