Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Can God Die?

An interesting question asked by some people is can God die. This question is asked in respect to death of Jesus on cross. There are few group of people who go out and confuse people. I agree that its a vital question. So I want to add something which Mr.Sudhakar Mondithoka said in response to this question. I have his blog link added. This is his response:-

“It is an important one that we have faced many times in the past. My answer will begin with a question: What do you mean by God and what is this God like? If we know the answers to these questions, then the answer to your question is obvious. Let me explain. God is, by definition, non-physical/spiritual, infinite and eternal - beginningless and endless. So talking about the end of the endless one does not make sense. So God, in His divinity, can never die and the question of God’s death does not even arise (it is a non-question, a question that does not make sense).
But when we talk about Jesus, we need to understand the identity of Jesus properly: He is God-incarnate, that is, God who added to Himself humanity without ceasing to be God and entered human history, in flesh and blood. So Jesus is both Divine (God) and human (Man) and it is in His humanity that he died and there is absolutely no problem here.
For example, think of yourself. If I ask you, “What is your weight?” you will say, “Seventy Kilos or whatever it is.” But if I ask you, “What is the weight of your soul?” what will you think of me? Each of us is a composite of body-soul and certain things about us relate to the soul (the non-physical part) and certain others relate to the body (the physical part). Weight, color, height, etc., relate to the body and not the soul. In the same way, when we talk about Jesus, we have to understand that certain things relate to his Divinity (no possibility of dying, no hunger, no thirst, etc.,) and certain other things relate to his Humanity (his dying on the cross, his hunger, thirst, tiredness, sleeping, etc). There is absolutely no problem at all.”

He also suggests reading few articles which will give you a better understanding about this.

  1. The Two Natures of Jesus - Compatible or Incompatible? (The Divine-Human Interface in Jesus)http://www.mondithokas.com/docs/

Writing_Apologia_The_Divine_Human_Interface_in_JC_1.doc

  1. Life After Death: Resurrection or Reincarnation? http://www.mondithokas.com/docs/

Life_after_Death_Reincarnation_or_Resurrection_2.doc

  1. Incarnation: Theological and Apologetic Issues http://www.mondithokas.com/docs/

Incarnation_the_Need_and_Necessity__VJ_Nov[1]._05.doc

I hope it will help you in getting an answer to the question.

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