Godly sacrifice as a substitute for human sacrifice was prevalent in and around Israel (Prometheus, Ra, Isis, Persephone). The gods of course are resurrected. These myths often had to with the change of seasons. But in many cases they morphed into sacrifices by which a god shares the blessing of eternal life with mortal man. Often this sharing is in opposition to the wishes of the other gods.
The Jesus myth is not so very different. God sacrifices himself to bring us the secret of eternal life. The necessity of the sacrifice is never really very clear. Christian apologetics are just an attempt to explain what appeared to have made sense to bronze age cultures but no longer makes sense to modern man.
Yes its true that the concept of sacrifice is not unique to Christianity. But as the question is on the concept of Jesus sacrifice I think it makes more sense to try and understand it from its natural context of the Bible rather than trying to impose a view of Bronze age sacrifice.
According to the Bible, humanity had one representative - Adam. He had the choice of relationship with God for eternity or to go his own way without God experiencing physical death and eternal separation from God for all humanity. Adam's choice to go his own way without God as representative was the choice for all humanity and therefore all people experience physical death and separation from God.
Jesus sacrifice is really about God's compassion in starting a new humanity. Jesus is a second Adam who represents humanity but at the same time fully God. He chooses relationship with the Father for all eternity on our behalf and dies the physical and spiritual death that the first Adam's choices required.
So humanity then has the option to remain united to the first Adam as we are born and receive the consequences of his actions (death and separation from God) or we can be united to this second Adam and receive the consequences of his actions (relationship with God for all eternity).
The Jesus myth is not so very different. God sacrifices himself to bring us the secret of eternal life. The necessity of the sacrifice is never really very clear. Christian apologetics are just an attempt to explain what appeared to have made sense to bronze age cultures but no longer makes sense to modern man.
Yes its true that the concept of sacrifice is not unique to Christianity. But as the question is on the concept of Jesus sacrifice I think it makes more sense to try and understand it from its natural context of the Bible rather than trying to impose a view of Bronze age sacrifice.
According to the Bible, humanity had one representative - Adam. He had the choice of relationship with God for eternity or to go his own way without God experiencing physical death and eternal separation from God for all humanity. Adam's choice to go his own way without God as representative was the choice for all humanity and therefore all people experience physical death and separation from God.
Jesus sacrifice is really about God's compassion in starting a new humanity. Jesus is a second Adam who represents humanity but at the same time fully God. He chooses relationship with the Father for all eternity on our behalf and dies the physical and spiritual death that the first Adam's choices required.
So humanity then has the option to remain united to the first Adam as we are born and receive the consequences of his actions (death and separation from God) or we can be united to this second Adam and receive the consequences of his actions (relationship with God for all eternity).
