Baseless belief?

SOMETIMES I think if someone were to hold a huge mirror so that the human race could take a closer look at itself, there would be loud bursts of laughter or tears at the ridiculous things we've done through the passage of history.

If we were to momentarily see all our prejudices and warped ideas reflected back to us, if for one precious moment we were to reflect on our contribution to history, I suspect we would have no choice but to flagellate ourselves or concede that our propensity to be pathetic as mankind is sadly a reality.

The one story that convinced me of this was the "exoneration" by Pope Benedict XVI of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ.

Earlier this week the pontiff tackled one of the most controversial issues in Christianity in a new book, by declaring that there is no basis in Scripture for the argument that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for the death of Jesus.

So many religious wars have been fought, so many lives lost, so much hatred visited on people for many years over such nonsense.

All four canonical Gospels report that Jesus was crucified during the prefecture of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect who governed Judaea from 26 to 36 AD/CE. In conjunction with the chronology regarding his ministry the earliest generally accepted date for the crucifixion is 29 AD/CE and I confess I do not know how many years ago that was but it seems like it was a long time ago!

Jewish scholars have welcomed this declaration, saying it would help fight anti-Semitism today.

I can understand this relief because for centuries, the charge of "Christ Killer" against the Jews has been used to persecute them and create a poisonous climate of hatred.

What I find ridiculous, though, about this whole situation is that there are Christians who truly worked themselves up over who killed Jesus. Does it really matter?

Wasn't his death part of God's grand plan to cleanse the sins of the world? I grew up being taught that Jesus was chosen by His Father to die for all - though that is debatable.

From the little I know about these muddy and treacherous waters of religion, "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son."

And in Luke 22:42, just before his crucifixion, Jesus cries out to God and says: "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."

The point here is that Jesus knew the deal and even during the last moments yielded to God's plan and God's plan was that he should be killed for "our" salvation.

So I find it perplexing that the person or people, in this case Judas Iscariot, and according to some, the Jews, should be hated and persecuted for fulfilling God's plan for His Son to be killed.

It was, according to those who know God and Jesus better, always the divine plan for the Son to cheat death by rising again.

So how does he rise again unless He is killed?

I do not understand why there has been so much hatred and anger over so many centuries against people believed to have killed Jesus.

If the scriptures are to be believed and the miracle of His resurrection to be celebrated, surely we should be thanking the person or people who killed Jesus?

If He hadn't died, then the redemption promised by His death would not have come to fruition.

If there is any Christian who has been going around with a festering wound because "the Jews killed Jesus", I really hope they will have a change of heart and discard this nonsense.

Equally, if Judas has been vilified before, then maybe the time has come to cut the poor fellow some slack.

Someone had to betray Jesus as had been planned by the Father. Since Judas did not physically kill his friend and the Jews are now clear, then I hope the search for the real killer or killers will begin in earnest because whoever did it, must be afforded his or her rightful place in history for fulfilling the divine plan.