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2406 lines
108 KiB
Plaintext
37 page printout
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Reproducible Electronic Publishing can defeat censorship.
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This file, its printout, or copies of either
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are to be copied and given away, but NOT sold.
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Bank of Wisdom, Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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**** ****
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THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
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BY
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WILLIAM FLOYD
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Author of "Social Progress,"
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"People vs. Wall Street,"
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"Our Gods on Trial,"
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"War Resistance."
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New York
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THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSOCIATION.
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Copyright 1932
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The Freethought Press Association, Inc.
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**** ****
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TO DEVOTEES OF TRUTH
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**** ****
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FOREWORD
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THE tradition regarding Jesus is so glamorous that it is
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difficult to review his life and character with an unbiased mind.
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While Fundamentalists and Modernists differ regarding the divinity
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of Christ, all Christians and many non-Christians still cling to
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preconceived notions of the perfection of Jesus. He alone among men
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is revered as all-loving, omniscient, faultless -- an unparalleled
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model for mankind.
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This convention of the impeccability of Jesus is so firmly
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established that any insinuation of error on his part is deemed a
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blasphemy. Doubting Jesus is more impious than mocking God
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Almighty. Jehovah may be exposed to some extent with impunity; a
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God who destroyed 70,000 of his chosen people because their king
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took a census [Chron. xxi.] is too illogical for any but
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theologians to worship. But the Son of God, or Son of man, is
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sacro-sanct. Jesus is reverenced as the one man who has lived
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unspotted by the world, free from human foibles, able to redeem
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mankind by his example.
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Respect for the principles of Jesus is so inbred in American
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people of all faiths that an attempt to disparage his worth is
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denounced as bad taste. The detractor is suspected of being an
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immoral person, no matter how convincing may be the proof which he
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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1
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THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
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presents. A conspiracy of silence is directed against any system of
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ethics advanced as superior to the Sermon on the Mount. In popular
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opinion Jesus never made a mistake; all his teachings were
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infallible; no other view is tolerated.
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Face the Facts
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This unwillingness to acknowledge the shortcomings of Jesus is
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partially due to fear of sustaining a great loss. The familiar
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answer to heretical arguments is that faith should not be destroyed
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unless something can be put in its place -- ignoring the fact that
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something always may be substituted for beliefs destroyed. That
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substitute is faith in the world as it really is. And our modern
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world, with all its shortcomings, is infinitely preferable to the
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earth, or even the heaven, of the first century. We now know that
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man can do more to eradicate sorrow than Jesus ever thought of. We
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can have greater confidence in the world as revealed today than in
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the doubtful traditions of Biblical times.
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But suppose there were nothing to substitute for the myth
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destroyed, should that deter the Truthseeker from continuing his
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investigation? Scientists do not hesitate in their research because
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the result of a new discovery may be disastrous. They seek the
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facts regardless of consciences; they want to know the Truth about
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the physical world. Ethicists should have a similar desire
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concerning the metaphysical world. They should have confidence that
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the Supreme Intelligence (as Edison called it) will lead on to
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better things.
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The True Jesus
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If Jesus was what his followers believe, no arguments will
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destroy their faith in him; but if Jesus was not perfect, according
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to modem standards, it is important that his status as God, or man,
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should be revised. Loss of confidence in an erring idol is not loss
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of a true ideal.
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When an iconoclast asserts that Jesus lacked supreme
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intelligence, the natural question is, "How do you know that you
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are right in your appraisal, 'lest haply ye be found even to fight
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against God'?" The answer is that we do not claim omniscience, but
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merely request everyone to use his or her own judgment, with
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intellectual honesty, examining each act or saying of Jesus without
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regard to presupposed ideas or tradition.
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Scriptures Unauthentic
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The consensus of scholarship has rejected the creation of the
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universe in six days in 4004 B.C., science having proved the
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existence of the world for millions of years. Higher Critics refuse
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to credit the book of Genesis, according to the first chapter of
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which the trees, beasts and fowls were created before man, but
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according to the second chapter after man. It is not assuming too
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much for the humblest writer to say that Moses was mistaken
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concerning many things he described in the Pentateuch. It follows
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that if one important portion of the Bible is untrustworthy, other
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parts of that same book may not be the infallible Word of God. The
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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2
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THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
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New Testament, as well as the Old, may be examined critically, and
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if the gospels contain numerous contradictions, the statements of
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the authors on any point, including the life of Jesus, are open to
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question. A conscientious person should reach conclusions based
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upon the best knowledge obtainable from all sources.
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If anyone is convinced that Jesus made mistakes, he is not
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necessarily compelled to become an atheist. All other Gods that
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have been worshipped by men have been found imperfect. The oft
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exposed errors of Jehovah do not prevent Christians and Jews from
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professing belief in God. Those who require support from outside
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themselves cling to the symbol of deity though not thoroughly
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crediting any personality ever described in any sacred scriptures.
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Except Jesus.
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An Evolutionist passes beyond the negative denial of God to
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the construction of a new philosophy in which Truth is his guide,
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Truth being the nearest approximation to reality obtainable with
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our present knowledge. Belief in the world as it is now, and as it
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is going to be, is a sufficient creed.
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Faith in Jesus
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With Jesus entrenched in popular opinion, there is small
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probability that faith in him will be shaken unless there is a
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preponderance of evidence against his divinity. No one need abandon
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faith in Jesus until convinced that something better has been
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found. No one should even expose himself to heretical arguments
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unless he is a devotee of Truth. Then only can he rejoice at a
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revelation of error in confidence that the more nearly the universe
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is understood the better can man adjust himself to his
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surroundings. A worshipper of Truth fears no destruction of false
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gods, nor any facts that may cause him to throw over treasured
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superstitions. He is willing to prove all things and hold fast to
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that which is true. He rejoices when his idol is shattered, knowing
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that he is approaching nearer to the true way of living, a way that
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Jesus did not adequately explain.
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Any attempt to censure the character of Jesus will meet with
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the ridicule it deserves unless substantiated by documentary
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evidence. The mere improbability of events contrary to natural laws
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does not destroy the ethical value of the teachings of the
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Nazarene. Anything might have happened in the eerie days of old;
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the critic must do more than deny the historicity of Jesus and the
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inspiration of the Bible. To be convincing he must derive from the
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scriptures in which Christians believe whatever proof can be
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deduced to unveil the superstition of a redeeming Savior.
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Documentary Evidence
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The documents most generally accepted by Christians are those
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collected in the King James Version of the Bible. The Apocrypha and
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other early manuscripts are unreliable. None of the thirty or more
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writers who described events around Jerusalem in Jesus' time gives
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any account of his teachings. The only life of Jesus is found in
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the four gospels; the numerous biographers of Christ have had no
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other reliable source of information. It is deceptive for the
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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3
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THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
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publishers of revised editions of the Bible to claim that "original
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manuscripts" have been consulted. Not one of the original
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manuscripts is in existence, the earliest extant dating from the
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fourth century A.D., while the most ancient portion of the New
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Testament in any museum was transcribed in the sixth century'
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Accepting, therefore, the King James Version of the New
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Testament as the most reliable source of information, the question
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arises as to what portion of the chapters therein may be considered
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authentic. Scholars have rejected the entire gospel of John as less
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reliable than the synoptic gospels; and the sixteenth chapter of
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Mark as an addition after the original papyrus had broken off.
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Modernists, being confronted, in spite of these deletions, with
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inconsistencies in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, have
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assumed the further privilege of rejecting any verses which appear
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at variance with their beliefs. Liberals of this class contend that
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the supernatural side of Jesus may be disregarded and yet that
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Jesus will remain Our Lord. They reject certain evangelistic
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passages that conflict with modem thought, but accept other
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statements by the same authors as authoritative.
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As the Christian churches have not accepted any abbreviation
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of the Bible as a substitute for the King James Version, it seems
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proper for the critic to have recourse to that translation as the
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most authentic description of the life and teachings of Jesus. He
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is justified, moreover, in considering every word in the supposedly
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inspired gospels as equally reliable. His only concern should be to
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interpret each verse as nearly as possible as the original writers
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intended their words to be understood, allowing for Eastern
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hyperbole and the custom of the times.
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Retain the Good
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In preparing a critical analysis of the character of Jesus, it
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is freely admitted that many of the thoughts attributed to the son
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of Mary are superlatively fine. They will live forever whether the
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personality of Jesus be rejected as a divinity or not. That these
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beautiful preachments are ignored here is not due to any desire to
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belittle admirable sentiments or to disparage right living. The
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loving side of Jesus has been emphasized again and again and will
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be borne in mind by the reader when other less admirable traits are
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criticized. The intent of this criticism is not to destroy idealism
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but to assist the spirit of true progress.
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Christianity Must Go
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The significance of this investigation lies in the changes
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that would have to be made in religious thought if it should be
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found that Jesus was not perfect. If Jesus was in error concerning
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conditions of his own time and exhibited no knowledge of our modern
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problems, his authority will be lessened. Searchers after the true
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way of life will not continue to worship a person whose conception
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of the physical and spiritual world was erroneous. If Jesus made
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mistakes, he is neither the Son of God nor an infallible man.
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|
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
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4
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||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
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So long as people feel compelled to worship what has been
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proved imperfect, or to evade important doctrines of their creeds
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for fear of losing faith in old traditions, their minds will not be
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receptive to changes in social conditions that require abandonment
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of established customs. Christians are imbued with a psychology
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derived from a completed revelation. The firmer their belief in
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Jesus, the greater their resistance to new ideas. Catholics are
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more reluctant to join progressive movements than Modernists and
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Modernists than Evolutionists. Religious people are apt to be
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afraid of the new world; they doubt the possibility of eliminating
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war, poverty and injustice -- customs as deeply rooted in the
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social world as belief in Jesus is in the religious world. If the
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chief reactionary bulwark of the past is abandoned, there will be
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greater possibility of accepting new revelations.
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What would happen if Christians should discover that their
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leader was not an incomparable guide? Absolutely nothing at first,
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Those accustomed to lead a moral life would continue to do so.
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Members of Christian churches are the very people who most wish to
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do what is right. They will not lose their character because Jesus
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has lost his fictitious divinity. On the contrary, they will search
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for the most elevating principles to substitute for the personality
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that has been found deficient. It is difficult for people to be
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superior to their gods. These same church-going individuals, when
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freed from the fetters of antiquated supernaturalism, will
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gradually learn to serve mankind with the same devotion they now
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render to a misunderstood God. They will no longer be limited by
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the defects of their paragon in their efforts to make the most of
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life. They will seek to solve modern problems in a rational way
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instead of deciding such matters as birth control, divorce, war and
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prohibition by reference to the scriptures, as they do now. For the
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first time they will make their decisions according to the best
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knowledge obtainable today.
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Jesus was in advance of his time. He declared that such
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revengeful theories as an eye for an eye must be supplanted by
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forgiveness. But as the world has evolved, Jesus has stood still.
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His teachings, superior as they were to those of the ancient
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Israelites, are now found to be inferior to the best ethics culled
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from the wisdom of the ages, brought down to date. It is heartening
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to feel that we can appropriate the superlative principles of all
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time instead of worshipping a deified personality who was limited
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to the best that men of his own generation could conceive.
