Happy John 3:16 Day!
Is that even a thing? We recently had Pi Day (3.14). There’s May the 4th (Star Wars’ unofficial holiday), 7/11 (free Slurpees!), and 4/20 (🤔). But what about March 16?
For a certain subset of humanity, this verse has been the official verse of end-zone field goals since before color television. John 3:16, the MVP of Bible verses, the one everyone memorizes. The theological ear worm.
The Gospel of John is typically one of the first books new Christians are encouraged to read. It’s accessible, and focused on Jesus as the divine Son of God.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Simple. Punchy. Perfect for eye-black stickers under stadium lights.
BUT, John 3:16 is like quoting the opening line of Star Wars (“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”) and pretending you’ve explained the whole saga. The real plot unfolds in the next two verses, the "subject to terms and conditions" verses.
The Official Rulebook
In the past, if discussion in small groups or bible studies, or even casual conversation, led to John 3:16, I’d subtly refer to 17 or 18. People who know the bible know all three of these verses together, as they very succinctly summarize the ‘offer of salvation‘. To my surprise, even some presumably devout folks would miss the audible.
Here’s the trio, paraphrased in my own irreverent (but accurate) words:
16: God is mad at humanity's mess but instead of punishing you he is going to punish Jesus so that you can one day join him in eternity.
17: God did not send Jesus to condemn the world, but to save it through his sacrifice.
18: If you do not believe this? Guess what? You’re already condemned. Not because God’s petty, but because you’re stuck in the default setting of human brokenness (aka Original Sin).
And that’s the kicker. The condemnation isn’t God’s punishment—it’s the baseline state of a world estranged from its Creator. Original sin, the theological concept that humans are born broken.
You, me, your friends, your significant other, your neighbors, the kids with cancer, the elderly, the un-churched, we are all born condemned to eternal suffering.
I'm throwing a flag on this play.
Unnecessary Roughness
If unbelief is the default (no one is born a believer), and condemnation is the baseline, what about the kid in Mongolia who never hears the gospel? What about the skeptic who genuinely can’t synthesize faith and reason?
This is a sticking point for a lot of people and depending on the denominational doctrine, there are all kinds of prerequisites, loop holes, and workarounds on how exactly this is all supposed to work, ultimately weakening the veracity of the premise.
Personally, with more bible study, more research, and more cogitation, the heavier it felt. Eternal punishment? A loving God who creates people knowing most will reject Him and suffer in eternal punishment? In the end, it wasn’t atheists or church scandals that unraveled my faith—it was disbelief in the doctrine of Original Sin.
Well, that, and the complete lack of evidence of the existence of a god or gods.
To be clear: Evil exists. Greed, violence, hatred —they’re real. But eternal condemnation for existing? I wrote about this in Rocket Science — "At the core of my new awareness is simply this: I do not believe a Creator who loves his creation would give us the default setting of eternal damnation."
If you have had similar thoughts, if you can not reconcile this core theological principle with the notion of a 'loving God', then it might be time to blow the whistle.
The new Daily Heretic series starts on Monday - The Gnostics, where we’ll meet the Demiurge. Stay Curious. Stay Heretical. 🔥
In the queue for Shadow Puppets is the next installment of the “Atheism Is Not…’” series: Atheism is not Satanism. Should be a fun one!! Here are links to the previous “Atheism is Not…” articles if you are interested.
