Force of History

I find it interesting that Jesus Christ is so accepted by friend and foe alike. The Christians view him as the Son of God. The Molsems view him as another prophet. The Buddists as an enlightened teacher. Mormons as an angel of God. Jews as a wise but deluded Rabbi. Heck, even Adolf Hitler took a kind view of Christ and accepted him as an Aryan who was murdered by "those" jews! Basically, the world acknowledges and accepts their own image of Christ as they see it even though they may reject the actual words of Christ.

But then again, that is the problem. The actual words of Jesus Christ is what set him apart from every other world figure in history. Precisely because of his words no other "human" has had such an effect on so many nations and in so many cultures on so many continents in so short a time as has the Nazarene. Many have killed in his name, many have waged war in his name and many have been martyered because they have believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. The words of Christ are the only extant article we have of this mysterious figure of history.

And yet as delicate and precarious as this position may be, his words have withstood the march of time. The power of Christ resides in the words of Christ. This in turn has effected history in those nations and cultures that valued words the most. Words allows us to expand our understanding and vocabulary allows the mind to move beyond the simplistic titulations of the body. Doctrinal rationale, canon law, constitution these are the things of the mind which cannot be defeated by sheer physical force alone.

The pen is mightier than the sword has been said more than once but the pen and the sword taken together? That is a force to be reckoned with! Woe to them that ignore the force of history.