Omya, I'll answer your posts in a couple of posts if you don't mind. I have a few things I want to say and your post was so long, I know sometimes I miss answering some of them, if I don't break them up. Please persevere with me, as it may take a couple of days, but I will catch up.
And sorry carol, I can't worship a god that dies for my sins, a dead god isn't worth of worshipping.....especially when his divinity (I mean Jesus) as god is much doubted......please read my response in the topic Gos is Jesus and Jesus is God....
Omya, would you mind reading these verses from John 19:28-30
Later, knowing that all was now completed and so that the scripture could be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty". A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus's lips. When he had finished the drink, Jesus said "It is finished". with that he bowed His head and gave up His spirit."
For a minute or two, just look at that last line especially. "He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." Jesus was in control of His death. He didn't just die as was normal for those who were crucified, He said "It is finished" bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
The "knowing that all was now completed and so that scripture could be fulfilled" that is spoken of in the earlier verses, is a direct reference to every Old Testament prophecy regarding the coming Messiah... the Saviour who would take away the sins of the world.
Please now observe the journey to the cross
John 3:19 "Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days... but the temple He was talking about was His body. After he was raised from the dead, the disciples recalled what He had said.
John 5:18 states that "for this reason, the Jews tried all the harder to kill him, not only was he breaking the sabbath, but he was even calling God His own father, making Himself equal with God".
John 6:15 "Jesus, knowing that that they intended to come and make Him King by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself".
John 7:1 "After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying awy from Judea, because the Jews there were waiting to take His life."
John 7:6 "The right time for me has not yet come. For you any time is right."
John 7:25 "At that point, some of the people of Jerusaleum began to ask, "Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? Yet, here he is, speaking publically and they are not saying a word to him."
John 7:30 "At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.
John 7:33 "Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me."
John 8:19-20 "Then they asked him, "where is your father?". "you do not know me, or my Father" Jesus replied. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." He spoke these words whilst teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized Him, because His time had not yet come."
John 8:58 "I tell you the truth" Jesus answered. "Before Abraham was, I am". At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
John 11:38 "But if I do it, even though you do not believe in me, believe in the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. Again they tried to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.
John 11:53 "So from that day on, they plotted to take his life. therefore, Jesus no longer moved about publicly amongst the Jews."
John 12:23 "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified."
John 12:31 "Now is the time for judgement on this world. Now the prince of this world, will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.".
John 12:36 "When he had finished speaking Jesus left and hid himself from them.
John 13:1 "It was just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew the time had come for Him to leave this world, and go to the Father."
John 13:21 After He had said this, Jesus was very troubled in spirit and testified "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."
John 13:27 "What you are about to do, do quickly" Jesus told Him.
John 15:13 "Greater love has no man than this, that He lay down his life for his friends."
John 16:5 "Now I am going to Him who sent me"
John 16:16 "In a little while you will see me no more and then after a little while you will see me.
John 17:13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things whils I am still in the world."
John 18:5 "I am He", Jesus said (and Judas the traitor was standing their with them.) When Jesus said "I am He", they drew back and fell to the ground."
John 18:11 "Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away, shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?".
John 18:32 "This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
John 19:10 "Don't you realise I have power either to free you or to crucify you? Jesus answered "you would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above."
John 19:30 "When He had finished the drink, Jesus said "It is finished". With that He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.
That's not the end.. it's only the beginning.. but Omya, Jesus did not die... at least not in the sense you or I died. He kept himself from death until He was on the cross and then could say "It is finished" Yes, God died, but He wasn't killed. He organised events so that all prophecy would be fulfilled, announced it was finished and then he GAVE up His Spirit.
But it didn't end there, and we don't worship a dead God. We worship The ONE Living God, who will never die and it was this that was the final revelation of Jesus Christ, not being merely a man, but being God. Notice the number of times He said He would not remain dead. There was a purpose for His death.. to redeem mankind, to pay the penalty for sin. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament, of the Prophets, required a blood sacrifice for sin. This sacrifice was a picture of what the death of God on the cross would achieve.. but if He was God and He died, as you said, Omya, who would want to worship a dead God. Not me either! Yet, now read these verses
John 19:36 "These things happened so that scripture would be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken. and as another scripture says, "they will look upon the one they have pierced." (Zechariah 34:20)
John 20 speaks of his resurrection and of the reactions of his disciples to the resurrection. notice in verse 9 it says "they still didnot understand from scripture that Jesus HAD to rise from the dead.) Finally on seeing the nail prints and the risen Lord before, Thomas spoke the words that all Christians to this day still say on seeing the risen Lord. "My Lord and My God".
I want to show you one more verse from Revelation about the resurrection, John who wrote the above verses wrote Revelation too, and I've in no way used Pauls' letters for the reasons you stated in your post.
Revelation 1:7-8
"look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be. Amen.
I am the Alpha and the Omega", says the Lord God, "who is, and who was and who is to come, the Almighty".
more later
Carol