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relativism Jesus laid the foundation for Western moral relativism. His daring, prophetic vision of moral conduct is so fundamental to modern moral reasoning that it’s taken for granted. Ironically, today it’s his nominal followers who resist moral relativism. Jesus preached to a people devoted to objectivist morals in the form of religious law. Jesus’ recurrent message was to impugn those that the objective laws lionized (Pharisees, those who prayed in public, etc.) and to support those that the objective law condemned (adulterers, Samaritans, etc.). His key teaching was the Golden Rule, “Treat others the way you want them to treat you.” This teaching is relativist rather than objectivist. It says that what is morally right is something you judge for yourself by sympathizing with others. One sees what is right by opening one’s heart to another human being, not by consulting a religious expert to interpret a legal code for you. Jesus was heir to the Jewish prophetic tradition, which had been setting itself against the religious establishment for centuries. For instance, Ezekiel contradicted the doctrine that the LORD punished people for the sins of their forefathers. To this day, liberal Christians are more likely to quote prophets such as Amos (“Let justice roll down like waters”) while conservative Christians are more likely to quote lawgivers (“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination”). Since Jesus’ ethical approach is relativist, it’s been able to adapt and stay current as society has progressed. Christian moral standards now go far beyond those taught in the Bible. For example, Christians renounce slavery (the Southern Baptists having lost that debate) and endorse universal suffrage even though the Bible condones slavery and never proclaims a right to vote. The Golden Rule can be understood relative to changing times and cultures. As our culture’s sense of justice has matured, so has our ability to apply the Golden Rule. Jesus’ relativism allows his modern-day followers to champion values that are not supported objectively in the Bible. Saying that Jesus’ moral approach is relativist doesn’t mean that it’s amoral. The caricature of moral relativism as implying that “anything goes” is a depiction of relativism taken to an extreme. Jesus’ relativism is the ordinary sort of everyday relativism, in which laws and codes are judged relative to their effects and to the needs of real people. It only took a few hundred years for Jesus’ followers to create a religion devoted to him, replacing the religion that Jesus himself preached. Like any other major religion, Christianity has had its up sides and down sides. These days, the liberal Christians that take Jesus’ message to heart hardly stand out from the crowd. Why? Because the crowd has been so profoundly influenced by Jesus’ message. It’s not just Christian parents who ask their children “How would you like it if someone did that to you?” It’s modern, humane parents in general. The Christians that stand out from the background culture are the conservatives that reject the culture’s relativism, as well as that of their founder.
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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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