Religion

OK, the reason I'm posting this is just that it's what I'm thinking about. Not because I think you should think about it, or because I care one tiny bit if I win anyone to my way of thinking.

I was thinking about the foundation of Christianity, which I would say is roughly: Christ died for your sins so that you can be forgiven by God and join Him when you die.

Here's my little logic problem from the perspective of Christianity:

1. Christ's torture/death was necessary. If not, why would a loving God allow it.
   
2. Christ's torture/death was not necessitated by God. i.e. God could choose to forgive humanity without torturing or killing anyone.
   
3. God is not subject to any laws of physics or philosophy that are not of his own construction.
4. Other than God, the only entities with free will (a soul) are human beings. Humans have free will at the discretion of God.
5. Because we know that Christ's torture/death was necessary, and that God did not require it, that leaves Christ's torture and death being required by laws external to God (to which we agree God is not subject) or by human beings, whom God allows to act of their own accord. Therefore, Christ's torture and death was required by people and not God.

Given that God can forgive us without torturing and killing anyone, shouldn't we accept his forgiveness without making him do that? Why continue to focus on the torturing and killing of an individual that would have been unnecessary if it weren't for the refusal of people to accept God's forgiveness without it.

Another way to think about it is this: given that people insisted on Christ's sacrifice in order to accept forgiveness from a God who would have forgiven them anyway, why would anyone now want to claim any portion of responsibility for that occurrence. Why not just accept His forgiveness as the gift it is?

Maybe Pilate had it right....