Wasn't Jesus an anarchist?

Question

correct me if im wrong because i do not have a very advanced knowledge of the bible but from some of what i have read or heard he has been very anti-establishment and not to say he wasnt a good person because he was but i find it ironic republicans are using him as their icon.

ill just go look it up

antichrist lol nice one

a lot of different opinions here!

Answer 1

Jesus calls us to live our lives radically.

I can't imagine Jesus standing outside an abortion clinic yelling at frightened teenage girls -- but I can imagine Jesus yelling at those who yell at the girls.

Jesus is more radical than most US churches understand, and much more radical than the member would be comfortable with.

Irony is how "Christians," people who claim to love and follow Jesus, who was executed by the government, can support the government executing people today. That's irony.

Someone else mentioned the Amish . . the Amish are very close to being radical followers of Christ -- but they allow themselves to be controlled by man-made legalisms, not the spirit of Christ.

Godspeed.

Answer 2

In a way you are right.
The jesus character is hard to figure out because the story has been messed with by so many different authors, each with a different agenda. The earliest writings seem to paint him as an anti-establishment radical who is against the dogmatic practices of Judaism.
If you read the New Testament though, he changes depending on whether it was Matthew, Mark, Luke or John writing about him. The later the story is written the more of a conformist he seems to be.
He goes from being the guy who knocks over the state's tax collecting tables in the temple to being a guy who says 'render unto Caesar what is Caesar's'.
If you'd like a good understanding of how this character is portrayed I'd recommend the work of Dr. Robert Price.

http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/

Answer 3

Answering quickly without full references, BUT:

Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's..." His apostles wrote things like "Obey them that have authority over you" in at least two different letters.

Notice that Jesus NEVER stopped to talk politics. Why? Because spreading the gospel is not about politics. I don't object to Christians in politics, but the idea that if we Christians can just reform the government we'll be able to reform the country is hogwash.

Short answer: No, Jesus is not anarchist.

(The references about swords and dividing families was a forewarning of the division that would happen when one person in the family believed in Christ and the other didn't. It has nothing to do with government or politics or societal anarchy.)

Answer 4

No, there is no evidence that Jesus was an anarchist; his biographers Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John give no clear suggestion he ever discussed political philosophy. However, we have several pieces of evidence that suggest Jesus believed we should cooperate with government rather than tear it down.

1. He paid taxes and recommended that others "give to Caesar what is Caesar's."

2. He recommended accepting even illegitimate orders from government agents, like "carry my pack for a mile," and rather than resist, to carry it two miles.

3. He accepted his own arrest and unjust execution as an example of such obedience to government.

4. He told Pontius Pilate, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above." In other words, he recognized that legitimate government carrying out justice is consistent with God's plan; this is also implicit in the Ten Commandments and other ancient Hebrew laws.

Answer 5

What we know as anarchism criticizes the modern post-feudal state and capitalist economy, but reflects universal concerns about ethics and power.

Because Jesus lived in a very different society, we never read Him preaching labor unions, or mutual banks, or anarcho-communism, and we can never really say what kind of anarchism, if any, he would have preferred.

But Jesus said many things which reflect the same concerns that anarchism reflects. For instance, he told his disciples that "whoever would be first among you must be the servant of all."

Authority, in anarchism, does not come from putting one person above another person, it comes from people helping each other. They may make agreements among themselves, and they may recognize one person's experience, or another person's skills, or another's dedication, and follow that person's advice. For Christian anarchists, Jesus' authority, and divine authority in general, comes from His love and service.

A second argument focuses on his nonviolence, his counsel to avoid violence, and his rejection of violence on his behalf (IIRC, during Jesus' arrest, Peter wounds one of the soldiers, and Jesus heals the soldier). Christian pacifists reject violence, and Christian pacifist anarchists (such as Leo Tolstoy, who wrote an essay on this) note that this means rejecting the state which is, after all, a monopoly of violence in an area.

Answer 6

I appreciate you trying to understand the spiritual life better by asking a question like this. It helps to look at verses in their proper context. For ex: scriptures such as Jesus cleansed the Temple in Jn 2. To give a little background: all adult Jewish males required to come to the temple in Jerusalem.
Est. 2-300,000ppl their
High priest politicized what they were doing and had become almost mafia-like, inwhich they'd charge enormous fees for allowng one to come in to set up and sell animals. They also had a money changing fee for ppl from surrounding areas- Egypt, Cappadocia, etc. so ppl were being ripped off coming in w/ foreign money, ripped off to set up and sell and ripped off when they purchased an animal to sacrifice. Talk about a regular mafia ring that made Al Capone look like Little Boy Blue.
Jesus' cleansing of the temple was a statement of 'I am Messiah, I have the right to cleanse.' In doing so he fulfilled Zech 14:21

Answer 7

You can't pigeonhole Jesus. On the one hand he was seen as a rebel by the religious authorities, but on the other hand when they tried to trap him into saying something subversive against the state so they could book him for treason, he refused to do so, see:

Luke 20:19-26
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luk20:19-26&version=31

It would be ironic if the Republicans used him as their icon, because Jesus was against himself being seen as a political figure:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=18&verse=35&end_verse=37&version=31&context=context
He is a king, but only in an analogous sense. He is not a king like the kings we have. His kingdom is not one in which his servants fight or use violence. He was not out to build any political empires, and he advocate loving one's enemies and turning the other cheek in response to receiving violence, instead of fighting back or attacking people.

Answer 8

they could have their viewpoint, yet I thoroughly disagree. Jesus replaced into not an anarchist and this passage from the hot testomony for sure exhibits it: Matthew 22:19-21 “coach Me the tax money.” so they introduced Him a denarius. And He reported to them, “Whose photograph and inscription is this?” They reported to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He reported to them, “Render subsequently to Caesar the failings that are Caesar’s, and to God the failings that are God’s.” the actuality that Jesus replaced into against the Roman rule does not advise in any way achievable that he replaced into an anarchist. Neither does the actuality that he replaced into additionally against the corruption interior of Sanhedrin, who have been in mattress with the Romans and had grow to be their puppets. Jesus’ objective replaced into to do away with Roman rule, to scrub the Jewish faith from corruption and fix a real Jewish theocracy.

Answer 9

by definition to some he was an anarchist, a hippie, a prophet, a bothersome man that wrecked a temple filled with peoples business (money exchangers and sacrifice sellers, birds and such.)

Politicians will use anything to put themselves ahead. good thing the world doesn't worship Mr.Whipple, I wish the politicians did. That way they might pass out free toilet paper, so you can clean yourself of their crappoganda.

Answer 10

He DID shake things up a lot, and the "establishment" of the day was against Hum. You make an excellent point.

He was a wonderful person. He upset people. That's why some people hated Him so.