Information AboutDeicide |
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: ''For the American death metal band, see Deicide (band) '' Deicide is the killing of a God or a divine being. ETYMOLOGY The word derives from medieval Latin ''dei-'' ("god"), and ''-cida'', from the verb ''caedere'' ("to cut down"). As with some other words that share the same suffix - Suicide , Homicide , Patricide , etc. - the word can refer either to the act or to the person who commits the act. DEICIDE AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST The question of who is responsible for the execution of Jesus has both Historical and Theological components. The primary sources for both the historical and theological inquiries include the Gospel accounts of the events leading up to Jesus' death. The theological question is understood in light of other New Testament writings such as the Letters Of Paul . The historical inquiry is aided by other sources from antiquity which explain the cultural and political environment in which Jesus lived. Historical analyses of Jesus' death have generally assigned responsibility to either # The Roman government in Judea # the Jewish leadership in Judea at the time There is no term meaning "deicide" used in the New Testament, either in the original Greek text, or in the later Latin Vulgate translation. Similarly, New Testament texts which refer to responsibility for Jesus' death do not take special note of Jesus' divine identity, although explicit mention that he is the Messiah sent by God is found (Acts 2:36). The New Testament nowhere blames Jews who lived outside Judea for Jesus' death, nor does it exonerate the Gentile rulers in Judea. Jesus' disciple Judas Iscariot is blamed for disclosing his location to the authorities. Theological analyses of who is responsible for Jesus' death have included: # All humanity through their sinfulness, # Jews in particular through their manipulation of the roman authorities # God, for the benefit of people in general, # God, for the benefit of the Elect in particular. The Jewish authorities and Roman government According to the New Testament accounts, the Jewish authorities in Judea charged Jesus with blasphemy and sought his execution, see , the Roman Governor of Iudaea Province , who "consented" to Jesus' execution. Pilate is portrayed in the Gospel accounts as a reluctant accomplice to Jesus' death. Some modern scholars have questioned the historical accuracy of such a portrayal. These historians suggest that a Roman Governor such as Pilate would not have hesitated to execute any leader whose followers posed a potential threat to Roman rule. However, the Gospel accounts indicate that there could be hesitation on the part of both Jewish and Roman authorities to act immediately or needlessly in the face of potential popular opposition (Matt 26:4-5; Mk 15:12-15; Lk 22:1-2). These scholars also suggest that the Gospel accounts may have downplayed the role of the Romans in Jesus' death during a time when Christianity was struggling to gain acceptance in the Roman world. Yet the four Gospel accounts uniformly portray the Roman Governor Pilate as partly responsible for Jesus' execution, rather than exonerating him, and it is not clear that blaming Pilate completely, decades after his reign, would have diminished Christian acceptance. Theological elements Until the middle of the 20th Century most Christian churches included references to deicide in their Hymn s and Liturgy ; some still do . The following, for example, is a verse from a hymn written in 1892 for use in the Church Of England to call upon God to convert the Jews to Christianity:
Other theological explanations Several theological explanations have been offered. These explanations are not all mutually exclusive: Various Christian denominations have taught that God is ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus, as part of the divine plan of salvation (cf Acts 2:23). The Catholic church and other Protestants churches' dogma suggests that Jesus' death was necessary to take away the effects of sin, and in order for the process to work, the human has to accept it that he was forgiven, so Christians believe that all of humanity bears some responsibility for Jesus' death. Thus, the crucifixion is seen as an example of Jesus' eternal love for mankind and his divine ability to forgive. Alternatively, the recently-discovered Gnostic " Gospel Of Judas " contends that Jesus commanded Judas to set in motion the chain of events that would lead to his death. Other Christian theologians argue that ) used in some Protestant churches to support this position: "No man taketh it life from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father" ( John 10:18 ) A lot of Christians believed that Jesus's death was basically not anyone's fault alone, but the fault of every human being. Because ). DEICIDE IN FICTION
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