I've always loved the teenage son's character in the movie Little Miss Sunshine. I was also impressed by the t-shirt he wears, which simple states, "Jesus was Wrong". While I've immediately thought it was apparent what the shirt meant, it seems that some people are pretty confused (see this blog post: http://pspruett.blogspot.com/2007/02/jesus-was-wrong.html). Oddly, the author hits near the point in his '2nd assumption' but is incredulous about the implications.
So, I'll set out clearly why I think Jesus was wrong (indeed he was completely wrong on a number of points). If we read the New Testament to find what Jesus thought (and actually this is our only source), we will find that he certainly believed and taught a few things that turned out to be wrong:
1. Jesus taught that the end of time and the coming of the kingdom of God would occur within the time period in which he lived. He states on more than one occasion that there would be some of his peers still alive when the kingdom is come.
2. He, Jesus, would be the earthly ruler of the kingdom of God. This was not a heavenly kingdom, but a kingdom on earth. Jesus believed he was to be the ruler over all of earth in God's new kingdom.
3. Jesus teachings and ideology match this belief of an imminent end; sell all your possessions, forsake your family, spread the news as fast as possible about the impending destruction, and follow me to the end.
So anyone who reads the New Testament can plainly see that Jesus was wrong on at least a few major points. There is no kingdom of God on earth, and Jesus is not around now to rule it anyway. And even his message of sell everything and give it to the poor seems to backfire when the end doesn't come, the holy man passes away, and the family is now struggling to survive.
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Interesting take.
ReplyDeleteVery different from the one historic Christianity and Bible scholars take.
Those of that group (of which I'd count myself a member) see Jesus as referring to two separate events.
The first event being the spiritual Kingdom which he taught about during His life on this earth. In fact, the common belief is that the Jews of that day wanted Him crucified because they were so disappointed that He was not offering an earthly kingdom in the present. The Jews were oppressed and wanted that earthly kingdom in the now.
The second, referring to a future time when Jesus would return to this earth and set up a physical reign at that time. Historic Christian teaching is that God wants all mankind to come to Him so deeply that He is waiting on all those who will come to Him (the belief being that since He is an all knowing God He knows exactly who all will come to Him)to come before He returns and sets up His Kingdom. That during a period of time that precedes His return, He will show Himself to be God through a series of powerful and awful events with the intent of showing Himself God so that people will come to Him (this time period is often referred to as "the tribulation").
The reason I emphasize historic Christianity is because this is not something I'm just saying off the wall. This is the basic thought process of the Christian church since the book of Acts.
Thanks for your comment Tracy.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm speaking of what Jesus said and thought, then I can only really take the Gospels as representative of that. The Book and Acts and the historical development of Christianity are not necessarily representative of what Jesus himself supposedly said. (I'm not as extreme as the Jesus Seminar folks, but even the Gospels can not really be considered an accurate reflection of the historic Yeshua. These were all written anonymously decades after the fact.)
Having said that...what is your Gospel basis for your assertion about Jesus meaning 2 different Kingdoms? Also, outside of the Gospels, what historical basis is their to assume that the Jews actually wanted Jesus crucified? It seems more likely that Jesus was arrested and crucified for his tirade in the Temple where he overturned the moneychangers tables and literally fashions whips and physically drove people from the Temple with the whip. Also, because this episode was so close to Passover, which under Roman rule had often become a time of riots and rebellion against the local Roman authorities, it seems more likely the Pilate himself just ordered Jesus to be executed to avoid having create any further unrest among the Jews during Passover. This would have also served as a potent deterrent to any other Jews who were thinking of starting trouble.
When I read the Gospels where Jesus himself is actually talking to his disciples, he specifically says that there will be some standing that will not taste death before the kingdom is come (Luke 9:27, Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1). Also, when he first tells of the disciples of their mission to the cities of Israel he specifically states that they will not even be able to cover all the cities before the Son of Man is come (Matthew 10:23). Now supposedly the book of Revelation contains the words of Jesus speaking from heaven to someone named John. In this book Jesus himself says 4 seperate times that he is coming quickly:
Revelation 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Revelation 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Revelation 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Later, when it became clear to the early Christians that Jesus was in fact wrong about the timing of the apocalypse, they of course came up with all kind of theological reasons to explain the failure, but where do they get these interpretations? From the teachings of Jesus? If so, where does Jesus ever say this himself?