Is God Bloodthirsty?

BobDobbs left a comment about my post, "Would You Wear an Electric Chair Necklace?"

This god despised you and all people so much that all he could do about it was torture his son and have him nailed to a cross. Sorry, he didn't actually kill the boy because legend has him coming back to life. But the Bible teaches that "it pleased God" to do this to his boy. Too bad there wasn't a volcano handy.

So your god commits heinous torture to satisfy his anger at you and you want to glorify it by wearing a cross?

Seek help. If I kill my son because my neighbor's dandelions are spreading onto my lawn I'm going to jail for a long, long time.

Why can't you people see the insanity of this bloodlust?

God is not insane or bloodthirsty. There are other, more sensible conclusions.

If God despises us, why would He sacrifice for us? Sacrifice is, by nature, an act of love. Otherwise the concept of sacrifice would make no sense. There is no other motivation. (Even sadism is a perverted form of self-love.)

Jesus' motivation, however, was the purest form of love. Despite the pain and a certain kind of natural fear, He willingly chose to give His life for us; He was not coerced by a sadistic "Father" God.

God did not inflict torture on His Son; rather, He allowed sinners to do this. That's what Scripture means by "it pleased God," which is not the most desirable translation for the Hebrew idiom. The RSV conveys it better with "Yet is was the will of the Lord to bruise him" (Isaiah 53:10).

You state that Jesus was not killed because "legend has him coming back to life." I don't understand your point, because this "legend" -- that is, a tremendous weight of oral and written tradition -- has Him both dying and being raised from the dead.

There's nothing heinous on God's part concerning His plan of salvation. Jesus chose to take the bullet for mankind's sins to demonstrate His love for us. He is determined to save all those who would be saved. His self-sacrifice shows the extent of His determination, for, as Scripture says, there is no love greater than this -- than to lay down one's life for his friends.

Wearing a cross or crucifix is a ready reminder of love, not a sick symbol of bloodlust.