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Eternal life is equivalent to a perpetual life imprisonment - a fate worse than death. Should G-d, then, be denied the luxury of dying?
In recent years much has been written and said about the death of G-d, apparently because nothing has been heard of Him or from Him for some time. The G-d referred to is obviously the G-d of the Bible, our G-d.
The idea of G-d took many millennia to develop - first G-d the Creator, then the One True G-d, then G-d the Sustainer, who keeps the Universe ticking.
The fact that the Universe was the result of an act of creation did not seem obvious to everyone. It was arrived at by our ancestors but was rejected elsewhere. As recently as 330 BCE when Alexander the Great visited Israel, he wrote to his mentor, the philosopher Aristotle, asking him what he thought of the Jewish idea of Creation. His reply was, "What creation? The world has always been there!" It was for this that the prophet said:
"Darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the nations but on thee G-d shines and his glory will be seen upon thee."
Modern science has confirmed the inspired knowledge of our ancestors regarding the origin of the Universe and its creation out of nothing which started with the Big Bang. Encouraged by this information, even serious Bible scholars are trying to find scientific proof in every word of the Bible which is overdoing it.
The idea of the One True G-d came about by reasoning that if there were more than one G-d, soon they would compete with one another and in the end one of them would have emerged victorious and thus became the One True G-d.
The idea of G-d the Sustainer, One who does not sleep or slumber but keeps the Universe going, the Living G-d, was arrived at in Babylon by Abraham who was an astronomer and whose ideas are the foundations of all three monotheistic Faiths. According to Josephus, the first century Jewish military commander and historian, Abraham noticed that some stars were not fixed in the sky, but continued to move from one place to another and came to the conclusion that it must be G-d Himself who, like a croupier, keeps moving these stars around.
We know now, of course, that the Universe is self-sustaining and does not need anyone to direct its movements. In fact, any outside interference would be disastrous. There is no need, therefore, for G-d to take any part in the running of his Creation. Thus, if G-d created the Universe but is no longer there, when did He pass away? Surely, G-d who created time could not have disappeared at a moment in time. G-d could only have disappeared with the Big Bang. It was the simultaneous moment of G-d's demise and the Creation of the Universe. In other words, the Universe is G-d's wonderful memorial.
What about all the instances that G-d spoke to Moses, the experience at Mount Sinai, the parting of the Red Sea, the miracles? How did all these events come about if G-d was no longer there? The answer is that all these events were pre-recorded, pre-destined.
More and more, scientists and philosophers are coming to the conclusion that every event, past present and future, since the Big Bang and until the end of Time was programmed at the time of Creation. It is also the experience of old people that what happens has to happen because it is the destiny that it should happen.
Where do we go from here? We believe that man was created in the image of G-d and I therefore believe that man unless he will destroy himself by committing an error, is eventually destined to become G-d himself which is not impossible in a world of infinity and eternity.
I am writing all the above in the Jewish tradition of investigating and enquiring without any intention of irreverence.
The extermination during the war in cold blood and with impunity, by the beasts of Germany and its allies, of six million Jews, is a crime unequalled since the dawn of civilisation. It is an eye opener for those with intelligence.
As he witnessed the daily consignment of ten thousand men, women and children to the gas chambers, one Rabbi remarked, "If G-d does not intervene in this massacre, then take it from me that, as far as we are concerned, there is no G-d!"
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