Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

East Meets West Social Worker

Home
Evangelical
Family, Parenting and Religion
Good Friday or Bad Friday, You Decide

Good Friday or Bad Friday, You Decide

Last updated on: March 28, 2018 at 1:29 pm by Kim Parker, LCSW

Good Friday or Bad Friday, You Decide 2018-03-28T13:29:07+00:00 Kim Parker, LCSW

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Millions of Christians across the world will be celebrating this weekend starting on the somber holiday of Good Friday in various ways including fasting and church services. But why is it called good when it is about the death of Jesus, our Lord and Savior? In fact, I just learned that in Germany, Good Friday is also called Sorrowful Friday. And how appropriate since this day is commemorated as the day that Jesus, the unblemished lamb of God, died from painful crucifixion in order to atone for the sins of humanity.

What about you—do you believe it is Good Friday or Bad Friday?

Bad: Jesus is make believe and not God’s son. There is no Creator and if so, he is not actively loving you.

Good: For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). God loves us so much!

Bad: There was a lunatic claiming to be the Messiah, but the real one has yet to come if the Scriptures is even true.

Good: Jesus came to Earth as the long prophesied Messiah.

Bad: If He came, they killed him and he is dead like everyone else who has lived in history.

Good: They tried to kill Him but the grave could not keep Him down for long!

Bad: No one can save us from our actions but ourselves. We have to pay the consequences, up to and including death.

Good: Jesus died to save us from the ultimate consequence of our sin nature—condemnation by God in eternal separation from Him upon physical death.

Bad: Jesus could not have suffered for He is God.

Good: Jesus suffered a physical death and a momentary spiritual separation from God the Father. He suffered while in the flesh wearing the crown of thorns, carrying the cross to Calvary, to the spitting, mocking, and his clothes stripped from his nail pierced body, to hanging with thieves at his final hour…

Bad: If Jesus suffered, it must have been his fault, his own wrongdoings.

Good: Jesus, Himself God and without fault, was persecuted, scorned, and nailed to the cross to die as foretold in the book of Isaiah. Just like in the Old Testament where each human sin had to be atoned for by sacrificing the blood of a spotless animal, such as a lamb, so Jesus became the literal atonement for our sins so that anyone who believes can have a personal relationship with God the Father, and eternal life upon our own physical death.

Bad: If it was Jesus who was crucified, then his body was possibly stolen to keep the story alive (who knows why).

Good: He was dead and His body buried in a cave for 3 nights until God raised Him up on the third day. Several women and men gave eye witness accounts.

~~~~~~~~<<<<<>>>>>~~~~~~~~~

Bad: We are still under works and the law. Forgiving others is optional. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Be ashamed of yourself if you do badly. Shame others mercilessly if they wrong you. Forgiveness has to be earned!

Good: God was showing us mercy and love on the cross that we would not be forever penalized for our sins. With one great act of sacrifice, God freed us from being under man’s laws. His great love overrides the law of life and death, an eye for an eye. He demonstrated forgiveness of sins with one final atonement for all. We have been forgiven, not because we have earned it or can possibly earn God’s forgiveness through any amount of works, even seventy times seven times. So we, too, are to forgive others in the same gracious way.

Bad: Expect nothing good apart from your works and innate abilities. May the toughest, shrewdest, fiercest among us win! Good luck and tough luck if you are born with low IQ or few talents for you will be undoubtedly worth less than others in this competitive world. It is a survival of the fittest world.

Good: We have hope that God is good and He loves each created being! His mercies are new every morning and His blessings abound! We can trust His gentle yoke and His promises to provide for, redeem, and restore us in His time. No sickness can break this body that the Spirit cannot restore. No disease or relationship dysfunction can separate us from the love that is found in Christ Jesus, our Lord!

Bad: There is no resurrection. It’s all a fairy tale for kids and gullible adults.

Good: Sunday is coming! Jesus is coming in power, prepare to receive the risen Lord!

Based on the list above, which Friday do you believe in? How have your beliefs served you or others well in life? For me, I believed and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior on April 23, 1993, just after Easter earlier that year. So, my first Good Friday was in 1994. And there have been many good days of hope and power since then.

Hewhobelievesinmeshalllive

Iamtheresurrectionandthelife

Previous Post

March 20, 2018

Learning Politics From My Refugee Parents: A Lesson into World History

Next Post

April 3, 2018 A Different Kind Of Intersectional Jesus: Christian feminism from an immigrant’s perspective

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asian Americans Asians Black Lives Matter Blogging bullying Christianity complementariansim culture Diversity/Multiculturalism Feminism Good Friday Healthy Relationships immigration love marriage Mental health Moms Parenting Race refugees Religion socialjustice spirituality Suicide Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2020 April 2020 January 2020 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz