Where Did Jesus Die? — Page 135
Chapter Ten—Redemption or Atonement 135 The True Atonement In 1943, the Secretary of the Society of Friends of the Muslims in China, in a letter to me, explained her belief in these words: God came in the person of Christ and took the sin (not only the punishment but the sin itself ) upon Himself. Without the death of Jesus, sin cannot justly be forgiven and made righteous. My answer to her was that this belief is tantamount to believing that God committed suicide on the cross and went into Hell for three days, and that He has no right to forgive His creation their sins without punishing them: And that He is not compassionate nor merciful, but like a judge who is bound to punish the cul- prit according to the law given to him by higher authorities. Is it mercy to kill an innocent person for others? Ask any compassion- ate father who has an only son, what kind of mercy and justice that would be? To think that sins can be washed out by the blood of Jesus is not only irrational, but also inconsistent with all con- ceptions of mercy and justice as well. The conception of God which Islam has presented to the world is that He is Merciful, Compassionate, and Most Forgiving to His servants. God says in the Holy Quran: Say, ‘O My servants who have acted extravagantly against