What Jesus Did Wrong

There are essentially only two approaches to presenting a new set of moral values or ethics. The Preacher can go out into the populace and present his/her ideas. The masses may not know anythng about the new ideas, and their interest in them, at least at first, is likely to be minimal or negative. OR the Preacher can stay in his/her place, become a Teacher, and wait for the interested people to come to him/her.

In the first instance, the Preacher reaches a larger number of people quickly, but attracts negative attention as well as positive. The short-range outcome will almost certainly involve conflict. The Preacher's approach is an aggressive one, which tends to create tension.

In the second instance, the Teacher's ideas may spread very slowly, among those who are already pre-disposed to react positively. This low-profile approach rarely involves much conflict. The Teacher is essentially passive as regards the promulgation of his/her ideas.

Jesus was a good example of the first approach. The conflicts he created by aggressively presenting his controversial ideas fulminated into an outburst, resulting in crucifixion. Siddhartha Gautama was a good example of the second approach. He lived a long and effective life, dying in advanced old age of natural causes, and loved by all.

It's interesting to speculate about the possible outcome had each of these two exemplars taken the alternative approach.