There is a crucial question that deserves our reflection, which all the people and religions of the world have perceived in their own way. That question is about how one can be saved. This question, in reality, springs forth in every human being, when they observe how the inner self rages out of control, and how corrupt thoughts of wrongdoing, in their multitude, surround a person. Every nation has proposed some way or other to save themselves from these sins; they have thought of some strategy. In view of this universal need and question, an artifice employed by the Christians is that they say salvation can be attained through the blood of the Messiah.
The first thing that ought to be understood is: what is salvation? The deeper essence of salvation is that one is saved from vice and that the sinful thoughts which blacken one’s heart are ceased, giving way to the development of true purity. Now we can see that the Christians have felt the need to be saved from sin, and so they have said to those who seek salvation that it is only the blood of the Messiah that can save a person from sin.
However, I should like to point out that if the blood of the Messiah or atonement can save a person from sins, the first thing I would like to see is whether atonement and deliverance from sin even have any relationship with one another or not. When we reflect, it becomes evident that these two things have no mutual relationship or relevance to one another. For example, if a person who suffers from thirst visits a physician and if, instead of treating that patient, the physician tells the patient to write a chapter for his book, this is their cure, would any sensible person accept this as a form of treatment? So, the blood of the Messiah and sin are just as irrelevant as what we observe in this example; they have no relationship whatsoever. One could illustrate this with another example. If someone is suffering from a headache and another person strikes their own head with a rock out of mercy and suggests that this will cure the former, this would be laughable. So someone ought to tell me what exactly have the Christians presented as a solution? Whatever they propose is a shameless ruse; how can it be a cure for sin? The suicide of Christ does not even hold any real relevance to a person’s deliverance from sin. I am often astonished as to what Christ must have been thinking when he decided to put himself on the cross to give others salvation. If only he had saved himself from this death on the cross, which makes a person accursed, as per the Christians themselves. In view of their own doctrine, it is necessary for one to take curse upon oneself for atonement, as it is a punishment for sin. So if Christ had instead employed some sensible method to benefit humanity, this would have been far better and more fruitful than suicide.
Therefore, a powerful argument that falsifies the concept of atonement is that the cure for sin and atonement have no mutual relevance to one another. Another argument that proves this concept to be false is the question that to what extent has the atonement fulfilled the inherent desire of humanity to be saved from sin. The answer is clear: it has done nothing, because the two have no mutual relationship whatsoever. This is why atonement has not been able to curb the passions and floods of sin. If atonement possessed any effect to save one from sin, the men and women of Europe would have surely been safeguarded from sin. However, every manner of sin is to be found in the nobles and commoners of Europe alike. Anyone who entertains doubt in this regard is free to visit London parks and Paris hotels to see what goes on. Fornication is so rampant that one fears it may be declared permissible by way of religious verdict – it can be seen in practical terms nonetheless. The use of alcohol continues to grow so rapidly that a few days ago, a lady asked for drinking water at a hotel, but she was told that water is for cleaning vessels and bathing, etc., what else is there for drinking except wine? Now one can reflect and observe that the blood of the Messiah, if it were a dam, has proven inadequate to contain the flood of sin. In fact, this flood has destroyed previous dams as well, and the concept has led people to complete permissiveness and freedom from religious law.
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), Malfuzat – Vol. IV (Islam International Publications Ltd., 2024), 54-55.
Add Comment