What Did Jesus Die For

One of many atheist arguments against the logic of Christian doctrine is the argument against the necessity of blood sacrifice for the pardon of sin.

Criticisms of Original Sin

There are a number of arguments that can be made to present the idea that Christ's death was unnecessary.

God is Almighty

If God is all-powerful, indeed, if he created the rules of the universe, then why can he not simply pardon man's sin? Could God not have pardoned Adam? Why did Adam's children inherit their father's sin, when they had no choice in the original sin itself?

Simply stated, why must blood be paid for sin? According to the Bible, God created the universe and all fundamental laws governing it, so why is sin only redeemable by blood?

Cruelty of the System

Another argument used, often alongside the first, asks why God, in his all-encompassing wisdom, deliberately placed Adam in a test seemingly designed to be failed. Eden was supposedly designed to be a paradise, so why then was the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil necessary at all? Why was Adam forbidden from partaking? Why was Satan allowed to enter and tempt Adam? Did God expect Adam to pass the test? Was God unaware of Satan's actions? If so, then why did God not interfere? If Adam was unaware of the nature of good and evil, then how can he be blamed and punished for his actions?

One metaphor sometimes used follows thus:

If a father leaves his infant in a room with a loaded pistol, clearly telling his child: “Do not shoot yourself, or you will die.” who is at fault if the child does not obey? It seems ridiculous to blame the child.

Likewise, it seems equally ridiculous if the child were to only be maimed by the gun, and the father were to force his eldest son to give up their life and limb to save the maimed child. It is not some great mercy on behalf of the father, but rather a band-aid solution for a problem that the father should have dealt with in the beginning.

Counter-Arguments

Christians often retort with their own arguments in favor of the necessity of Christ's Sacrifice.

Christ's Love

One argument often used to counter the atheist argument is the great love of Christ. He loved us so much that he intentionally allowed us to fail, so that he could show us how much he was willing to suffer for us. He loves us so greatly that he took our failure upon himself to show us how much he loves us.