The Great Jesus Metamorphosis

A Face Book friend posted this: The Metamorphosis of Jesus Christ from a humble servant of the object poor to a symbol that stands for gun rights, prosperity theology, anti science, limited government (that neglects the destitute) and fierce nationalism is truly the strangest transformation in human history.  I would add to that metamorphosis a Jesus that opposes abortion and marriage between gay citizens when he Biblical writers found him saying nothing about either.

I need to add my usual disclaimer that we don't really know anything about the historical Jesus other than what was written by mostly unknown people in the propaganda book called the Bible. We have no independent historical record that he existed or, if he did exist, what he said or what he believed.

Nevertheless, those who wrote about him more or less portrayed him as peaceful and preoccupied with redistribution from the rich to the poor. Certainly, there are millions of Christians who see the original version of Jesus as the one before the above transformation. But, the transformation helps some feel good about their political views and the politicians that cater to those views.

There seems to be a generation who likes the peaceful and lover of the poor Jesus who is taking over parts of the faith. Such believers will ignore the Jesus with the whip or the one who dumped tables of the money changers in the temple. Also, they will ignore the family man Jesus who told believers they were to leave their wives to work for him.

If history repeats itself, the metamorphosis of Jesus is not complete. It will never be compete but will continue to change as the kind of Jesus needed to fit changing cultural norms and values change.

Watching the old Jesus replaced by the new will continue to entertain us.

Comments

  1. little helperSeptember 23, 2019 at 2:56 PM

    re. "...the strangest transformation in human history". Pretty much the same at the time of Jesus as now. The Jews wanted/ expected Him to be their earthly leader. When they found out that wasn't his plan, they went against him, looking for others to fill the bill. millenialists have the same job description for him. To rule from Jerusalem for a thousand years.

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