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Dying Gods

                 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (I John 4:10)

                Two ideas come to mind about what this verse says. The first is the idea of the dying god. There are a number of supposed gods who died and rose again, including Adonis and Osiris. For this reason, some dismiss Jesus’ death and resurrection as Christianity stealing an overused trope as a means to power. This idea faces two problems. In the stories of the other dying gods who rose again, it was not as a sacrifice for anyone’s sins. If it was associated with anything, it symbolized the seasons. Like the plants, the god died and returned in the spring. That made life more convenient for people, but it didn't change anyone's eternal fate. In addition, the deaths and resurrections were not connected with historical events or figures. If it happened in any year, it happens every year. The person who recorded the story was not a witness or did not interview witnesses about what happened.

                The second idea is what might be called the “romantic” idea, and it’s more important. Stories often feature a hero stepping in to save the day and nearly being killed in the process. The romantic partner may even think the hero has died, only to have the hero live. It may be that the hero takes a long time to recover, but they live happily ever after. Like Isaac, the willingness to die and the near-sacrifice are sufficient. But with Jesus, we get beyond sufficient, to overflowing, because He died to save us, and He rose again to provide us with the happily ever after. We get the best of both worlds, not just its similitude, and not just for the nine months.


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