Jesus was a dangerous, deranged individual

Again, my purpose with this debate is not to claim that religion is universally bad. It can be used for good, but generally good religion considers the needs of the many and tries to find some practical way to resolve matters, while emphasizing preserving or improving living qualities and conditions. And Jesus does occassionally do this in the scriptures. But then he also says and does shocking things throughout the gospels--things that are not consistent with being a good moral example for children or anyone....More Evidence that Jesus is not a good moral exampleJesus argued that he was the only doorway to God, and that there was no other way to know God: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me'" [1]. Here Jesus clearly believes he was above all other men; a representative of God that was singled-out for special status. Good men don't claim things like this, lunatics do. Yes, Jesus did say some morally inspiring stuff in his ministry, but he also said crazy stuff like this. Well, guess what? So did Egyptian Phoroahs, Chinese Emperors, Roman Emperors, certain Buddhist Dalai Lamas, preacher Jim Jones, Davidian leader David Koresh, Heaven's Gate founder Marshall Applewhite, Greek philosopher Simon Magus, Persian Shaw Ismail I, Chinese rebel leader Hong Xiuquan, Mita Faith leader Juanuta Peraza, and the list goes on [2][3]. Many of these figures also endorsed peace . . . and destruction on enemies [2][3]. The truth is that Jesus was not a team player. He would have opposed Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, Gandhi and others, because only he is the way to God, and using Jesus as an example that's exactly what many Christians do today. They cite lines like John 15:6: "[Jesus speaking]'If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned'" [7].In John 8:44, Jesus accuses unbelieving Jews of being children of the devil: "[Jesus speaking] For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies" [9]. And, of course, we all know what Jesus claims about the fate of those that don't accept him as God's appointed representative: "[Jesus speaking] And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life" [10].Jesus was a notorious drunk: "The Son of Man (Jesus), on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, 'He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!' But wisdom is shown to be right by its results" [4]. Here, Jesus is speaking, and he confesses to being a prodigious drinker of alcohol. It also indicates that he cared nothing for eating in moderation. He was known among the people he befriended as someone that eats and eats and eat--and a proud glutton at that! Is this someone you would want to be giving moral advice to your children or your diabetic neighbor? Is this someone you woudl want to introduce to people struggling with alcoholism? I know I wouldn't. Here's more on Jesus's love for the inebriating drink: "[Jesus speaking]'A host always serves the best wine first,' he said. 'Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!'" [5]. Jesus clearly loved wine and its intoxicating effects. In fact, his first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana [5]. That's how Jesus first revealed his divinity. Clearly, the gospel stories were written and orally communicated to appeal to a lot of drunks, to justify their drunken debauchery! The fact that Jesus drank wine profusely is also embarrassing to a lot of Christians. Many even claim that, though Jesus converted the water into wine, he never actually drank it [6]. But this suggestion contradicts New Testament scritpures that clearly claim that he did drink wine, and to the point of intoxication [5]!Jesus commanded his followers to not worry about their lives and to sell their belongings and to give the proceeds to the poor...because they would be receive filled purses and greater treasures in heaven: "[Jesus speaking] Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life...Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys" [8]. Does this sound like good advice to give to...anyone? No. People should give what they can give, and keep what they must to maintain themselves. But Jesus was an absolutist thinker, which is on full display in so many situations throughout the New Testament.Jesus was a proud racist and said racist things to the people he encountered: "A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him (Jesus), crying out, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.' Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, 'Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.' He answered, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.' The woman came and knelt before him. 'Lord, help me!' she said. He replied, 'It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.' 'Yes it is, Lord,' she said. 'Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.' Then Jesus said to her, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.' And her daughter was healed at that moment" [11]. This is a particularly troubling story beecause it reveals Jesus's bigoted worldview. Here he claims that he came only to help the lost sheep of Israel (Jews or the Hebrew), not gentiles (Canaanites, who were typically Philistines and Phoenicians). He refers to the non-Jewish woman and her ethnic group in his parable as "dogs", and to the Jews as "children" (God's children). He refuses to help the woman's daughter in the story, because she isn't a Jew, but eventually he reverses because she convinces him that even "dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table". This story definitely isn't politically correct. This story is also recounted in Mark 7, and it displays Jesus' racist utterances and his bigoted world view [12]. In fact, throughout the gospels Jesus holds the Jews as God's selected, superior people, while everyone else is inferior. It was the Apostle Paul (a Jew raised as a Roman citizen, who was also given authority by that government) who claimed that Jews were equal to gentiles--and he never met Jesus, except in a vision (where he claims he received divine authority from Jesus) [13]. Most historians and scholars claim he is the main architect of Christianity, because he (or immediate followers) is credited for writing much of the New Testament, and spread Christianity through Rome's non-Jewish population [13]. In fact, Paul and the other Apostles never truly got along, specifically on the issue of gentile conversion (as depicted in Galatians 2 and the Book of Acts) [14][15]; Paul however was respected by the Romans, while the other Apostles (not Roman citizens) were not.Jesus was a legitimate threat to local Roman authority in JudeaRome took no chances when it came to potential for uprisings. In fact, crucifixion was a common punishment imposed by the Romans in the first century, and typically criminals and revolutionaries were given this fate [16]. The Roman Empire was known to have crucified thousands of people during its active span [16]. Jesus's primary threat was that he could draw a crowd, besides the fact that he threatened the status quo (Judea's Jewish Religious estabishment were befriended by Rome and entrusted to help keep the peace).Jesus was sealing his fate with every public mocking of the Pharisees and Saducees who were entrusted by Rome to help maintain public order and peace. In fact, you could say Jesus was provoking conflict by ridiculing Rome's entrusted peace keepers in the area.Futhermore, Jesus was a known collaborator of John the Baptist (he is baptized by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:13 [17]) and even states "John was the greatest man" to have ever lived in Luke 7:28 [18]. The problem is that John publically shamed King Herod Antipas throughout his public ministry, and this ultimately landed him in prison and executed [18]. King Herod Antipas, a Jew and a Roman citizen, was given authority by Rome to maintain peace as tetrach of Galilee [19]. John the Baptist was deeply religious (his father was a respected Jewish priest [20]) and demanded that Jews follow every letter of ancient Jewish law, and scholars perceive this as a conflict he had with Roman authority in the region, since Romans were forcing their customs and beliefs on the area.By collaborating with and exalting John the Baptist, Jesus was making himself an enemy of the Roman state. [1] http://biblehub.com...[2] http://www.oddee.com...[3] https://en.wikipedia.org...[4] http://biblehub.com...[5] http://biblehub.com...[6] http://www.gotquestions.org...[7] http://biblehub.com...[8] http://biblehub.com...[9] http://biblehub.com...[10] http://biblehub.com...[11] http://biblehub.com...[12] http://biblehub.com...[13] http://christianity.about.com...[14] http://biblehub.com...[15] https://en.wikipedia.org...[16] https://en.wikipedia.org...[17] http://biblehub.com...[18] http://christianity.about.com...[19] http://christianity.about.com...[20] http://www.newadvent.org...;