DEATH OF GOD CAN HE BE KILLED ?

DEATH OF GOD… CAN HE BE KILLED?

Prof Dr Colonel K Prabhakar Rao (Retired)


Can God die? How? If he dies how he can be a God? God can never die. A lay man always feels so. He is eternal, universal, omnipresent and Omni potent. This has been leaned from scriptures world wide. As per Hindu belief, Lord Vishnu took up incarnation 9 times till now and the 10 th one is awaited. In these nine incarnations, first four were Ayonija. That means one born free of mother’s womb. It is direct manifestation rather. Any one born out of mother’s womb is a mortal and has to discard body on the earth sometime or other. That is the scientific law. However scriptures are silent at this at some places. The first four incarnations of Lord Vishnu as per Hindu belief were (1):

1.Matsyavatara………Form of Fish………..Saved Vedas from drowning and killed
Asura Somaka. Saved sages and species from deluge and destruction

2..Koormavatara… Form of Tortoise.. Supported Mount Mandhara on its shell while Asuras and Devas chrned ocean for nectar.

3.Varahavatara……. Form of Boar…Saved earth from drowning and killed Hiranyaksha the very powerful and destructive demon ever lived.

4.Narasimhavatara … Form of lion man.. Killed Hiranyakasipa brother of Hiranyaksha and blessed Prahlada the ardent devotee of Vishnu ( Son of Hiranyakasipa)

The scriptures describe that the Lord after accomplishing his mission returned to heavens. There is nothing like death and discarding of bodies.

5. Vamanavatara…He was born to Sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi. He pushed Asura King Bali grand son of Prahlada to netherworld and restored heavens to gods. It is not clear how he reached heavens again. It must be believed that he had vanished and returned to heavens.

6. Parasuramavatara.. Born to Renuka and Sage Jamdagni and got rid off Kshatriya princes from earth 14 times by killing them waging war with his battle axe. He killed famous Kshatriya king Kartaveerarjuna with his battle axe. Finally he retired to Himalayas to do penance. Parsurama also again appeared in Ramavatara during the marriage of Rama when Rama broke the bow of Lord shiva as the test for the marriage. He subsequently retired for penance stating that his mission on the earth was over.He was again referred in Mahabharatha epic ( During Krishnavatara) who trained Bheeshma and also Karna in archery. It is believed that Parsurama retired to Himalayas to do penance and he had no further mission after Ramavatara. His divine powers probably came to an end.

7. Ramavatara.. Lord Rama killed Ravana and Kumbhakarna and destroyed scores of Asuras and established rule of truth. Rama along with his brothers gave up body in Sarayu river at Ayodhya after a long rule and reached heavens.

8. Krishnavatara.. Lord Krishna killed many demons and his maternal uncle Kamsa and established Dharma in the land. Evil was destroyed. He guided great Mahabharatha war in which evil was destroyed. He preached Gita on the battle field. Krishna gave up his body to reach heavens. Scriptures say that a hunter accidentally shot an arrow at Krishna that pierced his foot and went through his body. Krishna was resting under a tree in a forest.


Note. Certain sections do not consider Krishna as separate incarnation of Vishnu. He himself is Vishnu

9.Balarama.. Incarnation of a portion of Lord ( Seshanaga the divine serpent) as Brother of Krishna. He Killed many Asuras and remained neutral in the Mahabharatha war. He kept away from controversies. He gave up body through Yoga at sea side after Yadava clan destroyed itself by infighting. His soul passed into ocean as a streak of silver beam.

OR

9. Buddhavatara.. He was born to a royal couple in India, King Suddhodhana and Mayavathi as Siddhartha. Lord Buddha guided people on spiritual path and preached non violence. He gave up body after 80 years and it is believed that he died due to food poisoning when he ate food offered to him by a devotee. The aspect of Buddha being considered as the incarnation of Vishnu is debatable and a section of Hindus do not accept it. He is simply considered as an enlightened man.

10. Kalikavatara. A Horse riding warrior yet to arrive who would destroy evil and establish Dharma in the land. Some say he has already taken birth somewhere.

Note.. All sections accept 10 incarnations of Vishnu. They differ with respect to Balarama, Krishna and Buddha.

Thus we see that God manifested at times directly and also disappeared on his own after accomplishing the mission. But those manifestations that were out of mothers womb had to shed mortal body ultimately. However scriptures do not bluntly write this fact as divinity is attached to these manifestations. In most respectful way scriptures state that they attained heavens. That is most respectful way of stating the ultimate truth instead of saying he finally died or killed.

Christianity has different perceptions. Jesus is considered as son of God who took birth on the earth to save people. He died on the cross and on the third day rose to life , appeared to men and again ascended heavens. That is resurrection and a Christian has to subscribe to this if he has to be Christian. It is believed that all great souls like Prophets have element of Godliness in them and are sent to guide humanity on to a right track. Jesus also arrived on the earth to guide humanity. Jesus said to his disciples (2):

“Have faith in me when I say that the father is one with me and that I am one with father. Or else, have faith in me simply because of things I do”. (John 14.11)(CEV)

“Every one who has faith in me also has faith in the one who has sent me. And every one who has seen me has seen the one who sent me. I am the light that has come into the world. No one who has faith in me will stay in the dark” (John 12.44, 46) (CEV)

