Difference between revisions 1484184 and 1484190 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

(contracted; show full)
** p.51

* At every turn we come face to face with a paradox but none more startling than this: '''if a man seeks to save his life he loses it, but if he loses himself in devotion to a noble ideal he finds life indeed. With profound insight Jesus pointed out this fact''' to his disciples on many occasions.
** p.51


* The spirit of Jesus is truly reflected in the following words from John's Gospel: "I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be fulfilled ...that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Rejection and persecution and suffering; yet peace and joy and power. '''Jesus never could have attained to such a Godlike character if he had turned back from the Cross. ...Verily life is lost in seeking and found in renunciation.'''
** p.51

* No man understands the full meaning of the Cross. ...But at least this we do know: '''the Cross reveals''' the hideousness of sin, releases the redeeming power of sacrificial love, and opens the gateway to abounding joy and complete self-realization. Here we find the answer to the supreme needs of every generation: '''how to overcome evil and build the divine society, and how to find happiness and serenity.''' If any man would come, let him '''renounce self, follow the way of love, and live every day as a good member of God's home.''' The pathway may lead to persecution and suffering and seeming defeat, but it alone leads to reconciliation and redemption and life. '''This is the religion of Jesus.'''
** p.52

=== Ch. 2: Causes of the Rapid Expansion of Early Christianity ===

* '''If it had not actually happened it would be regarded as utterly impossible.''' That '''the religion of an obscure teacher in a conquered province,''' who himself was '''crucified as a common malefactor,''' should spread '''within three centuries,''' in spite of vigorous opposition and bitter persecution, so rapidly that it '''became the official religion of the mightiest empire''' of all the earth: this is simply incredible.
** p.53

* '''There seem to have been eight principal reasons for the phenomenal growth of early Christianity:''' [1] the '''conviction that Jesus had risen''' from the grave and the expectation of his early bodily return; [2] the preaching of '''a gospel of salvation''' in a decaying world; [3] '''the practice of love and sharing'''; [4] '''personal purity and family loyalty'''; [5] the '''rejection of violence and war'''; [6] the exhibition of unbounded '''courage and sacrificial devotion'''; [7] the '''solidarity and discipline of the Christian fellowship'''; and, eventually, [8] '''compromise with prevailing beliefs and practices.'''
** p.53

* The crucifixion had utterly crushed the disciples. To the very end they had expected Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom and when he was shamefully put to death as a criminal, all their hopes collapsed. ...but when the conviction became general that he had broken the bonds of death and had ascended into heaven, ...the disciples became joyous and hopeful; no longer fearful and afraid, they became bold and daring.
** p.54

* The early Christians not only felt certain that Jesus was alive, daily they awaited his bodily return in order to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. This great event was to occur during the lifetime of that generation and would be followed by the resurrection of the dead and the judgment day. So confidently did they hold to this conviction that they joyously endured incredible hardships. ...Without this conviction and hope they would never have been able to overcome the terrific odds against them.
** p.54

* '''The [[w:Gospel_of_John|Gospel of John]], which came very late, seems to have spiritualized the second coming and no longer expected the bodily return of Jesus.'''
** p.55

* '''There was an appalling amount of misery and injustice throughout the regions where the expansion of Christianity was most rapid.''' Greek and Roman civilizations rested upon the corner stone of slavery. ...'''The master had power of life and death over the slave and could torture, maim, and crucify.''' ...The wise and benevolent Marcus Aurelius classed slaves with animals. ...The total number of slaves in the Roman Empire is unknown but has been estimated as high as sixty millions. ...'''The mass of people everywhere lived in the depths of degradation and misery.''' The free distribution of food by the government ...was not sufficient to prevent widespread starvation. ...'''the brutalizing effects of slavery had made men callous to human suffering. Even their sports were bloody and barbarous.'''
** p.56

* '''The''' [theatrical] '''stage of that era was often highly indecent.''' "The exhibition of licentious shows and immoral plays, says [[w:Charles_Loring_Brace|C. L. Brace]] [in [http://books.google.com/books?id=pxMqAAAAYAAJ& ''Gesta Christ, or, A history of Humane Progress under Christianity'']], "had a profound influence. The extremes to which they were carried cannot ever be explained in modern writings. In fact, few classical scholars who have not waded through the disgusting mire of a large part of Roman literature can have even an idea of the depth of obscenity and immorality which it reached."
** p.57-58

* In addition to the terrible ravages of slavery, poverty, cruelty, and immorality, all classes in that period were victimized by fear of unseen powers. The air was supposed to be densely populated with spirits, good and evil. '''The reality of the existence of demons was rarely questioned either by pagans or the early Christians.''' ...Various forms of insanity and epilepsy were regarded as demon possession. Multitudes lived daily in mortal fear of evil spirits. ...Apathy and satiety characterized the more prosperous, while misery and despair were the lot of the dispossessed. It is said that '''among the upper classes suicide was so frequent as to constitute the normal form of death. One thrill after another had lost its attractiveness and many were overcome with an unbearable weariness.''' The joy and zest of life had gone. Annihilation seemed preferable to nausea and disgust. '''While the depressed classes were so racked with pain and distraught with fear that many sought escape by the gateway of death.'''
** p.58⏎
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[[Category:Christianity]]