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This examination of the life and character of Jesus will be
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based upon the accounts in the New Testament. Each passage will be
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construed as appears to the writer to have been originally
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intended. The reader may substitute his own interpretation, but
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should in no instance pass lightly over a situation as immaterial.
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Every word or action of Jesus is an important link in the chain of
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his divinity, or of his exalted position as a moral guide. Each
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argument should be met by acceptance or rejection, never with
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indifference. No reader of the following pages should ever say,
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"What difference does it make?" Everything concerning Jesus is of
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vast consequence in determining whether he is or is not a divine
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Savior, or a perfect guide.
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
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5
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THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
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ANTIQUATED THEOLOGY
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THE first event in the life of Jesus, the gospel story of his
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birth, is now considered unauthentic by many scholars and some
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theologians. The birth of a virgin, the visitation of an angel, the
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star in the East are phenomena contrary to natural laws and rest on
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insufficient authority for acceptance as credible. The
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probabilities are against exceptions in the laws of the universe.
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The Virgin Birth
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The original evidence for the virgin birth is found only in
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the gospels of Matthew and Luke, two unknown historians, and both
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these evangelists implicitly deny their own tale when they trace
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the descent of Jesus from David through Joseph. [Matt. i; Luke
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iii.] The slaughter of the children by Herod, in fear of Jesus as
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a rival, probably never took place. Mark, Luke and John do not
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mention it; Josephus, who dwelt on the crimes of Herod, knew
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nothing of this massacre. According to Luke, Mary and Joseph took
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Jesus to Jerusalem openly soon after the supposed decree. [Luke ii,
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22.]
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There is dispute as to whether Jesus was born in Bethlehem or
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Nazareth, and the date of his birth has been placed anywhere from
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4 B.C. to 7 A.D. Matthew says that Jesus was born "In the days of
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Herod", while Luke says it was "When Cyrenius was governor of
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Syria." Herod died in 4 B.C., while Cyrenius did not become
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governor of Syria unto 7 A.D.
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The romantic story of the Christ-child is not corroborated by
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the historians of the time and is in opposition to the theory of
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evolution by natural processes. And yet it is still one of the main
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sources of Jesus' fame, being repeated at Christmas-tide in the
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churches, thus connecting Jesus with God in a superhuman manner.
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The consensus of scholarship is in practical agreement that
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the theory of the virgin birth as a link between Jesus and God is
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a mistake; but whose mistake was it? Jesus never referred to his
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miraculous birth. If he was merely a man and never heard of the
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rumor about his conception, he was not to blame for the spread of
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this misleading story throughout Christendom.
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While Jesus did not refer to his divine paternity in a
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physical sense, he did endeavor to convince his hearers that he was
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more directly connected with God than other men. "I and my Father
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are one." [John x, 30.] "No man knoweth the Son but the Father;
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neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to
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||
whomsoever the Son will reveal him." ["Matt. xi, 27.]
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Jesus thus proclaimed himself identical with the Lord God of
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the Old Testament who called himself Jehovah. This is entirely in
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keeping with the whole Christian theory, for the reason d'e'tre of
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Jesus derived from the act of God soon after the creation. Adam and
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Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
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which God had commanded them not to touch, and for this
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disobedience, this fall of man from grace, God cursed mankind.
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Jesus came to earth to save man from the wrath of Almighty God.
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|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
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6
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|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
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But this claim of Jesus to oneness with God renders him liable
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to censure for the acts of Jehovah which represented a standard of
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ethics inferior to that preached by the Son of God. According to
|
||
the scriptures, which anyone may freely search, God advised or
|
||
countenanced deception ["Ezek. xiv, 9; Num. xiv, 30-34.]; stealing
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||
[Ex. iii, 21-22.], selfishness [Deut. xiv, 21.], conquest by force
|
||
[Num. xxxi et al.], indiscriminate slaughter [Ex. xxxii, 27.],
|
||
murder [Deut. vii, 16 et al.], cannibalism [Jer. xix, 9 et al.],
|
||
killing of witches ["Ex. xxii, 8.], slavery [Lev. xxv, 44-46.],
|
||
capital punishment for rebellious sons or for seeking false gods
|
||
[Deut. xxi, 18-21; xiii, 6-9.], sacrifices of animals [Lev. i,
|
||
14-15.] and other acts representing the concepts of primitive men.
|
||
["See the Old Testament.]
|
||
|
||
While Jesus could read ["Luke iv, 16.] and was familiar with
|
||
the scriptures, it is possible that he was not acquainted with the
|
||
system of dictatorship formerly employed by his Father.
|
||
Occasionally Jesus denounced the ethics of "them of old time", but
|
||
he always referred to his Father as perfect.
|
||
|
||
The dilemma is that Jesus must be condemned either for
|
||
claiming identity with Jehovah (to whom he was really superior), or
|
||
for accepting with only slight improvements the tyranny of God as
|
||
described in the Bible, the Word of God. Of course if the Bible is
|
||
not the Word of God, the whole system of Christian theology falls
|
||
to the ground.
|
||
|
||
The Jewish Messiah
|
||
|
||
Jesus claimed to be the Messiah expected by the Jews. "And the
|
||
high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living
|
||
God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
|
||
Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said." [Matt. xxvi, 63-64.] "Again
|
||
the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ,
|
||
the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am." [Mark xv, 61-62.]
|
||
"Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto
|
||
them, Ye say that I am." [Luke xxii, 70.] "The woman saith unto
|
||
him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is
|
||
come he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak
|
||
unto thee am he." [John iv, 25-26.]
|
||
|
||
These acknowledgments by Jesus that he was the Messiah are
|
||
important, for if he claimed divinity when he was merely mortal,
|
||
either under false pretence or being self-deceived, he made a
|
||
mistake of the most serious character. His claim was not recognized
|
||
by his own people, and many of his followers today deny that he was
|
||
the Jewish Messiah. Jesus said that he came from God to save the
|
||
Jews. Either he was truly the predicted Messiah or he made an
|
||
inexcusable error. In this as in other instances to be cited,
|
||
Fundamentalists will not admit any mistake, for they believe in the
|
||
supernatural events connected with the Son of God. But Modernists,
|
||
who reject the anointed Christ while clinging to the human Jesus,
|
||
may be at a loss to reconcile Jesus' claim to Messiahship with
|
||
their rejection of his divinity.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
7
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Jesus stressed his mission to save the world, saying:
|
||
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
|
||
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
|
||
everlasting life." [John iii, 16.]
|
||
|
||
Eternal Damnation
|
||
|
||
Whether Jesus was mistaken or not in his estimate of his close
|
||
relationship with God is for each person to decide; but his theory
|
||
of the disasters that would follow unbelief in his divinity leads
|
||
to serious difficulties if accepted literally. For not only was
|
||
Jesus in error when he insisted that salvation depended upon
|
||
belief, he was also reconciled to eternal suffering for
|
||
unbelievers. Note some of his expressions:
|
||
|
||
"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."
|
||
["John viii, 24.] "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting
|
||
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ... And these shall go
|
||
away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
|
||
eternal." [Matt xxv, 31-46.]
|
||
|
||
"Whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
|
||
forgiveness, but is in danger of etemal damnation." ["Mark iii,
|
||
29.]
|
||
|
||
"Except ye repent ye shall perish." [Luke xiii, 3.]
|
||
|
||
"If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to
|
||
enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into
|
||
the fire that never shall be quenched." [Mark ix, 43.]
|
||
|
||
"How can ye escape the damnation of hell?" [Matt. xxiii, 33.]
|
||
|
||
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that
|
||
believeth not shall be damned." [Mark xvi, 16.]
|
||
|
||
It is evident from these quotations that Jesus not only
|
||
preached belief in his divinity as essential to salvation, but
|
||
endeavored to terrify people into belief by threats of eternal
|
||
torment. Jesus was responsible for the theological conception of a
|
||
fiery hell. If he was mistaken, if there never was a place of
|
||
torment for the wicked after death, is it not an act of
|
||
constructive criticism to expose the person most responsible for
|
||
the false doctrine that has caused so much fear and mental
|
||
suffering? Must we not deplore this mistake of Jesus and recast our
|
||
entire opinion of him as a religious teacher?
|
||
|
||
Are we not justified in stating positively that Jesus made a
|
||
mistake when he taught a physical hell and condemned people to
|
||
spend eternity in torment for the doubtful sin of disbelief?
|
||
|
||
The Atonement
|
||
|
||
The doctrine of the Atonement was taught by Jesus. "For this
|
||
is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the
|
||
remission of sins." [Matt. xxvi, 28.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
8
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Whether this sacrifice of the innocent Jesus to save sinful
|
||
man was ordered by God or was voluntary on the part of Jesus, it
|
||
represents a theory of reprieve from punishment long since
|
||
abandoned as unethical. If sin must be punished, there is no
|
||
justice in relieving the sinner and placing the burden upon the
|
||
righteous.
|
||
|
||
Moreover, the Atonement appears to have been ineffective, for
|
||
in spite of the sacrifice that Jesus made, few were to be saved
|
||
under his scheme of salvation. "Many are called but few are
|
||
chosen." [Matt. xxii, 14.] "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the
|
||
way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
|
||
[Matt. vii, 14.] "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many,
|
||
I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
|
||
[Luke Xiii, 24.]
|
||
|
||
If the theory of Atonement for sin by the sacrifice of the
|
||
innocent was not ethical and if Jesus taught that doctrine, he was
|
||
in error, was he not?
|
||
|
||
The sacrifice of Jesus was not so great as often made by men.
|
||
Jesus was sustained with the thought that he was saving the world;
|
||
his physical suffering was not long continued; on the night of his
|
||
crucifixion he was in paradise. [Luke xxiii, 43.] He endured a few
|
||
hours of pain compared to weeks of suffering by wounded soldiers,
|
||
or years spent in prison by the proponents of an ideal.
|
||
|
||
Jesus not only claimed the power to remit sins but also said
|
||
to his disciples: "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto
|
||
them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained." [John xx,
|
||
23.]
|
||
|
||
Is that true? Surely it is proper to ask that blunt question.
|
||
Here is a definite statement concerning the power of certain men to
|
||
remit sins. If those men did not have the power deputed to them,
|
||
must we not doubt the accuracy of Jesus?
|
||
|
||
Jesus made a distinction between himself and the Comforter:
|
||
"It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
|
||
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him
|
||
unto you ... And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
|
||
another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever." [John xiv,
|
||
16.]
|
||
|
||
It must surprise some Christians that the Comforter could not
|
||
be present at the same time with Jesus.
|
||
|
||
Angels and Devils
|
||
|
||
Jesus believed in angels and devils, often referring to these
|
||
imaginary supernatural beings as if they existed. "Thinkest thou
|
||
that I cannot now pray to my Father and he shall presently give me
|
||
more than twelve legions of angels?" [Matt. xxvi, 53.] "So shall it
|
||
be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth." [Matt.
|
||
xiii, 49.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
9
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
The devils were among the first to recognize Christ's
|
||
divinity: "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?"
|
||
[Matt. Viii, 29.] "Let us alone, thou Jesus of Nazareth; art thou
|
||
come to destroy us? I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of
|
||
God." [Luke iv, 34.] "And unclean Spirits when they saw him, fell
|
||
down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God." [Mark
|
||
iii, 11.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus believed in demoniacal possession, casting out devils on
|
||
several occasions.
