Evangelicals want everyone to believe that they worship Jesus; not just any Jesus, either. Their Jesus is the one and only Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Their Jesus is special and unique, unlike the Jesus worshiped by Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Roman Catholics, or revered by Muslims and other non-Evangelical sects.
Take the Sovereign Grace Music song, Jesus, There’s No One Like You:
There is no song we could sing
To honor the weight of Your glory
There are no words we could speak
To capture the depth of Your beautyCHORUS
Jesus, there’s no one like You
Jesus, we love You, ever adore You
There’s no one like You
Jesus, we love You, ever adore You, LordVERSE 2
There is no sinner beyond
The infinite stretch of Your mercy
How can we thank You enough
For how You have loved us completely?BRIDGE
All we have
All we need
All we want is You
It’s evident Sovereign Grace has a particular Jesus in mind. More on that below.
Years ago, Evangelical musicians Bill and Gloria Gaither released a song titled, There’s Something About That Name:
There’s just something about the name of Jesus
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
There’s just something about that name
Master, Savior, Jesus
Like the fragrance after the rainJesus, Jesus, Jesus
Let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away
But there’s something about that nameJesus, Jesus, Jesus
There’s just something about that name
Master, Savior, Jesus
Like the fragrance after the rainJesus, Jesus, Jesus
Let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away
But there’s something about that name (that name)Something about that name.
Both songs reference Jesus, yet the Jesus of Sovereign Grace Music, and that of Bill and Gloria Gaither are very different from one another. Sovereign Grace is Calvinistic, whereas the Gaithers belong to an Arminian sect. The Jesus of the Calvinists and the Jesus of the Arminians are two very different Sons of God. Oh, outwardly they appear the same, but doctrinally they are very different. Mere semantics? I think not. Evangelical sects build complex systems of theology around their peculiar versions of Jesus. These beliefs can’t help but color how believers view the Savior of the world (to the Gaithers) or the Savior of the elect (to the Calvinists). And it’s not just Evangelicals who do this. Liberal/progressive Christians have a very different Jesus from that of Independent Fundamentalist Baptists (IFB). Which Jesus is the right one? How could we possibly know who possesses the Jesus who alone can save us from our sins?
Worse yet, individual churches, pastors, and congregants shape and mold Jesus into their own version of the Son of God. Instead of there being one Jesus for all, there are countless Jesuses, each eerily looking like their creators.
The next time you have a discussion with an Evangelical who is preaching “Jesus” to you, perhaps it would be interesting for you to ask them “which” Jesus? Ask them how their Jesus compares to the one found within the pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Any cursory reading of the Bible reveals that whomever and whatever the Jesus of the gospels might have been, he bears little resemblance to the Jesuses of today. And that’s okay. Is that not the power of religion; its ability to adapt, change, and transform over time? All I want is for Evangelicals to admit, in particular, that Jesus is NOT the same yesterday, today, and forever; that he is a chameleon of sorts.
I find it amusing when Evangelicals attempt to assert that their Jesus alone is the “right” Jesus, and that all other Jesuses are false. Take our Fundamentalist friend Spaniard VIII. In a post titled, Satan Is After You To Destroy You, Sp8 gives “examples of a false Jesus Christ that comes from the teachings of demons through false religions.”
Sp8 believes that he worships the one true Jesus. He even gives a checklist for readers to follow to determine if they are worshiping a demonic Jesus, Do you believe that (my answers in parentheses):
- Jesus is not God (yes)
- Jesus didn’t die on the cross (no)
- Jesus didn’t rise from the dead (yes)
- Jesus wasn’t perfect (yes)
- Jesus was not born from a virgin (yes)
- Jesus was not the Son of God (yes)
- Jesus is not the only way to Heaven (yes)
- Jesus is another god apart from the Father (yes)
- A denial of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all three being Yahweh (yes)
Oh my God! I just learned that I believe in a false Jesus! I have been deceived by Satanic forces out to send me to the Lake of Fire for eternity. Hey, I did answer the question “Jesus didn’t die on the cross” correctly. I am of the opinion that we have sufficient historical evidence for the execution of Jesus on a Roman cross (and, no, I don’t want to debate this issue). This claim makes rational sense to me. However, the rest of Sp8’s assertions are faith claims. Sp8 just wants us to take his word for it that he worships the right Jesus. Doubt this naked assertion of his? Burn in Hell!
There’s no such thing as a monolithic Jesus. Two thousand years of Christian church history, along with the establishment and proliferation of thousands of contradictory Christian sects, have birthed countless Westworld-like Jesuses, each programmed to look, believe, and act like their creators.
Which Jesus, if any, do you worship?
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Is Jesus perfect? Yes.
If Jesus is perfect then everyone must believe in him. Yes….oh, oh.
Most people in the world don’t believe in him. Well….I suppose so but…
Therefore Jesus isn’t perfect. No, no, you need to understand context.
Torture porn deleted
As a child, I was taught to worship the gentle Jesus in the top photo. Paintings around the church usually showed Jesus in a green field with lambs, or sitting on a rock surrounded by children of all races and cultures. I never knew there was another viewpoint until I grew up and learned about the extreme views of Fundamentalists.
Yes, me too. As a Sunday School teacher, I loved telling bible stories to children. I’d been reared on ‘Gentle jesus meek and mild’ too. As my doubts grew, I was scheduled to tell the story of Daniel to a school assembly of 4-7yos. I found I couldn’t do it. I consulted my ‘boss,’ the vicar, who said her 3 young sons watched far worse on TV every day. She didn’t take the point that we were supposed to be speaking of an omnibenevolent god. I skipped Daniel and did another story. But this was almost a Damascus road moment for me. I realised Noah’s flood wasn’t about cutsie fluffy animals but about genocide. And my loving heavenly fairy in the sky was a cruel, brutal, genocidal, capricious – and fictitious – monster.
I can’t help but think of the Depeche Mode song “Personal Jesus” (some of the lyrics below):
“Reach out, touch faith
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who’s there”
Each evangelical has their own concept of who Jesus is, their own personal Jesus.
Whenever people talk about getting their own personal savior, it sounds a too much like getting your own personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut.
With all the saviors around, there should be a flavor to suit everyone. Nietzsche wrote: “I would only believe in a god who could dance”.
Jesus died for his followers sins. Donald Trump is doing what he does for his followers too. It’s one of his standard shticks. “I do it for you”, “They are really after you when they attack me”, and variations on that theme. The Donald employs a strategy reminiscent of the story of Jesus. We can’t be sure till the Donald dies if he is our savior. Then if he’s resurrected after 3 days and rises up to be with his Father we will know. But only if we have have enough faith and worship orange Jesus unconditionally. MAGA HAT!
After reading this post, I realized that whomever and whatever I’ve worshipped is false. It’s not that I didn’t find the “right” deity or prophet. Rather, as I’ve just come to realize, it’s only possible to worship an idealized version of someone or something—or a being that’s wholly fictional. The only thing that can make us more enlightened—or in any way better—is to love, and be loved by, actual living beings.
MJ that is insightful. Idealization indeed helps worship of anyone or any thing. It’s hard to be a hero in your own home is an old saying. It means, I think, in your own home they know the real you. The real you can love and be loved without worshipping or being worshipped.
I love that term, “Westword-like Jesus”. I immediately pictured Yul Brenner as Jesus.