Jesus Mortal |
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Judaism The story of Jesus has really messed up the common understanding of Judaism, especially first-century Judaism. From the Christian perspective, first-century Judaism was legalistic, heartless, and maybe even oppressive, with hypocritical leaders. In fact, Judaism included several distinct traditions with different answers to fundamental religious questions, and Jesus’ teaching fit well enough under the big tent of Judaism. The other feature of Christianity that obscures 1st-century Judaism is the Old Testament. The five books of Moses are pretty ferocious. Yahweh, for example, sends plagues to the Egyptians as a sort of genocidal terrorism that just doesn’t taste that good to the civilized palate. And the law is harsh, with death sentences handed out left and right. The Torah is so contrary to Christianity that a whole swath of unorthodox early Christians read those same scriptures as an account of the evil god Yahweh, from whom Christ was saving us. So Christians look at these books and think that that’s what 1st-century Judaism was like. Not much like Jesus. In fact, however, Judaism had softened and matured in the centuries since the first stories about Yahweh were written. Some hard times with the Assyrians and Babylonians produced a religion with more sympathy, the prophets cried out for justice for the downtrodden, and by the time Jesus came along Judaism was so humane that Jesus’ much-ballyhooed moral teaching was largely in line with Jewish tradition. That said, it was at the initiative of the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem that Jesus was killed. It was a political move. Jesus’ ministry and movement were acceptable along with other minority movements, such as the Essenes. Politically, however, they figured it was better to have one prophet killed than to risk Jesus stirring the people and provoking the Romans to action. Better one man die than all Israel perish, as the beloved disciple reported. The chief priests having Jesus killed is pretty harsh. By modern standards, that’s unjust religious persecution of the clearest sort. That said, if the security of 1st-century Jerusalem were partly up to me, and someone asked me whether Jesus was too dangerous to let live, I might go along with those who say that it’s better to do the horrible thing and sacrifice this man before he brings down the uneasy peace with the Romans. As it happened, the Jews were able to hang onto Jerusalem another generation, possibly because they’d been shrewd and calculating enough have Jesus put down.
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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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