|
||
|
||
Jesus frequently referred to heaven as a place above the
|
||
earth: "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds
|
||
with great power and glory." [Mark xiii, 26] "And ye shall see the
|
||
Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the
|
||
clouds of heaven." [Mark xiv, 62.] "Verily, verily, I say unto you,
|
||
hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending
|
||
and descending on the Son of man." [John i, 51.]
|
||
|
||
When Jesus was transfigured and talked with Moses and Ellas,
|
||
he charged his disciples, saying, "Tell the vision to no man, until
|
||
the Son of man be risen again from the dead." [Matt. xvii, 9.]
|
||
|
||
According to the creeds based upon the Bible, Jesus rose from
|
||
the dead, descended into hell, and ascended bodily into heaven.
|
||
According to the gospels he stilled the storm, walked on the water
|
||
and told Peter to do so and to find money in a fish's mouth and
|
||
catch a large draught of fishes. These and other miracles connected
|
||
Jesus with God and were part of his theology.
|
||
|
||
Every fair-minded person should re-read the gospels and
|
||
refresh his memory regarding the theology of Jesus. Then a decision
|
||
must be reached as to the correctness of the views expressed.
|
||
Either conditions on earth were different in the first century from
|
||
those of the twentieth, or Jesus was mistaken in his conception of
|
||
God, heaven, hell, angels, devils and himself.
|
||
|
||
FALSE IMPRESSIONS
|
||
|
||
Jesus not only held mistaken ideas about theology, as anyone
|
||
but a Fundamentalist must admit, but he often gave impressions
|
||
about earthly affairs that were unreliable to say the least.
|
||
Occasionally his statements were actual misrepresentations of fact.
|
||
|
||
Jonah and the Whale
|
||
|
||
"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's
|
||
belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in
|
||
the heart of the earth." [Matt. xii, 40.]
|
||
|
||
Evidently Jesus believed the story of Jonah and the whale, as
|
||
well as the tale of Noah's ark [Luke xvii, 27; Matt. xxv, 38.] both
|
||
of which are now generally discredited. Moreover, his prophecy
|
||
regarding his entombment was inaccurate, for he was only two nights
|
||
and one day in the heart of the earth, from Friday night to Sunday
|
||
morning.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
10
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
End of the World
|
||
|
||
Jesus was decidedly mistaken in his theory of the approaching
|
||
end of the world.
|
||
|
||
"Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [Matt. iv, 17.]
|
||
"Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of
|
||
man be come." [Matt X, 23.] "There be some standing here, which
|
||
shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in
|
||
his kingdom." [Matt. xvi, 28; Mark ix, 1.] "And this gospel of the
|
||
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
|
||
nations; and then shall the end come ... Verily I say unto you,
|
||
This generation shall not pass, till all these things be
|
||
fulfilled." [Matt. xxiv, 74-34; Luke xxi, 32.] "The time is
|
||
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." [Mark i, 15.] "So ye
|
||
in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know
|
||
that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that
|
||
this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done."
|
||
["Mark xiii, 29-30.] "The hour is coming, in the which all that are
|
||
in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that
|
||
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have
|
||
done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." ['John v, 28-29.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus was confident that the day of judgment was coming in the
|
||
first century, but it has not come yet, nineteen hundred years
|
||
later. This erroneous belief in the imminent end of the world had
|
||
an important bearing upon his entire philosophy; for if the end of
|
||
the world was so near it was far more important to prepare for life
|
||
hereafter than to be concerned over mundane affairs. May we not
|
||
view with doubt any of Jesus' teachings that depended upon his
|
||
mistaken conception of the duration of the world?
|
||
|
||
Miracles
|
||
|
||
Jesus is reported to have fed 5,000 people with five loaves
|
||
and two fishes, and again 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small
|
||
fishes. He walked on the water, calmed the seas, raised three
|
||
persons from the dead and performed other miracles contrary to
|
||
natural laws. These wondrous acts were depended upon by him to
|
||
convince the people that he was the expected Messiah: "Go and shew
|
||
John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive
|
||
their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the
|
||
deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel
|
||
preached to them." ["Matt. xi, 4-5.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus assured his disciples that they too would be able to
|
||
perform miracles: "And these signs shall follow them that believe;
|
||
In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
|
||
tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
|
||
thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and
|
||
they shall recover." [Mark xvi, 17-18.] "He that believeth on me,
|
||
the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these
|
||
shall he do." [John xiv, 12.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus set great store by these marvels that only magicians
|
||
attempt nowadays. Ministers of the apostolic succession cannot cast
|
||
out devils or take up serpents, and they are affected by deadly
|
||
drinks the same as others. Jesus had a primitive idea of the value
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
11
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
of such magic. Either he sought to deceive the gullible, or, as is
|
||
more likely, was himself over-credulous. It is important to
|
||
remember that Jesus stressed the value of enchantment and advised
|
||
his successors to conjure in his name.
|
||
|
||
If the miraculous had not been connected with the name of
|
||
Jesus, it is probable that he never would have been heard of. His
|
||
ethical teachings alone would not have won for him the exalted
|
||
position that has come from the stories of his miraculous birth,
|
||
life and ascension. In other words, his fame rests upon the
|
||
supernatural side of his life that is now discredited by many of
|
||
his followers.
|
||
|
||
Eternal Life
|
||
|
||
The remarks of Jesus on the subject of death were not
|
||
accurate. "If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death."
|
||
[John viii, 51.] "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
|
||
die." [John xi, 26.]
|
||
|
||
Apparently Jesus referred to natural death, in which case he
|
||
was utterly mistaken; but if he meant that believers in him should
|
||
live forever in heaven, even so he gave a false impression; for
|
||
there is no evidence that life after death is assured to Christians
|
||
more than to others. Unbelievers were also to have eternal life,
|
||
though in torment.
|
||
|
||
Raising Lazarus
|
||
|
||
Jesus took advantage of opportunities, even of death, to
|
||
create dramatic effects. The eleventh chapter of John shows that
|
||
when Lazarus was reported ill, Jesus said, "This sickness is not
|
||
unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be
|
||
glorified thereby." So Jesus let Lazarus, one of the believers whom
|
||
he loved, die [John xi, 6.] in order that he might have the triumph
|
||
of raising him from the dead. "Then said Jesus unto them plainly,
|
||
Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there,
|
||
to the intent ye may believe."
|
||
|
||
The confusion between earthly death and loss of eternal life
|
||
was shown in the remark of Jesus to Martha: "I am the resurrection
|
||
and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet
|
||
shall he live." This might be construed to mean that believers
|
||
should have eternal life hereafter, but Jesus evidently had
|
||
reference to life on earth for he proceeded to raise Lazarus from
|
||
the dead and cause him to live again on earth with his sisters.
|
||
|
||
When Martha reminded Jesus that Lazarus had been dead four
|
||
days, Jesus replied, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest
|
||
believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" But Jesus himself
|
||
had doubts of his ability to bring back Lazarus to life, as shown
|
||
by his spontaneous prayer of thanks: "Father, I thank thee that
|
||
thou hast heard me." Then he revealed again his desire to dramatize
|
||
the occasion, saying, "And I knew that thou hearest me always: but
|
||
because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may
|
||
believe that thou hast sent me."
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
12
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
"Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the
|
||
things which Jesus did, believed on him." Do the followers of
|
||
Jesus, who claim that he made no mistakes, believe on him? If so,
|
||
they must believe that he raised Lazarus from the dead as he
|
||
claimed to have done. Do they believe that they can also raise
|
||
people from the dead? Jesus so assured them when he promised that
|
||
believers could do greater works than he performed. No, Jesus gave
|
||
a false impression of his power.
|
||
|
||
God's Protection
|
||
|
||
Jesus continued his deception of the world by promising
|
||
protection that has never been accorded. "Are not two sparrows sold
|
||
for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground
|
||
without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all
|
||
numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many
|
||
sparrows." [matt. X, 29-31.]
|
||
|
||
These sayings may properly be taken as symbolical or
|
||
allegorical; but the evident intention was to assure his followers
|
||
that God would protect them in their daily life. Safety was
|
||
promised for believers, a safety that has been lacking for
|
||
everyone. There is no evidence that God does protect believers any
|
||
more than unbelievers. When the Titanic went down, those who
|
||
perished were not solely the wicked persons; there was no
|
||
distinction in the terrible disaster between 'believers and
|
||
unbelievers.
|
||
|
||
Jesus created in the minds of his hearers and his followers
|
||
the idea that God was watching each individual to save him from
|
||
danger, but this, unfortunately, is not a fact. It sounds
|
||
comforting; it makes people feel nearer to God; but experience
|
||
proves that no such close relationship exists. Jesus gave a false
|
||
impression of God's loving care for men.
|
||
|
||
Belief in Prayer
|
||
|
||
Modern religious people may still consistently believe in
|
||
prayer as a form of inward aspiration, but it is difficult to take
|
||
literally the assurance given by Jesus of practical accomplishments
|
||
by means of prayer in his name.
|
||
|
||
Jesus did not confine himself to promising spiritual results
|
||
from prayer, but distinctly gave it to be understood that the
|
||
physical world would respond to petitions to Jehovah. "Again I say
|
||
unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any
|
||
thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father
|
||
which is in heaven." [Matt. xviii, 19.] "If ye have faith, and
|
||
doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree,
|
||
but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and
|
||
be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things
|
||
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
|
||
[Matt. xxi, 21-22.] "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray,
|
||
believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." [Mark xi,
|
||
24.] "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say
|
||
unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall
|
||
remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you." [Matt. xvii,
|
||
20.]
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
13
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
These promises have not been fulfilled. Bishops, priests and
|
||
deacons with strong faith have been unable to obtain, by means of
|
||
the most sincere prayer, results similar to those indicated, They
|
||
have followed Jesus in vain. No man living dare put his faith to
|
||
the test by a public demonstration of prayer for physical changes.
|
||
Christian prayers for rain are conventional, not being offered with
|
||
confidence that rain will follow.
|
||
|
||
Jesus has misled us.
|
||
|
||
OBSCURE TEACHINGS
|
||
|
||
MANY of the sayings of Jesus lacked clarity. Various
|
||
interpretations have been put upon them by scholars of distinction.
|
||
No one is sure what was meant.
|
||
|
||
According to the gospels, Jesus was descended from David, but
|
||
Jesus mystified his hearers on this descent, saying: "If David then
|
||
call him Lord, how is he his son?" [Matt. xxii, 41-45.]
|
||
|
||
Witnesses and fudge
|
||
|
||
On the subject of witnesses there is great confusion. "If I
|
||
bear witness of myself, my witness is not true." [John v, 31.]
|
||
"Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true." [John
|
||
viii, 14.] "It is also written in your law, that the testimony of
|
||
two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the
|
||
Father that sent me beareth witness of me." [John viii, 17-18.] "I
|
||
and my Father are one." [John x, 30.] "My Father is greater than
|
||
I." [John xiv, 28.]
|
||
|
||
This and the following instruction regarding judicial
|
||
procedure are far from clear. Jesus acknowledged the principle of
|
||
law requiring more than one witness but said that in his case the
|
||
only other witness necessary was his Father, although he and his
|
||
Father were one.
|
||
|
||
Jesus is supposed to be the judge of the world, but his
|
||
statement of the case leaves the issue ambiguous. "For the Father
|
||
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."
|
||
[John v, 22.] "I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is
|
||
true." [John viii, 16.] "And if any man hear my words, and believe
|
||
not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to
|
||
save the world." [John xii, 47.] "For judgment I am come into this
|
||
world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see
|
||
might be made blind." [John x, 39.]
|
||
|
||
The quality of reasoning employed in these instances has
|
||
naturally led to theological quibbling. If Jesus can argue in that
|
||
fashion, so can his followers, at the expense of intellectual
|
||
honesty.
|
||
|
||
Cannibalism
|
||
|
||
The Jews could not understand what Jesus meant when he said:
|
||
"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye
|
||
have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,
|
||
hath eternal life." [John vi, 53-58.]
