One can always count on the Niagara Anglican’s Michael Burslem for a spot of bracing balderdash.
This month he informs us that God is not “appeased” by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, that the atonement for the sins of mankind was really quite unnecessary.
Because God just wants a mush of mercy, love and, you guessed it, equality. Because the Koran says so. So does John Lennon.
From here (page 6):
However, God didn’t need appeasement. God allowed the religious sacrificial system, but really wanted them to be merciful, love justice and to walk humbly with God.
[….]
The cross is not an appeasement, but an example of how we all should live. It’s tremendously costly, but God is, as the Koran says, the Lord, the Beneficent, the Merciful. God loves all humanity equally. We need to respond to that love by treating each other as God would treat us, with mercy, justice and humility.
That God loves us, not that we’ll go to heaven when we die, is the Good News we all desperately desire and long for. We need to listen to it, and to proclaim it
I nearly forgot: heaven is irrelevant because God still loves us when we are six feet under being eaten by worms.
“God didn’t need appeasement” “The cross is not an appeasement” “God loves all humanity equally.” “…as God would treat us”- oh yea? How does he know? These people just make up anything for themselves, based on …
Let him see how far he gets with advocacy for Judaism or Christianity in a Muslim journal.
After reading this article in full I realized all the more why I had to leave the ACoC. The gibberish about Jesus proves that the term “Christian” has taken on a very sad and generic meaning. How can a person call themselves “Christian” when they do not follow Christ. In fact they make a lot of what He said to be lies.
“That God loves us, not that we’ll go to heaven when we die, is the Good News we all desperately desire and long for.”
The good new has to correspond to the bad news. For many, I suppose the bad news is “God hates us all” so their good news would be nothing but “God loves us.” For Paul, however, the bad news is that Adam’s sin damns us all to die and stay dead, so his good news is that believers in Jesus will be resurrected because “everything in its own time; first Christ, then those who belong to him at his coming” (1 Cor 15) To Matthew the good news is that we deserve hell because of our personal sins but those can be forgiven via Jesus’ blood. Interesting that although the NT writers don’t always agree on the bad/good news, they do not ever put forth a theory that its “God hates you / no God loves you.” Its either that you deserved hell but Jesus saves you if you believe and obey him, OR that everyone was going to die and cease to exist but believers in Jesus get to be resurrected.