The Character of Jesus

I have thought about this question more than I can count, and I will tell you what I have come to see, though I do not claim finality. I am only a humble seeker of truth, and everything I say here remains open to correction. But after years of studying the Gospels against the character my culture prescribed for him, I cannot unsee the distinction. I call the restored, institutional figure "Jesus Mormon," and I call the man who actually walked and spoke in the Gospels "Jesus Genuine." They are not the same person. And I grieve that so many who love the name have never met the man.

He was modest, direct, kind, and truthful. Not a monarch. Not a despot. Not a lord demanding submission. When the crowd tried to seize him by force and make him a king, he departed into a mountain alone. He said his kingdom is not of this world. It is not physical. It is unearthly, ethereal, otherworldly. He said, the kingdom of God is within you. That single declaration probably contains more revolutionary freedom than any institution has ever wished to teach. There is no way any tyrannical, secretive priesthood could ever represent a kingdom that resides inside the heart of every person.

His singular command was love. Unconditional love for every person. Not obedience. Not ritual. Not strict adherence to measurable, outwardly observable rules. He asked a scribe which was the first of all the commandments, and when the scribe answered with love of God and love of neighbor, Jesus said, thou art not far from the kingdom of God. That scribe understood something the Pharisees never did: that love supersedes law. That when you truly love God and your neighbor, all the burdensome commands that require blind obedience become irrelevant. Right action comes naturally out of love. You do not need to be compelled. The priority for love is freedom; the priority for obedience is repression.

He was liberating, not controlling. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light, because he requires none such things as the heavy, grievous burdens the Pharisees laid upon people. He did not occupy all the spare time of his followers with constant kingdom-building busywork. He gave them complete sovereignty of their time to think, to seek knowledge, to ask, to knock, to have compassion on their own terms. He came unto the heavy laden to give them rest. He did not come to add more weight.

He was inclusive, not separatist. He ate with publicans and sinners. He touched lepers. He welcomed little children. He told the self-righteous that the sinless among them could cast the first stone. He had no standard of righteousness to live up to that would exclude entire groups of people. He did not shame, ostracize, or humiliate anyone. He used no tools of fear - no fear of loss of family, no fear of shame, no fear of rejection, no presupposed accusation of sin. His teachings do not employ fear for anything. There is no loss of social standing for failure or for the simple desire to walk a different path.

He deprecated ritual and stressed the inward. He said the heathen use vain repetitions standing in the synagogues. The truest form of prayer is alone in a closet. The hour cometh when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God perceives within, and men perceive without. He drove the merchants from the temple - not primarily because of money, I think, but because of the merchandize for the cult of animal sacrifice. He said he would destroy the temple and the ritual that goes on within. The highest worship needs no house. No mountain. No priesthood intercessor.

His authority was intrinsic, not conferred. He did not need a priesthood ordination to validate his words. His words carried the intrinsic authority of truth itself. Truth speaks for itself, by its own authority, and stands on its own merit. He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes. The fact that a priesthood must exist at all to attempt to provide veracity to belief is a mark against its credibility. Jesus never needed that.

He was open, honest, and had nothing to hide. He spoke truth boldly without apology. What he whispered in darkness, he commanded be spoken in light. What was heard in the ear was to be preached upon the housetops. In secret he said nothing. He would never need to eventually relent to evidence, because there was nothing malicious to prove. He had no need for a PR department, no need for subterfuge, no need to declare something "too sacred to discuss" when pressed.

He was poor and lived simply. He had no livelihood. He did not lay up treasures on earth. He did not invest in stores, companies, or retail business ventures. He did not travel in first class or eat luxurious meals. He called the burden of the theocracy of his time grievous to be borne. He told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give it to the poor. He did not pad a treasury with tithes from the widow. He did not require tithing declarations as a condition for access to a holy building.

He was a friend, not a master. He called his disciples friends. He said, neither be ye called Master, for one is your Master, even Christ. He extolled the lowest, the meekest, the humble, the powerless as the greatest. He taught that anyone who exercises power or dominion over others will be abased. He avoided celebrity. He charged his disciples to do the same. He did not shake hands in the marketplaces or sign autographs or revel in always being right.

