It’s easter and passover season, and the usual whitewashing happens. The jews forget that their god mind controlled a man to have an excuse to kill people, and the christians forget that their god needs a human blood sacrific by torture. (memes at the bottom)
I found one attempt to claim that it’s how the chrisian god is presented that is the problem for us atheists. Unsurpsingly, it isn’t, and when we’ve read the bible, the whitewashing really sticks out. Christians can be good people, but they must change their religion to fit them, never the other way around.
My response:
Your bible presents your god as a genocidal killer, a supporter of slavery, and a murderer of people for things they didn’t do, children included. Your jesus is the one who kills all non-christians in the silly revelation story and your jesus is the one who ways if someone doesn’t want him as king, his followers should bring them before him and slaughter them (Luke 19).
None of that is love. Your god fails at even the half-decent definition of love in 1 Corinthians. That verse you quote also is questionable since most translations say “save” rather than love the world. The koine greek word you claim is love is not, it is a form of saos, which means “to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively):–heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.”
that christians can’t agree on what their bible even means is notable.
and the claim of millions of people witnessing jesus is quite the false claim. the best estimate of the population of jerusalem during the first century is 55,000.
as for the fig tree, it was cursed for not having fruit when it was not the season for fruit.
“12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard it.” Mark 11
and in Matthew the problem is even worse:
“18 In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, ‘How did the fig tree wither at once?’ 21 Jesus answered them, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be lifted up and thrown into the sea”, it will be done. 22 Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.’”
a pointlessly killed tree and the failed promise of prayers being answered.
Your jesus comes out to be rather silly and pointlessly violent.
If you are curious about older posts about easter and passover, you can find them below:
Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – FFRF’s Blog “Easter fools, April Fools and Jesus’ pundits”
Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – this year Easter is on April Fool’s Day
Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – what has become the annual easter post
What the Boss Likes – welcome to Easter, syncretic religion at its best
Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – Easter, the supposed events and implications
Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – a three-fer this year
Club Schadenfreude 