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
14
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Religion Only for Children
|
||
|
||
Nor are these sayings clear: "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of
|
||
heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise
|
||
and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." [Matt. xi, 25.]
|
||
"Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child,
|
||
he shall not enter therein." [Mark x, 15.]
|
||
|
||
This train of thought implies that education is of no
|
||
importance where belief is concerned.
|
||
|
||
Difficult or Easy?
|
||
|
||
After enumerating the many hardships that must be endured by his
|
||
followers, Jesus contradicted himself by saying, "For my yoke is
|
||
easy, and my burden is light." [Matt xi, 30.]
|
||
|
||
Charity
|
||
|
||
There are apparent contradictions in his instructions
|
||
regarding charity: "Let your light so shine before men, that they
|
||
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
|
||
heaven." [Matt v, 16.] "Take heed that ye do not your alms before
|
||
men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father
|
||
which is in heaven." [Matt vi, 1.]
|
||
|
||
The Scriptures Upheld
|
||
|
||
Jesus reverenced the Hebrew Old Testament. "Think not that I
|
||
am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
|
||
destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
|
||
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
|
||
law, till all be fulfilled." [Matt v, 17-18.]
|
||
|
||
And yet Jesus was the reformer, overthrowing ancient customs,
|
||
renouncing the old principle of a tooth for a tooth, improving upon
|
||
the Mosaic law. He was inconsistent.
|
||
|
||
Illogical
|
||
|
||
The logic of Jesus is often difficult to follow.
|
||
|
||
"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
|
||
righteousness, and of judgment: of sin because they believe not on
|
||
Me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no
|
||
more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."
|
||
[John xvi, 8-11.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus admitted his obscurity: "These things have I spoken unto
|
||
you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak
|
||
unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father."
|
||
[John xvi, 25.]
|
||
|
||
That time has never come.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
15
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Parables Deceptive
|
||
|
||
Jesus explained his obscurity in this way: "Unto you it is
|
||
given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in
|
||
parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might
|
||
not understand." [luke viii, 10.] "But unto them that are without,
|
||
all these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see,
|
||
and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
|
||
lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be
|
||
forgiven them." Mark iv, 11-12.]
|
||
|
||
In other words, Jesus, who said he came to save the world,
|
||
concealed his meaning for fear some of his hearers should be
|
||
converted and their sins be forgiven -- which is exactly what he
|
||
sought to bring about.
|
||
|
||
Obscurity in a teacher is a great defect, especially when he
|
||
glories in his ambiguity. If any Christians wish that Jesus had
|
||
been more clear, then Jesus does not appear perfect to them, and
|
||
they should admit his imperfections.
|
||
|
||
DEFICIENT INSTRUCTIONS
|
||
|
||
IN A number of instances the teachings of Jesus are so
|
||
incomplete, or so inappropriate, as to render no assistance in
|
||
meeting similar situations in modern life. Either his meaning is
|
||
not clear, or his instructions are too primitive to be applicable
|
||
to our civilization.
|
||
|
||
Labor
|
||
|
||
The relation between employer and employee is one that
|
||
requires practical guidance. Let us see what information Jesus gave
|
||
on this important subject.
|
||
|
||
The parable of the laborers [Matt. xx, 1-16.] relates that an
|
||
employer hired men to work in his vineyard for twelve hours for a
|
||
penny, and that he paid the same wage to other workers who toiled
|
||
only nine, six, three and one hour. When those who had worked
|
||
longest resented this treatment, as modern strikers would, the
|
||
employer answered, apparently with Jesus' approval: "Friend, I do
|
||
thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that
|
||
thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto
|
||
thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is
|
||
thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and
|
||
the first last."
|
||
|
||
This parable may be a comfort to autocratic employers,
|
||
sustaining them in their determination to dominate labor, but the
|
||
principles enunciated are lacking in social vision. Equal pay for
|
||
unequal work is approved, and the employer is vindicated in
|
||
regulating wages and hours as he sees fit without regard for
|
||
Justice or the needs of the workers. In the manner of modern
|
||
employers, the "goodman" calls his worker "Friend" but treats him
|
||
with contempt. Jesus taught that the workers were wrong in
|
||
demanding justice, that the employer was justified in acting
|
||
erratically, as the money paid was his. He presented the issues
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
16
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
between capital and labor and sided with capital. He stated the
|
||
fact that the first shall be last, but said nothing to remedy that
|
||
unfortunate situation. He did not explain how workers could obtain
|
||
proper compensation for their labor.
|
||
|
||
Jesus assumed a fair attitude when he said, "The laborer is
|
||
worthy of his hire", and, "It is enough for the disciple to be as
|
||
his master, and the servant as his lord", but he continued with
|
||
doubtful logic: "If they have called the master of the house
|
||
Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household",
|
||
implying that if an employer is worldly-minded his servants will be
|
||
even worse.
|
||
|
||
Little respect is shown for employees in the remark, "The
|
||
hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the
|
||
sheep." [John x, 13.] Probably in those days as now many an
|
||
employee stuck to his post nobly to do his duty.
|
||
|
||
The meaning is obscure in his other comment upon an employer
|
||
who told his tired servant to serve his master first, ending with
|
||
the enigma, "We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which
|
||
was our duty to do." [Luke xvii, 10.]
|
||
|
||
USURY
|
||
|
||
In the parable of the talents the servant who did not put his
|
||
money out at usury to make profits was condemned: "And cast ye the
|
||
unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping
|
||
and gnashing of teeth." [Matt. xxv, 30] Punishment was to be severe
|
||
in Jesus' program; the disobedient servant "shall be beaten with
|
||
many stripes." Jesus did not advise leniency in such instances
|
||
except that "he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of
|
||
stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. [Luke xii, 47-48.] In
|
||
his estimation the servant was a slave to be punished corporeally
|
||
by his master, even if ignorant of his wrong-doing.
|
||
|
||
A Dr. Taylor, former Yale College theologian, is reported to
|
||
have said: "I have no doubt that if Jesus Christ were now on earth
|
||
he would, under certain circumstances, become a slave-holder." A
|
||
Southern divine in 1860 could well maintain that slavery was
|
||
approved in both Old and New Testaments, but no Christian would now
|
||
impute slave-holding to Jesus. The standard of human relationships
|
||
has improved since slave-holding days in America. The modern
|
||
attitude toward servants, through by no means perfect, is superior
|
||
to the relationships between master and servants accepted by Jesus.
|
||
Slavery was the custom of the times and Jesus did not rise above
|
||
it.
|
||
|
||
In the parable of the unmerciful servant [Matt. xviii, 23-24.]
|
||
Jesus taught the duty of forgiveness. He rightly rebuked the
|
||
servant who oppressed his subordinates after being well treated by
|
||
his lord. But the punishment suggested by Jesus for the abominable
|
||
conduct was extremely harsh: "And his lord was wroth and delivered
|
||
him to the tormenters, till he should pay all that was due unto
|
||
him." Torture for criminals was thus taught by Jesus.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
17
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Jesus, apprenticed to his father in his youth, never did any
|
||
practical work so far as we know. He lived on the charity of
|
||
others, setting an example that would bring trouble to anyone who
|
||
followed in his train. If anything, he was an agitator, a
|
||
peripatetic propagandist, teaching what he believed right but not
|
||
working to support himself and therefore not being a good example
|
||
for the workaday world today.
|
||
|
||
Economics
|
||
|
||
Nothing in the teachings of Jesus was more definite than his
|
||
denunciation of riches.
|
||
|
||
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth ... A rich man
|
||
shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven ... It is easier for
|
||
a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to
|
||
enter into the kingdom of God ... The rich man also died, and was
|
||
buried; and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments ...
|
||
Woe unto you that are rich."
|
||
|
||
These strictures upon the rich appear somewhat severe, and
|
||
Jesus went much farther, condemning even ordinary thrift and
|
||
precaution. [Matt. vi, 25-31, discussed under the Sermon on the
|
||
Mount.]
|
||
|
||
According to Acts 11, 44-45 and iv, 32, "All that believed
|
||
were together and had all things common; and sold their possessions
|
||
and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need ...
|
||
Neither said any of them that aught of the things which he
|
||
possessed was his own; but they had all things common."
|
||
|
||
It is to be presumed that the disciples practiced this
|
||
communism at the instruction of Jesus. If Jesus approved of
|
||
communism was he right or wrong?
|
||
|
||
"Blessed be ye poor". [Luke vi, 20.]
|
||
|
||
Poverty is not a blessing but a curse. Jesus taught the theory
|
||
that the poor would be rich hereafter while the rich would be in
|
||
hell.
|
||
|
||
Punishment for Debts
|
||
|
||
We have seen that Jesus expected an unjust servant to be
|
||
tormented until he paid in full. There are also other evidences
|
||
that he approved of imprisonment for debt. "Agree with thine
|
||
adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest at any
|
||
time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver
|
||
thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say
|
||
unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast
|
||
paid the uttermost farthing." [Matt. v, 25-26.]
|
||
|
||
A legislator who patterned his life after Jesus would be
|
||
justified in enacting laws imprisoning for debt and scourging for
|
||
misdemeanors.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
18
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Some may say that the sentiments expressed by Jesus were not
|
||
mistakes but merely presented the customs of his day. Possibly he
|
||
did not intend to advise all that he seemed to approve; but if
|
||
Jesus was a practical and prophetic guide he should have made it
|
||
clear that he did not sanction the actions he apparently commended.
|
||
|
||
In the parable of the pounds the nobleman, seemingly with the
|
||
approval of Jesus, denounced the servant as wicked who did not put
|
||
his lord's money in the bank to draw interest. [Luke xix, 23.] And
|
||
in the parable of the talents the lord rewarded those who had made
|
||
100 per cent profit through speculation." [Matt. xxv, 20.]
|
||
|
||
Another contradiction of his theory of the blessedness of
|
||
poverty was his promise that those who followed him "shall receive
|
||
a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters,
|
||
and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the
|
||
world to come eternal life." [Mark x, 30.]
|
||
|
||
Finally, Jesus stated the unfortunate truth, "Whosoever hath,
|
||
to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but
|
||
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that he hath."
|
||
[Matt. xiii, 12.] If Jesus did not approve of that worldly method
|
||
of distribution, he could have denounced its injustice instead of
|
||
leaving the comment as if it expressed his own policy.
