Jesus Christ - a most Holy Heretic

Forward … the WHY of it all
As a humble yet passionate “biblical scholar” in my own right 1 , it can come as no surprise to
learn that I have intentionally entertained thousands of in-depth conversations with all sorts of
Christians during my devout immersion into biblical theology and its various religious manifestations.
Also unsurprisingly, a great many of these conversations involved speaking with Christian
“conservatives” (i.e. Christians of a more traditional religious bent – not only regarding the spiritual themes or
worship and salvation, but also the social issues of crime and punishment and equality and justice; Christians
who often label themselves as being “fundamentalist”, “evangelical”, “literalist” or “born again”) and then
confronting those same believers as to the patent immorality of many of their less humble ideals &/or
many of their more judgmental (if not outright bigoted) beliefs – logically referencing the teachings of
the flagrantly liberal (at least when it comes to those same aforementioned social issues) Jesus of Nazareth
while doing so. And almost invariably while doing so, I was met with a most curious defense of the
same; a justification for said callousness often causally provided by two verses cited from the Gospel
of Matthew – verses which do indeed seem to justify the aforementioned believers' adoption of and
reverence for many of the less than amicable tenets of the Hebrew Bible (what many today call “the Old
Testament”) – verses which quite clearly have Jesus himself stating: “Do not think that I have come to
abolish the Law or the prophets, for I have come not to abolish but to fulfill them. Truly I tell you,
until heaven and earth pass away, not even a single stroke of a single letter will pass from the Law until
all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18) … And admittedly, if these verses are accepted as valid at face
value, then they can indeed be used to excuse or even to justify any conservative Christian's support for
any number of Old Testament-founded immoralities – including but not limited to human slavery
(Exodus 2:7), animal cruelty (Genesis 9:2 & Leviticus 11:1-47), discrimination against women (Numbers
30:1-8), genocidal murder (Deuteronomy 7:1-2), unprovoked acts of war (Numbers 31:2), blatant racism
(Numbers 25:1-13), religious persecution (Exodus 22:20 & Deuteronomy 13:6-10), homophobic bigotry
(Leviticus 18:22), rape (Deuteronomy 22:28-29), sexual bondage (Genesis 19:8), and the mass murder of
children (Exodus 12:29-30 & Numbers 31:17-18) …
Of course, for even the casual reader of the Bible, it becomes obviously apparent that the
underlying theological principles found in the Old Testament dramatically differ from many of those
offered up by Jesus in the Gospels. 2
1 This statement is not meant to arrogantly reflect an undue claim to any exclusive status or knowledge regarding the
Bible. In truth, I have no degree in either theology or divinity from any accredited university, I cannot read either
Hebrew or Koine Greek, and I have never directly accessed or even been exposed to the ancient biblical manuscripts
written in those languages. That having been said, there is much more to being a true “scholar” than is traditionally
understood. Indeed, the best definition of “scholar” is nothing more than “one having special knowledge in a particular
branch of study.” And what better way to attain “special knowledge” of the Bible's texts than to do what the Scriptures
themselves admonish and radically put them to the test (see Matthew 7:15-20) by enlivening them one's self in all sorts
of (often uncomfortable &/or frightening – some would say dangerous) interactions with others – to see which of the
various interpretations of their particular passages bear the “good fruit” of peace and joy and harmony, and which of
them do not. And this is precisely what I have done for the past 15+ years of my life – not only reading and studying
the many translations of the Bible's texts, but also putting those same passages to the test by enlivening them in my
everyday interactions – with friends and with strangers and with enemies alike.
2 It is important for the reader to NOTE that, in the interest of both theological accuracy and psychological practicality,
this work will only consider &/or mention the words and actions of Jesus Christ found in the four canonical Gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For reasons laid out exhaustively in my book The Cult of Paul, any mention of or
supposed quotations from Jesus found in Paul's biblical epistles will for the most part not be considered, nor will the
supposed words of the faux “Jesus” found in the book of Revelation be in any way acknowledged (for reasons almost as
fully illuminated in my book Re-Vealing Revelation).
5