Duns Scotus (circa 1266) also insisted that Mary’s Immaculate Conception in her mother's womb was free from original sin. This had an additional benefit. She would not have to depart this life through the grave like the rest of humanity. Instead, she was lifted alive bodily into heaven.
Both Mary’s conception in her mother's womb and her assumption into heaven without dying became infallible dogma in the Roman Church many centuries later (Immaculate Conception 1854 - Assumption 1950).
Thirdly, all of scripture, both the Old and the New Testaments, is regarded as being inspired by God. Jesus necessarily believed this because, according to John, Jesus as the Word existed from eternity along with his Heavenly Father and was equally responsible for what John wrote down in his gospel.
“Do not thi
nk that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). This means that the atrocities commanded by Yahweh in the Old Testament were equally legitimized and inspired by Jesus Christ himself. (See “The Unholy Book of the Dead Sea” in this Blogcritics series)
In the Old Testament, in order to test Abraham’s commitment to the Old Law, Yahweh commanded him to slay his ownly son, Isaac, and then burn his body in sacrifice. Thereafter, Abraham built an altar. With the help of young Isaac, father and son collected the very wood to be used to make Isaac into a burnt offering to the Almighty.
At the last minute as Abraham raises his arm above Isaac’s body, his hand clutching the sharp killing weapon, an angel of God grabs Abraham’s arm. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," the angel said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son" (Gene
sis 22:12).
Although Biblical believers are thrilled to chant Yahweh’s goodness in sparing Isaac, and Abraham’s courage in obeying him, little mention is ever made of the other murders of men, women, and children sanctioned by God and carried out by the chosen ones of the Old Testament. The more abominable commands of Yahweh are not often dwelt on: rape captured virgins, kill the elderly, take slaves, overrun and keep property. Yet, Christ as the eternal Logos, one with the Father, was there with Yahweh.
Lastly, consider the most heinous crime ever committed on planet Earth, a crime which is reverse engineered as an act of love and redemption for all human beings and for all time. I am speaking of God killing—the murder of Jesus Christ. This unspeakable act of allowing and even arranging human actions/history so that a group of people are driven to murder their God as a human/divine sacrifice for the sin of mankind has no possible equal in the past, the present, or the future.
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