Jesusism

Jesusism is a neologism meaning a spiritual and political philosophy committed to observing the teachings of Jesus and other sages while also seeking truth through empirical reasoning.

From the perspective of the Jesusists, Christianity is an artifice designed to exploit the masses through indoctrination into a framework of logical fallacies. As an example, the argument of authority: the Scriptures are the word of God because the Scripture itself says so ("All Scripture is God breathed" in 2Tim.3,16) and this was said by Paul even before Paul's own epistle was considered as Scripture.

While the two titles sound similar, the important distinction is that Christianity derives its name from Jesus Christ (the annointed), whereas Jesusism acknowledges the profound contributions of Jesus the man to the pursuit of peace and kindness, but does not demand his elevation to divine status for his teachings to have meaning.

Jesusism is iconoclastic in nature, but does not necessarily encourage atheism or agnosticism. Instead, it values rational thinking as a source of truth, while allowing for faith-based conclusions as long as they are not prioritized. For example, the intelligent design theory of creationism intended to disregard scientific proof of evolution, not just as the origin of life, but as an undeniable biological phenomenon. Jesusism acknowledges that evolution probably explains the origin of life and it may be that God used it as a method for creation. On this point, it is similar to Deism, however a belief in God is not a requisite for Jesusism. Extending pursuit of rational thought to the political arena, followers of the philosophy seek to recognize demagogues who spread fear to further their ambitions.

Further Reading

• References the term "Jesusism." (.PDF) Template:Verify credibility
• Article by Thomas Moore from Tikkun, a leftist-progressive Jewish magazine that describes Jesusist philosophy. (.PDF)
• Article from the BBC on Christian Atheism.

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