Series: The Converted Imagination: Seeing the World through Christian Eyes
Crucifixion and the Mystery of the Faith
July 21, 2024 | Steve Bryan
This week we come to what may be the most difficult part of the Christian story for those (like us!) who live in secularized cultures. One writer (Voltaire) famously said that "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd, and bloody religion that has ever infected the world." It was no less so in the ancient world. Paul wrote that the idea of a crucified messiah was "a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to non-Jews." If secular people struggle to make sense of the need for blood sacrifice, it is because it is "a culture stripped of grace." We find it difficult to forgive and to receive forgiveness because we have no way to right the wrong we do or the wrong done
against us. In such a culture, the message of Christ crucified remains a scandal, but it is also extraordinarily good news.
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