Was the crucifixion of Jesus a sacrifice?

Was the crucifixion of Jesus a sacrifice?

Original Post @ http://www.examiner.com/

If Jesus was god, then the crucifixion was not a sacrifice.

If Jesus was not god, then it was a sacrifice, but it has no ultimate significance beyond being one of thousands of possibly inspiring stories of others who have died for various reasons, both noble and otherwise.

If Jesus never existed, then it's just a story.  If you can be inspired by that, then I can be inspired by Superman (and you can stop making fun of me for dressing like him!)

Now, the position of many Christians is that Jesus was wholly God, wholly human.  This is nonsensical, and you know it.  I am aware that this is one of the central tenants of the vast majority of Christian theologies, but it is absurd.  Trying to justify this in your mind, reveling in the mystery of it, is indicative of something awry.  It is to rationalize something absurd, mysterious, and impossible and call it a miracle.

But even if it were to be somehow true, then there are still some questions I have.  Did Jesus know he was God (as well as human)?

If he did know he was god, then did he have all of the knowledge of god? If he did, then he knew that he would die on the cross--incarnated knowing so, in fact--and did nothing to stop it.  He knew he couldn't actually die, and that the crucifixion would be only symbolic, so how was it a sacrifice?  This seems no different than me playing some online game and sacrificing my character in order to allow the rest of the team win the mission (not that I know anything about such thing...).

And if he didn't have all the knowledge of god (or his divine powers for that matter!), then how could he be wholly god?  Sure, he might have been human in body but having the spirit of god mixed in there, but without all the knowledge then there is something of god missing, right? Perhaps God is holographic, and even a part contains the whole? I'm confused....

Now, if Jesus was just a guy, granted one that was possibly sanctioned and chosen by the real god as a messenger, then it was a sacrifice.  But how is it a sacrifice for us? How does a person dying two thousand years ago effect me in any other way than symbolically?  And even as a symbol, how does it provide salvation?  Further, salvation from what? (i'll deal with that tomorrow).

And if Jesus was just god, and not human at all (as some early Gnostic sects thought), then his death was not a death at all.  Then it was not a sacrifice at all.  There is no passion to the narrative, just symbolism.  Symbolism that god chose.  But why choose that symbol?  It seems to be a result of people who were used to the concept of sacrifice as a means to atone, like in the Old Testament laws about animal sacrifice and the smell of burnt offerings that are so pleasing to the lord.  Man, Yahweh must love barbecues.  But this neolithic idea should sound absurd to you.

I honestly do not see the significance of this supposedly historical event.  I do not understand how God sacrificing either an innocent person or himself (to himself, to make up for a rule he made due to a Fall that he orchestrated, mind you) is significant to me at all, even if it were true.  If I can see past this BS, I'm sure any real god could too.  This sounds like iron age mythology to me, no different than the other myths and fairy tales of human history.

Bozeman City job requirement raises privacy concerns (Serious WTF PRIVACY)

This is a serious WTF privacy violation.

Bozeman City job requirement raises privacy concerns - Montana's News Station - Fair. Accurate. To the Point. -

Bozeman City job requirement raises privacy concerns

Posted: June 17, 2009 03:50 PM

Updated: June 17, 2009 06:12 PM

Applying for a job with the City of Bozeman? You may be asked to provide more personal information than you expected.

That was the case for one person who applied for employment with the City. The anonymous viewer emailed the news station recently to express concern with a component of the city's background check policy, which states that to be considered for a job applicants must provide log-in information and passwords for social network sites in which they participate.

The requirement is included on a waiver statement applicants must sign, giving the City permission to conduct an investigation into the person's "background, references, character, past employment, education, credit history, criminal or police records."

"Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.," the City form states. There are then three lines where applicants can list the Web sites, their user names and log-in information and their passwords.

The requirement raises questions concerning applicants' privacy rights.

Article 2, Section 10 of the Montana Constitution reads "the right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest."

The City takes privacy rights very seriously, but this request balances those rights with the City's need to ensure employees will protect the public trust, according to city attorney Greg Sullivan.

"So, we have positions ranging from fire and police, which require people of high integrity for those positions, all the way down to the lifeguards and the folks that work in city hall here. So we do those types of investigations to make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the City," Sullivan said.

Another concern the applicant raised was that by providing the City with a Facebook user name and password the City not only has access to the applicant's page but also to the pages belonging to all of the applicant's Facebook "friends."

"You know, I can understand that concern. One thing that's important for folks to understand about what we look for is none of the things that the federal constitution lists as protected things, we don't use those. We're not putting out this broad brush stroke of trying to find out all kinds of information about the person that we're not able to use or shouldn't use in the hiring process," Sullivan said.

When asked about creating a separate Bozeman Facebook page, then asking applicants to add the City as "friend," thus allowing the City to view the applicant's profile, Sullivan said officials could explore the option. This would limit the city to only view the page of the applicant.    

No one has ever removed his or her name from consideration for a job due to the request, Sullivan added.

The faith cake