Indeed .. well said Linna
You know I get the modern versions of the Bible are very common .. and I know its moot as the multiple translation thing .. but I have a soft spot for the King James translation. I understand perfectly what you have cited .. but I prefer it in old english LOL
I know its weird for an agnostic bordering atheist to have a Biblical preference, right?
I like that extra level of depth that comes with that version. Though I can clearly see the value of modern English translations.
But LOL
.. back to the point.
Honestly I would absolutely love it if I believed there was a Jesus persona. Maybe there was .. who am I to say one way or another. Cos this dude was deep, sharp and didnt mince words. I like that a lot. I love all the airy fairy stuff on the sermon on the mount too ... cos awesome messaging.
I love the principles of unconditional love, kindness in dealing with one another, having each others backs, you know looking out for everyone .. even strangers and enemies. Such great messaging ..
I remember taking my kids to a Royal Show ... our agricultural shows .. theyre on once a year and super fun and attract all sorts of attendees. I was much younger and a general duties patrol officer at the time .. but was my day off .. and I had the kids who were all under 7yo and had one of those groovy double pushers .. but they didnt have the ease of maneuverability they do now. So was walking along and a gang of kids, looking like thugs were approaching me and they had been swearing at passerbys and being generally aggressive.
As they approached me I greeted them with a smile, said hello and was generally just polite ... and as I did those things I saw them quite differently. I saw them as kids, not just any kids, but beautiful kids. When I engaged with them I felt an affection for them, even a love for them. All this simply flowed as a natural extension of a smile and saying
hi. They ALL responded kinda sheepishly but gratefully and came to say hi to the kids and we talked briefly before all moving on.
That was a legacy of the Jesus persona that I carried with me. I was actually religious at that time .. but I saw that being nice and welcoming to others quite often was rewarded in kind.
And occasionally not at all lol
But I was cool with that .. to get more positive hits than negative ones is a win in my eyes.
In my work I used this approach in dealing with some of the most aggressive humans Ive ever had the misfortune of engaging with. And it never failed me. I had perps that would not surrender information to anyone else .. willingly sit with me and tell me everything that happened. This rarely involved the sharing of fairy tales of sugar plum outcomes.
Perhaps it was an abuse of those very genuine yet powerful principles that I embraced in good faith?
Maybe but in some circumstances it was a valuable process in my line of work... in others .. it had no application at all.. but mostly because of the nature of the individuals involved.
But it meant that I could scale my responses .. from moderate if they were cooperative, to more coercive if they were not. Well we deal with all kinds dont we .. not everyone responds the same way .. so when it works in your favour you just go with it
So the point is that there is soooo much value in the Jesus principles and teachings .. and there is power in their application.