Jesus Before Christianity By Albert Nolan's Impact Of Jesus Before Christianity

Jesus Before Christianity (1976, 2001) by Albert Nolan is a book that explores Jesus from the perspective of his humanity, rather than his divinity. During the time that he spent on Earth, he was a teacher whose mission was to teach all people, the poor and oppressed as well as the wealthy and powerful upper social classes, how to live a fruitful life on earth. This involved changing the entire social and economic structure, specifically the possession of power, separation by social class, distribution of wealth, and oppression of the poor and infirm. Jesus taught that faith would be what enables humanity to live a righteous life. He taught that love and compassion were the keys to a good life lived on Earth. Nolan’s explanation of how …show more content…
Has it already been initiated through the teachings and examples of other ministers and teachers such as Billy Graham; but due to sheer numbers in regards to the world population, its impact is not as significant as it could or should be. During his ministry, Billy Graham impacted the lives of millions of people throughout the world. Unlike Jesus who traveled by foot or small boat and spoke before local groups of people, Billy Graham had the benefit of television and later other technology to ensure that his message was heard far and wide. Like Jesus, he ministered to everyone, regardless of social status, race, wealth, etc. Yet, a substantial proportion of today’s society would be considered to be fatalists, the people who live in our neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries who believe that “Nothing can be done about it.’ ‘You can’t change the world.’ ‘There is no hope.’ ‘You must accept reality.” (Nolan, p. 39) Why is fatalism easier to accept and embrace, than …show more content…
With few exceptions, our ultimate goal in life to end up in Heaven. Life is just the road we travel to get there and we blindly accept that it is usually a difficult road. According to Nolan, this is a common misunderstanding. He suggests that the kingdom of Heaven is actually here on earth and that it is the result of people of faith working toward a society that is based on love, compassion, kindness, and equality. Unfortunately, the nature of the socio-economic, political, and religious aspects of our contemporary society lend themselves to a living hell rather than Heaven on earth. At this point, everyone knows this to be true; however, not a lot is being done to fix the problem. Some people do not even recognize that there is a problem. Being self-centered and motivated only by greed and avarice is how humanity has reached this point, yet most people are not willing to change or work for