272: What's so Good about it :)

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Codex Magliabechia

The Aztecs (or Incas, Mayans, whatever) were a primitive, vicious and barbaric people.  They ruled their masses with fear and blood.  Prisoners were sacrificed; thousands at a time, in days long massacres; spilling blood to appease a monstrous and jealous god.  What disgusting behaviour.  No way to run a society, and what shallow and stupid beliefs.  In modern times, in the culturally advanced Western world, no one could possibly believe such drivel.  And what a pathetic little god; what kind of god would want thousands of lowly prisoners blood as payment?  No, a real god would want only the blood of one sacrifice; the blood of his only son (who is also him, and a holy spirit, but they are one, and three, but just one, and Christianity is not a polytheism honestly, it is definitely a monotheism.  One god, not three!  And forget about the Virgin Mary, and all the saints, angels, archangels, cherubim, seraphim, thrones... it’s definitely a monotheism...).

a cherub

So now we have the correct religion: Christianity.  It was still dreamed up by barbaric and ignorant people, and used to control through fear (of death, of punishment, of banishment, of torture), guilt, and blood.  It is still based entirely around human sacrifice, except this one ups the ante by making that human a GOD.  And his sacrifice is YOUR FAULT, because you are a dirty unclean original-sinning human, with sexual thoughts and a range of emotions.  Now this sacrificed is relived on a regular basis, with cannibalism thrown into the mix; through the miracle of transubstantiation, during the Eucharist/Holy Communion a little biscuit morphs into the actual flesh of Christ, and a drop of wine becomes a foetid jug of Jesus blood.  This is eagerly and gleefully devoured by the faithful.

God the Father, Julius Schnorr

This new god is still a sadistic, torturous, murderous, genocidal, infanticidal, homophobic, racist, tyrannical, jealous, cruel and unusual, ultimate dictator, but now he loves you.  You can avoid his punishment by accepting and believing the fact that he sent his son down to earth to die for your sins.  He is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, and everywhere at all times.  Hang on a second... if he is all powerful why can he only forgive us by torturing and murdering his only son.  Surely he could just forgive us?  Could it be that this monster with a long history of causing death and pain, actually wanted to beat and crucify his only son?  Did he get some perverse sexual thrill out of it?  No of course not; how dare I suggest such a thing.

The Judas Kiss, Gustave Dore

Or maybe god’s motive in this stupid roundabout way of forgiving our sins was to set up his old rivals, the Jews.  If indeed Jesus had to die for our sins to be forgiven, then it follows equally that Judas had to play his role too.  For Jesus to die, his location had to be revealed to the Romans by a friend.  If the story of Jesus is true, then Judas is equally a saviour and a hero.  He helped create our salvation, and has been repaid with disembowelling, hanging, and being the motive for two millennia of mindless you-killed-Jesus anti-Semitism.  It looks like this was that loving god’s motive all along.  He unnecessarily orchestrated this whole ludicrous, bloody facade in order to divide (and conquer?) his believers.  What a cunt!

(* - Piss Christ, by Andres Serrano)

Cristo crucificado, Diego Velazquez

Crucifixion (16th Century) , Theophanes the Cretan

The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson ("He is sick to his empty core" -Christopher Hitchens)