The bare and incomplete outline of Christianity as I see it. I should mention that I am not a Christian (though I once was) nor a follower of any other faith. I am not an athiest – I don’t believe in something from nothing. There will be gaps and mistakes in my outline — I’m neither scholar nor even well-read layman on these topics. I offer my apologies in advance.
God, The Unmade Maker — not made of parts like all other things, The Unmoved Mover, the Creator of all that is, was, and ever will be, created our universe, and as the last part of this initial creation, made us. It is written that we were “created in His image.” I am not completely certain about what that means.
The first two humans were created as pure beings without sin — that is without thoughts or acts that displeased God staining their immortal beings and souls.
Those two souls, Adam and Eve, chose to sin upon being tempted, by a creature whose presence in the Garden I find mystifying — how could the Garden be perfect with such a creature, later identified as being Satan by at least one New Testament author, be present in the Garden? And why would a perfect being, Adam or Eve, choose sin, even if the opportunity to sin was presented to them? I move on.
As most of my readers will know, Eve, and then Adam, did give in to temptation, sinned, and were stained by this act, a fact they recognized at some level, when they tried to avoid God, who walked in the Garden at some point after their sin, and called for them.
Part of the punishment for their sin was banishment from the Garden. But the real sting, in my opinion was the loss of biological immortality. Physical death became a thing… a certain and inescapable reality. Some will point out that spiritual death (a separation from God) also became a reality. I believe spiritual death already existed though – Satan had sinned and was separated from God.
God took steps to remedy this separation between himself and the creature created in His image. And here, for me, is where things get interesting.
God chose only to remedy spiritual death in this, now mortal, life. Physical death was not to be cured, but rather after physical death, a new body, unstained by sin, would be provided. The when of this new body varies.
Some Christians believe that as soon as a believer dies, he is present with God in Heaven, complete with a new body. This might lead the curious reader to wonder why, then, a resurrection is necessary, but most will cruise right by this conundrum. For those that are bothered by this, they may be reassured by their experts that this pre-resurrection body is just a temporary or provisional body.
Yet others subscribe to the idea of soul sleep – an unconscious period spent in the grave, awaiting resurrection, which will be no more noticeable than falling asleep and awaking to their reward.
You are welcome to point out the things I’ve missed about resurrection and judgment, etc. Like I said at the top, I’m not an expert, and what I’m going towards is not part of Christian doctrine – it is simply going to be a “what if” thought experiment.
Ultimately God provided a fix, a way to fix spiritual death in mankind, as he loved mankind greatly and wanted to provide a way for some (all?) of mankind to reconnect with him, thus ending their spiritual death, i.e. separation from Him.
Along with this spiritual rebirth, was the promise of a once-again immortal body – but not prior to physical death. That was not to be cured in our physical lifetime. No, first we must decay and die. Then, at some point, a new, immortal body.
Now I proceed to my thought experiment. Note first that God chose to renew our sin-tainted bodies only after death. Note also this makes Christianity a bit harder to sell. And that’s where my question comes from.
I can hear the shouts now. “You don’t understand. Our sin condemned us to physical death. God can’t look on (countenance) sin. An atonement had to be made, sufficient to reunite us with God, and for that Christ had to die.”
And to that I say, I’ll agree to stipulate the Atonement of Christ’s blood was required. But why not then fix our mortal bodies without physical death? I mean, the decay of age followed by physical death is not fun. At least I don’t look forward to it in happy anticipation.
You may say, God couldn’t do that. We must die for our sins. And I would ask, if God can fix the greater (to my mind) problem of spiritual death, why not simple physical decay and death?
It is for sure that Christianity would be a much easier sell if the reward for professing faith and following Jesus Christ were freedom from death and disease in this life. Imagine for a second a world where all who followed Christ, lived – free from death and decay. And all those who did not follow Christ showed, quite predictably, the normal signs of age, decay, injury and disease, with many dying every day, just as is now the case for humanity.
Further imagine that any adult sinner who repented, was baptized, and professed his faith in Christ, would instantly gain perfect health, and a biological age of about 26, regardless of chronological age – unless still a child, in which case normal growth and full health would ensue. The amputee’s leg would be restored to its intended health and strength without so much as a scar. The blind girl’s sight would be restored. The menopausal women would see her beauty, her figure, and her zest for life return to its youthful peak. The alcoholic’s liver would be instantly healed, and cancer patient’s tumors would disappear.
The obvious casualty of such a system, would be free will, at least as it pertains to choosing whether or not to follow God. Virtue might also be a casualty. Where is the virtue in doing the only thing any sane person would choose to do? Is there wisdom in such a choice? Well, yeah, sort of. Is there courage in such a choice? Well, no. What about the balance of good and evil in this world? It might get a bit more lopsided. There would probably be a rapid decrease in the number of martyrs. I, for one, am surprised by how often good prevails in this world, although it often seems to do so by the thinnest of margins. And boredom, would that be a problem? Even with the type of mind a pre-sin Adam and Eve possessed?
copyright 2026 by Almost Lucid Geezer
email
small.ice6205@fastmail DAWT com