Did Jesus Really Suffer?
 
The Bible says that if something can be hurt then it is not God. If Jesus suffered on the cross then he could not have been God.
 
It is no wonder most early Christians preferred to believe that the suffering and death of Jesus Christ was unreal. They thought Jesus had the miraculous power to avoid suffering when the Romans scourged him before his death. They correctly reasoned that if Jesus had the power to change natural law by doing miracles then he could do this. They even thought that his death was an illusion. Jesus was cold and not breathing but he was in a miraculous sleep and not dead. They had many varied beliefs about how the suffering and death was an illusion but they agreed that he miraculously protected himself from suffering and death. There can be no doubt that talk of miracles undermines the suffering and death of Jesus. If Jesus had such powers how do we know that he wasn’t using them to fake his suffering and death? He failed to do his miracles before people who had the best competence in judging if miracles happened or not. No such examination ever took place. Many scientists today are fooled by miracles done by magicians so imagine what it must have been like back then. No God would do a miracle as a sign from Heaven and leave it inadequately verified. Where are the signed affidavits of witnesses? They are the least we can expect and even today the Catholic Church won’t recognise a miracle without them. Jesus’ powers if he had them were his own not God’s so what was he doing with those powers? He could have faked his suffering and death with them. The miracles indicate that he may not have suffered and died for us at all.

BOOKS CONSULTED

 
A SUMMARY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, Louis Berkhof, The Banner of Truth Trust, London, 1971
APOLOGETICS AND CATHOLIC DOCTRINE, Most Rev M Sheehan DD, M H Gill & Son, Dublin, 1954
DOCUMENTS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, edited by Henry Bettenson, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1979
ESSENTIALS, David L Edwards and John Stott, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1990
JESUS THE ONLY SAVIOUR, Tony and Patricia Higton, Monarch Tunbridge Wells, Kent, 1993
KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE, Paul E Little, Scripture Union, London, 1973
OXFORD DICTIONARY OF PHILOSOPHY, Simon Blackburn, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996
PROFOUND PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY, Rev George Jamieson BD, Simpkin, Marshall, & Co, London, 1884
RADIO REPLIES 3, Frs Rumble and Carty, Radio Replies Press, St Paul, Minnesota, 1942
THE ATONEMENT: MYSTERY OF RECONCILIATION, Kevin McNamara, Veritas, Dublin, 1987
THE BIBLE TELLS US SO, R B Kuiper, The Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, 1978
THE CROSS OF CHRIST, Christadelphian Publishing Office, Shaftmoor Lane, Birmingham
THE CROSS THE VINDICATION OF GOD, DM Lloyd Jones, Banner of Truth, Edinburgh
THE LIBERATION OF PLANET EARTH, Hal Lindsey, Lakeland, London, 1975
THE METAPHOR OF GOD INCARNATE, John Hick, SCM Press Ltd, London, 1993
THE POWER OF THE CROSS, Tony Ling, CMI Publishing, Coventry 1995
THE SACRED EXECUTIONER Human Sacrifice and the Legacy of Guilt Hyam Maccoby Thames and Hudson, London, 1982
WHO WILL DELIVER US, Paul Zahl, Fount Original, Collins/Fount, London, 1983
WHY DID CHRIST HAVE TO DIE? Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1986
WHY GOD PERMITS EVIL, Dawn Bible Students, East Rutherford, New Jersey