starr15

Thanks for replies.

Some random thoughts:

Are not nature induced suffering such as Ebola, breast cancer, tornados, car accidents, childhood leukemia, quadraplegia, loss a loved one, and earthquakes enough to pay for human orginial sin?

Human greed, selfishness, and laziness are real and some kind of reckoning is in order though.

Perhaps God is truly unknowable by humans, but He has given us a brain to use to relate to Him in a human way, albeit trying to see an infinitely large image through a pinhole.

I am a lifelong Christian, raised in conservative Lutheran church as a child.

However, I am having issues with the classic evangelical views Jesus the Christ's execution.

Why would the creator of quantum theory, quasars, relativity, mitosis, and retinas decide that a cruel blood sacrifice of his Son was needed? Seems kind of odd that such an entity would be so angry at man's selfishness and sin that a part of Himself, his Son, needed to suffer a cruel death to dissapate his anger. It makes God out to be a PO's angry tyrant pacing around wanting to destroy man, but feels better about it that Jesus was executed.

Back in Ancient Rome, blood sacrifice was fairly common, as a way to appease the pagan gods (the Romans had about 1000 gods). Perhaps that was the best way for the ancients to understand the death of the Christ.

No doubt that mankind is naturally selfish and greedy and falls short of the perfection of God. But really, a blood sacrifice?

Yet, many interpret the scriptures this way.

I am looking at Christus Victor, but our church does not seem to emphasize that view.