Difference between revisions 1484071 and 1484078 on enwikiquote

'''''Jesus or Christianity, A Study in Contrasts''''' (1929) is a book by [[Kirby Page]] arguing that modern Christianity is greatly damaged by abandoning the ethics of Jesus.

== Quotes ==
=== Ch. 1: What is the Religion of Jesus? ===
* '''This''' volume '''is a study in contrasts: divergences between the religion of Jesus and organized Christianity.'''
** p.1

* '''...[[Christianity]], It has accumulated so many alien and hostile elements as to make Iit a different religion from the simple faith of its founder.'''
** p.1

* '''The religion of [[Jesus]] can best be described in terms of the home: God Is Father, men are brothers, all life is a domestic affair.'''
** p.1

(contracted; show full)
** p.15

* Jesus staked everything upon the reliability of God. Apart from this faith and this dependence, his life is meaningless and his teachings become tragic mockery. '''The religion and the ethics of Jesus are''' utterly  '''inseparable.'''
** p.16

* 
'''The God of Jesus differs fundamentally from the Jehovah presented in many sections of the Old Testament''', where Yahweh is frequently pictured as authorizing pillage and slaughter and often as himself an active participant in war...
** p.16

* An authoritative study... was published recently... ''The God of the Old Testament in Relation to War''... the author, Dr. Marion J. Benedict, is summarized as follows: "Yahweh has been found to be a God of war throughout most of the Old Testament material."
** p.17

(contracted; show full)
** p.29

* '''When the devout rich man bitterly attacks radicalism he sincerely believes that he is manifesting zeal on behalf of the masses of people, whereas in reality his primary concern may be for the preservation of his own unearned Income. Self-deception 
Iis as old as mankind. Conscientiousness is no guarantee of moral conduct.'''
** p.29-30

* '''Indifference constituted a fifth major reason why Jesus was killed.''' Powerful groups were arrayed against him, but only a few sought to defend him, The fickle crowds melted away when it became apparent that Jesus was not the long-expected Deliverer. His ethical demands were too exacting to gain for him a large following. During the days of supreme crisis only a few scor(contracted; show full)
** p.38

* '''The theory that the crucifixion of Jesus was predestined and preordained and that he went through life as a fated victim belies the facts. If literally interpreted this theory transforms him into a mere automaton'''...
** p.38-39

* 
T'''The theory that his  ''' [Jesus'] '''death was required in order to appease the wrath of an angry God is repugnant. And the explanation that the Divine Law demands a purchase price to atone for the sins of mankind seems legalistic and artificial.'''
** p.39

* '''Some say that Jesus deliberately provoked his crucifixion as the means of ushering in the Messianic age.'''
** p.39

(contracted; show full)more real to him than any human being... at any cost he would faithfully follow the will of God. ...'''the clouds of perplexity and indecision were swept away by a vivid sense of the boundless mercy and passionate tenderness of the Eternal. He must go to Jerusalem. Even the probability of crucifixion could not deter him. In the Holy City he would live as if the Reign of God had already begun, revealing to all men their kinship''' with the Father and with each other.
** p.40

*
 The very heart of the Eternal would be revealed in his last effort. Then, if ever, men would come to themselves and return to the house of their Father. Love never fails when it is kind and persistent. '''There is no other way to create the ideal society. So Jesus went to his doom. ...Not for his own life but for the pearl of great price a man eagerly sells all that he has possessions, talents, strength, blood!'''
** p.41

* '''What, then, is the meaning of the Cross?''' ...In the light of the Cross three momentous facts stand revealed: '''the awful consequences of estrangement and strife, the redeeming power of sacrificial love, the deepest joy and the fullest self-realization come only through self-renunciation.'''
** p.41-42

* '''The awful chasm between goodness and evil, between righteousness and unrighteousness, nowhere stands out in such stark reality as in the presence of the Cross'''. Light is snuffed out by darkness. Love is done to death by hate. Forgiveness is met with malignity. Sacrifice is rewarded with ignominy. God's home is transformed into a [[wiktionary:charnel|charnel]] house. The appalling need [for love] of the human heart is exposed.
** p.42

* '''Created in the spiritual image of God and capable of rising to sublime heights, man is also able to sink below the level of the beast.''' Blindness''' that cannot distinguish holiness from heresy, '''bigotry''' that confuses tradition with truth, '''hypocrisy''' that counterfeits the coin of sincerity, '''greed''' that devours a widow's substance, '''lust''' that feeds on a woman's body, '''fear''' that nails innocence to a tree...
** p.42

* The offer of salvation through ceremonial and ritual is sheer mockery. Compromise with temporal powers can never lead to redemption. Flight to ascetic communities cannot heal the festering sores of society. Resort to violence merely compounds fear and hatred. Prodigal sons can never be persuaded to reclaim their heritage, nor can embittered brethren be reconciled, except by an inner change of heart. '''The fathomless gulf that separates men from God and from each other can be bridged only by love and fellowship.'''
** p.43⏎
⏎
[[Category:Christianity]]