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The worldview is a pretty darn good one, which is why it is not too surprising there are plenty of folks who have been believers in Jesus the philosopher, even if they didn't believe too much in Jesus' religion. As many readers will know, Thomas Jefferson was particularly famous for this, and even edited a version of the Gospels in which he removed the supernatural material, and just left the philosophy. He titled the work The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. Starting in 1940, then stopping in the 1950s, and then starting again in the 1990s and continuing today, every new member of Congress gets a copy. If you are interested in taking a look at the original, the Smithsonian Institution has put a digitized copy online.

Guess we lied when we wrote, above, that the history lessons were done for the day. Sorry about that. In any case, while it makes sense to us that one could embrace the philosophy of Yehshua without necessarily embracing the religious doctrine, it does not make sense that people can embrace his religion without embracing his philosophy. What he was saying was, "Here is a moral code, by which you can get into the kingdom of heaven." Some people (e.g., Jefferson) didn't/don't believe in the kingdom of heaven, and so don't have a use for that part of it, but they do have a use for moral codes. However, if you want Part B, well, Part A is not optional. The Lamb of God was quite clear about the rules, and St. Paul (ne Saul of Tarsus) was arguably even clearer. You don't get the reward without adhering to the doctrine. And yet, there are plenty of "Christians" today who practice radical exclusivity, and who are interested not only in figuring out who is outside the tent, but in making those people pay for their alleged shortcomings. Did none of these folks read the part about "Let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone?" While we are hardly degree-holders in Divinity Studies, we think we are on pretty safe ground in saying that the Son of Man would be horrified by many of the actions undertaken in his name today.