When at 14, I first heard the claim that Jesus was the son of God (somehow my previous church had missed this teaching), I remember that I was most offended by the specificity of the claim, not by anything else.<\/p>\n
I reasoned, “There are five major world religions. What are the odds that I just happened to be born into the right one?”
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\nSince then, I’ve decided a better question is, “If God loved the world so much, what are the odds that he wouldn’t give his only son?”<\/p>\n
If God was born as a human being, he had to be born somewhere. And if he was born as a human being, he had to have a nationality and a native language. <\/p>\n
As it happens, Jesus was born in an Asian country dominated by European soldiers and languages. He is the only founder of a major world religion to have lived in Africa. His faith, Christianity, is the faith of the translatable book, which makes it at home in every part of the world. He was born a baby boy, who are slightly more common than baby girls. So, if God had to choose where he would become a human being, he didn’t choose too badly.<\/p>\n
Jesus had to have an eye color. He had to have a particular height and weight and complexion. And those specifics, any specifics, are bound to displease someone. Some people think taller men are more impressive, and some that shorter men are more approachable. And many people believe that lighter complexions are more attractive than darker complexions.<\/p>\n