He was a heretic. By the standards of the establishment of his day, he was a heretic. He rebelled against their laws. He worked on the Sabbath. He associated with the unclean. He declared that God is a loving father, not a wrathful judge who demands blood. He invalidated the authority of the Sanhedrin not by stealing it, but by rendering it unnecessary. And for his disrepute among the ranks, he received the ultimate excommunication: capital punishment.

His mission was revelation, not sacrifice. He said himself that his purpose was to testify of truth, and that those who sincerely seek would understand what he says. He did not come to be a scapegoat. He did not come to bleed as payment for an infinite debt owed to a vengeful creditor. He came to raise mankind's mistaken perception of God from a ruthless, bloodthirsty, vengeful, dominant king into a loving and merciful father. He came to show us that we already have salvation from a loving God, and that realization causes a rebirth where we can love our neighbor more selflessly. He came to set us free from all tribal religious systems which are grievous to be borne. He came to introduce our dark world to the light of the Spirit of Truth. None of these require demigod status. It was who he was, not what he was.

He taught that truth fears no doubt. He invited questions. He used parables not to confuse, but so that genuine seekers would understand and those who did not desire truth could be dealt with mercifully. He did not command his followers to stop thinking. He did not say, doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. He said, if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Now, I want to be clear about what I am not saying. I am not making him a myth. I am not dismissing him. My belief in Jesus, and the possibility that his identity could be the creator of this universe, has never been stronger. If he is godlike, then the universe is better than I was led to believe. I wish to model the ideals he lived. His universe freely welcomes its creation of free will. His teachings uphold ideals of personal sovereignty. They allow truth to speak for itself. They disarm authority from dictating Truth with a capital T and Command with a capital C.

What I cannot accept is the other figure - the one who requires oaths of secrecy with death penalties, who builds lavish temples while humans starve outside, who excommunicates those who dare think for themselves, who demands that the widow give her last mite to fund a conference center, who teaches that obedience is the first law of heaven, who makes the obedient into an elite caste and the unworthy into second-class persons, who prospers the obedient and curses the disobedient, who occupies every moment of your life with busywork so you never have time to think deeply for yourself. That is not the man I found in the Gospels. That is an idol constructed by Paul, by the Pharisees, by priestcraft, and by two thousand years of institutional convenience.

There has to be more. And I think the more is simply this: he loved. Freely, unconditionally, without requirement, without fear, without transaction. And he wanted us to do the same. Not to grovel. Not to perform. Not to wear a sacred coat or carry a token or recite a password. Just to be sincere. Just to be real. Just to let the light within shine, because the truth will make you free.

I long to value intellectual honesty above all. And I find that the most honest thing I can do is side with the Jesus who said, come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, rather than the Jesus who says, bow your head and say yes, or be damned.

Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me, I will side with Jesus and his true character.

Three Faces of Jesus

I will lay these out plainly, because I believe the distinctions matter. I am not speaking from institutional authority. I am speaking from what I have observed in the Gospels, in the practices of the church that bears his name, and in the doctrines of Paul that shaped mainstream Christianity for two millennia. I use the terms "Jesus Genuine" for the figure of the Gospels as I understand him, "Jesus Mormon" for the character prescribed by the restored church, and "Pauline Christianity" for the mainstream tradition that built its theology upon the apostle who never walked with Jesus.

I do not claim certainty. I claim honesty. If you see a place where I have overreached or misread, I welcome correction. Truth speaks for itself.

