Part 6 (2/2)

On the other hand, Jesus was tolerant of s.e.x offenses. He chatted in a friendly manner with the woman of Samaria, saying: ”Thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband.”[36] And about the woman taken in adultery he said: ”He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her ... Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more.”[37] ”The harlots go into the kingdom of G.o.d before you.”[38]

_Divorce_

Jesus sanctioned divorce. His followers are so annoyed at this fact that they frequently quote the verse on the subject with the offensive clause omitted. The text reads: ”It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”[39] Again in Matthew xix, 9, he makes the same exception. It is evident, therefore, that Jesus permitted divorce for one cause. If the wife was unfaithful the husband could divorce her, but otherwise no matter how unhappy the couple might be, they must remain married.

The admirable leniency of Jesus toward s.e.x offenders, and his permission to divorce, must seem like mistakes to churchmen who consider extramarital s.e.x relations the unforgivable sin. And everyone must see the danger of having our judges adopt as a principle of justice the dismissal of offenders on the ground that the prosecutors have also sinned.

A Christian girl of today would not be encouraged by the most zealous religious parents to marry a man exactly like Jesus.

_Faulty Judgment_

Jesus selected Judas to be the treasurer of the apostles' joint funds, but later admitted his error, saying: ”Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for it was he that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”[40]

Jesus erroneously supposed that ”salvation is of the Jews.”[41] ”Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”[42] A nationalistic and partial spirit is expressed in these sentences, a spirit that has been followed to the extent that Jesus would not be permitted to enter America if he applied for a visa.

_Unconvincing_

Jesus failed in his mission to save the world. He made the supreme sacrifice in vain. His method of proving his divinity did not convince his hearers: ”But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.”[43] ”For neither did his brethren believe in him.”[44] After he had healed many, cast out unclean spirits and appointed his twelve apostles to do likewise, his friends ”went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.”[45]

Jesus admitted his impotence as a human being when he said, ”I can of mine own self do nothing.”[46] Even with the a.s.sistance of his Father he did not accomplish what he set out to do.

_Prohibition_

The miracle of turning water into wine, providing one hundred gallons of wine after the people at the party had ”well drunk”, must appear to prohibitionists like a mistake on the part of Jesus. Many Methodists and Baptists would have preferred to have him turn the wine into water; yet they will not admit that Jesus made a mistake.

_Lack of Experience_

So far as the gospels relate, Jesus never had any experience with three of the chief difficulties of human life--s.e.x, earning a living and illness. He was therefore less able to explain those relations.h.i.+ps than one who has struggled through in the customary manner of mankind. To take the inexperienced Jesus as our guide in practical living would be like a traveller who was planning a trip over perilous mountains and engaged as a guide a man who had never crossed the mountains.

As Jesus believed that the end of the world was approaching, and as he revealed no information about the future, his teachings should be taken as applying solely to his own time. A divinity living now would preach far differently from the inadequate doctrines of Jesus.

The abandonment of reliance upon a Jesus who has not changed in nineteen hundred years, in favor of an Evolutionary philosophy that requires constant change, leads to a new conception of the world and its possibilities for man. A person who has thought himself out of antiquated theology may be expected to have an open mind towards the betterment of human customs.

Every improvement in human relations.h.i.+ps originates secularly and is adopted by the Church only after a bitter struggle. Faith in Jesus is a reactionary force. The Christian opposes change in the creations of G.o.d; the Evolutionist seeks to alter every unsatisfactory condition. The Evolutionist is more responsive than the orthodox Christian to proposals for promoting the happiness of the human race. Many liberals have abandoned conservatism because they saw the hypocrisy in Christianity.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Matt. xx, 1-16.

[2] John x, 13.

[3] Luke xvii, 10.

[4] Matt. xxv, 30.

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