"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
This is something that I just can't understand about the Christian mythos. I can understand the concept of a God that loves people. I can understand the concept of a rift between man and God. And I can understand the desire for God to reconcile.
But, for the life of me, I can't understand why God would need to sacrifice his Son in order to do so.
If it is about forgiveness of sins, could not have God simply have said "I forgive you"?
It can't be about the power of death or the rights of Satan, because God is God. He can change the rules, he can make the rules differently from the get-go, and he can simply flex some muscles and say "Scram!".
It seems to me-- and I understand how horrible that this would sound to a believer-- that Jesus' death was rather superfluous. It was unnecessary.
So, what was the point of the Jesus sacrifice?
This is something that I just can't understand about the Christian mythos. I can understand the concept of a God that loves people. I can understand the concept of a rift between man and God. And I can understand the desire for God to reconcile.
But, for the life of me, I can't understand why God would need to sacrifice his Son in order to do so.
If it is about forgiveness of sins, could not have God simply have said "I forgive you"?
It can't be about the power of death or the rights of Satan, because God is God. He can change the rules, he can make the rules differently from the get-go, and he can simply flex some muscles and say "Scram!".
It seems to me-- and I understand how horrible that this would sound to a believer-- that Jesus' death was rather superfluous. It was unnecessary.
So, what was the point of the Jesus sacrifice?