Jesus Mortal |
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exorcist Jesus was an exorcist. Stories of his exorcisms go back to our earliest account of him in Mark. Jesus refers to himself as an exorcist specifically in the context of god’s kingdom, his central theme. He said that his ability to cast out devils indicated that the kingdom had arrived. He apparently considered Satan’s hold over the world to be broken. Later gospel material, such as the content original to Luke and Matthew, as well as the whole gospel of John, includes no references to exorcism. Apparently exorcism looked a little sketchy and biographers after Mark weren’t keen to expand on that element of his biography. The lack of enthusiasm that later biographers show for Jesus as an exorcist is good evidence that Mark’s account is historical. No one would have made it up. Being an exorcist must not have endeared Jesus to the Sadducees, as they didn’t believe in demons. There aren’t any demons in the first five books of the Bible (the Torah), and that’s all the conservative Sadducees took as scripture. In the original sense, the snake in the garden was just a serpent, and “Satan” was one of the LORD’s heavenly servants. By Jesus’ time, however, the evil spirits that haunted Babylon had crept into the Jewish imagination. Even for those who believed in demons, Jesus’ apparent power over them wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Critics accused him of being in league with Baalzebul, the head demon. I suppose once you start believing in demons, anything’s possible. Later, Jesus would appear briefly as a sorcerer in the Babylonian Talmud and at length in the exhilaratingly derogatory Jewish account, “Life of Jesus” (Toldeot Yeshu).
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contents table of contents you're already looking at it introduction for the inquisitive reader biographical overview who he was and wasn't
afterlife not Jesus' concern animal sacrifice bloodless religion apocalypse did Jesus preach hellfire? baptism sin wash for Jesus and others beatitudes Jesus' words and others' words beloved disciple witness for the un-gospel bible scripture old and new bishop the unjesus body focus on the physical Buddha Jesus' close kin charity key Christian virtue and legacy of Jesus The Da Vinci Code secret (and false) messages divorce women's status dreams convenient literary device Elijah Jewish prophet with his own second coming equality ancient source of modern egalitarianism exorcist Jesus and demons failure reinterpreting Jesus as a failure faith from trust to blind belief father Jesus on titles of honor Francis of Assisi the most Christlike Christian Gandhi the 20th century's most Christly holy man Galilee Jesus' inauspicious homeland gentiles Jesus' inadvertent audience god how Jesus became god golden rule key to Jesus' success gospels competing accounts heaven from sky to spiritual home hell revenge fantasy humanism Jesus' legacy inerrant Christian treatment of scripture Thomas Jefferson ethics of Jesus Jewish guilt Christian libel John's gospel the un-gospel John the baptist, see John the washer John the washer Jesus' apocalyptic mentor Judaism libeled religion of Jesus kingdom of god what Jesus promised Lao Tzu poet of the cosmic way logos jesus as the word of god C. S. Lewis famous, flawed trilemma little drummer boy Luke beats Matthew logos Jesus as the divine word LORD Yahweh transitioning to the one god of all Luke's gospel the all-around best gospel Mark's gospel the gospel that lost its point Mary of Magdala women, visions, and sex massacre of the innocents bloodshed starts early Matthew's gospel best gospel for church reading Mormon, see Joseph Smith Moses Jewish lawgiver Muhammad a prophet who got it right mystery Orpheus and transubstantiation oppression origin of Jesus' compassion The Passion of the Christ Luke as buzzkill Paul revealer of the revealer private and public public Jesus and secret Christ relativism the secret power of the golden rule sacrifice Jesus' death and Christian sacrament Albert Schweitzer Jesus as a failure sheol dark pit of death show Jesus' deeds as put-ons slavery abolished by Jesus' efforts Joseph Smith flesh-and-blood Jesus Socrates secular Jesus son of god on close terms with the man upstairs soul, see body synoptics three gospels that agree temple center of Jewish religion trinity unifying and divisive doctrinre vision, see dreams Yahweh, see LORD Zoroaster Persian dualistic holy man
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