Jesus practically admitted that he had made a mistake in speaking unkindly to a Gentile. Her clever answer induced him to change his decision. A physician who called a stranger's child a dog would now be considered brutal even in a free hospital.

"And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead."[24]

Jesus could have allowed the man to attend his father's funeral and follow him later. Would not that have set a better precedent?

When Peter intervened to protect Jesus, the latter "turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me."[25]

Even though Jesus was determined to go on with the sacrifice, he could have been more appreciative of his best friend's suggestion.

_Unethical Advice_

When the unjust steward cheated his employer, Jesus gave the following remarkable advice:

"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations."[26]

This pa.s.sage should be read again before deciding whether Jesus advised opportunism rather than morality. The words must be taken as they are; no interpretation can be based upon the a.s.sumption that Jesus was always right and therefore meant something different from what he said.

_Sermon on the Mount_

Many Christians say that they care nothing for theology; that the Sermon on the Mount contains all that is necessary for a religious life, being a perfect system of ethics.

The Sermon on the Mount does contain many admirable principles, but also some that are inferior to present standards. Few of the people who praise this Sermon would think it proper to abide by all the teachings therein. Christian parents do not wish their children to follow either the letter or the spirit of this famous preachment. It begins in the fifth chapter of Matthew.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Is it better to be poor in spirit than rich and eager in spirit? Being poor in spirit is to be faint of heart.

This is bad advice, is it not?

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." This means that those who mourn on earth will be comforted in heaven; but now that life on earth has a.s.sumed greater importance, so far as our daily conduct is concerned, than life in heaven, the philosophy of gloom is unfortunate. Jesus preached acceptance of unhappiness as the common lot of man; he should not therefore be credited with providing happiness on earth. His urge to rejoice was usually in antic.i.p.ation of good things to come in the next world. He preached sorrow for all here rather than the greater happiness for the greater number.

"There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake ... and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."[27]

"Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."[28]

The beat.i.tude, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth"

is of doubtful accuracy or value.

The commands to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand may not have been intended literally, although it does appear as if Jesus referred to the physical body, and men have often so interpreted these doubtful instructions.

Jesus said that "Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery", which is no longer true. Those who permit remarriage after divorce should admit an error on Jesus' part.

"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil." This instruction should be reversed, should it not? Evil should be resisted in every possible way that does not involve evil in itself. What modern ethical teacher will say that evil should not be resisted, or that this advice of Jesus was perfection? If his instruction was intended to refer to physical resistance, then no righteous person should fight in any war, no police should be delegated to arrest criminals. If the phrase has merely a spiritual meaning, it is certainly unsound advice, for evil should be overcome by good.

A fanatical att.i.tude towards the law was recommended when Jesus said: "If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also." Extreme generosity and non-resistance are taught, but the ill.u.s.tration was not well thought out, for if the man had already won his suit and taken the coat, it is evident that the owner of the coat had put up a legal fight instead of giving away his coat and cloak as Jesus implies he should. Yielding more than a legal opponent wins in court is not compatible with defending the suit, nor is it a principle that would meet the approval of most of Jesus' followers today.

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." If Jesus referred to Jehovah as his Father in heaven, the standard of perfection advocated was very low, for Jehovah was, as Thomas Jefferson put it, "cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust."

The Lord's Prayer is not the simple, clear, devotional pet.i.tion that is usually supposed. Take it literally, as was undoubtedly intended, and its irrelevance to actual life is at once apparent.

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." This is a proper invocation only if there is a heaven in which G.o.d's will is done. None such has been discovered.

"Give us this day our daily bread" indicates that G.o.d would not give our daily sustenance without being asked, whereas there is no apparent distinction in actual living between those who pray for bread and those who do not.

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" intimates that divine forgiveness is not to be superior to that of men.

"And lead us not into temptation"--as if G.o.d were anxious to lead us there and would be deterred by our prayer.

