Why did God need to sacrifice Jesus to forgive sin?

Discussion in 'Christianity' started by HumanBeingIntellect, Sep 9, 2011.

  1. HumanBeingIntellect

    HumanBeingIntellect Member

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    According to the Bible, Jesus died as a sacrifice so that our sins may be forgiven. What I don't understand is why an all-loving, omnipotent, all-knowing God need to do this. Why can't God forgive us freely? Why did he need to kill himself in order to forgive us? I am Catholic, but still forming what I truly believe and nobody has been able to give me a good answer to this question.
     
  2. OlderWaterBrother

    OlderWaterBrother May you drink deeply Lifetime Supporter

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    Many believe that for God nothing is impossible but the Bible says that it is impossible for God to lie.

    Likewise God has established all the laws of this universe, without which this universe could not exist. God must obey those laws or this universe would cease to exist.

    One of those laws is eye for an eye. God can forgive us freely but that does not return to us what has been lost.

    Adam lost for all mankind freedom from sin and death, so to return mankind to a condition free of sin and death, an eye for an eye must be paid. So Jesus becomes the second Adam and his sacrifice as a perfect man buys back for mankind the perfection that Adam gave up.
     
  3. primalflow

    primalflow Member

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    Then God failed. I don't know a single perfect human.
    Also, this suggests that each of us may be held responsible for the actions of every man that has ever existed.
     
  4. Ukr-Cdn

    Ukr-Cdn Striving towards holiness

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    As a Catholic, I will try to answer from a Catholic (both Western and Eastern) perspective.

    From the West: Very similar to OWBs point, Jesus satisfied God's justice which required a necessary consequence for particular actions (i.e. Death for sin). Jesus' Passion satisfied a need for justice.

    From the East: By Christ's Passion and Ressurection (and well everything about the Incarnation), He destroyed death. This stems from the difference in understanding on Original Sin. Adam's Sin in the East resulted in death, rather than a stain. Sin is humanity's attempt to forget about death. Thus, death leads to sin. Both ways of describing Original Sin agre that Adam's sin resulted in an indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which is cured by Baptism. The restoration of the image of God in man.

    St Thomas Aquinas also answers why crucifixion is fitting:
    1) A lesson in virtue (not to fear things not to be feared)
    2) Adam's sin came from plucking fruit from a tree, thus it was fitting for this sin to be destroyed by fastening to a tree
    3) It, the act itself, inspires love for Christ.
    There are more to be found at: http://www.newadvent.org/summa/4046.htm#article4 and http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0402fea1.asp

    I am truly inspired by the icon of the crucifixion, the King of Glory, hung on a tree for the world. He who suspended the Earth, suspended on a tree. What deeper act of love could there be than to lay down ones life for friends? (John 15:13; Romans 5:8)
     
  5. Vanilla Gorilla

    Vanilla Gorilla Go Ape

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    Everyone dies, thus everyone faces judgement, but thats just their trial.

    The only difference was when Jesus died everyone was on trial, just you dont know what the penalty was going to be, that could have just been between God and Jesus, he may have wanted to flood the world again, start afresh

    Thats why the question is such a mystery to you, you're never going to get the whole answer, probably only God knows what was at stake
     
  6. Fingermouse

    Fingermouse Helicase

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    Because he's clearly a sick fuck.
     
  7. TheMistress

    TheMistress Senior Member

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    Since catholicism is a monotheistic religion, roman catholics (not sure about other denominations as they are not my own) believe that Jesus and God are the same people. God transformed himself into the human form that we call Jesus. God therefore sacrificed his human body so that gates of heaven would open and our souls could enter heaven after death.
     
  8. OlderWaterBrother

    OlderWaterBrother May you drink deeply Lifetime Supporter

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    No, God did not fail. It is you that failed by not understanding that there is more to God's purposes than the ransom sacrifice of his Son Jesus.
     
  9. primalflow

    primalflow Member

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    Hey, you're the one who siad it was to retore our perfection. If I don't understand his purpose, it's only because I did understand your explaination.
     
