I've been invited to a fancy-dress party with a Heroes and Villains theme. As I already have the long hair and the beard (and the costume is cheap and easy), I have decided to go as Jesus. I'd like to be able to make a good case for him being a villain, though.

Does anyone have any examples from scripture or historical accounts of anything morally questionable that he's supposed to have done?

Do you mean bad things aside from his participation in a blood sacrifice and threatening people with hellfire for unbelief?

Oh noes, historical accounts?

Don't start this one up again theres a thousand page thread somewhere which already makes me cringe every time i see it rear it's ugly head.

Tbickle wrote:Do you mean bad things aside from his participation in a blood sacrifice and threatening people with hellfire for unbelief?

Ha! Yeah. Apart from those.

Banzai! wrote:Oh noes, historical accounts?

Don't start this one up again theres a thousand page thread somewhere which already makes me cringe every time i see it rear it's ugly head.

Ah. Fair play. I've steered clear of that thread for the most part. It's not my intention to open any cans of worms here. Just looking for things he's supposed to have done, whether or not he actually existed.

http://www.rationalskepticism.org/chris ... 28240.html

He killed fig trees.

Matthew 21:18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

He destroyed property and used a homemade whip to beat businessmen and animals.

John 2:14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

He thought it was more important to put perfume on himself than to feed the poor.

Matthew 26: 6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a] but you will not always have me.

He admitted he was violent:

Matthew 10: 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

He encouraged domestic violence:

Matthew 10:5 For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c]

37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

In a society where women already were second-class citizens, he made divorced females even more dependent on charity - Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

A divorced woman in antiquity was quite unlikely to have any reasonable economical assets (although women of economical assets weren't an unknown class in antiquity or even Judea for that matter) - and Jesus says that marrying such a woman is adultery. Of course, part of the idea with the ruling he makes is to protect women from ending up in that situation altogether - a faithful woman should not be divorced, and thus will be protected from being a divorcee, but he doesn't provide any safeguards for that either. And he ultimately weakens the situation of those for whom the safeguard fails in the first place, and weakens the situation of any woman that has committed adultery - there's no forgiveness in this ruling.

He taught that the end of the world would happen within that generation, which caused some people to sell everything they owned and give it away, leaving their families destitute and forced to live in the commune depicted in (Acts 2:44-46) (Acts 4:34-37) which had dire consequences for those who may have held back a little for a rainy day (Acts 5:1-11). Jesus and Co. were violent people, no doubt about it.

Corky wrote:He taught that the end of the world would happen within that generation, which caused some people to sell everything they owned and give it away, leaving their families destitute and forced to live in the commune depicted in (Acts 2:44-46) (Acts 4:34-37) which had dire consequences for those who may have held back a little for a rainy day (Acts 5:1-11). Jesus and Co. were violent people, no doubt about it.

wha....I don't even know how you came to that conclusion.

http://www.evilbible.com/what_would_jesus_do.htm

He told people he was the son of a god.

willhud9 wrote:

Corky wrote:He taught that the end of the world would happen within that generation, which caused some people to sell everything they owned and give it away, leaving their families destitute and forced to live in the commune depicted in (Acts 2:44-46) (Acts 4:34-37) which had dire consequences for those who may have held back a little for a rainy day (Acts 5:1-11). Jesus and Co. were violent people, no doubt about it.

wha....I don't even know how you came to that conclusion.

It's quite clear in the text.

There was a bit where he sends his goons to steal a horse IIRC.

He died for the sins of assholes.