It can easily be explained how the idea of Christ having to die for
our sins and the sins of all mankind came into being.
In the 5000 years before Christ, in many cultures human sacrifices
were seen as the ultimate appeasement with God or the gods, seen as
the best offering to atone for sins, to beg for forgiveness, to ask
for blessings, to ward of disasters, famine, epidemics, etc..
As you study the many religions in the middle east and in other
areas of the world over thousands of years, you will find similar
philosophies, similar explanations, similar stories, similar gods,
similar miracles (e.g. walking on water), similar myths.
Even Abram, according to the Bible, came close to sacrificing his
son Isaac. An ultimate sacrifice is to offer your own son!
It is not new. So the brilliant idea of the ultimate human sacrifice
to appease God --- for all sins -- for all of mankind -- and forever
--- came into being.
A brilliant philosophy, a grandiose idea of salvation.
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However who or what could be so grand, so out of this world 'big',
so all encompassing, as to qualify for a total appeasement with God???
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So the idea was born that God, the loving God, loved us so dearly,
that he gave of himself, the ultimate of mercy.
As with Abram, the only person that comes close is the son!
(remember that in those times sons were regarded as the
all-important children).
So the idea of the 'son of God' was created, the son - an ultimate
sacrifice! So God sacrificed his own son to atone for all the sins
in the world, forever. The parallel with Abram's story and other
similar stories in many religions on an individual level is very clear.
This new bigger idea expanded the atonement not to one individual
or one family or one tribe, but it applied to all mankind!
Really a brilliant idea of hope and mercy, for all of mankind.
A brilliant idea to appease God and get relief of the 'guilt' of
sin, for all human beings for all times.
A brilliant idea that despite all our 'sins' we really have been
saved, we all have been forgiven.
These ideas then historically evolved into beliefs and absolute
truths and then finally in a structured religion with laws, dogmas,
etc., called Christianity.
It is all man made, by brilliant thinkers and philosophers.
It has appealed to many people over many ages, so it is very likely
tied to our biological and psychological coming of age, possibly
during childhood and puberty, the coming of age of feeling terrible
guilt, despair and loneliness. The idea that there really is salvation,
there is approval, there is absolution of guilt is so appealing!
There is no cynicism, no sarcasm here.
It is all man made, by brilliant thinkers and philosophers.
Because all religions and all gods are man made.
This explains how the central Christian dogma and belief
of the son having to be sacrificed for our sins came into being:
Beliefs in human sacrifices evolved over thousands of years into
a belief in the ultimate human sacrifice, the son of God.
That's why in Christianity Jesus had to die.
It is a philosophy that evolved from pagan religions.
Nevertheless, it is all man made.
It is all made up. It is a successor of primitive beliefs.
It is a philosophy and belief I do not support.
It is a philosophy and belief based on time-bound assumptions,
made by ancient peoples over thousands of years.
One day after Easter Sunday, the following questions for
real thinkers, not preachers:
1. Linked to the above, who can give a good explanation of why the
philosophy of Christ's resurrection was added to the dogmas of
Christianity? Where did it come from? What was the idea?
Does that have origins in pagan religions as well?
2. Where does the very alien idea of a Holy Ghost come from?
3. Where does the idea of Christ's return (the end of the world)
come from?
With regards,
Michael M. Terra
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