I want to talk to you about the myth of Jesus.I am not trying to convert you,or enlighten you,or prove to you my own beliefs.I just want to talk to you about the myth. According to The Bible Jesus died on the cross on what we now call Good Friday.
It is a tough call on exactly when during The Jewish Passover season Jesus supposedly died,so I am totally going to forgo the Passover connotations of Jesus' death.There is significance in this-but who cares.
I rather would like to talk to you about the myth of what happened to Jesus on Good Friday.Because,it's a good myth.
Let's backtrack.I am going to get my information from my various readings of various Bibles...King James,TNIV,Catholic,etc.In these Bibles-contrary to popular belief-by Jesus' own admission,he seldom admitted to healing anybody.Jesus usually said that when the miraculous healings accorded that it was the person's own faith that healed them.
According to the Biblical myth,Jesus championed the rights of women;the poor;the sick;the lonesome sinner.But he also championed the rich,the powerful;the outcast,and the helpless.
Very radical ideas for his time.
But on Good Friday-so the myth goes-even after celebrating with his bro's,Jesus was deserted by his friends and followers,humiliated and tortured by both the religious and civil authorities of the day,whipped,spit on,crowned with thorns,laughed at,crucified(nails through wrists,not through palms),made fun of,and even left alone by his father(God).People gambled for his garments and cheered when he died...yet...and yet....his last words were to ask that the people that persecuted him be forgiven.
WoW!
At this point,whether Jesus would rise again is irrelevant.I have read 'The Lord Of The Rings'.I have read 'Dune'.I have read countless other novels that bring fiction to extreme high points.None(of course,this is in my opinion) of these other myths beat this one.
I have seen and read so many other stories where the hero or heroes were justified in killing their enemies,but after reading the myth of Jesus,I just can't justify their killings.To me,it makes the heroes just as bad as the villains.
Maybe that is why I get such a kick out of Jesus...healing,forgiving,loving.These are all things I would rather believe in.These are things I would rather do.
On this Good Friday,to me that is what is important to me,that in my myth of Jesus,he would rather die then hate.That even in the worst of times,he loved,he forgave.That is my dream
5 comments:
Jesus is not a myth. Remember he is an actual person that lived. We discussed him in my History of Civilization class. What is debated are the stories in the bible and their myth qualities. The stories that were written and changed by men. No ones disputes the life or the fact that he was ahead of his time and taught things and topics etc. that were contrary to the typical teachings of the times.
Hi,Dharma,yes your point is exactly my point.I was basing what 'I' know on the Biblical teachings of the life of Jesus.
It's a great dream, to be sure!
Mixter
Jesus having his wrists nailed is not in the bible,nor I believe, people cheering when he died-nor is there,despite Dharma's claim, even any real proof that Jesus actually lived.The next thing you will be claiming is that unicorns died when they missed Noah's boat.
In the text,"A History of World Societies" Fourth Edition To 1715 by McKay, Hill Buckler there is a lengthy section that discusses the human man Jesus of Nazarath and his human ministry. It discusses the movements of the time and the Greek culture etc.
There is also a great discussion about how Christianity might have remained a purely jewish sect and also how it gave the Roman world a cause, but it also had many features in common with mystery religions.
Post a Comment