Jesusism
Encyclopedia
Jesuism is the personal philosophy
encompassing the moral teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
and commitment or adherence to those teachings. Jesuism is distinct from and sometimes opposed to mainstream Christianity
. In particular, the term is often contrasted with the theology attributed to Paul of Tarsus
and modern Church doctrine
. Jesuism is not necessarily opposed to the Christian Bible
or Church doctrine, but rather it does not affirm their authority over the teachings of Jesus. As a philosophy, Owen Flanagan
characterized "Jesusism" as naturalistic
and rationalist
, rejecting the conflict between faith
and science
. Though not specifically associated with Jesuism, the red letter Bibles
are one method of studying the teachings of Jesus.
As a concept distinct from Christianity, the terms Jesuism, Jesusism and Jesuanism have been referenced by philosophers, theologians, and writers for over a century. In 1878, former Shaker
D. M. Bennett
wrote that "Jesuism", as distinct from "Paulism
", was the gospel taught by Peter
, John
and James
, and the Messianic doctrine of a new Jewish sect. In 1894, American pathologist
and atheist
Frank Seaver Billings defined "Jesusism" as the "Christianity of the Gospels" and a philosophy which "can be attributed directly to the teachings of Jesus the Nazarene." In 1909, the Seventh-Day Adventist newspaper Signs of the Times, in an issue titled "Modern Christianity Not Jesusism", the question is posed: "Christianity of today is not the old original Christianity. It is not Jesusism, for it is not the religion which Jesus preached. Is it not time to make Christianity the religion which He personally preached and which He personally practiced?" Harvard theologian Bouck White
, in 1911, also defined "Jesusism" as "the religion which Jesus preached." Lord Ernest Hamilton
in 1912 wrote that "Jesuism" was simply to love one another and love God. The philosophy of Jesusism was described in the book The Naked Truth of Jesusism from Oriental Manuscripts, penned by theologian Lyman Fairbanks George in 1914, as follows:
The Orthodox theologian Sergei Bulgakov
further noted in 1935 that "the concentration of piety on the Christ alone has become a deviation already known by a special term as Jesusism." Influential Catholic theologian Karl Rahner
referred to "Jesusism" as a focus on the life of Jesus and attempts to imitate his life, as opposed to a focus on God
or the Christian Church. University of Melbourne professor Lindsay Falvey
noted in 2009 that "the gospel story so differs from Church doctrine that it could be well be of a different religion - Jesusism." Jesusism became the subject of increased academic discussion following its reference by Duke University neurobiologist and philosopher Owen Flanagan
in his 2007 book The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World. Flanagan defines Jesusism as the "message" of Jesus and notes that he "call[s] it ‘Jesusism’ because most Christian Churches do not endorse Jesus’ message truthfully. Rodney Stenning Edgecombe, a professor at the University of Cape Town
, in a 2009 essay titled Communication Across the Social Divide remarks how Christianity shifted away from Jesuism; the moral tenets Jesus preached. The terms Jesuism, Jesusism and Jesuanism are also referenced popularly on religious blogs and internet groups.
. However, Frank Seaver Billings described "Jesusism" as a combination of anarchism
and communism
. Although it must be noted that Billings, an American atheist
and materialist
, was critical of all religion including Jesuism.
s who are critical of institutional religion
and Pauline Christianity
, people who identify themselves as disciples of Jesus
rather than Christians, Christian atheists who accept Jesus' teachings but reject God, and atheists
who are critical of all religion including Jesuism. Adherents may be termed Jesuists, Jesusists or Jesuans.
or Paulinism, the theology of Paul of Tarsus.
Cambridge philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein
expressed the following differences between Paulinism and Jesuism:
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
encompassing the moral teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and commitment or adherence to those teachings. Jesuism is distinct from and sometimes opposed to mainstream Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. In particular, the term is often contrasted with the theology attributed to Paul of Tarsus
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
and modern Church doctrine
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
. Jesuism is not necessarily opposed to the Christian Bible
Development of the Christian Biblical canon
The Christian Biblical canon is the set of books Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the Christian Bible. Books included in the Christian Biblical canons of both the Old and New Testament were decided at the Council of Trent , by the Thirty-Nine Articles , the Westminster...
or Church doctrine, but rather it does not affirm their authority over the teachings of Jesus. As a philosophy, Owen Flanagan
Owen Flanagan
Owen Flanagan, Ph.D. is the James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Neurobiology at Duke University. Flanagan has done work in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of social science, ethics, contemporary ethical theory, moral psychology, as well as Buddhist and...
characterized "Jesusism" as naturalistic
Naturalism (philosophy)
Naturalism commonly refers to the philosophical viewpoint that the natural universe and its natural laws and forces operate in the universe, and that nothing exists beyond the natural universe or, if it does, it does not affect the natural universe that we know...
and rationalist
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
, rejecting the conflict between faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. Though not specifically associated with Jesuism, the red letter Bibles
Red letter edition
The term red letter edition is used to describe Bibles in which words spoken by Jesus, commonly only while he was on the Earth, are printed in red ink...
are one method of studying the teachings of Jesus.
Etymology
The term "Jesuism" was coined by the late 1800s. It is derived from "Jesus" (Jesus of Nazareth) + "-ism" (English suffix, a characteristic or system of beliefs, from French -isme, Latin -ismus, Greek -ismos).History of usage
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
D. M. Bennett
D. M. Bennett
DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett was the founder and publisher of The Truth Seeker, a radical freethought and reform American periodical. Bennett was a devout member of the Shakers for 13 years before evolving into a "freethinker", founding The Truth Seeker newspaper in 1873...
wrote that "Jesuism", as distinct from "Paulism
Pauline Christianity
Pauline Christianity is a term used to refer to the Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul of Tarsus through his writings. Most of orthodox Christianity relies heavily on these teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the teachings of...
