WDJS

Jesus at the temple

Last week's "Newsweek" had a book review that should create some controversy in the Christian community. Garry Wills has authored a book called "What Jesus Meant", and it will challenge the behaviors and assumptions of Christians everywhere. Wills is a devoutly religious Catholic, but also a contrarian who sees big differences between Jesus' intent and how his message has 'evolved' over two thousand years. Wills also has extremely conservative credentials, having been a regular contributor to "National Review" for many years.

Here are some points Wills brought up:

• Jesus would much prefer a simple church or synagogue to a giant cathedral; he would also reject extreme pomp and rituality associated with some Christian religions.
• Jesus would never want the state itself to be politically Christian; the state is not a follower of Jesus.
• Jesus opposed virtually all religions of his era -- for things like hubris and hypocrisy. These criticisms would apply to religions today.
• Jesus did not think sex was evil or unclean. He wouldn't have persecuted gays, prostitutes or others thought to be violating a sex dictum.

According to Wills, Jesus was a complex, mercurial creature, subject to different shades of interpretation. He was egalitarian, feminist and revolutionary. Jesus understood above all that people were not perfect or all-loving. According to Wills, Jesus did not expect people to come to him that weren't grappling with some type of anger, hatred or prejudice. Now, all of the above is 'According to Wills'. You'll have to buy into Wills' other scholarly efforts (he's written books on Nixon, Clinton, Saint Augustine and even John Wayne), to give him credence. People tend to give better care and maintenance to a prejudice than they do to a pet, so some Christians will be disinclined to accept Wills' ideas. Some of what he says jibes with my own thoughts. I like what the comedian Dennis Miller also said about Jesus: "Bob Jones University wouldn't even let Jesus into the admissions office. He was a short, dirty, Jew with long hair". Crassly put, Dennis, but true. I think modern society’s reaction to the man and his original message would be put to the test. WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) is a catch phrase in the Christian community. I do like Wills' topic, even if I don't share all his insights. WDJS (What Did Jesus Say?) and WDJM (What Did Jesus Mean?) are worthy of some discussion too. Maybe if more thought and discussion were given to Jesus' message, it would reach some new listeners.