the centre of one's fantasy world, and then to put one's fantasy world into practice, was so important that it was worth dying to do it. Not important for himself, because it is clear from the legend that he left behind him that he didn't generally think of himself. He didn't send people away when he was tired, he was almost always available, and above all, he did not seek after money. John of the Epistles endorsed this view; he said, “Eternal life is knowing Thee, the only God”; which means that in his view the worship and service of God are everything. Solomon at the end of Ecclesiastes wrote, “This is the end of the matter: you have heard it all. Fear God and obey his commands; there is no more to it than this”; which is very much the same advice.
Clearly what was important to Christ was to give an example for others to follow. But his death assisted him in getting his message across to his listeners, in all ages, in two ways. It would show them how important he regarded it to live in this kind of way; it would convince them, in a way that nothing else would, that he was a selfless man who lived for others. It would also enable God to give his life the seal of approval. In a way, his death appeared to make things more difficult. The whole point of his life and death was to show mankind that this was the proper way to live. If he was put to death, how could people believe this, how could they help drawing the conclusion that he had run his head rather unwisely into a brick wall? The answer, as he saw himself, was that God would have to raise him from the dead. This was the proof that his fantasy world put into practice fitted exactly with triumphant reality.
The Church agrees. From Paul to the present day, the Church has unhesitatingly proclaimed that without the resurrection Christianity is nothing. Without it, Christians are the most foolish of men, and the most to be pitied. No compromise is possible here. It is no good a man saying, “I will put God…