Saving Jesus, Redux, Part 2

This Sunday we'll have a look at chapter 2. Here's the teaser: So, "Who was Jesus? Apocalyptic firebrand. Mystical faith healer. Political insurrectionist. There are as many images of Jesus as there are theological and political stripes. Walk into the narthex of any number of Protestant churches, and you’re likely to find the sentimental, blue-eyed, pink-skinned Jesus of artist Warner Sallman gazing peacefully upon your comings and goings. Enter the neighboring Catholic Church, and you’ll probably find the image of a beaten, bleeding, emaciated man suffering on a cross. "From the Gospels to illustrated Bible storybooks to portrayals in film, Jesus has been the subject of considerable “spin” over the ages. Each tradition and each individual puts their own emphasis on who Jesus was. For many middle-class Americans, the ideal Jesus is the gentle, upstanding, right-thinking (and often somewhat androgynous) suburbanite with good posture. The notion that Jesus might have been a short, dark, Middle-Eastern peasant rabble-rouser is so far from many people’s capacity to comprehend, that all reason is rejected in favor of the gauzy Aryan visions of early childhood. A blondhaired, blue-eyed Jesus, meek and mild, is such a stalwart icon of Western culture, that to suggest anything contrary or corrective to that image is tantamount to heresy." Please be warmly welcome. And as always, loving childcare is happily provided.