I Remeber When President Bush Said His Most Influential Political Philosopher is Jesus Christ...

(Anthony E, where are you?)

Anybody who says JC was 'a good philosopher' gives away at that moment, by that statement, that they know diddly-squat about him.

Either he was what he claimed himself to be, ie the son of God and the Lord and saviour of the human race, or he was a deluded egomaniac, or he was the greatest charlatan ever.

If he is Lord, as GWB sems to assert, he is more than a convenient expert opinion you call for when it suits you. He jumps, you say how high. Not the reverse, which George seems to assume when he's calling in favors from God in the same smug way all right-wing American (and other nationality) demagogues have ever since Constantine.

>Either he was what he claimed himself to be, ie the son of God and the Lord and saviour of the human race, or he was a deluded
>egomaniac, or he was the greatest charlatan ever.

Or people claimed he said things he didn't really say. Which is the most likely answer.

Hmm, let’s see— JC advocated disavowing wealth, possessions and profit. Sounds like a Marxist to me.

he also wasn't as against taxes (i.e. "render unto Caesar...") as our prez.

Isn't Jesus kind of a chimera?

I've never been interested in what the "real Jesus" said or did because it's virtually impossible to divine and anyway the plenitude of Christian thought and deed t/o history sort of trumps that anyhow.

Jesus is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma wearing a toga.

He said "turn the other cheek" but also that he came to the world to "turn brother against brother." Christian scripture is so full weirdly contradictory statements, it's no wonder that so many idiots throughout history have distorted it to serve an agenda (from Constantine to Falwell).