|
||
|
||
Healing
|
||
|
||
Many Christians value Jesus most for his healing powers, but
|
||
Jesus looked upon disease almost as he did upon demoniacal
|
||
possession, as something evil that could be cast out. "But that ye
|
||
may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins
|
||
(then saith he to the sick of the palsy) Arise, take up thy bed,
|
||
and go into thine house." [Matt. ix, 6.] There was confusion in his
|
||
mind between sin and sickness.
|
||
|
||
Jesus healed leprosy and palsy by touching the sick person; he
|
||
healed the servant of the centurion by absent treatment, and
|
||
restored sight by spitting on the eyes [Mark viii, 23.] or
|
||
anointing them with clay made with spittle [John ix, 6.], or by
|
||
requiring faith. [Mark x, 52.] He healed a withered hand, cured
|
||
impediments in speech and deafness, all without medical
|
||
applications, even replacing an ear severed by a sword. [Luke xxii,
|
||
51.]
|
||
|
||
Christian Scientists practice the same methods with confidence
|
||
in success, but medical and surgical treatment are the most
|
||
reliable means of effecting cures, disappointing as they are. If
|
||
Jesus could cure disease, it was remiss of him not to instruct men
|
||
definitely in his methods so that the suffering from illness that
|
||
has afflicted the world could have been averted.
|
||
|
||
Jesus did not isolate the germ of leprosy, or establish any
|
||
practicable method of preventing disease. He has been of less value
|
||
to the world as a healer than Pasteur, Lister, Koch, or Walter
|
||
Reed.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
19
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Some Christians will say that Jesus did not tell us how to
|
||
avoid illness because man needs to be chastened by pain. If that is
|
||
correct, if pain and disease are sent by God and are consciously
|
||
permitted by Jesus, sick people should be allowed to suffer instead
|
||
of trying to heal them.
|
||
|
||
Peace
|
||
|
||
Jesus has been called the Prince of Peace, but the weight of
|
||
his testimony is not on the side of absolute pacifism. With his
|
||
view of rendering unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, it is
|
||
possible that he would have advised young men to obey the state and
|
||
enlist, or accept the draft, whenever their country called.
|
||
|
||
On November 12, 1931, Rev. Dr. T. Andrew Caraker said at a
|
||
banquet of the American Legion in Baltimore that if Jesus Christ
|
||
had lived in 1917 He would have been the first to volunteer in the
|
||
American army, the first to wear a gas mask, shoulder a rifle and
|
||
enter the trenches.
|
||
|
||
Other ministers derive from the same gospels the belief that
|
||
Jesus would not have stabbed Germans with a bayonet. Nor would
|
||
Jesus have advised others to fight if he had been unwilling to
|
||
fight himself.
|
||
|
||
Most of the sayings of Jesus regarding violence or non-
|
||
resistance were intended to apply chiefly to personal
|
||
relationships; he said little of international strife. What he did
|
||
say showed placid acceptance of the war system:
|
||
|
||
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that
|
||
ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass,
|
||
but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation,
|
||
and kingdom against kingdom." [Matt. xxiv, 6-7.]
|
||
|
||
"And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye
|
||
not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall
|
||
not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom
|
||
against kingdom." [Mark xiii, 7-8.]
|
||
|
||
"But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not
|
||
terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is
|
||
not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against
|
||
nation, and kingdom against kingdom." [Luke xxi, 9-10.]
|
||
|
||
These verses have a more direct bearing on war as we now know
|
||
it than any of his other sayings. They show his belief in the
|
||
inevitability of war. Apparently he did not feel himself competent
|
||
to counteract general mass militarism. He offers no program for
|
||
arbitration of international disputes, no substitute for war
|
||
between nations, no policy of war resistance.
|
||
|
||
When Jesus advised non-resistance, saying to his follower,
|
||
"Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the
|
||
sword shall perish with the sword," [Matt. xxvi, 52.] he was merely
|
||
stating the danger of using violence, not the immorality of
|
||
employing force. In fact, he commanded his disciples to take the
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
20
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
very sword which he later told them to sheathe: "He that hath no
|
||
sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one ... And they said,
|
||
Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is
|
||
enough." [Matt. xxvi, 52.]
|
||
|
||
Thus Jesus, the supposed non-resistant, prepared his followers
|
||
with swords. These swords were for defense, and when the time came
|
||
he repudiated even that use of the weapons, but, nevertheless, he
|
||
armed his disciples instead of adhering to his principle of non-
|
||
resistance. He did not set a positive example of disarmament.
|
||
|
||
Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers ... love your enemies
|
||
... Have peace one with another ... On earth peace, good will
|
||
toward men ... Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you ...
|
||
These things have I spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace
|
||
... Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right
|
||
cheek, turn to him the other also."
|
||
|
||
Other remarks of Jesus favored violence: "Think not that I am
|
||
come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a
|
||
sword." [Matt. x, 34.] "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on
|
||
earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division." [ Luke xii, 21-22.]
|
||
"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over
|
||
them, bring hither, and slay them before me." [Luke xix, 27.] "My
|
||
kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world,
|
||
then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the
|
||
Jews." [John xviii, 36.] "When a strong man armed keepeth his
|
||
palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall
|
||
come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor
|
||
wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils." [Luke xi, 21-22.]
|
||
"And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all
|
||
out of the temple." [John ii, 15.]
|
||
|
||
In determining whether or not Jesus was a promoter of peace it
|
||
is only reasonable to review everything that he said or did
|
||
relating to the use of violence, giving equal weight to every
|
||
verse. We cannot accept one statement and reject the others. The
|
||
conclusion reached must be that Jesus was inconsistent in
|
||
advocating both non-resistance and the use of force. He took
|
||
diametrically opposed positions, the use of swords and scourges and
|
||
non-resistance being mutually exclusive. Jesus preached non-
|
||
resistance and at the same time armed his retainers with two
|
||
swords. He advocated turning the other cheek but did not criticize
|
||
war. Therefore, pacifists and militarists, with their opposite
|
||
philosophies, should both admit that at times Jesus was mistaken.
|
||
|
||
Marriage
|
||
|
||
Jesus occasionally eulogized marriage: "For this cause shall
|
||
a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and
|
||
they twain shall be one flesh ... What therefore God hath Joined
|
||
together, let not man put asunder." [Matt. xix, 5-6.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
21
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Celibacy
|
||
|
||
On other occasions he made remarks which indicated his
|
||
preference for celibacy as the higher state, the one he adopted for
|
||
himself. "In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in
|
||
marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." [Matt. xxii,
|
||
30.] "The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
|
||
but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and
|
||
the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in
|
||
marriage. [Luke xx, 34-35.] "I say unto you, That whosoever looketh
|
||
on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her
|
||
already in his heart." [Matt. v, 28.] "There are some eunuctis
|
||
which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some
|
||
eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs,
|
||
which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's
|
||
sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." [Matt.
|
||
xix, 12.] "There is no man that hath left ... wife, or children for
|
||
the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in
|
||
this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting."
|
||
[Luke xviii, 29-30.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus referred to the absence of marriage in heaven, the ideal
|
||
realm. Paul's testimony adds to the evidence that Jesus considered
|
||
celibacy preferable to any form of sex expression, even marriage.
|
||
|
||
Adultery
|
||
|
||
On the other hand, Jesus was tolerant of sex offenses. He chatted
|
||
in a friendly manner with the woman of Samaria, saying: "Thou hast
|
||
had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband."
|
||
[John iv, 18.] And about the woman taken in adultery he said: "He
|
||
that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her
|
||
... Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more." [John viii, 7-
|
||
11.] "The harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." [Matt.
|
||
xxi, 31.]
|
||
|
||
Divorce
|
||
|
||
Jesus sanctioned divorce. His followers are so annoyed at this
|
||
fact that they frequently quote the verse on the subject with the
|
||
offensive clause omitted. The text reads: "It hath been said,
|
||
Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of
|
||
divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his
|
||
wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
|
||
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
|
||
adultery." [Matt. v, 31-32.] Again in Matthew xix, 9, he makes the
|
||
same exception. It is evident, therefore, that Jesus permitted
|
||
divorce for one cause. If the wife was unfaithful the husband could
|
||
divorce her, but otherwise no matter how unhappy the couple might
|
||
be, they must remain married.
|
||
|
||
The admirable leniency of Jesus toward sex offenders, and his
|
||
permission to divorce, must seem like mistakes to churchmen who
|
||
consider extramarital sex relations the unforgivable sin. And
|
||
everyone must see the danger of having our judges adopt as a
|
||
principle of justice the dismissal of offenders on the ground that
|
||
the prosecutors have also sinned.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
22
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
A Christian girl of today would not be encouraged by the most
|
||
zealous religious parents to marry a man exactly like Jesus.
|
||
|
||
Faulty Judgment
|
||
|
||
Jesus selected Judas to be the treasurer of the apostles'
|
||
joint funds, but later admitted his error, saying: "Have I not
|
||
chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spoke of Judas
|
||
Iscariot the son of Simon: for it was he that should betray him,
|
||
being one of the twelve." [John vi, 70-71.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus erroneously supposed that "salvation is of the Jews." [John
|
||
iv, 22.] "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of
|
||
the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the
|
||
house of Israel." [Matt. x, 5-6.] A nationalistic and partial
|
||
spirit is expressed in these sentences, a spirit that has been
|
||
followed to the extent that Jesus would not be permitted to enter
|
||
America if he applied for a visa.
|
||
|
||
Unconvincing
|
||
|
||
Jesus failed in his mission to save the world. He made the
|
||
supreme sacrifice in vain. His method of proving his divinity did
|
||
not convince his hearers: "But though he had done so many miracles
|
||
before them, yet they believed not on him." [John xii, 37.] "For
|
||
neither did his brethren believe in him." [John vii, 5.] After he
|
||
had healed many, cast out unclean spirits and appointed his twelve
|
||
apostles to do likewise, his friends "went out to lay hold on him:
|
||
for they said, He is beside himself." [Mark iii, 21.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus admitted his impotence as a human being when he said, "I
|
||
can of mine own self do nothing." [John v, 30.] Even with the
|
||
assistance of his Father he did not accomplish what he set out to
|
||
do.
|
||
|
||
Prohibition
|
||
|
||
The miracle of turning water into wine, providing one hundred
|
||
gallons of wine after the people at the party had "well drunk",
|
||
must appear to prohibitionists like a mistake on the part of Jesus.
|
||
Many Methodists and Baptists would have preferred to have him turn
|
||
the wine into water; yet they will not admit that Jesus made a
|
||
mistake.
|
||
|
||
Lack of Experience
|
||
|
||
So far as the gospels relate, Jesus never had any experience
|
||
with three of the chief difficulties of human life -- sex, earning
|
||
a living and illness. He was therefore less able to explain those
|
||
relationships than one who has struggled through in the customary
|
||
manner of mankind. To take the inexperienced Jesus as our guide in
|
||
practical living would be like a traveller who was planning a trip
|
||
over perilous mountains and engaged as a guide a man who had never
|
||
crossed the mountains.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
23
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
As Jesus believed that the end of the world was approaching,
|
||
and as he revealed no information about the future, his teachings
|
||
should be taken as applying solely to his own time. A divinity
|
||
living now would preach far differently from the inadequate
|
||
doctrines of Jesus.
