Here are a series of questions with very few answers that were spawned by a pamphlet produced by Augsburg Fortress (the ELCA's publishing company) entitled "It's all about Love." You'll notice that the questions sometimes eminate from previous questions - but not always. I hope they're not too heretical. I don't think it's heresy to ask questions - at least not if you don't already presume the answers to be heretical...
Why did Jesus have to die? Because we’re sinners and there was no other way out. Okay, so what? What is in it for God to wipe out our sins? Is it because God wants to be in relationship with us? Is it because God is jealous and wants us to be focused on him? Is it both?
What does sin do? It separates us from God. This means we cannot be in a right relationship with God. It also means we cannot be focused on God and thus we focus on other gods which makes God jealous.
Why did God create humans? Are we here because God has such an abundance of love that he needs to share it? Are we here because God is egotistical and needs or strongly desires someone to worship him? Is it both? Can it be both?
What is idolatry? It is the worship of something/someone other than God. It is also the love of something/someone other than God.
Is Christ’s death a result of love or idolatry? That is, did God send his Son to die to show us love so we will love him back? Or, did God send his Son to die to show us our sinfulness (mostly idolatry) and “shock” us into going back to him by doing something so seemingly absurd that we have to pay attention to God? Is it both? Can it be both?
Did God offer us salvation because he wants to spend eternity with us? Or did God offer us salvation because he knows we’re afraid of death and this is a way of giving us some type of hope so that we can avoid idolatry and keep our eyes focused on him (if it’s given as a gift, we should be free to focus on God rather than ourselves or others, right?)? Is it both? Can it be both? Is it something else?
Can God put his love for us first? If so, doesn’t this contradict 1 John 4:19 – “We love because he first loved us.” If he does, put us first, does it mean he’s worshiping an idol? Doesn’t it make sense for God to put himself first? Doesn’t God really love himself first?
When it’s finally said and done, isn’t it really all about love? When it’s finally said and done, isn’t it really all about idolatry? When it’s finally said and done, isn’t it really about both?
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