Prothero's American Jesus Part I

Prothero begins with a close look at Thomas Jefferson and his work to define his own faith. Of particular interest was in how Jefferson rejected the traditional church, creeds, and clergy and even cut/pasted his own Bible (an effort which has been extended by the Jesus Seminar). Jefferson's "true religion" distilled down to belief in God, the afterlife, and moral living. The separation of Church and state along with the general proclavity towards independence meant that faith and thus one's image of Jesus was a matter of some choice.

In this period, we see an emergence of Jesus as a part of the religious landscape in America. In Calvinistic and Catholic faiths, Jesus plays an important role in theology and creed but what emerges is the belief in a very personal Jesus, a belief reflected in hymns, images, and preaching. In contrast to evangelical strategy using fear of a judgmental God, Prothero argues that we begin to see Jesus as the gentle shepherd calling sinners to "come home." Jesus enters center stage and there is a flurry of interest in chronicling the life of Jesus, so that the faithful could emulate his life.

Jesus eventually becomes to effeminate for some and the book traces the "pushback" to remasculinize Jesus through an emphasis upon his strength of character and later, strength of personality. It's surprising to me that we don't seem more evidence of a return to the judgemental side of Jesus. While Prothero notes the importance of the story with the moneychangers, I would expected more with the judgement stories (sheep and goats, etc.) and the Book of Revelation. Of course, Americans have a hard time reading the moneychanger passage without identifying with Jesus (instead of with the moneychangers).