Comments on: Jesus’ opinions don’t matter

By: kim

kim — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:37:38 +0000

Contrary to what CP wrote, my impression of Jesus is that he was very much political. I got that impression when I read “The Five Gospels”, the Jesus Seminar’s book on what Jesus said. When I went thru it and just read the red and pink entries (stuff Jesus is likely to have said), in their new translation, it sounded very much like Jesus was, first and foremost, a radical political person; more than religious.
Somehow, I doubt that the bible is a very accurate record.

By: h sofia

h sofia — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:49:16 +0000

The nice thing about not being Christian is not having to answer questions like “what was Jesus’s principle message.” I mean, I can have an opinion about it, but it doesn’t need to have biblical support.

By: CP

CP — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:37:45 +0000

On the surface, I tend to agree with him. I hate the “Jesus would be green,” “Jesus is a liberal,” “Jesus was a politician” crap.

Standing up for something you believe in and inciting others to do the same, does not make you a politician. It makes you a leader. Caring about the poor does not make you a liberal. It makes you a compassionate person. And, being spiritually in tune with nature/God does not make you an environmentalist. It makes you… spiritually in tune with nature/God.

Jesus was, we hope/think, a unbelievably compassionate, spiritual leader who, more than anything else, taught about love.

And, for the record, I don’t think Jesus would drive a car at all, but that has nothing to do with being green and everything to do with being poor and humble. I think his preferences about owning things are pretty clear in the Bible. Now, that’s not to say he wouldn’t call shotty every now and again.

By: Bill Baar

Bill Baar — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:08:59 +0000

So it is all about â€œgetting savedâ€? Was that the principle message? I've always thought that the case in Christianity. For many UU's too really, when you consider the Universalits side of our tradition felt Universal Salvation important enought to call themselves Universalists

By: Bruce Gerencser

Bruce Gerencser — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:24:44 +0000

So it is all about “getting saved”? Was that the principle message? Get saved cuz you are gonna die. Or was the message, the Kingdom of God is at hand? If that is/was the message then there is much more to it that personal, individual salvation. The gospel is holistic, for the whole man, not just his soul.

Falwell Jr’s father seemed to spend a lot of time in the arena of applying the Scripture (good bad or indifferent) to the grander spectrum of life.

By: chutney

chutney — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:03:27 +0000

The next bit of it reads:

The only thing that matters in our understanding of Jesus is what He told us of Himself in His Word, the Bible. And the Bible must be our only standard in our endeavors to understand Jesus, the Son of the Living God, and His purpose for our lives.

In this regard, it is important to note that Jesus did not come to earth to teach us what car to drive or which candidate to vote for or to compel us not to cross picket lines.

Instead, Jesus came for one simple reason, as He stated in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

That statement applies to all of us, for we are all lost without Jesus Christ in our lives.

Jesus did certainly outline plans for the disciples (and hence the present church) to care for widows, the affirmed and the disadvantaged. But this was not His principal message.

I fear that many people these days are using modern social guidelines such as “inclusiveness” or “multi-culturalism” or “globalism” to define Jesus.

In effect, these individuals are attempting to socialize the Gospel, humanizing Jesus to fit their needs.

These are superficial perceptions of Jesus and have virtually nothing to do with the Bible narrative of His life and design.

By: Bill Baar

Bill Baar — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:23:33 +0000

The fact is that opinions of Jesus donâ€t really matter. For Christians, it's Jesus's opinions of them that matter. It is his worldview that is sadly lacking Biblical support. Seems to me most if not all Christians have read the bible that way.

By: CP

CP — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:36:06 +0000

Wondering about the context of what he’s saying (what does he say after that?)

And, I’m assuming he means people’s opinions about Jesus, and not Jesus’s opinions.

By: Bruce Gerencser

Bruce Gerencser — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:39:31 +0000

Well of course, anyone who believes differently from me does so because they have unfounded Biblical beliefs.

I doubt Falwell Jr has the upper hand on Biblical exegesis here. It is his worldview that is sadly lacking Biblical support.

By: cranky cindy

cranky cindy — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:49:02 +0000

Nice catch!!!