Jesus was a dangerous, deranged individual

Many Christians today falsely assume that Jesus was a good individual, someone that we should all emulate. Since he gave adherents of Christianity the golden rule--"Do to others as you would have them do to you" [1]--it makes sense for Christians to place Jesus on a moral pedestal. This verse clearly expresses that we should have the kind of respect for our neighbors that we would want for ourselves, and how could we possibly complain against this?The problem is that Jesus never originated this concept. It's an old moral precept that dates back to many other cultures, many of which existed before Jesus even walked the Earth in search of power. Philosophers and historians refer to this principle of neighborly dignity and kindness as the "golden rule", and it can be found in the scriptures of the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic, which dates back to 800--700 BCE: "Hence, (keeping these in mind), by self-control and by making dharma (right conduct) your main focus, treat others as you treat yourself" [2].In fact, the golden rule dates as far back as the Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt (2040--1650 BCE), where it was used in an ancient story regarding the ancient Goddess Ma'at; historians have discovered it on a papyrus dating back to 664--323 BCE: "That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another" [2].The golden rule was preached by the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius (500 BCE): "Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself" [2]. It can also be fan in other cultures of antiquity spanning the globe, and was communicated by philosophers of ancient Greece and ancient Rome. It even shows up in the Jewish Talmud, in Leviticus of the Old Testament, and in the Islamic Quran and in the Hindu Anusasana Parva [2].So the concept of respecting those around you and treating them as you would want to be treated is hardly exclusive to Jesus. He simply took the idea from more ancient sources and used it to gain a following, in his larger aim to establish a new religion and create a kingdom for himself, which would be planted here on Earth. Jesus imagined himself as a messianic figure that would liberate "his people" from Roman occupation and elevate them above everybody else in the Asia Minor region. Like the 20th century figure David Koresh, the ambitious leader of the Texas Branch Davidian religious sect, who was once famously challenged to raise the dead but was killed by the US government in a 1993 seige predicated on physical and sexual abuse allegations, Jesus's amibitious plans were foiled by the alerted political authorities of his day, assisted in no small part by the area's Jewwish establishment that saw a real threat in Jesus and whom Jesus so famously hated (and tried to overturn).As we shall see, Jesus, his colloborators and his followers were identified as a danger by Judea's Jewwish Religious establishment and by the area's Roman government.Jesus was a Dangerous, Volatile FigureA popular portrayal of Jesus is that he was loved by almost everyone he came in contact with, since he so powerfully emitted God's intrinsic and pecuilar goodness to everyone. But this twenty-first century Hollywood depiction of Jesus couldn't be further from the truth. As we might recall from the New Testament itself, Jerusalem's Jews overwhelmingly demanded that Jesus be put to death for essentially claiming that he was their leader, chosen by God. From Matthew 27: "'What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?' Pilate asked [the crowd]. They all answered, 'Crucify him!' 'Why? What crime has he commited?' asked Pilate. 'But they shouted all the louder, 'Crucify him!'" [3]. Two verses later, the crowd shouts something astonishing: "'His blood is on us and on our children'" [3].As we plainly see from Matthew 27, the Jews of Jerusalem overwhelmingly disliked Jesus for claiming he was their Messiah, their divine leader. The historical accuracy of this entire account has been put into question by scholars, however, because it has the Jews of Jerusalem even accepting any mystical curse that might be placed on them for proudly egging on the death of Jesus, with the improbable words 'His blood is on us and on our children'. If anything, it blatantly reveals the anti-semitism of the author and plays well into the Apostle Paul's maniacal portrayal of the Jews as Christ's killers, since he saw intact Judaism as the greatest competition to his evengalized Christianity in mid-first century [4]. (The Apostle Paul is regarded by scholars as the most prominent architect of Christianity after Jesus, because of his influence and writings, many of which are incorporated into the Christian New Testament [5].) In his 2011 book, Pope Benedict XVI even questions the historicity of this passage in the Matthew account, because the Jews of Jerusalem are rather quick to accept blame on themselves for everything that would befall Jews afterward [4]. The accuracy of this full account is also placed into question because it takes away any responsibility that the Romans had for the death of Jesus, most likely because early Christians wanted to remain on Rome's good side while they endeavored to evangelize Christianity throughout the Empire [6].However, that Jesus failed to convince the Jews of Jerusalem that he was their religious leader is blatantly obvious, by the fact that he was crucified there just a week before his purported triumphal entry into the city [7]. This isn't suprising however since, throughout his ministry, Jesus made many enemies and was constantly on the run. (Additionally, scholars have pointed out that Jesus did support violence throughout his ministry, and he even encourages his disciples in Luke 22:36 to purchase swords and be ready to use them against their enemies, probably because of the anger he provoked in the Jews and the Roman authorities [8].)And of course the Pharisees of Jerusalem and the Roman authority were right to fear Jesus. The man had a messiah-complex and spread these very words: "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" [9]. "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved" [10]. Here Jesus is demanding that people love him more than their own families, even if it means possibly killing them. He demanded that his followers have that kind of loyalty.This is clarified in Luke 14:26: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple" [12]. Jesus demanded fanatical loyalty from his followers. One wonders what kind of abuse Jesus and his apostles were inflicting on his followers to get it.In Matthew 15, Jesus is criticized by Pharisees for not washing his hands before eating. How does haughty Jesus respond? By attacking the Pharisees for not killing disobedient children according to the commandment: He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death [11]. Evidently, Jesus loved the children.So here you would think that Jesus was all for the law, right, since the Pharisees didn't practice this (some would say "savage") Old Testament commandment. But you would be wrong. In Matthew 12, Jesus says it's okay to break his father's laws, by breaking the Sabbath day. He tells the Pharisees that he is basically exempt from such fiascoes and that he is Master of the Sabbath [13]. No wonder the Pharisees hated him! He was so inconsistent and pretentiously demanding.The Bible states that Jesus intentionally avoided many places in the Holy Land because he knew was very unpopular in places. For example, the words in John 7: "After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him"[14]. Later in this chapter, it explains that many people in the area he did visit considered him a liar and a fraud: "Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him...[Some] replied, 'No, he deceives the people'" [14].At one point in his ministry, he angered a Jewwish crowd so much that they threatened to stone him and were about to, but Jesus ran off to hide: "'Very truly I tell you,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!' At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds" [15].Mark 1:45 (considered the earliest gospel) even explains that right after Jesus began his ministry (following the imprisonment of John the Baptist), he could not enter towns so openly, but had to keep his distance. The Roman and Jewish authories saw him as a threat [16].[1] https://www.biblegateway.com...[2] https://en.wikipedia.org...[3] https://www.biblegateway.com...[4] https://en.wikipedia.org...[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk...[6] Anchor Bible Dictionary vol. 5. (1992) pg. 399-400. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.[7] http://christianity.about.com...[8] https://www.biblegateway.com...[9] https://www.biblegateway.com...[10] https://www.biblegateway.com...[11] https://www.biblegateway.com...[12] https://www.biblegateway.com...[13] https://www.biblegateway.com...[14] https://www.biblegateway.com...[15] https://www.biblegateway.com...[16] https://www.biblegateway.com...