I do not consider myself a Christian primarily because I do not believe in many of the miracles attributed to Christ the most significant of which was the resurrection of his body and physical ascension into the heavens. But I do believe in a god of infinite love, whom I call The Greatest Love, and that Christ was one of Their greatest prophets. Given this the question arises as to if Christ needed to die for any other reason than to placate a select few Roman leaders who perceived him as a threat at the time?
The answer to this question, I believe was revealed to me in the first message: “You are not him. You do not need to die for them”. The implication being that Christ did indeed need to die for humanity.
But why?
Many Christians believe that Christ was a blood sacrifice whose crucifixion reconciled humanity with God, effectively atoning for the sins of the World. The precise details of how that works is an area of much debate within Christian theology with several complimentary as well as competing “theories of atonement” being proposed. But all of them agree that God required a blood sacrifice from Christ to atone for the sins of others.
By today’s standards the brutalization of any sentient life, much less the barbaric procession and crucifixion of a great prophet in order to compensate God for all the misdeeds of others would be considered obscene. But by the standards of ancient Palestine during Jesus’ time, where animal sacrifices were common it may have made sense, even appropriate. So was the crucifixion an example of God meeting His people where they stood at the time? Did God require Christ’s sacrifice in order to atone for our sins?
I still believe the answer is no.
I do not believe that God has ever required a human blood sacrifice to atone for any of humankind’s actions, either now or in the past. Such a belief represents vengeance of a most cruel sort – brutality exacted upon an innocent for the actions of others.
This is nothing close to love.
I do not believe Jesus needed to die to appease or somehow satisfy God. Instead I believe the impact of Jesus’ crucifixion would be felt right here on Earth and I believe The Greatest Love had a good understanding of what those impacts would be: the establishment of a new church whose bedrock was founded on Jesus’ ministry, teachings, and sacrifice. The dedication the disciples gave to that founding was galvanized by Jesus’ sacrifice. That Jesus would accept a brutal death in order that his message would spread was evidence of Jesus’ certainty that his message was revealed to him by God. And it was for the birth of Christianity that Jesus needed to die. A faith that could help lead us closer to love’s ultimate truth.
The events that took place after Jesus’ death on the cross is a topic of much debate and although I do not believe in his resurrection or physical ascension into Heaven, what I do not deny is that without Jesus’ death on the cross the world’s largest religion, Christianity, may have never have been established and it’s unique message of love and mercy, lost. Despite all the wickedness done wrongly in Christ’s name throughout the centuries, I believe, those words turned civilization’s moral compasses closer to true north and have overall been a force for tremendous good in this World. The other great loving religions of course played important roles in that effort as well which continues to this day and which now includes our secular institutions, charters, and constitutions.
It is not that The Greatest Love will not require that human life perish in order to further Their Divine Plan. I believe They would, They have, and They will continue to require that such tragedies unfold for such a purpose. But sacrificing a life to further The Divine Plan, is very different than sacrificing a life in order to somehow satisfy Them alone.
The latter is a sacrifice, for One, in the name of appeasement.
The former is a sacrifice, for all of us, in the name of love.
A Love Story 