The Mistakes of Jesus | Page 5

referred to his Father as
perfect.
The dilemma is that Jesus must be condemned either for claiming
identity with Jehovah (to whom he was really superior), or for
accepting with only slight improvements the tyranny of God as
described in the Bible, the Word of God. Of course if the Bible is not
the Word of God, the whole system of Christian theology falls to the
ground.
The Jewish Messiah
Jesus claimed to be the Messiah expected by the Jews. "And the high
priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that

thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto
him, Thou hast said."[18] "Again the high priest asked him, and said
unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I
am."[19] "Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he
said unto them, Ye say that I am."[20] "The woman saith unto him, I
know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come he
will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am
he."[21]
These acknowledgments by Jesus that he was the Messiah are
important, for if he claimed divinity when he was merely mortal, either
under false pretences or being self-deceived, he made a mistake of the
most serious character. His claim was not recognized by his own
people, and many of his followers today deny that he was the Jewish
Messiah. Jesus said that he came from God to save the Jews. Either he
was truly the predicted Messiah or he made an inexcusable error. In this
as in other instances to be cited, Fundamentalists will not admit any
mistake, for they believe in the supernatural events connected with the
Son of God. But Modernists, who reject the anointed Christ while
clinging to the human Jesus, may be at a loss to reconcile Jesus' claim
to Messiahship with their rejection of his divinity.
Jesus stressed his mission to save the world, saying "For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."[22]
Eternal Damnation
Whether Jesus was mistaken or not in his estimate of his close
relationship with God is for each person to decide; but his theory of the
disasters that would follow unbelief in his divinity leads to serious
difficulties if accepted literally. For not only was Jesus in error when he
insisted that salvation depended upon belief, he was also reconciled to
eternal suffering for unbelievers. Note some of his expressions:
"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."[23] "Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels ... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the

righteous into life eternal."[24]
"Whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation."[25]
"Except ye repent ye shall perish."[26]
"If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life
maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never
shall be quenched."[27]
"How can ye escape the damnation of hell?"[28]
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth
not shall be damned."[29]
It is evident from these quotations that Jesus not only preached belief in
his divinity as essential to salvation, but endeavored to terrify people
into belief by threats of eternal torment. Jesus was responsible for the
theological conception of a fiery hell. If he was mistaken, if there never
was a place of torment for the wicked after death, is it not an act of
constructive criticism to expose the person most responsible for the
false doctrine that has caused so much fear and mental suffering? Must
we not deplore this mistake of Jesus and recast our entire opinion of
him as a religious teacher?
Are we not justified in stating positively that Jesus made a mistake
when he taught a physical hell and condemned people to spend eternity
in torment for the doubtful sin of disbelief?
The Atonement
The doctrine of the Atonement was taught by Jesus. "For this is my
blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins."[30]
Whether this sacrifice of the innocent Jesus to save sinful man was
ordered by God or was voluntary on the part of Jesus, it represents a

theory of reprieve from punishment long since abandoned as unethical.
If sin must be punished, there is no justice in relieving the sinner and
placing the burden upon the righteous.
Moreover, the Atonement appears to have been ineffective, for in spite