Was Jesus Inclusive?
by Joshua D Jones, Sanity’s Cove:
Most people who are dull think that they’re clever and the worldly-wise tend not to be so wise.
We just tend to repeat popular maxims – most of which are untrue.
One such maxim appeared recently when discussing a certain sin with an acquaintance. He made the remark, ‘Well, there may indeed be certain Biblical passages that do condemn such behaviour, but perhaps God is leading us into a more enlightened time – one that is more in line with the inclusivity practised by Jesus himself.’
Through the centuries, different generations and groups have read their cultural ideals into Jesus. There is the Republican Jesus, the Marxist Jesus, the Equality Jesus, the Family values Jesus, the Black Jesus, the Aryian Jesus, the Eastern Mysticism Jesus, etc.
Our early 21st Century, Western culture is obsessed with ‘Inclusivity’. It, along with it’s sister virtue ‘tolerance’ is the highest holiness of our generation. Within a few short years, being ‘inclusive’ is about the nicest thing you could say about a person, group, or business. Large companies and political parties now go to great lengths to be able to prove they’re inclusive enough.
It is worth asking: have we done what other generations have done? Have we imposed our cultural ideal on Jesus and cherry-picked a few sayings (of debatable context) to support that view? Was Jesus really inclusive in the way our 21st Century, Western culture would like to think that He is?
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