“I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. He cuts away every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit. But he trims clean every branch of mine that does produce fruit, so that it produces even more fruit. You are already clean because of what I have said to you”. {John 15.1-3) (CEV)

When Pharisees asked Jesus “where is your father”, he replied, “If you knew me, you would know my father” (John 8.19) (CEV)

Judaism hasn’t accepted these proclamations of Jesus. Some scholars believe that the role as proclaimed by Jesus was not intended by him but was the inclusion at a later date after his death, resurrection and journey to the heaven .But the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus clearly indicate that he was a divine force and had divine role to play.Inspite of the above, Jesus was a human being made of flesh and blood. Jesus shed blood on the Cross for the sake of humanity and sinners. These facts led to the propagation of two concepts such as Trinity and incarnation. Jesus is seen much more than a preacher and teacher. All his actions have divinity and he spoke several times about his role and the purpose for which he has taken birth in flesh and blood. He is seen as the incarnation of God and the Gospels are clear on this aspect. At the festival of shelters, Jesus preached in the temple. He said:

“I am not teaching something that I thought up. What I teach comes from the one who sent me. If you want to really obey god, you will know if what I teach comes from god or from me. If I wanted to bring honor to myself I would speak for myself. But I want to honor the one who sent me. That is why I tell the truth and not a lie”. (John7.16-18). (CEV)

The above passage clearly indicates that Jesus has come down on a mission from the God. He has not claimed that he was the God. He only said that he was sent by the God .In this context, it is relevant and appropriate to quote following passages from the New Testament:

“Long ago God spoke in many ways and at many times God’s prophets spoke his message to our ancestors. But now at last, God sent his son to bring his message to us. God created universe by his son and everything someday belongs to the son. God’s son has all the brightness of God’s own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together.”(Hebrews1.1-3)(CEV)

… “God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear son who forgives our sins and sets us free.”

Christ is exactly like God who cannot be seen
He is the first born son superior to all creation.
Everything was created by him, everything in heaven and on earth
Everything seen and unseen including all forces and powers
and all rulers and authorities
All things were created by God’s son and everything was made for him
God’s son was before all else,
and by him everything is held together
He is the head of his body which is the church
He is the very beginning, the first to be raised from death,
so that he would be above all others.
God himself was pleased to live fully in his son
And God was pleased for him to make peace.
By sacrificing his blood on Cross
So that all beings in heavens and on earth
Would be brought back to God. (Colossians1.13- 20) (CEV)

From the above verses, it is seen that Jesus was a divine person. He was distinct from God. But he was also associated with his father i.e. God. The world was created through him. It indicates that Jesus was pre existent. Human beings that were created had in them something that was pre-existent. Jesus was a human being. But he is a god like person. It is the presence of God embodied in a human form. In all the religions of the world only God is empowered to forgive the sins. But Jesus forgives sins. This also supports the aspect of divinity of Jesus and his association with the God (3).

During the speech Peter said words to the effect that you have killed the god (4). He said,
“ You rejected Jesus who was holy and good. You asked for a murderer to be set free. And you killed the one who leads people to life” ( Act 3:14 CEV)

Although Jesus claimed himself to be the son of God it is assumed that having faith in Jesus is same as having faith in God. Thus killing Jesus is same as killing the God (Although God can not be killed). Prophets preach all good things as message of God and killing the prophets is amounting to rejecting Gods words and amounting to killing him. Faith in him is to be destroyed.
When we do not accept the teachings of a prophet, it means that we have no faith in his teachings. Usually men try to cling on their own beliefs. It is very difficult to change ones perceptions and beliefs and men mostly do not see reason and try to harm others. It is intolerance to a great extent. With intolerance, anger and hatred also grows. In case of Jesus the same thing happened. He was handed over to Romans and although Pirate wanted to set him free having found nothing wrong with him, the priests insisted that he be put to death and Pilate had no option and Jesus was crucified. Jesus knew that he would be crucified and this fact he foretold several times earlier. This is clear in Bible (Matthew 16:21,Marks 8:31, Luke 9:22-27) So death was not a surprise to Jesus. He came on a mission from heavens and had to achieve it. He had to shed his blood for others to be saved. After ensuring mission is over he had to go. Of course resurrection that forms the most important factor of Christianity goes to prove that Jesus was divine and was God incarnate. The divinity in him made Peter to exclaim that the people had killed the God who did not realize the good things in him that only manifest in God like persons. People who live by deceit and other bad traits that are not prescribed infact aim at killing the Gods words. To some extent such people are killing the God. But at some stage patience would also run out and such people have to suffer ultimately. Destruction of cities Sodom and the other by fire in past is attributed to Gods wrath. It has to be believed that God also has the capacity to punish people for ill conduct and inability to change. Therefore certain section of people tries to kill God by their conduct while all such people have to answer at the time of judgment. All religions say this in clear terms.


Bibliography

1. Bammera Potanamatya ( 15 century), Andhra Mahabhagavatham ( Telugu poetry), Volume I and II,Vavilla Ramasastrulu, Chennai, Tamil nadu, India,

2.New Testament, Commemorative edition, CEV, American Bible Society, New York, 1998

3.Prof Dr Colonel K Prabhakar Rao ( Retired), God, Jesus and Christianity, Faithcommons.org, July 07, 11:46

4. New Testament, Commemorative edition, CEV, American Bible Society, New York, 1998, PP 156

Dr K Prabhakar Rao