|
||
|
||
The abandonment of reliance upon a Jesus who has not changed
|
||
in nineteen hundred years, in favor of an Evolutionary philosophy
|
||
that requires constant change, leads to a new conception of the
|
||
world and its possibilities for man. A person who has thought
|
||
himself out of antiquated theology may be expected to have an open
|
||
mind towards the betterment of human customs.
|
||
|
||
Every improvement in human relationships originates secularly
|
||
and is adopted by the Church only after a bitter struggle. Faith in
|
||
Jesus is a reactionary force. The Christian opposes change in the
|
||
creations of God; the Evolutionist seeks to alter every
|
||
unsatisfactory condition. The Evolutionist is more responsive than
|
||
the orthodox Christian to proposals for promoting the happiness of
|
||
the human race. Many liberals have abandoned conservatism because
|
||
they saw the hypocrisy in Christianity.
|
||
|
||
AN INFERIOR PROTOTYPE
|
||
|
||
ORTHODOX Christians accept both Old and New Testaments as
|
||
authority for their actions, whereas Modernists are not much
|
||
concerned with the commands of Jehovah but maintain that Jesus is
|
||
the pattern for their lives. Religious liberals feel that the
|
||
troubles of the world come largely from failure to follow the
|
||
teachings of the Nazarene. They look upon him as the perfect
|
||
example of what a man should be. In their opinion, if everyone
|
||
would act as Jesus did all would be well.
|
||
|
||
On December 7, 1931, Dr. Henry Van Dyke preached at the Brick
|
||
Presbyterian Church, New York City, that the way to end the
|
||
financial depression was to act as Jesus would: "We can judge only
|
||
by what he did and said in the first century, an age not so
|
||
different from our own, an age of unsettlement, violence,
|
||
drunkenness and license. Christ would tell us not to yield to panic
|
||
... Christ would not tell us to join any political party or social
|
||
group ... "
|
||
|
||
Such a sermon sounds encouraging but, as a matter of fact,
|
||
Jesus has not shown any of his ministers how to end the depression.
|
||
To trust him for guidance in our modern world is to pin faith on an
|
||
incompetent instructor. We can learn how to end the depression by
|
||
examining the records of our own time and by correcting the errors
|
||
that have been made. It is not safe to rely upon a person who had
|
||
no knowledge of America's practical needs and whose acts and advice
|
||
regarding worldly affairs in Jerusalem fell short of the best
|
||
ethical values.
|
||
|
||
In this treatise it has been shown that Jesus made mistakes.
|
||
Every instance cited may not appeal to all readers as worthy of
|
||
criticism, but there can be no doubt in the mind of any honest
|
||
thinker that several at least of Jesus' ideas were erroneous. His
|
||
theology was filled with superstitions, his cosmology was that of
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
24
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
the pre-scientific era, he expected the end of the world within a
|
||
generation, his conception of sin was theological rather than
|
||
ethical, he failed to convince his hearers by his oratory, he
|
||
exaggerated the results from prayer and he related parables that
|
||
gave a false sense of values.
|
||
|
||
Now we shall turn to his personal character and teachings to
|
||
see if he was always the meek, gentle soul portrayed by the
|
||
conventional Christ.
|
||
|
||
Cursing Nature
|
||
|
||
The act in Jesus' life that has been most difficult for
|
||
theologians to explain was the cursing of the fig tree. The tree
|
||
was created to bear fruit in the Summer, but when Jesus found it
|
||
without fruit in the Spring, he cursed it so that it withered away.
|
||
|
||
"Now in the morning, as he returned into the city, and when he
|
||
saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing
|
||
thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on
|
||
thee henceforth for ever. And presently the fig tree withered
|
||
away." [Matt. xxi, 18-19.] "For the time of figs was not yet."
|
||
[Mark xi, 13.]
|
||
|
||
This episode involves several mistakes -- ignorance of the
|
||
seasons; destruction of a profitable food-producing tree;
|
||
exhibition of temper when thwarted, and giving false information
|
||
regarding man's power to effect physical changes by a curse. [Mark
|
||
xi, 20-23.]
|
||
|
||
If Jesus acted unwisely in this one instance and was right in
|
||
all others, he is neither an infallible God nor a perfect pattern
|
||
for mankind.
|
||
|
||
Forgiveness
|
||
|
||
The conventional Jesus is emblematic of supreme kindness and
|
||
forgiveness, but in reality he was far from lenient in many
|
||
instances, nor did he advocate forgiveness for certain offenses.
|
||
|
||
"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee ... tell
|
||
it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him
|
||
be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican." ['Matt. xviii,
|
||
15-17.]
|
||
|
||
In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Abraham was represented
|
||
as Justified in not forgiving the rich man tortured in hell, or
|
||
even in saving the rich man's brothers as requested by the victim
|
||
of Jesus' policy of punishment.
|
||
|
||
Again Jesus said: "Whosoever shall deny me before men, him
|
||
will I also deny before my Father." [Matt. x, 33.] "Whosoever shall
|
||
blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness." [Mark
|
||
iii, 29.]
|
||
|
||
All the wicked were condemned by Jesus to eternal punishment
|
||
with no chance of forgiveness.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
25
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Vituperation
|
||
|
||
Jesus was often vehement in his language to an extent hardly
|
||
compatible with gentleness of character.
|
||
|
||
"O generation of vipers! how can ye, being evil, speak good
|
||
things?" [Matt. xii, 34.]
|
||
|
||
"Woe unto you, hypocrites, for ye compass sea and land to make
|
||
one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him two-fold more the
|
||
child of hell than yourselves." [Matt. xxiii, 15.]
|
||
|
||
"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the
|
||
damnation of hell?" [Matt. xxiii, 33.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
"If I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto
|
||
you." [John viii, 55.]
|
||
|
||
"All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers." [John
|
||
x, 8.]
|
||
|
||
"Ye fools and blind." [Matt. xxiii, 17.]
|
||
|
||
This language may have been necessary, in Jesus' opinion, to
|
||
convince his hearers of their sins, but such vituperation does not
|
||
become a modern ethical teacher.
|
||
|
||
Destruction of Property
|
||
|
||
Two acts of Jesus, consistent with his disregard of worldly
|
||
goods, were destructive in character.
|
||
|
||
"And there was a good way off from them a herd of many swine
|
||
feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out,
|
||
suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them,
|
||
Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine:
|
||
and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep
|
||
place into the sea, and perished in the waters." [Matt. viii,
|
||
28-34.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus did what the devils requested, cruelly killing two
|
||
thousand inoffensive valuable animals that belonged to other
|
||
people.
|
||
|
||
"Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those
|
||
that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money
|
||
sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove
|
||
them all out of the temple, and the sheep and the oxen; and poured
|
||
out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables."
|
||
|
||
Jesus has been defended for other acts on the ground that he
|
||
was living in less civilized times than our own, but here he is
|
||
seen offending both ancient and modern sensibilities. The
|
||
destruction of the swine and the routing of the merchants were
|
||
sensational and erratic exhibitions. If reformers today should
|
||
destroy herds of animals, except to protect public health by due
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
26
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
process of law, or overthrow banks, they would be liable to arrest
|
||
in any city of Christendom. Therefore the consensus of opinion
|
||
denies exoneration to Jesus for his spasmodic resort to direct
|
||
action.
|
||
|
||
Egotism
|
||
|
||
If Jesus was not God, but merely the ideal man, his estimate
|
||
of himself was excessive. In addition to his remarks already quoted
|
||
there are many other instances of an exaggerated ego.
|
||
|
||
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,
|
||
and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own
|
||
life also, he cannot be my disciple." [Luke xiv, 26.]
|
||
|
||
"Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." [John
|
||
xi, 26.]
|
||
|
||
"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
|
||
[John viii, 24.]
|
||
|
||
"I am the light of the world." [John viii, 12.]
|
||
|
||
"I am the Son of God." [John x, 36.]
|
||
|
||
"I am the resurrection and the life." [John xi, 25.]
|
||
|
||
If Jesus was correct in claiming that he was the Messiah, if
|
||
he could control the elements and send people to heaven or hell, he
|
||
was justified in any extreme remarks; but not if he were merely a
|
||
man. Every person is entitled to have as good an opinion of himself
|
||
as his character and ability warrant, but expressions of his own
|
||
worth are unseemly even if true, and are inexcusable if
|
||
exaggerated. As Jesus himself said (though this authority is only
|
||
for believers) testimony about oneself is unreliable.
|
||
|
||
Jesus not only claimed to be more than a man, he threatened
|
||
his hearers with death if they did not agree with him. All of which
|
||
might be permissible if he were God, but was an egotistical
|
||
illusion if he was merely human.
|
||
|
||
Lack of Courtesy
|
||
|
||
Jesus did not always exhibit the courtesy one would expect of
|
||
a gentleman, or even of a nature's nobleman.
|
||
|
||
The first instance of lack of consideration was when he
|
||
slipped away from his parents, causing them unnecessary anxiety:
|
||
"Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold thy father and I
|
||
have sought thee sorrowing. [Luke ii, 48.] He had remained behind
|
||
to study Hebrew theology and did not tell his parents, presumably
|
||
because he thought they would not have permitted the venture.
|
||
|
||
Another instance was found in his daily life:
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
27
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
"A certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went
|
||
in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he
|
||
marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord
|
||
said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the
|
||
cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and
|
||
wickedness. Ye fools ..." [Luke xi, 37-40.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus had not only failed to wash as was expected of a guest,
|
||
but defended his uncleanliness and abused his host.
|
||
|
||
At another time Jesus was discourteous to his mother:
|
||
|
||
"And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto
|
||
him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to
|
||
do with thee?" [John ii, 4.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus was apparently annoyed at his mother's interference,
|
||
though he followed her suggestion. He did not set a good example
|
||
for children in addressing their mothers.
|
||
|
||
When the Syrophenician woman asked him to help her daughter,
|
||
"Jesus saith unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is
|
||
not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the
|
||
dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs
|
||
under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her,
|
||
For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter."
|
||
[Mark vii, 25-29.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus practically admitted that he had made a mistake in
|
||
speaking unkindly to a Gentile. Her clever answer induced him to
|
||
change his decision. A physician who called a stranger's child a
|
||
dog would now be considered brutal even in a free hospital.
|
||
|
||
"And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me
|
||
first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me;
|
||
and let the dead bury their dead." [Matt. viii, 21-22.]
|
||
|
||
Jesus could have allowed the man to attend his father's
|
||
funeral and follow him later. Would not that have set a better
|
||
precedent?
|
||
|
||
When Peter intervened to protect Jesus, the latter "turned,
|
||
and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence
|
||
unto me." [Matt. xvi, 23,]
|
||
|
||
Even though Jesus was determined to go on with the sacrifice,
|
||
he could have been more appreciative of his best friend's
|
||
suggestion.
|
||
|
||
Unethical Advice
|
||
|
||
When the unjust steward cheated his employer, Jesus gave the
|
||
following remarkable advice:
|
||
|
||
"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had
|
||
done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation
|
||
wiser than the children of light.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
28
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon
|
||
of unrighteousness; that, when ye fall, they may receive you into
|
||
everlasting habitations." [Luke xvi, 1-9.]
