Jesus Was Wrong

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. Mark 9:1

"Some of them that stand here..." Seems straight forward enough. No ambiguity. No pretense of waiting around a couple thousand years. "Some of them that stand HERE shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power."

Naturally, you should read the end of chapter 8 and what follows 9:1. It is important to strip away the "out of context" nonsense that Christians use to deflect anything that doesn't fit their narrative. And Jesus being wrong doesn't fit the narrative. How could he be wrong? He is the only begotten Son (capital S, not small s) of God. He is God actually, in a confusing, 3 in 1 trinity sort of way. And if God be wrong, I don't want to be right! Or so the attitude seems to be. The truth may set YOU free, but Christians don't seem to want to have much to do with it.

Listen, I knew yesterday's post would (metaphorically) strike at the heart of the Christian paradigm. I knew there would be a backlash. I knew I was "in for it." What I find fascinating is that its your text. It is what your God said. And you are upset with me for bringing it to your attention. Why?

You revel in the Gospel's description of Jesus denouncing the scribes and Pharisee's duplicity. When I show you yours, you vilify me. You want to present an attitude of taking the Bible literally, except of course, when you don't. And all of this would be fine, if only you would leave your God out of politics and quit trying to shove your morality down my throat.

So Jesus was wrong about the coming of the Kingdom. He was right about so many other things. He experienced the human condition and (somehow!) maintained his empathy and compassion. He saw that people are quick to point out problems in others, though slow to see those same problems (or worse) in themselves. He taught inclusion, both of women and social outcasts, something that was extremely controversial at the time. He spoke of forgiveness and he exemplified love. He said to love God with every fiber of your being and to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:30-31) That everything else was secondary.

For me that's enough.