nullfidian - wonderful summary! Too bad it's just slightly too long for a bumper sticker.

susie w, London,

"I will incarnate myself to sacrifice myself to myself to appease myself for those that that I cursed myself for breaking rules that I made up myself."

The omniscient logic of this line of thinking is mind boggling.

nullifidian, Edinburgh,

Even the concept of sin is embarrassingly stupid. What exactly is it? Seems to me every single positive action of any kind that one can take is a sin from one perspective or another. (Except perhaps the act of prayer, although if you are neglectful of someone else's needs while doing it...) Even walking down the street to get a cup of coffee is potentially viewed by these morons as sinful -- an 'indulgence of the flesh,' a 'neglect of the crops in the fields...' etc. As for 'Original Sin' well, I don't understand that at all -- did Eve speak for all of humanity for all of time? What about my own freedom to choose? If that's what god tortured and murdered himself for, I'm confused.

Len, Vancouver, Canada

That viewpoint of the Crucifiction has opened my eyes to an aspect of God which I had not considered before. Now I am thinking that he also painted people into a corner to force them to commit Incest, so as to populate the world, when he could have very easily created enough original humans to make this unnecessary. He got on the incest kick again when he only let Noah and his close kin into the Ark to rebuild humanity over again after the flood.

If God decides again to wipe the slate clean and start over, he surely will use the tried and true method of Incest which he pioneered all over again. That's Sick!

SallyHo, Corner Brook, Canada

What religion is Graham Smith talking about?

The incarnation and the cross are about believing in God entering his creation and facing the consequences. That's quite a God to believe in and such belief deserves better than cheap comments.

David Gould, Brighton, Uk

Jesus wouldn't be the first son to have an insane father...

Corriveau, Quebec,

God: "Those evil humans down on earth. I hate what they are doing. All this sin...Since I am all-knowing I know exactly what the humans are doing and I understand exactly why they commit each sin. Since I created the humans in my own image and personally programmed human nature into their brains, I am the direct author of all of this sin. The instant I created them I knew exactly what would happen ...But ignore all that...

So here's what I am going to do. I will artificially inseminate a virgin. She will give birth to an incarnated version of me. The humans will eventually crucify and kill the incarnated me. That will, finally, make me happy. Yes, sending myself down and having the humans crucify me -- that will satisfy me. I feel much better now." (WWGHA)
Yep, makes sense to me.

Graham Smith, Rome, Italy

The title of this piece, and indeed the piece itself, is a travesty of what Jeffrey John actually said.The doctrine of penal atonement is very far from being the traditional teaching on the crucifixion. It is simply one strand of thinking, and one that many Christians, I would guess a majority, would reject, accepting wholly Jeffrey John's statement that the Cross represents Immanuel, God with us, coming to us in self-sacrificng love in order to offer us a new relationship with him. The title is especially offensive. It is only a particular kind of very misguided teaching on the Crucifixion which would suggest that God was a psychopath. Read what Dr John actually said and you will discover a clear stament of the world-changing significance of the Crucifixon as the action of a loving and redemptive God.

David Exham, Witney, UK

Exactly Very Rev Jones! I am very pleased someone has the guts to say it. Ever since I was 12 I thought it was a bizarre story of injustice - because god is so pissed off with humanity, in order to stop sending us all to hell he sends his only son (which is sort of himself as there is only one god) to be brutally tortured to death??? Maybe in all his omnipotence he should have just forgiven us and saved us the whole S&M trip.

If some nice person decided to take Ian Huntley's place in prison would we think that was just?

djenkins, London, UK

I am always amazed at the rampant ignorance about Christianity among of the laity and clergy. Priests, bishops and ministers-teach your people!!

Robert McDonough, Greenland, NH

Dr John has revealed the extent to which he has misunderstood, or wishes to misrepresent, the basic message of the gospel.
This neutered God who is not allowed to show anger at injustice and only allowed to show his undying love, is not a true representation of our Creator.
Surely the seriousness of the cross shows us the serious nature of sin, however uncomfortable that may make us feel. Thankfully, Jesus was willing to take on the task and deal with God's wrath so we don't have too.
I'm afraid no amount of moving the words around, Dr John, will change God's character. He is not defined by our agendas.

ajw, truro,

Well then, since faith in Jesus as the means of ones salvation is the simple requirement for forgivness, I guess the (not so) Very Rev. Jeffrey John is condemned to eternal damnation no matter what he tries to do about it. Too bad for him, eh.

Al, Kansas, U.S.A.