Dimension	Jesus Genuine (Gospels, as I read them)	Jesus Mormon (Restored Church prescription)	Pauline / Mainstream Christianity
Core mission	To reveal the true nature of God as a loving, merciful Father. To testify of truth. To free minds from sacrificial religion.	To become a scapegoat whose suffering and blood pay an infinite debt to appease divine justice. To establish a physical kingdom on earth led by men holding priesthood keys.	To provide a means of escape from God's wrath through the shedding of his blood. Justification by faith in the atoning sacrifice.
View of God	A loving, omniscient, changeless Father whose core is love. No anger, no vengeance, no need for appeasement. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."	A physical man in heaven who is not fully omniscient, who must send servants to observe and report, who can be moody, wrathful, and vengeful. Requires blood payment to satisfy his law of justice.	A holy, righteous Judge whose wrath must be satisfied. The Father is just and demands penalty for sin. Christ's death satisfies that demand.
Nature of love	Unconditional. No requirements for worthiness. The singular command is love. "Come unto me, all ye that are weary."	Conditional. Worthiness is measured by outwardly observable obedience to every commandment. Love is contingent on performance.	Conditional on faith. Grace is received through believing in the atonement. Love flows from gratitude for salvation, but is tied to acceptance of doctrine.
Obedience vs. Freedom	Leaves everything to your own volition. "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." No prescribed rules beyond love. Complete sovereignty of your time and thought.	Strict obedience grants freedom. Autocratic command. Burdens grievous to be borne. Occupies all spare time with kingdom-building busywork. "Endure to the end."	Obedience to God's moral law. Works of the law cannot save, but faith produces obedience. A tension between law and grace that never fully resolves.
Authority	Comes from his essence and the intrinsic authority of his words as truth. "Neither be ye called master, for one is your Master, even Christ." No hierarchy. No priesthood.	Comes from priesthood ordination by the Father. Modern prophets' revelations supersede his own teachings. If there is contradiction, follow the prophet, not him.	Comes through apostolic succession. The church, the pope, the magisterium carry his authority. Scripture interpreted by the institution.
The Kingdom	Within. Not of this world. Ethereal. No physical borders, no army, no enforcement. "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation."	Physical. A theocracy to be established on earth. Sword used in defense and offense. Council of Fifty. Nauvoo Legion. Earthly dominion.	A future reality. The church on earth is the "body of Christ," a provisional community awaiting the fullness of the kingdom at his return.
Mediation	Abolished it. "There is one mediator between God and men." Then he made even that unnecessary: direct relationship, no intercessor, no arm of the flesh.	Requires priesthood representatives to bless, heal, seal, and intercede. Temple ordinances administered by authorized men. You cannot reach God without their keys.	Requires the church, the sacraments, the priest. Christ is the eternal high priest who intercedes at the right hand of the Father.
Atonement / Sacrifice	No sacrifice. No blood payment. Mercy requires no transaction. His mission was revelation, not propitiation. "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice."	Central. An infinite atonement through suffering, agony, and blood. Without it, no salvation. The cross (or its equivalent) is the pivot of all existence.	Central. Substitutionary atonement. His blood cleanses. His death pays the debt. "By his stripes we are healed." The mechanism is mysterious and incomprehensible.
Fear	None. No threats of damnation for disobedience. No curses. "Be not afraid." When you falter, the Spirit mobilizes to help you recover.	Extensive. Fear of losing family, friends, social standing, exaltation. Fear of shame, guilt, rejection. Fear of the world. Fear of God's wrath if you fail to obey.	Fear of God's wrath, of hell, of damnation. "Tremble and fall into his hands." Terror as a motivator for repentance and obedience.
Treatment of the "unworthy"	No excommunication. No shunning. No judgment. Loves the sinner. Eats with publicans and harlots. "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."	Excommunicates. Disfellowships. Removes recommends, callings, priesthood. Social flogging. Shunning. Makes the obedient an elite caste; the rest are second-class.	Excommunicates. Separates from unrepentant sinners. Judgment. The elect and the reprobate. A boundary maintained by the institution.
