According to the Bible, Jesus defended adulterers, fishers, lepers, tax collectors, and the poor.
Yet the rich elite only know the Billy Graham version of Jesus who promises immortal life in exchange for money made through the hard work and suffering of all walks of life, be it the poor in Africa, the middle class West or their upper class fans.
However, God only offers life eternal (John 17:3), which has nothing to do with immortality.
The verse in question is:
"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
Knowing the only true God, and especially Jesus is the one God has sent, is the knowledge that lives eternally in the heart of Christians. This verse is presents eternal life as metaphor for knowing God and Jesus is the savior of Christians who believe in him.
Thus eternal life has nothing to do with a living soul that is granted immortality.
What might the purpose of pushing the propaganda about immortality accomplish in Christianity? Quite possibly, it may attract superstitious people who believe in miracles and especially in immortality.
However, the concept of an immortal soul is a pagan concept borrowed from Plato. In the early church, neo-Platonian philosophy was introduced to better understand God, Jesus and man's relationship to them.
Most Christians will reject the concept of an immortal soul, and refrain from using the quote I gave above out of context.
As well, church doctrine fails to mention immortality because knowing God and that Jesus is his messenger are the sole tenets on which to base the faith of Christians.
If I know this as a Buddhist, then I wonder why a few Christians cling to the nonsense that eternal life implies "immortality of the soul".
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