Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Mark Sandrock) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: The missing body/Empty tomb Message-ID: Date: 23 Apr 91 07:13:02 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana Lines: 55 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu irani@brahms.udel.edu (Jennifer Irani) writes: > Now that the celebrations of Easter and Lent are officially over, >could someone please answer a question that I hear quite frequently. In >the Gospels we are told that Jesus' body was missing from the tomb. He had >risen. However, many poeple seem to ask, how can Christians assume that >... > And yes, Jesus appeared to people after His death, but then, so is >Elvis. Could anyone please give some logical answers. It does matter, this >is what the Christian faith is founded on--that Christ didn't just die, but >rose! The work "In the Light of Truth", the Grail Message, by Abd-ru-shin does in fact give logical answers about this critical point. It explains that the Laws of Creation, which also manifest as the physical laws, or laws of nature, are necessarily perfect, having issued forth from the Perfect GOD. Think about it now: that which is perfect cannot be subject to change, or else it could not have been *perfect* from the beginning! Therefore, we are compelled to accept the conclusion that it was, is, and always shall be IMPOSSIBLE for a PHYSICAL body to ascend into the SPIRITUAL kingdom or realm. Simply impossible, otherwise there is no perfection in the simple clear natural laws of Creation. And to argue that "With God all things are possible" is to distort and misuse this wonderful wisdom, since in the trivial sense many things ARE impossible for God, such as evil, imperfection, etc. And for God to act against His own Will, His own perfect laws, would show an imperfection, i.e., the need for a change or an interruption in the working of these laws. Yes, Jesus WAS seen by many following His death on the cross, but it was NOT the physical body of Jesus which was seen. It was His spiritual body, or better said, His soul, which naturally at that time still manifested the wounds that He had so recently been forced to suffer. It was given to those close to Jesus to be able to see and hear that which normally they would not see and hear for the sake of strengthening their faith in Jesus and the truth of His Message. This is the reason that those who had been close to Jesus did not immediately recognize Him. It is also the reason He was able to enter into a locked room. As for the physical body of Jesus, one would have to assume then that it was in fact taken from the tomb, by persons unknown and for reasons unknown, but I expect that in the future this too shall be made clear. I hope these explanation will prove helpful to serious questioners. Mark Sandrock -- BITNET: sandrock@uiucscs Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Internet: sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu Chemical Sciences Computing Services Voice: 217-244-0561 505 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801