in thinking about the sort of god we've created, one of the most repulsive ideas, for me at least, is that of a bloodthirsty god who would require animal sacrifice for appeasement. i had occasion to be in the choir room of a nearby church recently, and in the choir's folder was a piece called "at calvary love flowed red." how can a god be worthy of worship when that god demands that jesus die a horrible death on a roman cross? this belief in the "atoning death of jesus," that jesus died so that all of our sins could be forgiven, is ludicrous. if god is all-powerful, the only requirement for forgiveness is repentance.
the concept of the atonement is incompatible with a loving God who wishes only that the creatures who worship God be happy and at peace with one another. i believe that jesus died because he ran afoul of the religious authorities and because the roman rulers of palestine feared that his growing popularity would lead to a rebellion. jesus knew that his death was inevitable, that what he taught was incompatible with the status quo that both the romans and the jewish authorities wished to maintain. in the end, he goaded them to either take action against him or leave him to continue his teaching, realizing full well that they would likely take the former course.
nature is a brutal realm. everywhere the strong prey on the weak. we humans have the capacity to refuse to follow nature's example. we can help the weak rather than taking advantage of their weakness. if we must have a god to worship, why not worship a God who embodies the best in us, the impulse to have compassion for one another. those who seek to explain God to us do us a disservice. is God our collective consciousness, the ground of being, a distant observer who leaves us to sort things out for ourselves, or something else entirely? we create a god of our own making because such a god is more understandable. we identify with a god who is in many ways like the gods of ancient mythology: capricious, petty, eager to find fault with humankind, a sort of mad scientist/creator with us as the subjects of the experiment.
how does one worship a mystery? as john greenleaf whittier, the great quaker poet says in his poem (o brother man, fold to thy heart thy brother), "to worship rightly is to love each other,/each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer." whether or not God exists, treating one another with lovingkindness and respect and having compassion for each other is the best we can do, and a God of love will accept such worship.
may we not honor a god of vengeance and pettiness. may we seek to understand the mystery of who and why we are rather than accepting easy answers that have been handed to us by those who would rather control us than encourage us to think. may we not create a god who is more like us than like the divine mystery of creation. shalom.
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