Jesus on the cross

Here are a few points to ponder when considering Jesus:

1. Is resurrection really necessary?

Religion's repeated appeal is to the afterlife and the presence of mind and soul without body. Religion refers to the earthly body as merely a vessel to serve for existence here on Earth, which pales in comparison to the existence that awaits a soul after death.

Many a religious zealot has gone to his death because of this conception. Such souls are revered to live on and exist in a virtuous and happy state, despite of the method of death. Bodies are therefore quite inconsequential after death.

It is claimed that after Jesus' crucifixion and death, he was resurrected prior to his ascension to the heavens. Why this should even occur, even if it were possible to occur, is enigmatic to the thinking person. As Jesus came from the realm of the spirit, and intended to return to the realm of the spirit, it is puzzling why he would want to take his earthly body with him. Why not just arise to heaven in spirit form? Why all the hooplah with a resurrection? Did Jesus need his earthly body? Was he just trying to put on a show?

Perhaps he did wish to put on a show. However, this is less likely. The show had less to do with him than it did with a convenient story line that would be used in the future in order to recruit members to the cult. A resurrection makes for a wonderful story. Nothing is more intriguing than the ability to somehow cheat death. Every mortal dreams of it. It is a powerful selling tool.

Furthermore, there is the link that Christianity has with all the preceding pagan myths. In those myths, the savior is resurrected after death. As Christianity has borrowed its existence from those mythological stories and cults, so too it has adopted this story of the resurrection.

Why else would resurrection be necessary for a spiritual world?

2. What happened to equal-opportunity healing?

Some religions, especially Christianity, claim the high ground with respect to equality. However, is this really true? How much equality did Jesus really practice?

The question at hand is: "Was Jesus an equal-opportunity healer?" The answer is no. If Jesus had the ability and desire to heal the blind and raise the dead, why did he only extend that skill to a few and not all? If men are somehow meant to be blind or die (by God?), then why heal or resurrect any at all? If on the other hand it is better for a man to not be blind anymore, or to be risen from the dead, why not heal all the blind men and raise all the dead men?

It seems that Jesus showed favoritism to some and shunned others, does it not? If one preaches equality for all mankind, and has a skill that is beneficial for mankind, he must deliver that benefit to all. If he does not, one of the premises must be false. Either he really did not possess such skill, or he did not truly believe in equality for all mankind.

3. Why a mortal mother?

Being the Son of God, why did he have to be born from a mortal mother? Why could his earthly body not just materialize out of clay, similar to Adam? Why go through the trouble of impregnating an unsuspecting mortal woman with God juice?

Incidentally, did Jesus exist as the Son of God in the spirit world prior to his arrival on earth? There is no mention of Jesus sitting next to God as his son anywhere in the old Testament, so one can only assume that the answer is no.

However, if God decided to send his only son to earth in order to bring salvation to mankind, that implies that Jesus already existed prior to his arrival on earth. Otherwise, God decided to have a son just for the purpose of sending him to earth to pay for man's sins. Therefore, if man had not sinned and evil did not exist, Jesus would have never been conceived or existed in any form. If that is the case, Jesus owes his existence to evil, and was simply a tool of God. This makes for serious father-son resentment issues, does it not?

Again, then answer lies with the probable mythological link that Jesus has with preceding pagan stories. It is a recurring theme for a demi-God to appear among men, born of a father that is a God and a mortal woman. It adds a connection to humanity that humans need to feel their hero possesses. Religious believers need to feel a bridge, or link to the divine by a half-breed of humanity and divinity. Other than that, there is no reason to involve an ordinary woman in the birthing process of a God. It's all about the story line.

In any case, by using a mortal woman as the mother, Jesus can at best be a demi-God, or half-God. Furthermore, as he was born of a mortal human mother, who by nature carries with her "original sin," Jesus must have also inherited that original sin. Jesus was therefore ridden with sin. With his ascent to heaven he must have taken some of that sin with him up there. The Godly domain is therefore also contaminated with sin now. Those pesky humans, they are like a pestilence. They have gone and infested God himself with sin; how unfortunate.

4. What is the need for sacrifice?

Why did Jesus have to be tortured and killed in order for humanity to be saved? Could he not have just given his message to mankind, then disappeared into the spirit world without all the torture? Is the Christian God no better than the Aztec Gods that demand blood and sacrifice?

Perhaps it is not the Gods that demand blood and sacrifice, but the humans themselves. Blood, guts, and sacrifice stir powerful animal instincts in men, and it is perhaps these instincts that demand a God, its sacrifices, and the ensuing bloodshed.

The success of the movie "Passion of the Christ" demonstrates just how much humans love to see someone spilling his guts and blood so that they can be "saved," and such an event is linked with powerful human emotions that drive their faith. Most people like the idea of a martyred hero that died a violent death for others. Whether or not that was really necessary is irrelevant to them. More guts, more blood, more anguish, more suffering is what they wanted to see. Mel Gibson only gave them what they have always wanted.

These were just a few of the many questions one has to ask himself when pondering Jesus. Others are invited to add their own questions and possible explanations to this list.

I'll leave you with one teasing question, and will say no more about it for now - at least not in this thread:

Did Jesus really exist?

Do you have a comment on this article?
Then go to the IPC Club and post it here:
A Few Questions on Christianity to Ponder

Do you have a comment on any IPC article?
Then go to the IPC Club's "Comments on IPC Website Room",
create a respond topic (Re: ------) and state your mind:
Comments on IPC Website Room