The Real Jesus of the Four GospelsAtwater, John Birdseye
Religion
The Real Jesus of the Four Gospels
Atwater, John Birdseye
Jesus Christ -- Biography
Now, no sane man would advocate that doctrines such as these should be
put into general, practical operation under the present constitution of
human nature. Their practice would make of man a selfish ascetic, would
disintegrate the family into its individual units, like animals when the
breeding season is past, would discourage human progress and
development, and would eventually lead to the degradation or extinction
of any society which attempted to consistently enforce them. Of course
the individual man or woman may abjure family ties altogether, without
serious loss to the community and even perhaps with some gain, just as
the drones have a function to perform in a community of bees. But the
universal adoption of this practice by a human community would mean its
speedy death. With those who would regard this as a desirable outcome of
Jesus' teachings, we have no argument.
There is, however, no danger of such a condition of affairs coming to
pass. For untold ages before these utterances of Jesus, nature had been
developing the family affections in man. It had made the family the
fundamental unit of the tribe, the clan, the race, the nation. These
family affections, so planted by nature in man, must, in society as a
whole, override the ethical idea of a general philanthropy, as embodied
in these utterances of Jesus. The normal man has always, and does now,
rank the duties to his family as paramount over those of general
philanthropy.
Man will continue to marry and have children in the future, as he has in
the past. He will continue to regard his obligations to his family as
superior and prior to those he owes to mankind in general. He will feel
within himself the urge, not merely to satisfy the need of the day, but
also to provide for the future. He will look forward to the education
and outfitting of his children. He will guard against the contingencies
of sickness and the probabilities of old age coming upon himself and
those dependent on him. He will engage with all his energy in the
struggle with his fellow men for the acquisition of property. He will
practice industry, thrift and economy, and take every fair means to push
his own business at the expense of his competitors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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