|
||
|
||
This passage should be read again before deciding whether
|
||
Jesus advised opportunism rather than morality. The words must be
|
||
taken as they are; no interpretation can be based upon the
|
||
assumption that Jesus was always right and therefore meant
|
||
something different from what he said.
|
||
|
||
Sermon on the Mount
|
||
|
||
Many Christians say that they care nothing for theology; that
|
||
the Sermon on the Mount contains all that is necessary for a
|
||
religious life, being a perfect system of ethics.
|
||
|
||
The Sermon on the Mount does contain many admirable
|
||
principles, but also some that are inferior to present standards.
|
||
Few of the people who praise this Sermon would think it proper to
|
||
abide by all the teachings therein. Christian parents do not wish
|
||
their children to follow either the letter or the spirit of this
|
||
famous preachment. It begins in the fifth chapter of Matthew.
|
||
|
||
"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Is it better to be poor in
|
||
spirit than rich and eager in spirit? Being poor in spirit is to be
|
||
faint of heart. This is bad advice, is It not?
|
||
|
||
"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."
|
||
This means that those who mourn on earth will be comforted in
|
||
heaven; but now that life on earth has assumed greater importance,
|
||
so far as our daily conduct is concerned, than life in heaven, the
|
||
philosophy of gloom is unfortunate. Jesus preached acceptance of
|
||
unhappiness as the common lot of man; he should not therefore be
|
||
credited with providing happiness on earth. His urge to rejoice was
|
||
usually in anticipation of good things to come in the next world.
|
||
He preached sorrow for all here rather than the greater happiness
|
||
for the greater number.
|
||
|
||
"There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in
|
||
divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall
|
||
they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye
|
||
shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake ... and because
|
||
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that
|
||
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." [Matt. xxiv,
|
||
7-13.]
|
||
|
||
"Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh." [Luke vi,
|
||
21.]
|
||
|
||
The beatitude, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit
|
||
the earth" is of doubtful accuracy or value.
|
||
|
||
|
||
The commands to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand may not have
|
||
been intended literally, although it does appear as if Jesus
|
||
referred to the physical body, and men have often so interpreted
|
||
these doubtful instructions.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
29
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Jesus said that "Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced
|
||
committeth adultery", which is no longer true. Those who permit
|
||
remarriage after divorce should admit an error on Jesus' part.
|
||
|
||
"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil." This
|
||
instruction should be reversed, should it not? Evil should be
|
||
resisted in every possible way that does not involve evil in
|
||
itself. What modern ethical teacher will say that evil should not
|
||
be resisted, or that this advice of Jesus was perfection? If his
|
||
instruction was intended to refer to physical resistance, then no
|
||
righteous person should fight in any war, no police should be
|
||
delegated to arrest criminals. If the phrase has merely a spiritual
|
||
meaning, it is certainly unsound advice, for evil should be
|
||
overcome by good.
|
||
|
||
A fanatical attitude towards the law was recommended when
|
||
Jesus said: "If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy
|
||
coat, let him have thy cloak also." Extreme generosity and non-
|
||
resistance are taught, but the illustration was not well thought
|
||
out, for if the man had already won his suit and taken the coat, it
|
||
is evident that the owner of the coat had put up a legal fight
|
||
instead of giving away his coat and cloak as Jesus implies he
|
||
should. Yielding more than a legal opponent wins in court is not
|
||
compatible with defending the suit, nor is it a principle that
|
||
would meet the approval of most of Jesus' followers today.
|
||
|
||
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
|
||
heaven is perfect." If Jesus referred to Jehovah as his Father in
|
||
heaven, the standard of perfection advocated was very low, for
|
||
Jehovah was, as Thomas Jefferson put it, cruel, vindictive,
|
||
capricious and unjust."
|
||
|
||
The Lord's Prayer is not the simple, clear, devotional
|
||
petition that is usually supposed. Take it literally, as was
|
||
undoubtedly intended, and its irrelevance to actual life is at once
|
||
apparent.
|
||
|
||
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy
|
||
kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven". This
|
||
is a proper invocation only if there is a heaven in which God's
|
||
will is done. None such has been discovered.
|
||
|
||
"Give us this day our daily bread" indicates that God would
|
||
not give our dally sustenance without being asked, whereas there is
|
||
no apparent distinction in actual living between those who pray for
|
||
bread and those who do not.
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"
|
||
intimates that divine forgiveness is not to be superior to that of
|
||
men.
|
||
|
||
"And lead us not into temptation" -- as if God were anxious to
|
||
lead us there and would be deterred by our prayer.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
30
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
It may seem like petty cavil to criticize the prayer that has
|
||
been acclaimed for many centuries as ideal, but, seriously, what
|
||
valuable principle for guidance through life does the Lord's Prayer
|
||
contain? Do its requests represent the best modern conception of
|
||
prayer as an inward aspiration rather than as petitionary? Is it
|
||
not vain repetition to recite it again and again?
|
||
|
||
The general idea of offering prayer in order to obtain various
|
||
needs presents the difficulty of reconciling the conception of an
|
||
omnipotent, all-foreseeing God with the contradictory theory of a
|
||
Father who requires prayer before caring for his children, an
|
||
almighty God who will be turned from his course by human petitions.
|
||
Man can do wonders in the war of conquering nature, but he has not
|
||
been able to alter natural laws, nor is there any evidence that
|
||
such laws have been changed at any time in answer to prayer.
|
||
|
||
If the Lord's Prayer is not essential for man's welfare in the
|
||
world, we may conclude that Jesus over-emphasized its importance.
|
||
|
||
One of the most important portions of the Sermon on the Mount
|
||
is the advice regarding worldly possessions. Nothing in the
|
||
teaching of Jesus is more definite than his instructions regarding
|
||
wealth. He strikes an admirable note when he says, "What is a man
|
||
profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? ... A
|
||
man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
|
||
possesseth." This general principle is sadly needed in the modern
|
||
money-seeking world, but the teachings of Jesus on economics go
|
||
much further, far beyond anything the best people of today are
|
||
willing to follow.
|
||
|
||
"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye
|
||
shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on ... Take
|
||
therefore no thought for the morrow." ["Matt. vi, 25-34.]
|
||
|
||
These commands, taken literally as Jesus intended, would lead
|
||
to infinite trouble. Men are obliged to take thought for the
|
||
morrow; if they do not they will fail to survive. In Jesus' plan
|
||
provision for the earthly future was of no importance because of
|
||
the imminence of eternal life, but now it is considered one's duty
|
||
to provide for old age.
|
||
|
||
This mistake of Jesus cannot be explained away by saying that
|
||
Jesus was right and that man falls short of the counsel of
|
||
perfection given by the Master. No, there are few indeed who will
|
||
say that it would be right to shape their financial life as Jesus
|
||
advised. If they do not believe it right to follow his
|
||
instructions, definite as they are on this subject, they must admit
|
||
that he was wrong. Either thrift is now unrighteous, or Jesus is
|
||
not a dependable guide for modern life.
|
||
|
||
The following instructions have little meaning now except for
|
||
Roman Catholics. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and
|
||
wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy
|
||
Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret
|
||
shall reward thee openly."
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
31
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Another portion of the Sermon holds out false hopes that
|
||
cannot be substantiated: "For everyone that asketh receiveth; and
|
||
he that seeketh findeth." Is there any virtue in thus deceiving the
|
||
people regarding the possibilities of prayer?
|
||
|
||
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do
|
||
to you, do ye even so to them." This is the famous Golden Rule that
|
||
has been heralded as one of the most original portions of Jesus'
|
||
teachings. But Jesus admitted that he did not first state this rule
|
||
when he said, "for this is the law and the prophets." [Matt. vii,
|
||
12.]
|
||
|
||
Confucius, born in 551 B.C., several times announced the rule,
|
||
"What you do not like when done to yourself, do not to others."
|
||
This negative statement is less effective than the Jewish rule, but
|
||
both are admirable regardless of who first formulated them. The
|
||
Golden Rule is as valuable coming from the Hebrew fathers as if
|
||
Jesus had originated it.
|
||
|
||
The Golden Rule, however, is not perfect. It is one of the
|
||
best rules of the ancients, showing the desirability of
|
||
reciprocity, but it does not demand that our desires be always
|
||
just, nor does it insure that what we want done to ourselves will
|
||
always be what others most need. It would be consistent with the
|
||
Golden Rule for a convivial man to entertain his prohibition
|
||
friends at a speakeasy, or for a Catholic to take his Atheist
|
||
guests to dally mass. Possibly an even better rule than judging
|
||
others by ourselves would be to do unto others what best pleases
|
||
them.
|
||
|
||
Inconsistency
|
||
|
||
"The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto
|
||
that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for
|
||
that man if he had not been born." [Matt. xxvi, 24.]
|
||
|
||
Apparently the arrangement between Jehovah and Jesus was that
|
||
Jesus should not give himself up as a sacrifice voluntarily but
|
||
should be betrayed by someone else; and yet, although the betrayal
|
||
was desired, the man who assisted was to be condemned.
|
||
|
||
The sacrificial plan for salvation was continued to the end in
|
||
order that "the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.
|
||
[Matt. xxvi, 56.]
|
||
|
||
The scriptures were Jewish, so this is additional proof that
|
||
Jesus, rejected by the Jews, considered himself the predicted
|
||
Jewish Messiah. While the Jews expected a Messiah, there is no
|
||
clear prediction of Jesus in the Old Testament.
|
||
|
||
Fear
|
||
|
||
Jesus said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body"; but
|
||
when threatened with bodily injury himself, he was afraid. "Then
|
||
took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself." [John
|
||
viii, 59.] "Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against
|
||
him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he
|
||
withdrew himself from thence." ["Matt. xii, 14-15.]
