Jesus was hated and condemned and killed, not by atheists, but by clerics, bible scholars and other supposedly pious folk who thought they knew God and loved God and that - in order to protect God - .  they needed to kill this blaspheming radical revolutionary Jesus,Â
    And Jesus warned that, to the extent that his followers actually lived as Jesus did and preached what he preached, they should expect the same treatment :
{ according to John 16:1 - 4 , Jesus said: }
    "I have said these things to
you to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the
synagogues (or "churches"). Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And they will do this
because they have not known the Father or me. But I have said these things
to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about
them."
{ according to John 15:19 - 25, Jesus said: }
    "If you belonged to the world, the world would
love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world - therefore the world hates you. Remember the
word that I said to you, 'Servants are not greater than their master.'Â If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep
yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my
name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and
spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their
sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among
them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have
seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfill the word that is
written in their law, 'They hated me without a cause.'
{ according to John 3:19 - 21, Jesus said: }
    "And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."
{ according to Matthew 10Â :14 . . 41, Jesus said: }
    " If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words,
shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell
you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of
judgment than for that town. "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the
midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them,
for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and
you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to
them and the Gentiles. . . . Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. . .Â
    "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!Â
    "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
     "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
    "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous."
{ according to Matthew 5: 21-22, Jesus said :}
    "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire."
{ according to Matthew 12:34 - 35 , Jesus said: }
    "You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
{ according to Matthew 7:13 - 17, Jesus said: }
    "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit." . .
    And the climax, the final two blessings in Jesus' list of "beatitudes" {according to Matthew 5:10-12} are ":
    "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven,  for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who went before you."
{ according to Isaiah 32: 5 - 6 } One of the Bible's greatest prophets promised that someday
   Â
"the ungodly, the atheists, will not be heroes! Wealthy cheaters
(like George W. Bush?) will not be spoken of as generous, outstanding men!
 Everyone will recognize an evil man when he sees him, and
hypocrites will fool no one at all. Their lies about God and their
cheating of the hungry will be plain for all to see. The smooth tricks
of evil men will be exposed, as will all the lies they use to oppress the poor in
the courts. But good men will be generous (i.e. liberal) to others and
will be blessed of God for all they do."
   "A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconciously translates what he hears into something he can understand."
- Bertrand Russell - |
