Jesus has a special connection to American history. Americans have a unique relationship with Jesus as they have envisioned him in various interpretations that fit the period in which the interpretation was created. The Sweet Jesus and Manly Redeemer Jesus each have their own different connections to history and each are tied to power in their own individual ways, with the Sweet Savior Jesus aligning with Mark’s concept of power more than any other Jesus interpretation.
Steven Prothero’s American Jesus goes through the timeline of Jesus’ metamorphosis in the American view. It goes through the European time into what we have today. European churches were very strict on religion and it was tied into their “state.” Through this timeline, a free…show more content… In fact, a Presbyterian minister called the images of Jesus depicted in the 19th century “weak” and “repulsive.” This century shifted most American views on social, cultural, economic, and especially, religious life. Historian Jackson Lears noticed a shift from “Protestantism to secularity, ‘salvation to self-realization.’” With the shifts, a new era arose. Within this new ear was a “crisis in masculinity.” The roles between men and woman were being reassigned. Women were entering the workforce and taking up powerful positions that had always been held by men. Women were also attending colleges. This included professional law school and schools in medicine. This shift continued into religious aspects, and men began taking a stand. This cultivated a more “muscular Christianity.” In the 19th century, most classic books were written by women, in the new era came new classics written by men. One classic written by Carl Delos Case argued that “Christianity needed to recover its masculine side.” This began a reign of recruiting men to get back into church. Preceding WWI came Billy Sunday who suggested that instead of Christians turning the other cheek, he challenged the men to fight the good fight, the women to embrace the men, and to embrace the manly redeemer. Now Jesus “‘was no dough-faced, lick spittle proposition, Jesus was the greatest scrapper that ever lived’” Sunday dared the men to fight alongside the…show more content… Mark describes Jesus as a servant. Mark’s Jesus is based off of what he does rather than what he says. Mark’s Jesus performs miracles for people who doubt him or don’t deserve it. He makes the bling see again and makes people that weren’t supposed to walk again, walk. . I kept thinking about how Jesus would always want the people he worked miracles on, to keep the miracles he worked a secret. Thinking in the view of sweet savior Jesus, I believe it is because he has more of a feminine perceive. Women, especially of the 19th century, were very modest. They stayed confined to their homes and taught the children. They didn’t go around boasting to the other women as men did. Mark’s Jesus also didn’t put up a fight with the Pharisee when they attempted to kill Jesus. You wouldn’t see this kind of submission from the manly redeemer Jesus who doesn’t back down from a fight. Also, the manly redeemer Jesus would surely punish any individual sinner for the sins they committed. The sweet savior Jesus forgives and continues to love without any string attached or punishments. Through Mark’s Jesus, we see a mother-love that we wouldn’t see from the manly redeemer Jesus. However, we do this this kind of love from the sweet savior