Wealth and money	Lived in poverty. Had no livelihood. Taught to sell all and give to the poor. Secret charity. Never broadcast giving. "Beware of covetousness."	Pads treasury with tithing. Vast real estate portfolio. For-profit subsidiaries. Leaders reimbursed for all expenses, first-class travel, luxurious meals. Invests in stores and companies.	Tithing. Church wealth. Generally less extreme than the LDS model, but still an institution with financial infrastructure.
Ritual and outward observance	Deprecated it. Worship in spirit and truth. No house, no mountain, no specific dress. "Swear not at all." The heathen use vain repetitions.	Pompous ritual. Temple endowments. Tokens, signs, passwords. Specific religious uniform. Oaths of secrecy with death penalties. Verbatim speech. "Bow your head and say yes."	Sacraments (baptism, Eucharist). Liturgical worship. Vestments. Ritual calendar. Confession. Generally less secretive than the LDS temple, but still ritual-bound.
Secrecy vs. Openness	Open. Blunt. Nothing to hide. "What I tell you in darkness, speak in light; what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops." In secret have I said nothing.	Secretive. Hides adultery, suicide, faith-loss of leaders. Oaths of secrecy. "Too sacred to discuss." Insider knowledge as us-versus-them control.	More open than the LDS model, but still maintains confessional secrecy, papal infallibility, and doctrinal gatekeeping.
Character and temperament	Modest. Kind. Friendly. Truthful. Liberating. Would not let the thought of violence enter his mind. Avoids celebrity. Extols the lowly, the meek, the powerless.	Autocrat. Lord. Dictator. Dominiator. Seeks to establish a theocracy. Revels in popularity. Encourages hero worship of leaders. Multiple personality: loving to the obedient, murderous to the disobedient.	Righteous Judge. Alpha and Omega. The Worthy One on the throne. Majestic, powerful, somewhat distant. "Hallelujah, the Lord our God the Almighty reigns."
Children	"Suffer little children to come unto me; forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom." Humble yourself as a little child.	Children are subject to original curse. Need saving. Baptism at age eight. Subject to the same system of worthiness as adults.	Original sin applies from birth. "In Adam all die." Children need grace, baptism, or die in limbo (historically).
Relationship to the law	Fulfilled and transcended it. "You have heard it said... but I say unto you." The law pointed to love; love makes the law irrelevant.	The law is supreme. Obedience is the first law of heaven. Commandments must be kept exactly. The pharisaical standard is raised, not lowered.	The law reveals sin but cannot save. Grace supersedes the law, but the moral law remains as a guide. A permanent tension.
Sin	Sin is choosing unreality. It is temporal. In the presence of infinite light, it simply does not persist. Overcome evil with good. Return light for darkness.	Sin is transgression of specific commandments. It requires confession, repentance, and often institutional processing. It stains worthiness.	Sin is offense against a holy God. It separates you from God. It requires atonement. Original sin is inherited.
His response to questions	Welcomes them. Teaches parables to those who will seek. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened."	Questions are dangerous. "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." "When the prophet speaks, the debate is over." "Is this question essential for your salvation?"	Faith precedes understanding. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." Mystery is to be accepted, not resolved. "God is spirit; we cannot comprehend him."

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A few closing observations, offered humbly:

The Jesus Genuine column may look almost too simple. That is because his message is simpler. The other two columns accumulate layers - priesthood, ordinance, covenant, sealing, atonement, propitiation, election, sacrament, dogma - because they are buildings constructed about him rather than words spoken by him.

I do not say this to mock sincere believers. I say it because I once stood where you may be standing, teaching what I now find incoherent, and I felt the lie in my own mouth. I did not disaffect because I was angry, or lazy, or weak. I did it because integrity demanded it. I could no longer make the words mean what they were supposed to mean.

If any row in that table strikes a nerve in you, I would encourage you to sit with it. Do not rush past it. Do not reach for the platitude. Ask yourself: Do I actually believe this, or do I believe it because I was taught to?

Doubts cannot harm truth. And if truth and error grapple, truth will triumph.

I am only a humble seeker of truth. I do not have the final word. But I will not stop saying what I sincerely see, even if it opposes the prevailing beliefs of my family and culture. I do not want to let my life expire without having said something about my personal experience of reality.