Chapter 1 of Jesus and the Disinherited

Some of the things in this chapter really hit home for me. The most significant being the questions the Hindu asks Thurman about how he could possibly be a Christian after all that "Christians" have done throughout history. I have heard this argument in many different forms, and from someone very close to me. This is the argument that keeps my brother from being a Christian, or even believing in God at all. How can a people so dedicated to believing in Jesus and what he stands for do such terrible things to others? Thurman does not really answer this particular question, but continues by showing that Jesus himself was in the position of the poor and oppressed. Unfortunately, throughout history people proclaiming themselves to be Christians have caused much of the oppression, as the Hindu points out. I think an important issue here is that many Christians are not really working hard to live out a Jesus-led life, myself often included, which can cause others to suffer unjustly. I think together as a community we must work toward becoming more like Jesus and show the world what Christianity was meant to be.

Disclaimer: I am not trying to say that as a whole, Christians are bad people. There are so many people in this world who really do live a life like that of Jesus. Unfortunately it is often the bad things that get remembered the most.