Jesus Mortal |
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Jewish "guilt" In their zeal to appeal to the pagans and to put down the Jews, the evangelists sometimes paint the Jews as out to get Jesus. The synoptic gospels show the Jews turning on Jesus at the end, demanding that Pilate release another prisoner and that Jesus be the one crucified. John’s gospel shows the Jews persecuting and wanting to kill Jesus from the start, in response to his miracles and divine claims. The irony is that Jesus had to die not because the Jews hated him but because they responded to him. If he had been unable to stir the masses, if his ministry provoked popular opposition, he would not have been a threat. Little Herod killed John the washer because his popularity made him dangerous. Caiaphas had Jesus killed for roughly the same reason. It’s the positive reception that Jesus got at Jerusalem that was the problem. People were listening to him. When Jesus caused trouble at the temple, he forced high priest Caiaphas to act. Early Christians faced several criticisms, among them that their would-be lord of the world preached only to the Jews; and that his own people had rejected him. The evangelists were able to use these two criticisms against each other to net out a positive. The idea was that Jesus did indeed go to the Jews alone, but when they rejected him (as he planned all along, as punishment for them), then the kingdom of god was opened up to all people. Pagans can get in on the divine reward reserved for god’s chosen people just by converting to Christianity.
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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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