Take I
There’s this “being”, let’s call them “God,” that creates everything that is, from stars to dark matter to platypi.
One part of that immense creation, let’s call them “humans,” develops the ability to pass ideas/beliefs to one another through speech (and later writing). Often, they pass these ideas on to each other from generation to generation, store the ideas in books and other texts, and maintain those ideas for millenia.
Apparently “God” also created an entire aspect of creation that is “eternal.” “Humans” depart their body when they die and go to that eternal place, and although they were thrown into creation without any preparation or warning, if they don’t catch on to the right idea/belief while they’re living, then when they die and move on to that eternity, “God” judges them and decides whether they will spend that eternity with “God” or in some other place, let’s call it “hell,” which is a place of suffering apart from “God.”
For the most part, the rest of this vast creation plays very little role in the main drama of this God, who seems especially concerned that “humans” get the right ideas or beliefs so they’ll be judged and put in the right eternal condition after they depart the (abandoned) creation.
All you have to do is think about this system for a little while to realize how ridiculous the whole thing is (other than the possibility that something, let’s call them “God,” created all that is).
Good thing none of the rest of it is Christianity, or even close.
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Take II
There is this One, let’s call them The Name, who said, about all that they had created: this is good, beautiful. All of it, from stars to dark matter to platypi. And it’s literally in the calling of it good that it became at all.
Of one part of that immense creation, let’s call them “humans,” this One said they were very good, welcoming them as co-namers and creators in their small part of the good universe. Everything these co-creators write or sing or pray potentially joins the work.
This One created with such abandon, such freedom, that this creation could also depart from or return to the One.
But this One is so in love with the creation they speak more, this time becoming one with creation in a Son. This Son so resonates with creation cousin-prophets leap in the womb, fish swarm near the boat, crowds gather. Such resonance disturbs only those forces so distanced as to have begun thinking their own resonance was the resonance of the One.
The faith or trust humans place in the One (often because of the story they know of the Son) is conveyed not to make true that the One calls them good, but to continually remind them they are already called so, and are truly always part of the whole of creation.
This One is not far off, in some distant eternal realm, but rather near to each one of us, so close even the mountains and rocks sing, and continually draws closer until all we are as good becomes ever more a part of the One who is good. Who is beautiful. Who is love.
That, or something like it, is Christianity.
After a pretty fundamentalist upbringing , at some point I asked “would a loving God really send the vast majority of His human creation to eternal hellfire because they didn’t choose the ‘right’ religion”?
Counter—counterpoint
In speaking of Christianity one must include God ( no quotations) and Christ from whence the term comes from. As we view creation we cannot help but see God’s wisdom and love. In creating man he made him in the image of God. What does that mean? First man in the image of God is a spiritual creature. Second God created man with all the knowledge of God. Now no one man could use all the knowledge of God but rather it serves as a data base. In this way God “ controls” history and makes dreams come true. An. example of this from Scripture is when God brings all the animals to Adam to name which he does . Can the created know more than the Creator? One thing “maddening” about God is he created man with a free will. We see that at the beginning God warns Adam who was a spiritual creature - immortal. That if he partakes of the physical he will surely die become mortal. This action of God was not a threat but rather he stated the consequence of Adams’s actions. Now just a better understanding of man. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The heaven is a spiritual creation while the earth is a physical creation. When in the image we are in the spiritual dimension when in our physical dimension we are in the earthly realms. So it is that Christ wouid be True God in the spiritual dimension and true man in the physical dimension. As true man sin would be imputed to him and he would suffer and die for our sins..