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
32
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
This avoidance of physical injury may have been due to a
|
||
desire to postpone his end until the proper time, as indicated by
|
||
"Mine hour is not yet come", but when the time did come, Jesus did
|
||
not bear his approaching death bravely, as Socrates did when about
|
||
to drink the cup of hemlock. Jesus was much afraid, "and prayed,
|
||
saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
|
||
nevertheless, not my will but thine be done." [Luke xxii, 42.]
|
||
|
||
He was resolved to go through with the painful experience at
|
||
any cost but was much more frightened than many a mortal man,
|
||
though he had a greater cause to sustain him than martyrs who have
|
||
suffered uncomplainingly; for he believed that his sacrifice would
|
||
save the world: "and there appeared an angel unto him from heaven,
|
||
strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly:
|
||
and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to
|
||
the ground." [Luke xxii, 44.]
|
||
|
||
After saying, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be
|
||
glorified ... He that loveth his life shall lose it", he again
|
||
showed terror: "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?
|
||
Father, save me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this
|
||
hour." [John xii, 23-27.]
|
||
|
||
It is to be noted that God did not answer the prayer of Jesus,
|
||
though Jesus had said that God would always answer prayers in his
|
||
name. Jesus recognized his failure to obtain the answer, saying on
|
||
the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" [Mark xv,
|
||
34]
|
||
|
||
Failure
|
||
|
||
Many a good man is a failure from a worldly point of view, but
|
||
failure is not what one would wish to copy. Jesus sought to save
|
||
the world. Surely no one looking at the world today can say that he
|
||
succeeded. His plan of salvation was a failure; it did not work out
|
||
as Jehovah and Jesus intended. An ideal teacher is needed now
|
||
almost as much as two thousand years ago. If the world is gradually
|
||
improving, as seems probable, it is in spite of the superstitions
|
||
of the past, not because of them.
|
||
|
||
At one time Jesus denied his own perfection, saying: "Why
|
||
callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."
|
||
[Matt. xix, 17.]
|
||
|
||
Christian parents who hold Jesus up to their children as a
|
||
paragon would not wish their sons to grow up to be just like Jesus.
|
||
He is not an acceptable prototype.
|
||
|
||
Jesus did not provide the knowledge so much needed by man to
|
||
enable him to shape his course through life. No one knows how to
|
||
live correctly, how best to meet each situation, what action is
|
||
suited to the occasion. Jesus did not tell us what to do. His
|
||
sayings are interpreted in many different ways. He failed to
|
||
predict the needs of the future.
|
||
|
||
Jesus did not explain relations between man and wife, nor
|
||
between employer and employee, nor how to educate children, nor how
|
||
to preserve health, nor how to make a living, nor how to prevent
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
33
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
war, poverty and suffering. Jesus gave little practical
|
||
information, and his spiritual advice was not clearly enough
|
||
expressed to enable man to apply it to modern conditions. Jesus
|
||
neglected to instruct people how to live. His knowledge of the
|
||
world was less than that of the average American citizen.
|
||
|
||
CONCLUSION
|
||
|
||
THE historicity of Jesus has been discussed in many books and
|
||
pamphlets. Whether Jesus lived or not depends upon what is meant by
|
||
that phrase. If one is satisfied that there was a peripatetic
|
||
philosopher named Jesus who was the son of a woman named Mary and
|
||
who lived and taught around Jerusalem, uttering some, but not all,
|
||
of the words attributed to him, then Jesus may be said to have
|
||
lived. There can be no serious objection to the acceptance of that
|
||
Jesus as an actual personage even though he was ignored by secular
|
||
historians and though the time and place of his birth and death are
|
||
in doubt.
|
||
|
||
On the other hand, if there never was such a person as the
|
||
Jesus described in the New Testament -- a man born of a virgin,
|
||
superior to natural laws, able to walk on the water, and change the
|
||
course of nature, performing miracles, casting out devils, a man
|
||
who never erred, who was crucified, rose from the dead and ascended
|
||
bodily into heaven where he now sits to judge the world -- if
|
||
there was no such man-God as the Jesus of the gospels, some may
|
||
hesitate to say that Jesus ever lived.
|
||
|
||
Jesus a Myth
|
||
|
||
Sincere Evolutionists who discredit miracles, must need to
|
||
consider the gospel Jesus as a myth. This does not Mean that Jesus
|
||
had no reality, but that the original facts have been so enlarged
|
||
upon that the principal features of his life are more fanciful than
|
||
real. If you eliminate from the life of Jesus as unhistorical his
|
||
birth, his miracles, his theological teachings, his resurrection,
|
||
ascension and messianic mission, the Christ no longer exists. Jesus
|
||
would have attracted no attention were it not for the very
|
||
circumstances which Modernists admit were mythical.
|
||
|
||
Judged by His Works
|
||
|
||
Whether Jesus was God, or man, or myth, he can be judged by
|
||
his works, as he himself recommended. If he is found to be perfect
|
||
in word and deed, it makes little difference whether he lived or
|
||
not. As a symbol he can be revered and copied. But if Jesus is now
|
||
seen to be the product of his times, representing the virtues and
|
||
defects of his biographers, with no vision beyond their ken, his
|
||
authority is gone.
|
||
|
||
Not only will the divinity of Jesus be discredited if he was
|
||
found to have been occasionally in error, but his value as a guide
|
||
to life will be impaired. What will be the result of this radical
|
||
change? None of the beautiful ideals or sound ethical principles
|
||
attributed to Jesus will be lost. Not one saying or counsel of
|
||
valuable advice need go. Not one evil thought need take the place
|
||
of that which was good. In fact, the finest qualities of existence
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
34
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
will be more vital in our lives when their realization becomes of
|
||
primary importance instead of being subordinate to worship of the
|
||
supernatural. Principles are superior to persons. A dead
|
||
personality remains unchanged; live ethical principles can be
|
||
developed by more complete knowledge of evolutionary processes.
|
||
|
||
Ethical Evolution
|
||
|
||
Evolution has been progressing along ethical as well as
|
||
physical lines. To the teachings of Jesus, once considered
|
||
perfection, have been added many newly discovered principles of
|
||
value, for knowledge is cumulative. All the best thoughts of the
|
||
ages are ours forever, no matter who first originated or expressed
|
||
them.
|
||
|
||
Whatever the plan of the universe may be, it is more nearly
|
||
comprehended now than in Jesus' time. Twentieth century events are
|
||
more dependable in forming our philosophy of life than those of the
|
||
first century. The failure to grasp this fact is the death knell of
|
||
orthodox religion. Every existing religious sect has founded its
|
||
spirituality upon events supposed to have occurred in the past.
|
||
Christianity depends upon the direct creation, fall of man and life
|
||
of an atoning Savior, all physical in character. Our new
|
||
metaphysics will be based upon conditions existing today and that
|
||
will be revealed by science in the future. The geologists,
|
||
embryologists, biologists and astronomers of 1932 have more
|
||
information about nature than Jesus had. On that knowledge can be
|
||
founded a system of living superior to the Sermon on the Mount.
|
||
|
||
Our own time is the most dependable era of revelation. We can
|
||
safely accept whatever stands accredited after thorough
|
||
examination, including all teachings of Jesus that are admirable.
|
||
A modern person with religious zeal has confidence that the world
|
||
is ordered along consistent lines and will respond favorably to
|
||
man's best efforts to solve the true way of living. The scientific
|
||
mind and the religious spirit are complementary. Religion, instead
|
||
of being a system of handed-down sanctity, may become an inspired
|
||
revelation to each individual -- a religion of the spirit of the
|
||
modern world.
|
||
|
||
As the spirit derived from Truth is superior to that based
|
||
upon credulity, the new doctrines that supplant the old may be
|
||
expected to excel any that have preceded them. Anyone may be as
|
||
spiritual as the proved facts permit.
|
||
|
||
If the world has been improving physically and ethically, we
|
||
can have confidence that whatever knowledge is necessary for our
|
||
salvation is available to each of us now. No living God has died;
|
||
no great principle has been lost. Instead of depending upon Jesus
|
||
in an unthinking manner, we must seek the Truth wherever it is
|
||
found and follow wherever it may lead regardless of consequences.
|
||
This requires more courage than professing Jesus, whose teachings
|
||
can be construed to mean whatever the reader desires. While the
|
||
majority regard Jesus as an ascetic, a reformer, opposed to
|
||
business and joviality, Bruce Barton has convinced thousands that
|
||
Jesus was the great business man, rotarian and advertiser.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
35
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
Gains, not Losses
|
||
|
||
Among the compensations that may supplant the loss of Jesus as
|
||
an ideal are the thrill at being a pioneer in striving for the
|
||
welfare of the human race rather than for individual salvation; the
|
||
satisfaction at having a consistent creed that can be maintained
|
||
against all criticism without hypocrisy or evasion; emancipation
|
||
from inhibitions required by a supposedly divine teacher. Every
|
||
pleasure is not a sin, but rejection of theology does not imply
|
||
indifference to evil. Science warns against excess as strongly as
|
||
any ancient command. The fear of natural or man-decreed punishment
|
||
in this world is as potent as the dread of eternal torment
|
||
threatened by Jesus.
|
||
|
||
If Jesus really was the sort of personage described in the
|
||
Bible; if he really was born of a virgin, controlled the elements
|
||
and had power to condemn unbelievers to eternal damnation, all
|
||
people should obey his every word. He should be followed literally;
|
||
we should sell all our possessions and take no thought for the
|
||
morrow. But if Jesus was not that sort of a person; if he was
|
||
neither a supernatural God nor an infallible man, he should not be
|
||
worshipped as a redeeming Savior nor be followed as a true guide
|
||
for human conduct.
|
||
|
||
Our faith shifts with careful examination of the scriptures
|
||
from belief in Jesus to confidence that the world is a far
|
||
pleasanter abode than Jesus imagined. Without reliance upon the
|
||
authority of Jesus we can adopt a code which will prove
|
||
comparatively effective in leading towards a wholesome life.
|
||
|
||
CODE OF LIVING
|
||
|
||
1. Keep the body strong that the most efficient work may be
|
||
done, the greatest happiness obtained during life and a wholesome
|
||
inheritance passed on to future generations.
|
||
|
||
2. Cultivate the mind, learning as many important facts as
|
||
possible, striving to become expert in some particular field of
|
||
endeavor.
|
||
|
||
3. Develop a scientific spirit, the essential characteristic
|
||
of which is a search for Truth in the light of evidence and reason.
|
||
Do not deceive yourself or others.
|
||
|
||
4. Base your spiritual concepts on the latest developments of
|
||
Evolution. Be prepared to change your philosophy to conform to the
|
||
consensus of scientific opinion.
|
||
|
||
5. Conduct all human relationships in a spirit of tolerance
|
||
and love, having proper consideration for others, not presuming to
|
||
control their lives.
|
||
|
||
6. Treat the opposite sex honorably, respecting their
|
||
complementary qualities, with due regard for succeeding
|
||
generations.
|
||
|
||
7. Endeavor to embody in the laws of the community the spirit
|
||
of equity and progress.
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
46
|
||
|
||
THE MISTAKES OF JESUS
|
||
|
||
8. Strive for an economic system under which each individual
|
||
shall be rewarded according to his or her value to society.
|
||
|
||
9. Avoid the use of physical force for personal revenge or
|
||
national aggrandizement, having learned from experience that reason
|
||
triumphs while brutality degrades.
|
||
|
||
10. Hold yourself in readiness to accept new revelations.
|
||
|
||
**** ****
|
||
|
||
Luther Burbank wrote concerning the above code on November 11,
|
||
1925:
|
||
|
||
"I am greatly pleased with your code of living ... The
|
||
false ancient theology has past or is rapidly passing with
|
||
intelligent people at the present time. It is not applicable
|
||
to our conditions and is of no more value than a worn-out suit
|
||
of clothes."
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
**** ****
|
||
|
||
Reproducible Electronic Publishing can defeat censorship.
|
||
|
||
**** ****
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
The Bank of Wisdom is a collection of the most thoughtful,
|
||
scholarly and factual books. These computer books are reprints of
|
||
suppressed books and will cover American and world history; the
|
||
Biographies and writings of famous persons, and especially of our
|
||
nations Founding Fathers. They will include philosophy and
|
||
religion. all these subjects, and more, will be made available to
|
||
the public in electronic form, easily copied and distributed, so
|
||
that America can again become what its Founders intended --
|
||
|
||
The Free Market-Place of Ideas.
|
||
|
||
The Bank of Wisdom is always looking for more of these old,
|
||
hidden, suppressed and forgotten books that contain needed facts
|
||
and information for today. If you have such books please contact
|
||
us, we need to give them back to America.
|
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|
||
**** ****
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||
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||
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|
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|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
37
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