It may seem like petty cavil to criticize the prayer that has been acclaimed for many centuries as ideal, but, seriously, what valuable principle for guidance through life does the Lord's Prayer contain? Do its requests represent the best modern conception of prayer as an inward aspiration rather than as pet.i.tionary? Is it not vain repet.i.tion to recite it again and again?

The general idea of offering prayer in order to obtain various needs presents the difficulty of reconciling the conception of an omnipotent, all-foreseeing G.o.d with the contradictory theory of a Father who requires prayer before caring for his children, an almighty G.o.d who will be turned from his course by human pet.i.tions. Man can do wonders in the way of conquering nature, but he has not been able to alter natural laws, nor is there any evidence that such laws have been changed at any time in answer to prayer.

If the Lord's Prayer is not essential for man's welfare in the world, we may conclude that Jesus over-emphasized its importance.

One of the most important portions of the Sermon on the Mount is the advice regarding worldly possessions. Nothing in the teaching of Jesus is more definite than his instructions regarding wealth. He strikes an admirable note when he says, "What is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? ... A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." This general principle is sadly needed in the modern money-seeking world, but the teachings of Jesus on economics go much further, far beyond anything the best people of today are willing to follow.

"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on ... Take therefore no thought for the morrow."[29]

These commands, taken literally as Jesus intended, would lead to infinite trouble. Men are obliged to take thought for the morrow; if they do not they will fail to survive. In Jesus' plan provision for the earthly future was of no importance because of the imminence of eternal life, but now it is considered one's duty to provide for old age.

This mistake of Jesus cannot be explained away by saying that Jesus was right and that man falls short of the counsel of perfection given by the Master. No, there are few indeed who will say that it would be right to shape their financial life as Jesus advised. If they do not believe it right to follow his instructions, definite as they are on this subject, they must admit that he was wrong. Either thrift is now unrighteous, or Jesus is not a dependable guide for modern life.

The following instructions have little meaning now except for Roman Catholics. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

Another portion of the Sermon holds out false hopes that cannot be substantiated: "For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth." Is there any virtue in thus deceiving the people regarding the possibilities of prayer?

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." This is the famous Golden Rule that has been heralded as one of the most original portions of Jesus' teachings. But Jesus admitted that he did not first state this rule when he said, "for this is the law and the prophets."[30]

Confucius, born in 551 B.C., several times announced the rule, "What you do not like when done to yourself, do not to others." This negative statement is less effective than the Jewish rule, but both are admirable regardless of who first formulated them. The Golden Rule is as valuable coming from the Hebrew fathers as if Jesus had originated it.

The Golden Rule, however, is not perfect. It is one of the best rules of the ancients, showing the desirability of reciprocity, but it does not demand that our desires be always just, nor does it insure that what we want done to ourselves will always be what others most need. It would be consistent with the Golden Rule for a convivial man to entertain his prohibition friends at a speakeasy, or for a Catholic to take his atheist guests to daily ma.s.s. Possibly an even better rule than judging others by ourselves would be to do unto others what best pleases them.

_Inconsistency_

"The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born."[31]

Apparently the arrangement between Jehovah and Jesus was that Jesus should not give himself up as a sacrifice voluntarily but should be betrayed by someone else; and yet, although the betrayal was desired, the man who a.s.sisted was to be condemned.

The sacrificial plan for salvation was continued to the end in order that "the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."[32] The scriptures were Jewish, so this is additional proof that Jesus, rejected by the Jews, considered himself the predicted Jewish Messiah. While the Jews expected a Messiah, there is no clear prediction of Jesus in the Old Testament.

_Fear_

Jesus said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body"; but when threatened with bodily injury himself, he was afraid. "Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself."[33] "Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence."[34]

This avoidance of physical injury may have been due to a desire to postpone his end until the proper time, as indicated by "Mine hour is not yet come", but when the time did come, Jesus did not bear his approaching death bravely, as Socrates did when about to drink the cup of hemlock. Jesus was much afraid, "and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will but thine be done."[35]