What Did Jesus Ever do For Me?

    I do not think that this is a crude or unfair question. It is worth discussing. If you believe who the prophets say He is, then you can list a great number of things that Jesus has done, for the individual and the collectives. Most of us Christians accept that Jesus not only lived an exemplary and perfect life, but that He gave His life so that we can be saved physically and spiritually, which is about everything that we want as human beings and children of God.

    There are scientific-based atheists who dismiss any type of supernatural nature of Jesus or anyone else, and therefore Christ has had a huge historical and influential impact on the planet in his teachings, in secular viewpoints and understandings, due to the massive followings, and churches and causes dedicated to Him and in Jesus' name, but there is no Godly mystical acts or measures of miraculous faith that have derived from His presence or life, death, or resurrection. Or other amazing feats of healing or supernatural actions.

    There are agnostics in between, that cannot themselves be sure of His Divinity, but may also see that in this figure's name millions of people have gone to war, some were martyred for him, defending Him, or some were tortured or killed or displaced by those who prosecuted in His supposed favor.

    Manifest Destiny and a few other world movements come to mind.

    Some deluded and misled folks persecuted and massacred Jewish folks and others, across the planet, thinking that the universal Jesus somehow approved of their actions. And that is not touching the cultural appropriation that has occurred over the centuries with conversion and transformation of former beliefs to those of Christian values and standards. Some can become very dark and cynical when thinking of the Christian wars and movements waged in this person's name.

    So, all told, there can be a lot of negativity directed towards Jesus Christ Himself, or at least many of His followers and the organizations assembled in His name.

    As the Charles Dickens novel title encapsulates in its extremes of contrasts, it could be said by many that He has been part of the best of times, and/or He has been part of the worst of times.  The best and the worst, all happening in His name. There are ample reasons why people react so strongly to His name, both for positives and negatives. 

    Many people fear Christians today-- those that claim to follow Jesus, because many times they can seem extreme, and hateful, like not allowing a pregnant mother to receive the best healthcare for her present and future body, or those religiously minded who for political or economic reasons choose to seemingly turn their back on the poor and the needy, especially those that come from abroad and do not have legal status, many who claim credible fear and asylum and are refugees under duress.

    That is not to say that there are not millions of loving followers of Jesus, and that many Christian churches, orders, clubs, and movements do not do wonderful works and charities for the poor and needy. But things getting political can get ugly. Some accused George Bush as waging a Judeo-Christian war against Muslims, that religion and faith on our Western values leads to awful or unnecessary wars and hardships.

    The extremist Muslims like Osama Bin Laden are blamed for their egregious holy wars waged against their fellow believers of Islam, the Peoples of the Book, Jews and Christians, and the kufr, the infidels of which the Quran warns and dictates about.

    And lest we forget, Jesus is a big part of the makeup and endgame of Islam. He means a lot to one and half billion Muslims in the world of 2025. They have faith in Jesus of Nazareth.

    So, where do we stand? Is it simple, or complicated, or is a long gamut of all things?

    Yes, probably the latter.

    More later...