  10. Meliai

    Meliai Banned

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    Jesus was sacrificed because God is made in man's image, not the other way around. Ritual sacrifices were common at the time; therefore it makes sense that a ritual sacrifice was inserted into the newest religion sensation sweeping the nation.
     
  11. Ukr-Cdn

    Ukr-Cdn Striving towards holiness

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    Our perfection does not necessarily relate to a temporal perfection during our life, but an eternal perfection.

    In the Apostolic Churches (Catholic, Orthodox) when we die we might not necessarily be perfect, and it is by the power of Christ that we can be made perfect afte rour death in a process known as Theosis, or more commonly, Purgatory.
     
  12. Ddoright

    Ddoright Senior Member

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    Love this question. It is so basic yet so far beyond our understanding. We understand so very little of the mind of God.
    I do know this, if you come across someone who says they understand the mind of God- beware. They are the most dangerous kind of liar.
    All we can do is study, listen & try to divide God's truth from satin's lies.
    When I find out why blood must be shed for redemption I wii le you know.
     
  13. Regular Guy

    Regular Guy Member

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    Cause it's a lie. It was made up when they created church and the bible. I don't think there is a piece of text in the bible where Jesus gets quoted saying "my crucifixion is gonna be a sacrifice so that your sins may be forgiven". Some how they manage to quote Jesus on a lot of things although the bible was written few centuries after his death (didn't know they had audio equipment to pull that off in these days).
    All the stuff that the church preaches and warns about (hell and damination) is mainly Paul's and not that much from Jesus.
     
  14. def zeppelin

    def zeppelin All connected

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    Because Justice is as real as atoms in the universe. The hole Adam and Eve's sin made had to be filled in order to reconcile God to man and to allow man to one day live in the paradise God had already destined for man.

    Jesus didn't force anyone to kill him or encourage it, but he died as a result of worshiping God to the fullest. God just happened to know how man would react to this full worship and had his penmen write about it millennia before it happened.

    Jesus had to visit earth to show many what it means to fully worship God. Jesus acts on our behalf as one who creates a contract for man to receive an inheritance, only Jesus is qualified for this position because he earned the contract by proving his love to God and man and for filling the hole A&E had created. You could say A&E created their own contract with Satan so God had to honor it otherwise God would become a liar and thus proving Satan correct that God IS holding out on his creation. God had to make a counter contract to prove that Satan's contract is ultimately a lie and gives people a chance to choose. God had already proven that Satan is a liar through Jesus (because justice is as real as the air we breathe) but still allows people to choose if they'd rather be with Satan or Jehovah. It's just that now that Satan is proven to be a liar and that without God their cannot be life, those that follow Satan till the end will have no life because God is life. God is warning the world through his word and his children that there is an option and that no one has to become removed from life.
     
  15. OlderWaterBrother

    OlderWaterBrother May you drink deeply Lifetime Supporter

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    Yes, that is what I said.
    And no, you did not understand what was said.

    Perhaps you would be so kind as to point out where I said that once Jesus paid the ransom for mankind, that mankind would be immediately restored to perfection. [​IMG]
     
  16. primalflow

    primalflow Member

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    For the same reason Mithra, Attis, and countless others were supposedly sacrificed for mankind, because this was one of he standard traits that were believed to be possessed by gods, and when one wanted to create a new god myth, it had to go with the package to be accepted by the masses.
     
  17. roamy

    roamy Senior Member

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    jesus was murdered
     
  18. uglypuppy

    uglypuppy Member

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    It's because He was the ultimate sacrifice. Rather than sacrificing, say, a lamb every time you sinned, God sacrificed Jesus so no more sacrifices needed made. Though sin could (would) still happen, His death made it clean so long as you believed it did.
     
  19. primalflow

    primalflow Member

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    Where did this notion that God wants blood come from?
     
  20. uglypuppy

    uglypuppy Member

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    In the old testament where it talks about sacrifices and why you need them.
     

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