Badass Jesus versus Gentle Jesus

[trenton]

I ran into this by accident and I am not creative enough to make this up. I have been exploring Christianity and Islam while looking for similarities and differences. I believe I have a decent grasp on the historical Jesus and in the process I discovered inconsistencies in the history with one example being that Satan was not always a coherent character. Satan is closer to a modern invention and didn't come up until much later in terms of how we would think about him today.

I previously toyed with videogame ideas when I was in high school. My idea was that there would be an apocalyptic threat with Jesus coming back to defeat the evil destroying the world. In my version, a priest runs to a church and prays for the savior who comes out of a white light emerging from the cross just in time. Jesus wields a golden spear that shoots lightening and uses a Bible like a spell book. You gain new spells by collecting scrolls that read Bible stories. One example would be "Let there be light!" which blinds the enemies so you can smite them. Jesus then goes onto tame and ride a bull into battle. This includes slaying countless demons, including the seven deadly sins as major bosses. The final battle would be Jesus versus Satan. This would involve "stars falling to the earth" interpreted as a nuclear war with ballistic missiles causing mass destruction throughout the battle. Satan would have lines like "you're mother moaned like a fucking whore when I ravaged her! Bow to your father you son of a bitch!" I think this would be fitting for Satan's character in such a game. Ultimately, Satan is defeated when Jesus holds the spear in a white light, causing it to take the form of a divine cross with which he impales Satan through the heart.

Some thought this idea for a videogames sounded epic and they would play it. Others found it hilarious claiming "Jesus wasn't like that." Some found it blasphemous. I thought that sounded fun and epic.

That said, I did discover that different cultures depicted Jesus in different ways. He wasn't always depicted as the humble healer. Sometimes he was depicted as a bloodied warrior, involving imagery even more radical than anything I could have imagined. In my opinion, the book of Revelations has an even more epic version of Jesus than what I came up with.

The Rider on a White Horse

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in[a] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

I didn't think of a sword coming out of Jesus's mouth. That is even better than what I came up with. This opens up a lot of creative possibilities like Jesus holding a demon up by the throat, and then as the finisher move the sword comes out and impales the demon. He could even have a white horse that just runs on air instead of on water like what I was thinking. I was thinking of imagery like Jesus running across water and then up a tidal wave, after which he would shoot lightening into the mouth of a dragon called Gluttony.

This kind of imagery was actually a source of schisms in ancient Christianity because it was incompatible with the loving and forgiving Jesus that we would normally think of today. Based on my understanding, Jesus was more like a social justice warrior who was opposed to the corruption of those in power who used their position to enrich himself. This ultimately led to his crucifixion and there was no resurrection that followed. The idea of bodily resurrection existed prior to Jesus by about 100 years. Given that ancient societies had different standards for evidence, it would have been possible to spread rumors that are given more credence than they should have. It probably mixed with Jesus performing "miracles" as a healer which allowed the myth to stick and spread over time until it became a theology about Jesus being God incarnate. This also fits with how Roman culture deified human figures such as emperors, by treating them like Gods. Describing Jesus as God would be part of the cultural transition for the religion.

I also looked into the scholarly debate behind the virgin birth story. Some argue that Mary wasn't intended to be a virgin, but rather a young woman. This was a problem with the translations between Hebrew and Greek. Although we don't know for sure who the father was, some suspect that Mary may have been raped by a Roman soldier whom she could not identify. Jesus would then go onto to learn through oral traditions, but never learned how to read and write. Therefore, Jesus needed disciples to write for him as he couldn't write himself. I think this helps to see Jesus as more human rather than God-like if he didn't have this knowledge, and it makes sense given that education back then was kind of crappy due to the absence of the printing press. At the same time, this reminds me of the cutting line I gave Satan, as he could have been the Roman soldier in this scenario. There are also stories in the Christian traditions about demons coming to Earth and mating with human women, which again fits with the satanic narrative of the virgin rape theory.

I find it very interesting that my idea of Jesus the Badass wasn't actually that far off. In fact, the tradition at times went even further than anything I imagined. I hope this is a good illustration of how idols are constructed across cultures. Jesus could range anywhere between loving, forgiving, and healing or total badass drenched in the blood of the wicked. Personally, I would fear God if God came to me in this form.

It also seems very difficult to hold these two images of Jesus side by side.

Edited 22 hours ago by trenton
bolded words

[enchanted]

Proof that we are God. We have the power to create a Badass Jesus or a Gentle Jesus. It's all in your imagination. 

[kavaris]

4 hours ago, trenton said:

I previously toyed with videogame ideas when I was in high school. My idea was that there would be an apocalyptic threat with Jesus coming back to defeat the evil destroying the world

Sounds like a souls-like game that needs alot of work, Alas its a start on your journey. The Jesus part id try to distance myself from, cause Jesus / Satan is like, cringe in the realm of art in general. Video games blend art / programming, hence life is nothing but art and programming (in the newage, constructive / deconstructive  sense), that which touches history/myth, in as mush as you can balance it w/ life / living and creating at the forefront of what' most important to you / what serves as something functional in your life. Maybe you have something your battling in your own life, and thats why this idea was (or continues to be) attractive, this whole, Attack -> Defense genre you are currently inside. Tell me about your life, and ill tell you if it makes sense or not.

Edited 17 hours ago by kavaris

[Yimpa]

 

[trenton]

14 hours ago, kavaris said:

 

14 hours ago, kavaris said:

Maybe you have something your battling in your own life, and thats why this idea was (or continues to be) attractive, this whole, Attack -> Defense genre you are currently inside. Tell me about your life, and ill tell you if it makes sense or not.

