What are you doing, Jesus?
I wonder what would have happened if someone were to walk up to Jesus during his lifetime and ask him what he thought he was doing. I can imagine a number of answers, but "founding a religion" is not one of them.
Labels: Jesus
posted by Victor Reppert @ 6:50 PM
6 Comments:
At April 24, 2009 7:44 PM ,
Eric said...
I would never put words in Jesus' mouth, but, "If you want to know what I'm doing, follow me (layers of meaning here)" seems like a reasonable conjecture.
Following Jesus may not be identified with 'founding a religion,' but it seems to me that it is minimally identified with disparaging some ways of approaching or practicing 'religion' (broadly construed).
At April 24, 2009 9:33 PM ,
TReid said...
Really? What about his comment that Peter was the rock upon which he would build his church? That sound very much like a movement to me. Assuming of course you think that passage is authentic.
At April 24, 2009 9:45 PM ,
Matthew said...
The answer would probably a parable.
At April 24, 2009 9:52 PM ,
TReid said...
a parable? How so? He specifically tells Peter that "on this petros (rock) I will build my ecclesia (church). It is pretty clear that Jesus at least saw his group as the beginning of a new eschatological community of God growing out of the Israel that rejected him. I am not sure how you argue that it is a parable.
At April 25, 2009 3:03 AM ,
mattghg said...
My guess:
"Announcing and showing that the Kingdom of God is near".
At April 29, 2009 1:20 PM ,
Ben said...
Church was never supposed to be a religion as you see it... James 1:27
27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world
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