I sometimes frequent the Religion and Spirituality section of Yahoo! Answers. While I realize that the site is often populated by trolls and "Poes", nonetheless it does sometimes provoke useful thought. An earlier, completely-unrelated question I found on that community brought back a train of thought I had abandoned awhile ago, and I decided to ruminate on it a bit.
The (arguably) most pivotal moment of the Christian Bible is the crucifixion of Christ. It is one of the most recognizable icons of the religion, and probably the most widely-spread religious symbol in the United States. The crucifix or cross represents a reminder of the tale wherein Jesus, the son of the Christian god, willingly sacrificed himself to absolve mankind of its sins.
However, I note one major failing in this critical Christian chestnut: Christ's 'sacrifice' was nothing of the sort.
According to the Bible, Christ was the mortal embodiment of the Christian god - a divine vessel, filled with all the ability and knowledge of an omnipotent, omnipresent being. While he was supposedly the Son of Man, he was also the Son of God. That is the key point behind the 'crucifixion': That "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). It was meant to illustrate the sacrifice of a divine being in salvation of us poor mortals.
I fail to see how it was a sacrifice of any sort.
Christ knew that, upon death, he would be whisked away to eternal paradise - that, in return for a few hours of pain (and that is questionable; a divine being could simply 'miracle away' the pain), he would spend the rest of eternity as the supreme being (or at the supreme being's right hand, anyway - the whole Trinity thing is a bit befuddling).
The 'crucifiction' (as it was called by Robert Heinlein) is a canard. This was no glorious, divine sacrifice; it was a trick, as 'innocent' as any Fiddle Game played by a pair of confidence men. If God and Christ existed (a logical improbability), then they were simply toying with the affections of Christ's followers. I wish I could be privy to that fictional exchange:
Christ's disciples: Lord, we don't want you to die! Is there no way for us to save you?
Christ: No, no, *suppressed snicker* I must make this sacrifice for you so that you might live in eternity with me.
Christ's disciples: A mighty and humble being are you, Jesus! We adore thee!
Christ and Yahweh: Cha-CHING!
Christ: I'll be home in a bit, Yah. What a bunch of maroons!
Yahweh: Cool, could you do me a favor and stop by Mohammed's place on your way back? He owes me a fiver.
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