text: This is a fascinating article on the historical Jesus, thank you !!! If he existed, he was not Harvey the Rabbit my best bud, but a real person living in a real historical context. Much that has been said religiously about Jesus actually does not honor him, but dishonors him, making him into something that as a Jew, he would never have agreed to. "Zealot" tells me that Jesus was a participant in a civil war, his opponents the wealthy Romans and their collaborators the wealthy Jews -- a class war, with Jesus just your everyday insurrectionist; and the Gospel just propaganda to turn this violent person into a 'nice-nice' Jew, so as to sell Christianity, if I understand correctly. But I would prefer to think of Jesus as really wise and peaceful, not a soldier. Keep in mind though, the Gospel may be not so much history as it is agenda-driven and reactionary. Nevertheless, the Gospel lessons on non-violently disarming your opponent are relevant always, as the analysis in the article shows