Love changes things considerably, especially the love for money !

The Christian story , and that is just what it is, is one of a God of love, demonstrated in the old testament by his interaction with Abraham. Remember that was another "story".

However it all falls apart when his apparent son, who may well have actually been the son of a Roman centurion, is abandoned to die a cruel death on the cross. This leads to a considerable doubt in my mind as to whether there is actually a God at all.

I see the stories in the old testament as an attempt by their leaders to maintain control over their followers in a similar way that the Catholic hierarchy maintained control over their cohort before the reformation woke people up to their motives.

Christianity would be a more plausible concept if it just followed the teaching of Jesus and stopped ineffectual praying to God with many of the writings of Paul treated with a grain of salt.

David

Dear David,

«However it all falls apart when his apparent son, who may well have actually been the son of a Roman centurion»

It occurred to me that Jesus never considered God to be the biological father of his body. The use of "Father", "Our father in heaven" or "Our Father, our King", is all too common in Jewish prayers, describing an emotional, rather than genetic, connection to God.

«Christianity would be a more plausible concept if it just followed the teaching of Jesus and stopped ineffectual praying to God»

Unfortunately we are not in a position to reconstruct the teachings of Jesus out of the anecdotal reports by his disciples, decades later at best. Nevertheless, as far as we can tell, praying to God was an important aspect of his teachings.

Hi David,

"However it all falls apart when his apparent son, who may well have actually been the son of a Roman centurion, is abandoned to die a cruel death on the cross. This leads to a considerable doubt in my mind as to whether there is actually a God at all."

That is a very interesting take on the subject considering that the death of Jesus on the cross and subsequent appearances has been such a compelling 'drawcard' for people over the centuries.

Out of curiosity why do you consider that God (if hypothetically "there is actually a God at all") abandoned His only begotten son because Jesus died on the cross? cf. the idea that Jesus gave his life for redemption of other people?