I think if someone today were to start preaching a message like Jesus', there could be several results. My first reaction was that he would be scorned or, most likely, ignored, like the "crazy" people on street corners mentioned by a few others. However, giving it further thought, I decided that a "modern-day Jesus" could potentially be successful. First, he would have many advantages that Jesus didn't have, and if he were smart (which I think most could agree Jesus was), they could really work for him. For instance, he would have access to a much wider audience, thanks to modern technology, as well as the increased population. Even if most people thought he was crazy, he could still get a fairly large following. Take for example Jim Jones and the People's Temple -- here's a person who is recognized internationally as being psychotic, and is in fact from a place just as notorious as Galilee (California, of course), and he was able to found a town just for his followers, not to mention convincing them all to kill themselves (something Jesus never tried, incidentally).
Personally, I think Jones' message was a lot harder to swallow than Jesus', yet he still amassed a huge following. Essentially, I think that in the modern world it is, for all intents and purposes, impossible to preach a theological message that is well received by a large majority. Jesus had the advantage of preaching to exclusively Jews, and still most of them were unenthusiastic. I can't imagine a religious message that would appeal to people of all faiths.
If a modern Jesus were to appear, it is likely that he would be dismissed as just another crazy. However, someone with the determination and charisma of Jesus has the potential to become really popular. The one thing I think would make it difficult is if he claimed to be the messiah. That could still work, but the word "messiah" makes a lot of people want to turn around and walk away. It seems, though, that Jesus himself tried to avoid referring to himself as the messiah. Then, as now, it was a dangerous word to use.
3 comments:
You make a really good point that this modern-day Jesus would have a lot of advantages. I also agree that this modern Jesus should avoid calling him/herself the messiah because that usually causes issues. You make a good argument for the possible success of a modern-day Jesus, if he uses modern technology to his advantage and such.
I agree on a lot of your points. I do think that a modern Jesus would have some advantages, however I think these advantages would only be able to attract a relatively small cult following (like Jones). If Christianity was just introduced today, I don't think it would become a universal faith and reach the number of people that it has. I think this because, like you said, today it would be nearly impossible for Jesus to spread a new message on faith because of the multitude of religions already in existance and the devotion of followers to those religions.
That is a good point. Megan's paper addressed that fact that countries, such as the U.S., have freedom of religion, thus they are less likely to be in need of turning to a different new religion led by a radical person.
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