Saturday, August 23, 2008

The Jesus Fallacy: A Parable

The principal sat down with the high school seniors and explained the way graduation would work. He said:

"Some of you worked very hard in school and got all As. Some of you were on the varsity basketball team and helped take our school's team to the national championship, where we won. Some of you worked hard in the after school programs where you went to the local homeless shelter on the weekends and helped feed the poor people and tutor their children in math and English so they could one day be productive, happy members of society. Some of you led paper drives to help raise money for charity. Some of you went to the scholar competitions and took first and second place, demonstrating how much you learned. A couple of you even got perfect scores on both the SAT and ACT! And now, graduating is upon you."

The students who accomplished all these were smiling.

"But," said the principal, "there's more to life than that, my students."

Susan, the valedictorian and president of the honor's society, asked, "What else is there? We definitely want to know where else we can excel in life. After we graduate, we want to be the best citizens our country has ever seen. Please tell us. We want to grow."

The principal smiled and said, "I care so much about all of you, I want to give each and every one of you a chance to succeed in life. And therefore, I am making this one final requirement for graduation. With this one final requirement, any student who did not perform well in school will then have the opportunity to graduate with high honors. And anyone who did well still must complete this final requirement, or he or she will not graduate at all."

"And what is that?" asked Bill, the straight-A student who led the paper drive and was also the star pitcher on the baseball team.

"Simple," said the principal. "My son graduated from this very school, and in order to graduate, you must simply think my son was pretty cool."

The class was silent.

"But sir," said Susan. "We never met your son. How can we think he was cool? And why would that matter?"

"Indeed," said the principal. "My son graduated five years ago and so none of you met him. But you must think he was pretty cool or you won't graduate."

Some students decided to accept the gift of graduation and agreed that the son was pretty cool. Others questioned whether the son even existed, and, even though they got perfect grades and performed well in all activities and helped the community, were denied graduation.


Now come on. Does that REALLY make sense? But that's EXACTLY what Christianity is claiming: All the good deeds in the world won't help you; in the end, all that matters is that you accept God's son Jesus as Lord. Sphere: Related Content

7 comments:

Agnostic Anarch said...

Don't forget to mention that everyone that was denied graduation was put in a horrible, terrible detention for all of eternity: BREAKFAST CLUB HELL!!!!

Jsyn said...

If I just accept Jesus as a great man with an awesome message, would that get me into their heaven?
...not that I would want to go to their heaven; it sounds boring and you only get one meal!

Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mike said...

thats an unfair conclusion, mainly because of most people have a misconception of what heaven/hell really are. Heaven is the place of being with God, Hell is the place of no God. Hell is torment because of the realization of a great loss. The loss of a great person who died for you If you realize it for what it is, it makes sense.

October 10, 2008 12:04 PM

Jeff C said...

"Hell is torment because of the realization of a great loss"

That has no basis in the Bible. (Not that it would matter to me if it did, since I don't accept the Bible. But I find it fascinating that people will invent whatever theology they please to fit their worldview.)

Anonymous said...

Your picture might better fit Christianity (though still very loosely) if you more clearly defined the diploma as it relates to Christianity, and better defined the relation that the teacher's son has to the students.

Concerning the diploma, if the picture were to represent Christianity then the diploma would mean so much more than the first picture is painting. The diploma would require nothing short of perfection. One may complain that that's too much, but that one may drop out if they'd like. The diploma has a true value, and the teacher will not allow it to be cheapened. The dropouts can forget the diploma, but will face the facts of life when employers, landlords, and committees ask for proof of perfection. The dropouts will be left on the outside with no right to complain, they gave up on the diploma and trusted in their own abilities.

Concerning the son and his relationship to the class, his role cannot resemble Christ without including that which Christ truely accomplished. The son in the picture would have given perfection in the class, and he would have been on par with the teacher himself. Then the son would give his credentials to the students who agreed to completely follow his example, even when their deepest understandings conflicted with his wisdom (far more than simply think he's cool).

And should the students fail to follow his lead in any circumstance (which they surely would in their desire to follow their own limited understanding), they would retain the diploma as long as they agreed to turn from their mistakes and keep on trying to follow the son. And all of this would have to include another element, the most important element. That is that whenever presenting their diploma they would have to state that it was only by the son's perfection and his continuing with them always, as the one they've committed to follow, that they have the right to such a diploma. For then those viewing the diploma would know that they trust in the perfect son for all their understanding.

This still leaves the picture loosely related, but at least now the connection can be clearly seen. Thanks for the picture Jeff

Anonymous said...

When your body expires, and it will, you immediately enter the spirit realm. It is a timeless, spaceless place where God reigns in absolute, glorious supremacy.

Then God's only question to you will be "whom do you say is Jesus the Christ?" That single truth about your life will determine your worth to the Father. Not because God hates you, but because He loves His Son so much more than he loves you.

You see, God loves His Son Jesus more than all humanity and universe combined. It's not unreasonable - just think of your own child and multiply your fondness by infinity.

You'll see that Hell and heaven are both in the same presence of God. Revelation 14:10 It will just be infinitely more bearable if you happen to honor the Son for who he really is.

Don't just blab for fun. Look into His words and His life before you die.