The audacity of modern evangelical Christianity to portray Jesus as some sort of conservative, tradition-loving, gun-totting, immigrant killing, hierarchical authoritarian is so goddamn insulting to the actual historical figure that it borders on blasphemy.
What I have noticed with the church people who support rump is that they stop listening and start railing. I can’t be sure they’ve read any of what is written about Jesus.
I always go back to the Beatitudes—who could read that and support the awful shit of our present.
Wendy, this was not a post. This was a theologically sourced Molotov cocktail hurled straight at the altar of American Christian delusion. And I am here for it.
You took the Greek, the Gospel, and the gall of empire and braided them into a whip worthy of temple-flipping. Every line clapped like thunder through a megachurch sound system on mute. Jesus wasn’t polite. He wasn’t safe. And he sure as hell wasn’t conservative.
He was broke, brown, barefoot, and pissed.
If Christians actually followed the Jesus they claim to worship, half of Congress would be out of a job and the other half would be in sackcloth asking forgiveness from a homeless trans woman.
Thanks for dragging the real Christ out from under the pile of flags and firearms. May your words echo through the sanctuaries of the self-righteous until they either repent or combust.
I guarantee you (as in 100 percent) that any maga fucks who give you shit over this didn’t read past the first paragraph (if that).
What you say is logical. It’s supported TRI-lingually with Bible verses.
Those who disagree are welcome to do so. Those who throw out terms like “left tard” are just showing (again) their ignorance and hate and refusal to accept anyone different than themselves. And they can fuck off then.
About the moneychangers.... Jesus (or more properly Yeshua) was livid that they were INSIDE the temple walls and not outside them either on or near the steps. That's why he was so angry. He felt they were profaning the holiness of the Temple. And, in this case, profane means anything outside the temple, including basic conversation that was not oriented toward God.
And yes he was quite woke. You missed the idea of curing the sight of the blind as meaning removing the veil from their eyes and curing their blindness toward seeing the poor as poor, the oppression of the citizens, and bigotry in general because the "blind" were those profiting (in both spiritual and monetary ways) from that oppression.
Great essay Wendy. I do appreciate the Greek and translations because it's what the original language of the Bible was recorded in.
What's funny is that Luke is considered to have used both Mark and Matthew, and a hypothetical "Q source". Yeah. A "Q-anon" if you will.
Is New Testament Greek your field of study? I have a degree in Classical Greek, but never took any classes in New Testament Greek. I prefer Euripides (the Bacchae, the play version of Berkeley 1969.)
I had a discussion with someone on bsky because he was saying Jesus was apolitical and the only time he ever talked about politics was “Render unto Caesar, etc.” I donned my crown of pedantry to point out Jesus was executed by the Romans for sedition. It was wild; he kept stressing how it was the Jewish people who turned him over to the Romans. I pointed out that Jesus was accused of being King of the Jews, and he said, “Exactly, King of the Jews, not King of the Romans.” Finally I said something like, “Of course the Sanhedrin turned him over to the Romans. They would have been afraid of Roman authorities cracking down on them. What other choice did they have?” He stopped replying after that, although maybe he just fell asleep. It was absolutely bizarre.
Just wait until I publish the linguistic examination of why people misinterpret Jesus as a Divine entity, and how the language of the time does not support that, nor does it show the virtue that Jesus was anymore than just a prophet.
I''m Jewish, and I support this essay! It makes sense to anyone who is interested in the modern downfall of Christianity, as well as its Founder, who was also Jewish.
About the moneychangers in the temple porch: Live animals and other stuff (grain, oil) had to be offered to the temple as sacrifices. The zillions of pilgrims who came to the temple did not have much local currency, so they needed moneychangers so they could buy offerings, another racket. It was just as nauseating as all the crypto-coin etc. rackets currently carried on by our leaders.
Eccl 10:16
“Woe to you whose land is ruled by a child, where your princes feast in the morning “
This describes our administration
What I have noticed with the church people who support rump is that they stop listening and start railing. I can’t be sure they’ve read any of what is written about Jesus.
I always go back to the Beatitudes—who could read that and support the awful shit of our present.
Wendy, this was not a post. This was a theologically sourced Molotov cocktail hurled straight at the altar of American Christian delusion. And I am here for it.
You took the Greek, the Gospel, and the gall of empire and braided them into a whip worthy of temple-flipping. Every line clapped like thunder through a megachurch sound system on mute. Jesus wasn’t polite. He wasn’t safe. And he sure as hell wasn’t conservative.
He was broke, brown, barefoot, and pissed.
If Christians actually followed the Jesus they claim to worship, half of Congress would be out of a job and the other half would be in sackcloth asking forgiveness from a homeless trans woman.
Thanks for dragging the real Christ out from under the pile of flags and firearms. May your words echo through the sanctuaries of the self-righteous until they either repent or combust.
I guarantee you (as in 100 percent) that any maga fucks who give you shit over this didn’t read past the first paragraph (if that).
What you say is logical. It’s supported TRI-lingually with Bible verses.
Those who disagree are welcome to do so. Those who throw out terms like “left tard” are just showing (again) their ignorance and hate and refusal to accept anyone different than themselves. And they can fuck off then.
Keep fighting (and writing) the fight, Wendy.
About the moneychangers.... Jesus (or more properly Yeshua) was livid that they were INSIDE the temple walls and not outside them either on or near the steps. That's why he was so angry. He felt they were profaning the holiness of the Temple. And, in this case, profane means anything outside the temple, including basic conversation that was not oriented toward God.
And yes he was quite woke. You missed the idea of curing the sight of the blind as meaning removing the veil from their eyes and curing their blindness toward seeing the poor as poor, the oppression of the citizens, and bigotry in general because the "blind" were those profiting (in both spiritual and monetary ways) from that oppression.
Great essay Wendy. I do appreciate the Greek and translations because it's what the original language of the Bible was recorded in.
What's funny is that Luke is considered to have used both Mark and Matthew, and a hypothetical "Q source". Yeah. A "Q-anon" if you will.
Is New Testament Greek your field of study? I have a degree in Classical Greek, but never took any classes in New Testament Greek. I prefer Euripides (the Bacchae, the play version of Berkeley 1969.)
I’m versed somewhat , yes
Way better than me, and a Greek alphabet keyboard!!!
I’ve a copy of Zondervans Greek interlinear for contextual purposes
I had a discussion with someone on bsky because he was saying Jesus was apolitical and the only time he ever talked about politics was “Render unto Caesar, etc.” I donned my crown of pedantry to point out Jesus was executed by the Romans for sedition. It was wild; he kept stressing how it was the Jewish people who turned him over to the Romans. I pointed out that Jesus was accused of being King of the Jews, and he said, “Exactly, King of the Jews, not King of the Romans.” Finally I said something like, “Of course the Sanhedrin turned him over to the Romans. They would have been afraid of Roman authorities cracking down on them. What other choice did they have?” He stopped replying after that, although maybe he just fell asleep. It was absolutely bizarre.
Just wait until I publish the linguistic examination of why people misinterpret Jesus as a Divine entity, and how the language of the time does not support that, nor does it show the virtue that Jesus was anymore than just a prophet.
I''m Jewish, and I support this essay! It makes sense to anyone who is interested in the modern downfall of Christianity, as well as its Founder, who was also Jewish.
About the moneychangers in the temple porch: Live animals and other stuff (grain, oil) had to be offered to the temple as sacrifices. The zillions of pilgrims who came to the temple did not have much local currency, so they needed moneychangers so they could buy offerings, another racket. It was just as nauseating as all the crypto-coin etc. rackets currently carried on by our leaders.