The Project

People love Jesus, although as Youtube will testify, they may not be to crazy about religion  “For Muslims and some Jews, Jesus was a prophet.  Buddhists say he was enlightened.  Hindus call him an avatar (the incarnation of a deity in human form), and Christians hail him as the Son of God.”  Or so it say on the back of the box of one of my many bobble-head Jesi.  A quick survey of the past 2000 years will reveal that there has been no person who has had as large an impact on the psyche of the western world than Christ; moreover, Jesus miraculously transcends human boundaries which, to most rational people, seem diametrically opposed. 

Case in point… On December 13, 1999 at the Republican Presidential debate, the potential presidential candidates  were asked, which political philosopher or thinker they most identified with and why. Without hesitation, the then governor of Texas, George W. Bush replied, “Christ, because he changed my heart.” When asked to clarify to the viewers what he meant, his response was, “If they don’t know it’s going to be hard to explain. When you turn your heart over to Christ, when you accept Christ as your savior, it changes your heart, and changes your life and that’s what happened to me.”

Eight and a half years later on August 16, 2008 at a church in Lake Forest, California the then presidential hopeful  Barak Obama told the gathered congregation as well as the nation watching on television, “I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and that I am redeemed through Him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. I know that I don't walk alone… but what [that] also means, I think, is a sense of obligation to embrace not just words but through deeds, the expectations, I think, that God has for us. And that means thinking about ‘the least of these.’ It means acting, well, acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God.”

In the political spectrum, you do not get much farther  apart than Bush and Obama. Yet they both claim Jesus Christ to be a major influence in their lives. Of course, this is nothing new for American politicians. Back in 1803, Tomas Jefferson, who adamantly rejected the divinity of Christ, nonetheless refers to Jesus as, “the most innocent, the most benevolent, the most eloquent and sublime character that ever has been exhibited to [humanity.]” (Letter to Dr. Joseph Priestley) These three politicians share little else in common besides  a love for America and a love for Jesus.  So what do we make of this curious ability of Christ to captivate such a diverse audience? 

For as long as Christians have meditated on the life of Christ, fiction has entered the story of Salvation. People are apt to embrace a Jesus they like regardless of what the gospels say. In 1910 Albert Switzer made the astute observation in his magnificent book The Quest of the Historical Jesus, “There is no historical task which reveals a person’s true self as the writing of a Life of Jesus.” This concept shows that it is a natural tendency to create God in our own image.  From a skeptics standpoint, one can take this assessment to demonstrate the real limits of looking at depictions of Christ; however, one need not come to this disparaging determination.  When we come to understand representations of Christ are artistic interpretations rather than historic speculations we are freed to recognized that behind each portrait of Jesus stands a very real image of God in the artisan who created it.

Nearly two thousand years ago on the northern shore of Sea of Galilee, Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was.  Way back then, there was a litany of possibilities, “John the Baptist,” “Elijah,” “Jeremiah,” or “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”   Today the answers are more varied than ever, ranging from “Superstar” to “Vampire Hunter” to “Jim Caviezel” to, my personal favorite of the past couple years, “Grilled Cheesus.”  Now I make no qualms about my own sharing of Peter’s subsequent profession. But my interest lies in who people say Jesus is. My goal for this blog is to engage the Christ we find in our media saturated culture.  I will compare that Jesus to the one of Christian faith, affirming the ways they are compatible and, when need be, challenging the ways they are not.  My hope is that you find my blog engaging, enriching and entertaining.  So thanks for joining me as we drop our nets into the sea that is popular culture.  I promise, there is plenty of good fishing to be had!