116: Why Did Jesus Die?

The crucifixion is the main event in Christianity. Christians generally view Jesus’ death as a payment for our sins so that God will forgive us and we can go to Heaven. Increasingly, however, this is leading to a “crisis of faith” where many who sincerely love Jesus can’t reconcile him with a God who enacts revenge and violence. How could a loving God murder His own Son? Not surprisingly, A Course in Miracles has an entirely different view of Jesus’ crucifixion. Indeed, rather than seeing the sacrifice and suffering associated with the cross as symbolic of the way OUT of the ego, the Course sees it as symbolic OF the ego—what the ego does to us. And, in the end, the Course offers a completely new reframe of the crucifixion and a way to model the best of Jesus’ teaching without getting caught in the worst of religion.