Essays Contents
Lent
March 10, 2024
Lent
wikipedia excerpts
"Lent is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year
commemorating the 40 days Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert
and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry."
"The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter
through prayer, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving,
simple living, and self-denial. "
"Lent is usually observed in the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian,
Anglican, United Protestant and Orthodox Christian traditions,
among others. In most Lent-observing denominations, the last
week of Lent coincides with Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday.
Following the New Testament narrative, Jesus' crucifixion is
commemorated on Good Friday, and at the beginning of the
next week the joyful celebration of Easter Sunday, the start of
the Easter season, which recalls the Resurrection of Jesus Christ."
Being that we are in the traditional time before Easter called "Lent"...
a forty day period of fasting, mourning, and humbleness...
observed by many Christian denominations...
... a time without celebrations... and in respect to that...
I will try to express some of my thoughts about the doctrine of...
"the power of the blood of Jesus."
My writings and research and theories have so... totally
changed the way that I see the Christian scriptures... that...
the doctrine that has been such an integral part of the church...
that... "God required the blood sacrifice of an innocent man
to save mankind from its sins... and to get God's forgiveness..."
itself... seems... heretical... and a shame on God and us.
We hear how early Christians were persecuted and crucified...
so much so... that they hid in the catacombs under the city.
But... if there was a new religion that believed in
"eating the body and drinking the blood" of someone...
wouldn't it be seen as an outrage to decency itself...?
Now... throw on top of this deadly danger... the doctrine of
the confession of sins... and the adage to
"confess that Jesus, Christ, is your Lord and Savior."
It would make those Christians... sitting ducks.
The entire story of these early Christians puzzled me.
And history tells us that the early Christian Church...
as it was being formed and established...
had variations of this whole story...
which was fought about bitterly between them.
At the very beginning of the Christian movement...
Peter and Paul... disagreed about... the story... and the doctrine.
Constantine stepped in... with his influential generosity...
and settled it... before it tore apart his empire.
No more fighting over some details... of the story.
And so... I was puzzled.
Where exactly did the doctrine come from... that said...
we are "saved by the blood sacrifice of Jesus."
Jesus was a rabbi. He knew the scriptures...
whatever form that it was... in those early times.
He saw God as the Father of all mankind...
who loves this world... and all of its creatures.
He believed in Truth, Love, Peace...
and God's love for us.
He knew good law from bad law.
He was outraged by animal sacrifices... and a bloodied temple...
and how the Pharisees and Scribes got wealthy... making laws...
increasing the perceived sins that must be atoned for...
as they sold their animal victims in the temple square...
and performed their sacrifices in the temple...
and so... it makes it a strange doctrine indeed
to call Jesus "a blood sacrifice"... or "the Passover Lamb"...
required by a vengeful and unforgiving God... which would be
the exact thing that Jesus Himself preached against.
He swore that "not one stone would be left upon another"
and it is why they needed to punish and kill him.
I would hear... or remember... all the great hymns about
"being saved by the blood of Jesus"...
and I contemplated what new words might instead... be sung...
as... to lose any of these wonderful tributes to God...
well... surely... we just... shouldn't lose them...
but this "required blood sacrifice" stuff...? No.
And then... I saw on my screen... a black man... a minister...
preaching... or was he praying... saying...
"we are saved by the blood of Jesus"
and I realized the spiritual strength... that this belief... gives us...
realized the need for the strength to endure... when we suffer.
We lean on Jesus... who also suffered... and died.
We are comforted knowing that he was innocent...
and that suffering is not a punishment from God... at all.
The words are there in the scriptures...
Jesus just found them for us.
God loves this world and loves mankind.
God wants only good for us...
God wants us to succeed as a beautiful creation...
and to find peace with one another.
We are all strangers to each other...
but we can find a way to live together in peace...
despite all those differences... and that...
to love and respect each other...
and to forgive those differences and failings...
THAT... is what will save mankind from its sins...
THAT... is how we will survive those differences...
and THAT is how we survive... all... of our own idiotic failings.
They will know you are a Christian... by your love.
Lent
wikipedia excerpts
"Lent is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year
commemorating the 40 days Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert
and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry."
"The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter
through prayer, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving,
simple living, and self-denial. "
"Lent is usually observed in the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian,
Anglican, United Protestant and Orthodox Christian traditions,
among others. In most Lent-observing denominations, the last
week of Lent coincides with Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday.
Following the New Testament narrative, Jesus' crucifixion is
commemorated on Good Friday, and at the beginning of the
next week the joyful celebration of Easter Sunday, the start of
the Easter season, which recalls the Resurrection of Jesus Christ."