If this is a "Jesus and God" metaphore, I don't think you understand the nature of Jesus's sacrifice.
I understand the nature of the sacrifice. Substitutory atonement is not moral no matter how you look at it. What you're really saying is that it's not okay for humans to do what god and jesus did, but it's okay that they did it.
There is a reason you stated this first off. It's because YOUR sense of morality cannot condone this course of action and you have to defend it because of your beliefs. I get that. But the fact remains, your own sense of morality has to be ignored in order for you to think that god and jesus did the right thing and the best thing.
The execution of an innocent person who committed no crime was the only way to rectify the situation, which for an all powerful god with supposed limitless knowledge is the most pathetic use of moral judgement. He could have chosen many ways, but he had to have a blood sacrifice of innocence, which is downright criminal. He behaved no better than all the other pagan gods whose followers believed in human sacrifice.
And of course you have made no mention of the other atrocious acts contained in the bible. If your moral guide is god, then you would have to agree that everything he does is moral and that you cannot decide for yourself what is right and wrong. If one day he told you to kill someone, you would have to do it, because god is your moral guide and it must be a good thing. Some people would say, "God would never say that", but the fact is he has said it many many times. You would have no moral code of your own, but I know for a fact you do, otherwise you would advocate, say, slavery for example as acceptable. After all god allowed it, regulated it in an extremely immoral and inhumane way, jesus never denounced it and the apostle paul enforced it by telling the runaway slave to return to his master as he was his property.
The fact that you cannot condone these actions shows that your morality does not come from the god of the bible and the way most christians live their lives shows that they don't think many of jesus teaching are relevant for day to day living.
I do NOT believe in absolute morality for Man,
Do you believe that god is the absolute moral authority?
If your answer is yes, then you have given up any sense of right and wrong. He could command anything and it would become moral. EVERYTHING god has ever done as written in the bible has to be good in your eyes, which would actually be sickening and inhumane.
If your answer is no, then you are your own moral authority and what god considers moral has no bearing on what you personally consider moral.
though I believe it to be an ideal to strive for
I believe that too. And morality has evolved. Our morality today is superior to what is contained in the bible. It is superior to what was considered moral 100 years ago. Most of the world condemned Hitler for his actions. He had his reasons for doing what he did and he felt he was just in doing it, yet most of the world considers what he did as atrocious. In progressive societies, slavery has become unacceptable. Yet before it was justifiable because people had the backing of the bible. Over time morals change as societies change and it happens not because of the god of the bible, but in spite of him.
