Bad Theology

Text for today: Matthew 10 xxix-xxxvii

Jesus tells His apostles that sparrows, despite their insignificance in the market, cannot fall to the ground without the will of God. He assures the apostles that they are worth more than many sparrows, and states that His mercy is sufficiently finite to encompass only those who acknowledge Him. He then states that He has not come to bring peace but a sword and that He will set family members against one another, because those who value earthly ties above Him are unworthy of Him.

The Saviour boasts that no suffering or death, even of the most insignificant creatures, can take place without His Father's consent, and pledges that He will reward the loyalty of His vassals by interceding with the Heavenly tyrant on their behalf. The earthly price of such loyalty will be further suffering, up to and including ostracism and persecution by one's own family. According to the Saviour, such discord should be considered advantageous, since earthly relationships are no more than a distraction and a temptation away from servitude to Himself.

This pronouncement to His most trusted followers shows the Saviour at His most cynically frank. As is common in abusive relationships, the Father and His accomplice cannot allow their victims to depend on anyone other than themselves; and we may safely assume that human beings are worth more to the Father than small reformed dinosaurs because the sufferings of human beings tend to be more varied and more prolonged.