Jesus-Peace loving hippie or warrior king?

keyser soze

So which is he? The guy who preached a message of peace and love, and turning the other cheek? Or is he the badass, take-no-prisoners General at the forefront of the bloodiest battle in human history?

Or maybe he really is both. Maybe his experience on earth, dealing with humanity, pissed him off to that extent. And maybe that was God's plan all along. Maybe his purpose for sending his son to endure many hardships, and die an agonizing death, wasn't to redeem mankind at all, but rather to toughen him up for battle against them, to give him the fortitude needed to lead the charge.

designs

The aesthetic beauty of the philosophy behind the Sermon on the Mount is hard to surpass. A to literal interpretation of certain passages leads to ethical quandries and falls outside of the progress Judaism was making. Reading the Gospels in light of the Talmud, Midrash, and Dead Sea Scrolls puts his words into a better historical setting.

Take the best and highest goals of helping others and you can do pretty well in this life.

leavingwt

He loves us so much that if we don't obey him, he's going to let us roast in Hell for all eternity. (I chose the phrase "let us", rather than "send us". Some of my Fundamentalist friends prefer "send us".)

Or, the JW version: At Armageddon, he'll slit your throat. (He designed the human throat, he knows EXACTLY the best place to put the blade of his sword. He could of course kill everyone in their sleep, but we're left to conclude that he prefers a more dramatic approach.)