Why did Jesus have to die?

The Bible and traditional Christian theology tell us that Jesus had to die because humanity was lost in original sin. Jesus' death and resurrection paid the price that we would have had to pay for our sins, and all we have to do is truly accept his gift.

First let us set up some definitions.

God: Omniscient, Omnipotent, Non-Temporally bound being who created all things.
Jesus: Emanuel (God with us), Son of God and also God himself. See the Gospel of John chapter 1.
Humanity: Creations of God, originally good, but defiled by our original sin through Adam and Eve.

I recently re-read the story of the drawbridge operator who sacrificed his son to save the lives of those on the train.

The Drawbridge Keeper

I'm sure it's not a true story, but it can be moving nonetheless. It's usually told as an allegory for God having to sacrifice Jesus in order to save us all. The major problem as pointed out in the above link, is that Jesus' death was not an accident and that is where it breaks down as an allegory. This story made me think of another problem, but it's a problem with both stories.

God is, as stated above, an omniscient, omnipotent, non-temporally bound being who created all things. I guess this ties into the first problem. Before god had even created Adam and Eve he knew that Jesus would have to die on the cross to redeem all of humanity. He knew about all of the atrocities, all the suffering, and all the pain that his children, all of us, not just Jesus, would suffer.

Why did it have to happen? Essentially, it looks like God set Adam and Eve up to fail.

Why? I don't have an answer, but I'd sure like one. It is to that end that all of my non-intercessory prayer will go.

Dawkins, Hitchens, and Kreeft Oh My!

I just finished god is not Great - How Religion Poisons Everything, by Christopher Hitchens. I am now listening to The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. I am also reading Yes or No - Straight Answers To Tough Questions About Christianity, by Peter Kreeft. Part of me would really like to say that the first two books caused my doubts, but the fact of the matter is that every book I've ever read defending Christianity has caused my doubts. If God is the beginning of all things, would He not be the MOST real, the MOST tangible? Yet, we are required to have faith that He exists. I don't have to practice the presence of broccoli, there is no doubt that broccoli exists and is good for me, but Brother Lawrence would have me Practice The Presence of God. I've loved that book for many years. I used to read Josh McDowell as well. In years past, I've had such strong faith. There was a time when I liked nothing more than a good theological argument. To, as Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 10:5 "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Those days are long gone. I now know that I argued out of my own arrogance and fear, not out of some sincere desire to bring people to Christ.

First Post - Why I Question

I'm a hypocrite plain and simple. I'm also a coward because I won't post this under my real name. It's not that I pretend to be a great Christian, it's just that what I will say in this blog may be even more extreme than what I would normally say and I don't want my fellow Christians getting all weepy thinking I'm going to lose my salvation.