Comments on Inebriated Discourse: On Jesus Christ's Alleged Sacrifice

Nick, I would call your attack on my definition of...

2010-12-18T19:05:54.930-05:00

Nick, I would call your attack on my definition of “sacrifice” an instance of pedantry, but even that description would imply there is a grain of merit to your claim, which there is not.

There are several related definitions of “sacrifice” one could use, but I believe I captured the essence of the word with the definition I invoked, as any consultation of Cambridge, Merriam-Webster, dictionary.com, and others will show. But more importantly, you merely claim that my definition is “incorrect” and say therefore the post is “doomed from the start,” but you never actually say how or why this is the case.

Second, the verses I quote are relevant, not “random.” My selections are out of context by definition because I cannot copy and paste the entire Bible into the post. As for my alleged “assumption that Christians use the same interpretations,” how so? You mean to tell me that Catholics, Baptists Lutherans, Methodists, Mormons, Congregationalists, et al. do not believe in the idea of vicarious redemption? This is the fundamental tenet of all Christian faiths and the focus of the article. It is certainly true that there are many interpretations of the Bible, but this fact, which you point out, doesn’t seem to bode too well for the clarity or veracity of the text.

You say you don’t believe in a literalist interpretation. But what does that even mean? Does it mean, for example, that you are willing to entertain that the whole Bible is actually a metaphoric enterprise? If that is the case, then I suppose you cannot take too seriously Jesus’ assertions about him being the son of god, or even the existence of Jesus itself. Or do you think just parts of the Bible are metaphor? In which case, the decisions you make about what is “real” and what is metaphor will ultimately be arbitrary.

Truth be told, it does not matter much to me how Christians of any sort interpret the Bible, because I, like everyone else, can read it myself and see that it is a book of fantastic claims for which there is no evidence.

1. sacrifice- a surrender of something of value as...

2010-12-18T17:20:29.450-05:00

1. sacrifice- a surrender of something of value as a means of gaining something more desirable or of preventing some evil

-Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition

You see, the main flaw in your article is that it was doomed from the start by using an incorrect definition of the word "sacrifice". Second of all, you seem to be operating under the assumption that all Christians use the same interpretations of the Bible. That isn't the case, therefore you can't simply quote random verses without providing any sort of context and expect everyone to derive the same meaning as you did. I, for instance, don't believe in a literalist interpretation of scripture.

I loved it. I had noticed before how the "sac...

2010-02-16T04:30:05.994-05:00

I loved it. I had noticed before how the "sacrifice" (and one's acceptance of said sacrifice) amounts to little more than fire insurance being offered by the great cosmic arsonist. Best of all is your acknowledgement that Christianity is fundamentally immoral; I agree.

my mother used to say, "they don't make j...

2010-02-16T04:29:35.668-05:00

my mother used to say, "they don't make jews like jesus anymore"

Very good column.

2010-02-16T04:29:15.957-05:00

Very good column.

IF he actually existed it would have been more lik...

2010-02-16T04:28:36.565-05:00

IF he actually existed it would have been more like suicide.