Christianity - A Journey from Facts to Fiction — Page 53
Sin and Atonement 53 Meaning of Death in Relation to Christ Having clearly understood the different options regarding the relative roles that the Divine and the Man in Jesus as could have played, we try to comprehend the application of the word ‘death’ and its full meaning in relation to him. If he died for three days and nights, then death has to be under- stood in terms of the soul having been severed from the body, and the soul departing. This means that the soul must depart the body and break off its relationship so completely that only a very dead corpse is left behind. So far so good. Jesus as was at last relieved of his imprisonment in the carnal body of a man. However, libera- tion from this imprisonment should not be considered a punish- ment at all. The return of the divine soul of the ‘Son’ to the same sublime state of existence cannot be treated in any way like ordinary human death. Human death is fearsome not because the soul leaves the body and severs its ties by gaining a new con- sciousness, but the horrors of death are mainly on account of one’s permanently severing ties with many dear ones left here on earth, and leaving behind one’s possessions and different objects of love. Many a time it so happens that a man who has nothing to live for, prefers to die rather than live an empty life. In the case of Jesus as , the feeling of remorse could not have been present. For him the window of death was open only in one single direction, that of gain and not of loss. Why should his departure from the body be considered an extremely pitiable and agonizing experience? Again, if he died once and literally, not metaphorically gave up the ghost, as the Christians would have us