I am writing this on Good Friday, the day when people of the Christian faith celebrate the crucifixion of Jesus. My understanding of what Christians believe is that Jesus was crucified on the cross, where he died for all humankind to save us all from our sins. They believe that Jesus rose from the dead three days later as a symbol of the eternal life which all those who believe in him can attain.
Of course, it isn’t Easter for those belonging to Eastern Orthodox churches; their Easter is next weekend. Only Western churches celebrate Easter this weekend.
I had spoken in a previous blog about looking at the crucifixion from the point of view of A Course in Miracles:
http://www.lorelletaylor.com/reconciliation/
As I mentioned in that blog The Qur’an says that:
“They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they thought they did….they did not slay him for certain. God lifted him up to Him;” (4:157)
Could it be that Christians have been mistaken all of these years? Could it be that Jesus did not die on the cross?
If we are to assume that the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection are not fabricated, we must look deeper into the information which the Qur’an relates.
As I mentioned in my blog about reconciliation, could it not be that they did not kill him or crucify him?
As we have learned from authors such as Neale Donald Walsch, and from those who talk about the Law of Attraction, there are no accidents, and everything that happens to us is a result of our own thoughts, whether conscious or unconscious. Sometimes we might have created some events in consultation with others prior to our incarnation, and sometimes we might have attracted events to us with our thoughts in this lifetime.
Is it possible that the Qur’an is reminding us of a lesson which Neale Donald Walsch in his Conversations with God series has also taught: No one can die (a physical death) against their will?
Could it be that they didn’t crucify him, because it was he who allowed himself to be crucified?
And could it be that they didn’t kill him, because he didn’t die? Could it be that the Qur’an is reminding us that all life is eternal?
No matter what were the circumstances of Jesus’ life and death, of his resurrection and ascension, he could not have achieved any of it without God, so it seems reasonable to say that God lifted him up to Him, whether or not he was still in a body at that time. Whether we believe that God is a distant being in Heaven, or an immanent being within us all, it is my opinion that God has to be seen as the driving force in any story about Jesus. Any resurrection or ascension, or any life for that matter, involves the power of God.
A Course in Miracles tells us that some people believe that Jesus’ crucifixion is God’s punishment for the sins of humankind, and this is the reason that they believe that Jesus died for their sins, but that this is an error in thinking. God does not create evil, nor hold our evil deeds against us. It reminds us that “the crucifixion did not establish the Atonement; the resurrection did”. (T-3.1.1)
If I may provide a few quotes from A Course in Miracles:
“Sacrifice is a notion totally unknown to God…. Sacrificing in any way is a violation of my injunction that you should be merciful even as your Father in Heaven is merciful.” (T-3.1.4)
“I have been correctly referred to as “the lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world,” but those who represent the lamb as blood-stained do not understand the meaning of the symbol. Correctly understood, it is a very simple symbol that speaks of my innocence.” (T-3.1.5)
“Innocence is incapable of sacrificing anything” (T-3.1.6)
“The resurrection demonstrated that nothing can destroy truth.” (T-3.1.7)
“The innocence of God is the true state of mind of His Son.” (T-3.1.8)
“The message the crucifixion was intended to teach was that it is not necessary to perceive any form of assault in persecution, because you cannot be persecuted. If you respond with anger, you must be equating yourself with the destructible, and are therefore regarding yourself insanely.” (T-6.1.4)
“I elected, for your sake and mine, to demonstrate that the most outrageous assault, as judged by the ego, does not matter.” (T-6.1.9)
The message of the crucifixion is perfectly clear:
Teach only love, for that is what you are.
I would like to leave you with an extract from a film which the Monty Python team assures its viewers is nothing to do with Jesus. However, from it we can learn some lessons about ways to look at the same sorts of assaults with which Jesus was faced:
http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/whatiseaster.htm
Image courtesy of africa at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Leave A Comment