Jesus of Nazareth in the Context of His times
By Ernest M. Whiteman III
Let’s think about Jesus of Nazareth in the context of his times.
He was obviously not a Christian. Not a Catholic. Not a Roman Catholic. There were probably more than one or two major religions that he would have been aware of in his world; Judaism, his own religion, the religion he was raised in, and the polytheistic religions the Romans followed for centuries. You could probably say that religions of Southeast Asia were prevalent as well but would he have come into contact with them?
I guess I dislike all those pushing a "Christian Jesus" whom tend to forget that he was a progressive liberal. He preached peace and tolerance for your enemies and those who persecute you. He preached humility and a concern for the less fortunate, but such things seem not to compute in the Modern Neo-conservative mind. Jesus was a dissident. He spoke out against the status quo, not only against Rome but his own religion as well. He rose to prominence in a time when messiahs and prophets were coming out of the woodwork preaching revolt and violence. Jesus spoke to ‘turn the other cheek’ and ‘love your enemies’.
In his time he would have been a possible equivalent of a Martin Luther King Jr., a person whom begins a large societal movement within the boundaries of his world. Jesus felt, as any of us would, possibly, that his world was wrong in its treatment of each other and the less fortunate.
My opinions, of course, do not take into account whether you or I believe that Jesus was/is the Son of God. I believe in God, make no mistake. I was raised a Roman Catholic believing in the Holy Eucharist. So, I feel I need to strip that bias away and take a look at Jesus within the confines of the times in which he lived.
We are all a product of our environments. As humans day-to-day know, we are products of our choices. We like to think that there is one thing that defines us; choices, family, religion, status, actions, but all of these are tied to our environments. Jesus of Nazareth could not have been much different. He grew up in an environment of social oppression. Yet instead of mounting violent uprisings, he chose to preach tolerance and peace, which can also be strengths. How brave and courageous is that? To preach an unpopular opinion in a time when the majority speaks towards intolerance? How much strength and conviction did that take to stand up to popular opinion?
Most people say that taking the divinity out of Jesus is a slander against Christianity. I don’t think so. I would be less worried about others attacking my religion or my belief in God with their opinions rather than worry about how I offend God day to day. But ego and pride places our priorities on the self, more often, I think.
I think it is because no one thinks that a human Christ can be inspirational to humanity. Yet, it is his humanity we seek comfort. Christ was/is half-human, or God made into man, in this form he can represent both the humanity and divine in ourselves. Yet, people dismiss the humanity.
I always felt comfort in the possibility of a human Christ. Knowing that Jesus could have had a wife and children, to me, made his crucifixion more tragic and more of a sacrifice. Scholars do postulate that he may have had blood brothers and sisters, as well as a wife and children. Speculations even leads to that more than one apostle was a blood brother of Jesus. There was James, but also Thomas, of Doubting Fame, also called "Twin". (A twin of whom you ask? Take a guess.)
I do find all this comforting. It makes his sacrifice all the more powerful for what he gave up. But it is also inspirational in that a man in the miasma of his times rose to prominence to form a new way of thinking based on generosity and caring. It means we can do the same. 2000 years ago, it seems that people did not start societal movements, they began religions.
We are all a product of our environments. Can we hope to at least try for change in the manner of Jesus of Nazareth. Let him also serve as an example in that way.
COMING SOON TO THE REDSHADE REPORT: Women in Film: The Ghost in the Shell
By Ernest M. Whiteman III
Let’s think about Jesus of Nazareth in the context of his times.
He was obviously not a Christian. Not a Catholic. Not a Roman Catholic. There were probably more than one or two major religions that he would have been aware of in his world; Judaism, his own religion, the religion he was raised in, and the polytheistic religions the Romans followed for centuries. You could probably say that religions of Southeast Asia were prevalent as well but would he have come into contact with them?
I guess I dislike all those pushing a "Christian Jesus" whom tend to forget that he was a progressive liberal. He preached peace and tolerance for your enemies and those who persecute you. He preached humility and a concern for the less fortunate, but such things seem not to compute in the Modern Neo-conservative mind. Jesus was a dissident. He spoke out against the status quo, not only against Rome but his own religion as well. He rose to prominence in a time when messiahs and prophets were coming out of the woodwork preaching revolt and violence. Jesus spoke to ‘turn the other cheek’ and ‘love your enemies’.
In his time he would have been a possible equivalent of a Martin Luther King Jr., a person whom begins a large societal movement within the boundaries of his world. Jesus felt, as any of us would, possibly, that his world was wrong in its treatment of each other and the less fortunate.
My opinions, of course, do not take into account whether you or I believe that Jesus was/is the Son of God. I believe in God, make no mistake. I was raised a Roman Catholic believing in the Holy Eucharist. So, I feel I need to strip that bias away and take a look at Jesus within the confines of the times in which he lived.
We are all a product of our environments. As humans day-to-day know, we are products of our choices. We like to think that there is one thing that defines us; choices, family, religion, status, actions, but all of these are tied to our environments. Jesus of Nazareth could not have been much different. He grew up in an environment of social oppression. Yet instead of mounting violent uprisings, he chose to preach tolerance and peace, which can also be strengths. How brave and courageous is that? To preach an unpopular opinion in a time when the majority speaks towards intolerance? How much strength and conviction did that take to stand up to popular opinion?
Most people say that taking the divinity out of Jesus is a slander against Christianity. I don’t think so. I would be less worried about others attacking my religion or my belief in God with their opinions rather than worry about how I offend God day to day. But ego and pride places our priorities on the self, more often, I think.
I think it is because no one thinks that a human Christ can be inspirational to humanity. Yet, it is his humanity we seek comfort. Christ was/is half-human, or God made into man, in this form he can represent both the humanity and divine in ourselves. Yet, people dismiss the humanity.
I always felt comfort in the possibility of a human Christ. Knowing that Jesus could have had a wife and children, to me, made his crucifixion more tragic and more of a sacrifice. Scholars do postulate that he may have had blood brothers and sisters, as well as a wife and children. Speculations even leads to that more than one apostle was a blood brother of Jesus. There was James, but also Thomas, of Doubting Fame, also called "Twin". (A twin of whom you ask? Take a guess.)
I do find all this comforting. It makes his sacrifice all the more powerful for what he gave up. But it is also inspirational in that a man in the miasma of his times rose to prominence to form a new way of thinking based on generosity and caring. It means we can do the same. 2000 years ago, it seems that people did not start societal movements, they began religions.
We are all a product of our environments. Can we hope to at least try for change in the manner of Jesus of Nazareth. Let him also serve as an example in that way.
COMING SOON TO THE REDSHADE REPORT: Women in Film: The Ghost in the Shell