", was the gospel taught by Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
and James
James the Just
James , first Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in 62 AD, was an important figure in Early Christianity...
, and the Messianic doctrine of a new Jewish sect. In 1894, American pathologist
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
and atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
Frank Seaver Billings defined "Jesusism" as the "Christianity of the Gospels" and a philosophy which "can be attributed directly to the teachings of Jesus the Nazarene." In 1909, the Seventh-Day Adventist newspaper Signs of the Times, in an issue titled "Modern Christianity Not Jesusism", the question is posed: "Christianity of today is not the old original Christianity. It is not Jesusism, for it is not the religion which Jesus preached. Is it not time to make Christianity the religion which He personally preached and which He personally practiced?" Harvard theologian Bouck White
Bouck White
Bouck White , born Charles Browning White, was a Congregational minister, an American socialist, a Jesusist, an author, a potter, and a recluse.-Early years:...
, in 1911, also defined "Jesusism" as "the religion which Jesus preached." Lord Ernest Hamilton
Lord Ernest Hamilton
Lord Ernest William Hamilton was a United Kingdom soldier and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892....
in 1912 wrote that "Jesuism" was simply to love one another and love God. The philosophy of Jesusism was described in the book The Naked Truth of Jesusism from Oriental Manuscripts, penned by theologian Lyman Fairbanks George in 1914, as follows:
The Orthodox theologian Sergei Bulgakov
Sergei Bulgakov
Fr. Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov was a Russian Orthodox Christian theologian, philosopher and economist. Until 1922 he worked in Russia; afterwards in Paris.-Early life:...
further noted in 1935 that "the concentration of piety on the Christ alone has become a deviation already known by a special term as Jesusism." Influential Catholic theologian Karl Rahner
Karl Rahner
Karl Rahner, SJ was a German Jesuit and theologian who, alongside Bernard Lonergan and Hans Urs von Balthasar, is considered one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of the 20th century...
referred to "Jesusism" as a focus on the life of Jesus and attempts to imitate his life, as opposed to a focus on God
God in Christianity
In Christianity, God is the eternal being that created and preserves the universe. God is believed by most Christians to be immanent , while others believe the plan of redemption show he will be immanent later...
or the Christian Church. University of Melbourne professor Lindsay Falvey
Lindsay Falvey
John Lindsay Falvey known as Lindsay Falvey, is an author who writes on topics concerning agricultural science and philosophy, religion, international development and more lately spiritual development...
noted in 2009 that "the gospel story so differs from Church doctrine that it could be well be of a different religion - Jesusism." Jesusism became the subject of increased academic discussion following its reference by Duke University neurobiologist and philosopher Owen Flanagan
Owen Flanagan
Owen Flanagan, Ph.D. is the James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Neurobiology at Duke University. Flanagan has done work in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of social science, ethics, contemporary ethical theory, moral psychology, as well as Buddhist and...
in his 2007 book The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World. Flanagan defines Jesusism as the "message" of Jesus and notes that he "call[s] it ‘Jesusism’ because most Christian Churches do not endorse Jesus’ message truthfully. Rodney Stenning Edgecombe, a professor at the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
, in a 2009 essay titled Communication Across the Social Divide remarks how Christianity shifted away from Jesuism; the moral tenets Jesus preached. The terms Jesuism, Jesusism and Jesuanism are also referenced popularly on religious blogs and internet groups.
Beliefs and practices
There is no definitive meaning of Jesuism, Jesusism or Jesuanism, and hence no clear ideologyIdeology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
. However, Frank Seaver Billings described "Jesusism" as a combination of anarchism
Christian anarchism
Christian anarchism is a movement in political theology that combines anarchism and Christianity. It is the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable, the authority of God as embodied in the teachings of Jesus...
and communism
Christian communism
Christian communism is a form of religious communism based on Christianity. It is a theological and political theory based upon the view that the teachings of Jesus Christ compel Christians to support communism as the ideal social system...
. Although it must be noted that Billings, an American atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
and materialist
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
, was critical of all religion including Jesuism.
Adherents
Various groups use the terms Jesuism, Jesusism and Jesuanism. These include disenchanted ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s who are critical of institutional religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and Pauline Christianity
Pauline Christianity
Pauline Christianity is a term used to refer to the Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul of Tarsus through his writings. Most of orthodox Christianity relies heavily on these teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the teachings of...
, people who identify themselves as disciples of Jesus
Disciple (Christianity)
In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
rather than Christians, Christian atheists who accept Jesus' teachings but reject God, and atheists
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
who are critical of all religion including Jesuism. Adherents may be termed Jesuists, Jesusists or Jesuans.
Jesuism versus Paulinism
Jesuism does not affirm the spiritual or scriptural authority of the Christian Bible (with the exception of the Gospels). Jesuism is particularly contrasted with Pauline ChristianityPauline Christianity
Pauline Christianity is a term used to refer to the Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul of Tarsus through his writings. Most of orthodox Christianity relies heavily on these teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the teachings of...
or Paulinism, the theology of Paul of Tarsus.
Cambridge philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
expressed the following differences between Paulinism and Jesuism: