The more I read and become involved with the question of Jesus as a hero, the more I begin to see that I have, through my past, tended to view anyone larger than life - and good - as a hero. However, while reading Megan S.Õs post, I decided that I do not believe Jesus is a hero at all. He is good and loving and kind and miraculous and eternal and many other things, but He is not a hero. Somehow, ÒheroÓ seems to small a word for Jesus to me. TO support this impression, John 1:41 states ÒWe have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the ChristÓ (78): Jesus did not become a hero, He was found as one.

                                           

Treasure map helps one "find" something already in existence.                           Jesus as a hero.

    Like Brad suggested, Jesus has been minimalized and packaged by society. This does not mean, though, that Jesus was sent by God as an advertisement, which is what I understood Brad to mean. Jesus did not come just to get the word out about a Ònew religion;Ó Genesis was written 1450 years before Jesus ever came (so I donÕt think Christianity could be classified as new). Eric briefly mentioned the marketplace story: This story supports the fact that Jesus was not out to sell anything, let alone himself, though other people who had self-appointed authority attempted to profit from Christianity. So what is JesusÕs purpose if He wasnÕt here to spread the word? His ultimate purpose is stated in John 3:17 Ò For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be savedÓ (80).    

Current versions of exploitation of Christianity.

    The final object for discussion is faith and questioning. I donÕt think that the Book of John which we read for this assignment implied that Christians could not question. Chetna mentions the ÒblindÓ followers, which is obviously not a good thing to be considered. I would hate to follow anything blindly, as would most people, but I think that many people find it hard to distinguish between blindly following and having absolute faith. As is illustrated in John 6:36 (ÒBut I said unto you, That ye have seen me, and believe notÓ (87)), faith is necessary. This faith is part of the mysticism that Brad mentions as associated with other, seemingly more exotic religions: Because Christians do not understand all the mysteries of Jesus, they must rely on faith. However, like Eric relates in his post, questioning makes many people doubt and makes other peopleÕs faith stronger. The only conclusion I could draw was that it is acceptable to question the institution of religion (as in the Church and the ministers and the strange billboards and televangelists), but to question the validity of religion shows a lack of faith.