Christianity - A Journey from Facts to Fiction — Page 39
Sin and Atonement 39 of justice and would be tantamount to an act of cruelty to other innocent citizens. There are countless criminals of this type who are covered by the atonement of Jesus as. That in itself is contrary to justice. But if a child repents, for instance, and the mother is convinced that the same crime will not be repeated, then to punish the child would be counter to the sense of justice. When a repentant person suffers, that in itself is a punishment which may in some cases far exceed a punishment imposed from outside. People with a living conscience always suffer after committing a sin. As a consequence, the cumulative effect of the repeated pangs of conscience reaches a point where it may result in God taking pity on such a weak, oft-faltering, oft-repenting servant of His. This is the lesson in the relationship of justice to forgiveness, which people of high intellect and even people of ordinary understanding draw alike from a universal human experience. It is high time that Christians woke up from their dormant state of accepting Christian dogma without ever questioning its wisdom. If they re-examine Christian doctrine in the light of common sense and reasoning, they may still remain good practising Chris- tians, but of a different and more realistic type. They would then believe even more, and with greater love and dedication in the human reality of Christ as as compared to the Christ as who is a mere figment of their imagination and no more real than fiction. The greatness of Jesus as lies not in his legend but in the supreme sacrifice of Jesus as the man and messenger. His was a sacrifice which moves the heart far more powerfully and profoundly than the myth of his death upon a cross and his revival from the dead after spending a few ghastly hours in hell.