There is far too much mediocre, alarming Jesus-script in the gospels
On social media especially, there is a lot of criticism of Christianity. That is, people who claim to be Christians are accused of not following the teaching of Jesus—who is idealized, credited with a reputation that is not based on what we find in the gospels. Reading the gospels carefully, with critical thinking fully engaged, is not a common practice of the devout. If it were, there would be a lot of alarm and panic.
Ironically, the alarm and panic can be reduced by a stark truth: There is no way whatever to verify any of the sayings attributed to Jesus in the gospels, which is why the term Jesus-script should be used instead of Jesus quotes. As is all too obvious from comparing the four gospels, their authors had different agendas. Claiming that they were all divinely inspired is a phony diversion. The authors created Jesus-script out of their imaginations. And so much of it reflects their obsession with promoting the Jesus cult. There is a list of 292 bad, mediocre, alarming examples of Jesus-script at this website.
Let’s look at just ten of them.
1. Mark 4:11-12
In this Jesus-script, the disciples are told that Jesus teaches in parables to keep people from repenting and being forgiven. The disciples are assured that they are entitled to know the mysteries/secrets of the kingdom of their god; they are the insiders of the new Jesus cult. This is puzzling, since the thrust of Mark’s gospel is the proclamation that the kingdom of their god is about to arrive—and people need to be told this exciting news. In Mark 4:34 the bizarre message of this text is repeated: “…he did not speak to [the people] except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.” This renders John’s gospel all the more baffling, since it is lacking in parables—instead we find Jesus-script in long monologues of theobabble found nowhere else.
2. Mark 10:29-30
The Jesus-script in this text is the promise that anyone who gives up their house and family for the sake of the holy hero and the gospel, will be rewarded 100-fold in this life, and eternal life is part of the bargain too. How can this possibly make sense? Well, cult propaganda doesn’t have to, and I’m pretty sure most Christians—those outside of fringe fanatical groups—would grasp the absurdity of this promise: if I follow Jesus, to the extent of giving up house and family, I’ll get back a hundred houses and families.
3. Mark 16:16-18
After his resurrection, Jesus assures his disciples that those who are baptized in his name will be able to cast out demons, speak new languages, pick up snakes, drink poisons without being harmed, and heal people by touch. Yet more wonders of being cult insiders, but this is a goofy list indeed. Scholars and researchers eventually discovered that these verses are in a fake ending of Mark, one that was added because the gospel ended so abruptly with verse 8; that is, three women who went to the tomb on Easter morning found a young man who told them to go tell the disciples that Jesus had risen and had headed to Galilee, but they ignored the request: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Obviously, this was a disappointing way for the gospel to end, so several endings were invented. More Jesus-script.
4. Matthew 5:17-19
Since Mark’s gospel contains so little ethical teaching, Matthew’s author decided to add the famous Sermon on the Mount. But he apparently wanted the Jesus cult to be grounded in Jewish theology, that is, his Jesus cult remained Jewish. Hence he included Jesus-script in which his holy hero insists on the vital importance of the ancient law: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” (vv. 17-18) This is awkward. So many of the devout today want to distance themselves from archaic rules and laws of the Old Testament, but here is Jesus-script that abolishes that approach. I encourage churchgoers to read the Book of Leviticus carefully: Do you take all of these rules seriously, literally? Are you okay with these strict cult guidelines?
5. Matthew 5:27-28
Here we find another example of cult extremism: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” I suspect that many devout Christian men probably mutter to themselves, “Oh give me a break.” Being sexually aroused is the equivalent of adultery? Typically cults want rigid conformity to their strict rules, and this kind of prohibition is understandable in that context. But it’s a far cry from the reality that we live in today.
6. Matthew 10:5-6
Here again, Matthew wanted to stress that his cult was still a Jewish cult. Jesus sends his disciples out to preach, but with this condition: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” We can wonder if Matthew changed his mind—or maybe someone else wrote the final Jesus-script of this gospel, in which the disciples are given this commission, Matthew 28:18-20:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This is, totally, cult propaganda.
7. Matthew 10:34-36
How do church folks deal with this Jesus-script? How can these words have come from their adored savior?
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.”
Again, this reflects cult paranoia about its followers having divided loyalties. Don’t remain devoted to family. Your enemies will be those of your own household.
8. Luke 9:59-60
In these verses we find the blunt response of Jesus to a man who wanted to follow him, but said he needed first to go bury his father: “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Would good, decent Christians today follow a religious fanatic who said any such thing?
9. Luke 14:26
This surely must rank as the worst Jesus-script imaginable: “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” Yes, the Greek word for hate is right there. The author of this gospel wanted to make it clear that love of family—and even life itself—was condemned by the cult he was promoting. The same question comes to mind: Would good, decent Christians today follow a religious fanatic who said any such thing?
10. John 8:43-44
In an exchange with Jewish leaders, Jesus offers a savage denunciation: “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires.”
As I pointed out above, Matthew was convinced that the cult he was promoting was fundamentally Jewish in its grounding. But here, John’s author makes it clear that he would have none of that. The Jews were loyal to their father the devil. The virulent Nazi anti-Semitism can be traced, at least in part, to this horrible Jesus-script. This verse was found on Nazi street signs.
These ten examples—out of 292—are indeed a major problem for Christianity. Surveys have shown that most of its devout followers don’t make a habit of Bible reading/study. This must be a relief to the clergy, who would be vexed if their parishioners asked them to explain how Jesus could have said such things. In other words, how in the world does the Bible deserve to be called The Good Book?
David Madison was a pastor in the Methodist Church for nine years, and has a PhD in Biblical Studies from Boston University. He is the author of Ten Tough Problems in Christian Thought and Belief: a Minister-Turned-Atheist Shows Why You Should Ditch the Faith, now being reissued in several volumes:
· Guessing About God (2023)
· Ten Things Christians Wish Jesus Hadn’t Taught: And Other Reasons to Question His Words (2021). The Spanish translation of this book is also available.
· Everything You Need to Know About Prayer But May Not Want to Admit (2025)
His YouTube channel is here. At the invitation of John Loftus, he has written for the Debunking Christianity Blog since 2016.
The Cure-for-Christianity Library©, now with more than 500 titles, is here. A brief video explanation of the Library is here.
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