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A thought-provoking piece, although based on modern studies of the population genetics of ancient Israel, we now know that the facial reconstruction at the end isn't at all accurate. https://i.imgur.com/0ABAP1Q.jpeg

In your view, do the four gospels present a consistent view of Jesus's philosophy and politics (or lack thereof)? I know there can be substantial differences between them.

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Very good stuff thanks. I would quibble with the comrade Jesus speculation though. One thing I think you missed in discussing the unique aspects of Jesus philosophy is how deeply individualistic it is. It's a personal relationship between you and God mediated by Jesus. "The only way to the father is through me."

Consider "the poor shall always be with you." scene where a woman anoints Jesus with Nard (a fragrant oil sourced from the Himalayas), his disciples object saying this stuff could be sold and used to feed the poor. Jesus objects saying the poor will always be with you, but I will not. And in one telling (I can't remember which) Judas is said to be the strongest objector, but not because he actually wants to help the poor, but because he ran the treasury and was using it for himself.

There's a lot of lessons to draw from this short scene and it's open to interpretation, but here's mine. Good deeds are good even if they could be better and it's not up to us to judge others. The primacy of the spiritual over the material. But more relevant here, a clear preference for personal acts of charity over institutional which are quickly corrupted.

This institutional corruption was on display at the temple when it was cleared. The cleansing of the temple was more like the Boston tea party than the Russian revolution. Temple taxes could only be paid in local currency, so the money changers were there to convert foreign currency for the payment of taxes, ditto the oxen and pigeons and what not that were being sold to be sacrificed. He objected to the institutional exploitation by the church not commerce in general.

I am very ignorant in this stuff. This is all based on my unguided reading of the Gospels, which is pretty much the only part of the bible I've ever actually read closely. I am definitely reading this to fit my own pro-market, limited government worldview. I still think I'm right :)

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Small typo: You wrote 'rothers' instead of 'others' in "and give themselves status over rothers."

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In the sentence “If you won’t forgive someone else, it’s because you regard their sins as fundamentally less bad then your own.” should it be “more bad” rather than “less bad”? I don’t see how someone else’s sins being less bad than ones own could be a motivation not to forgive them those sins.

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A few points: "Jesus as political quietist" is incomplete, trailing off after "political", and in your point J) you quote the beatitudes, but "poor in spirit" refers to people who have difficulty maintaining their faith rather than being economically poor. This doesn't actually contract your points, since what Jesus is saying is that people are judged relative to their capabilities, rather than an objective universal standard. So the rich are held to a stricter standard of charity than the poor because they have a greater capacity to enact good, and someone born to a religious family is held to a stricter standard of faith than someone raised by atheists.

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