Garth RattrayTWO LETTERS to The Gleaner Editor published April 20, 2004 intrigued me. In one the writer questioned the legitimacy of Reverend Devon Dick's statement that Jesus was willing to die for all. The other considered "the idea of a gruesome crucifixion being God's requirement of atonement for the sins of the world" as medieval superstition. They made me realise that many people have a lot of trouble with religion.
I believe that serious doubts arise when one's religion is lacking in spirituality. Fortunately, I grew up in a household that was religious and spiritual. I also had the great privilege of being closely associated with a minister who epitomised both. Consequently I was not tethered by conformist reasoning and developed what some may consider to be unorthodox views of religion and spirituality.
Trained ministers of religion are encouraged to research widely and question their faith in order to make it stronger, yet most simply espouse strict adherence to the tenets of their church with all its possible inconsistencies and "mysteries". Lots of people become hopelessly bogged down in mundane squabbles about Jesus, God and even Satan and end up missing the boat entirely.
Many years ago I came to understand that we are not physical beings having an occasional spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. This revelation changed my entire view of our purpose on earth. It put suffering, sacrifice and death into perspective for me. It made me realise that, for instance, the statement made by one writer "If Jesus' dying was to save the world, he died in vain. The world today is more evil than it was then and not worth saving" is the product of genuine ignorance and possibly nihilism.
UNDERSTANDING THE PRINCIPLE
The principle of sacrifice for atonement is easy to understand. Nothing can be gained without some sacrifice. Even the oxygen that we take for granted comes from millions of photosynthesising land-plants and ocean-living phytoplankton. Every great religion speaks of some sort of sacrifice. Jesus' sacrifice served the dual function of spiritual atonement and setting the highest moral example possible. He could have turned away but instead submitted Himself to a series of events that led to his death. His supplications were merely the result of His human side.
One writer referred to Jesus' cry of abandonment by God. But some believe that it was the Christus that left Jesus the Christ on the cross and that His final test was as Jesus the man (the reverse of what happened when the dove descended on Him at His baptism).
REGARDING GOOD AND EVIL.
People blame Satan for the evil that befalls them and others curse God for not protecting them. When I tell friends that Satan is answerable to God and is in fact a part of God they look at me as if I am blaspheming. But God is everything, nothing exists outside of Him. Furthermore, Satan was a cherub, I believe, and beings of that ilk bask in the glory of God and constantly worship Him. They must obey God's every word. It seems to me that God allowed Lucifer to "rebel" and that he was sent to provide the dark to God's light.
In the beginning of the Book of Job it states that, "There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan also came among them to present himself..." God did not attempt to apprehend Satan nor did He tell him to cease his evil deeds. Instead, God pointed out to Satan that he was not doing his duty because he hadn't tested Job. A devout man, Job did everything to please God and had therefore reached the pinnacle of his spiritual development. He would remain stuck there unless and until he was tested and come through the "fire". God wanted Job to grow spiritually and so He invited Satan to test him, to make him spiritually stronger.
The moral of the story being that God puts us down physically so that we can grow close to Him spiritually. And this is our eternal hope.
Dr Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