@kavaris Yeah. I sense that these themes relate to my life in some way but I have a hard time explaining it. It included things like a dream in which I met Jesus. I jumped into a black abyss willing as if it were honorable in some way. I had faith that I would one day return to the light.

I have had this struggle sense childhood in which I didn't believe in what religion claimed, but at the same time it stuck in my mind anyway. I didn't want to convert to any religion unless I first verified that it was true. This is why I started researching various religions by around age seven. I wasn't really convinced by any of them though. Even so, my family was Christian in name. They prayed at the table and occasionally went to church, but they didn't seem very confident when questioned and didn't seem very devoted.

Meanwhile, since early childhood my father fled the state to avoid paying child support. He was a criminal who I knew wasn't trustworthy but I loved him anyway. He also preached religion while being a drug dealer who made me the subject of a child prostitution deal for his gang. He was also using crack. I knew my mom and dad got into a lot of fights, but for some reason I thought that if I were good enough then maybe mom and Dad would love each other.

Jesus first started sticking in my head when my mother threatened me with jail at age six over sexualized play with my four year old sister. She seemed to have been accusing me of rape while assuming adult motives for a child. For some reason I had a dream in which uncle Mike molested me and I didn't realize this behavior was illegal. Once my mother calmly and coldly dismantled my entire psyche and caused me a mental breakdown through her lies, I had no stable reality anymore. I started having Jesus stick in my head even though I didn't believe it.

I was also growing up as the only boy with an absent father. The closest thing to a father figure would have been my grandpa who was most consistently present though occasional visits. He told me I was worthless, would get stuck at a dead end job, and that my sister had more potential than me. Much of my understanding of relationships became managing other people's anger so I wouldn't be hurt.

The next closest father figure was my other grandpa. I remember when I was seven I had one moment with him when he got on his knee put his hand on my shoulder and told me he wanted me to be good. Other than that we didn't typically talk much. This memory still held strong though and it is what I remembered at his funeral when I collapsed. After that my dad told me about how that man was a gangster. He told me I could tell him anything so he could get information on mom to use in court. This is how he learned about her drug addiction and used it against her.

For some reason I wanted to kill myself. I wished that I could have a decent human being in my life to help me understand life, but I was upset by the fact that I didn't spend as much time with my father's dad as I wanted to. I hate having to figure out everything myself. It makes things way more difficult than it needs to be.

I seem to have this conflict between trustworthy in terms of epistemology versus trustworthy in terms of safety. Jesus seems to represent something in all of this, but I struggle to pinpoint what exactly.

If you can explain the connection between Jesus and all of this in my life, that would be great.

[enchanted]

32 minutes ago, trenton said:

@kavaris Yeah. I sense that these themes relate to my life in some way but I have a hard time explaining it. It included things like a dream in which I met Jesus. I jumped into a black abyss willing as if it were honorable in some way. I had faith that I would one day return to the light.

I have had this struggle sense childhood in which I didn't believe in what religion claimed, but at the same time it stuck in my mind anyway. I didn't want to convert to any religion unless I first verified that it was true. This is why I started researching various religions by around age seven. I wasn't really convinced by any of them though. Even so, my family was Christian in name. They prayed at the table and occasionally went to church, but they didn't seem very confident when questioned and didn't seem very devoted.

Meanwhile, since early childhood my father fled the state to avoid paying child support. He was a criminal who I knew wasn't trustworthy but I loved him anyway. He also preached religion while being a drug dealer who made me the subject of a child prostitution deal for his gang. He was also using crack. I knew my mom and dad got into a lot of fights, but for some reason I thought that if I were good enough then maybe mom and Dad would love each other.

Jesus first started sticking in my head when my mother threatened me with jail at age six over sexualized play with my four year old sister. She seemed to have been accusing me of rape while assuming adult motives for a child. For some reason I had a dream in which uncle Mike molested me and I didn't realize this behavior was illegal. Once my mother calmly and coldly dismantled my entire psyche and caused me a mental breakdown through her lies, I had no stable reality anymore. I started having Jesus stick in my head even though I didn't believe it.

I was also growing up as the only boy with an absent father. The closest thing to a father figure would have been my grandpa who was most consistently present though occasional visits. He told me I was worthless, would get stuck at a dead end job, and that my sister had more potential than me. Much of my understanding of relationships became managing other people's anger so I wouldn't be hurt.

The next closest father figure was my other grandpa. I remember when I was seven I had one moment with him when he got on his knee put his hand on my shoulder and told me he wanted me to be good. Other than that we didn't typically talk much. This memory still held strong though and it is what I remembered at his funeral when I collapsed. After that my dad told me about how that man was a gangster. He told me I could tell him anything so he could get information on mom to use in court. This is how he learned about her drug addiction and used it against her.

For some reason I wanted to kill myself. I wished that I could have a decent human being in my life to help me understand life, but I was upset by the fact that I didn't spend as much time with my father's dad as I wanted to. I hate having to figure out everything myself. It makes things way more difficult than it needs to be.

I seem to have this conflict between trustworthy in terms of epistemology versus trustworthy in terms of safety. Jesus seems to represent something in all of this, but I struggle to pinpoint what exactly.

If you can explain the connection between Jesus and all of this in my life, that would be great.

Great image. I love images like these that help map out ideas. I like to do them to. 

[Willy Phallicus]

Jesus has a great sense of humor.  Sounds like a fun game.

You can't blaspheme the miracle no matter how hard you try.