Jesuism is a belief system considering itself to be the true representation of the teachings of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and contrasts itself from the teachings of mainstream

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

.Owen J. Flanagan. ''The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World.'' Cambridge: MIT Press, 2007. p.36 In particular, the term is often contrasted with

Pauline Christianity Pauline Christianity or Pauline theology (also Paulism or Paulanity), otherwise referred to as Gentile Christianity, is the theology and form of Christianity which developed from the beliefs and doctrines espoused by the Hellenistic-Jewish Ap ...

and mainstream church

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

Nicene Christianity The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

Etymology

The term ''Jesuism'' was coined by the late 1800s. It is derived from ''

'' (Jesus of Nazareth) + ''

-ism ''-ism'' is a suffix in many English words, originally derived from the Ancient Greek suffix ('), and reaching English through the Latin , and the French . It means "taking side with" or "imitation of", and is often used to describe philosoph ...

'' (English suffix, a characteristic or system of beliefs, from French ''-isme'', Latin ''-ismus'', Greek ''-ismos'').

History of usage

In 1878,

freethinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

and former Shaker

D. M. Bennett DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett (December 23, 1818 – December 6, 1882), best known as D. M. Bennett, was the founder and publisher of ''Truth Seeker'', a radical freethought and reform American periodical. Biography Shaker Life Derobigne M. Ben ...

wrote that "Jesuism", as distinct from " Paulism", was the gospel taught by

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, and the Messianic doctrine of a new Jewish sect. In 1894, American

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

and

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

Frank Seaver Billings defined "Jesusism" as the "Christianity of the Gospels" and a philosophy which "can be attributed directly to the teachings of Jesus the Nazarene". In 1909, the

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

newspaper '' Signs of the Times'', released an issue titled "Modern Christianity Not Jesusism", wherein the question is posed: "Christianity of today is not the old original Christianity. It is not Jesusism, for it is not the religion which Jesus preached. Is it not time to make Christianity the religion which He personally preached and which He personally practiced?" Harvard theologian

Bouck White Charles Browning "Bouck" White (October 20, 1874 – January 7, 1951) was a Congregational minister, American socialist, Jesusist, author, potter, and recluse. Early years Charles Browning White, known to family and friends as "Bouck", was ...

, in 1911, also defined "Jesusism" as "the religion which Jesus preached".Bouck White. ''The Call of the Carpenter.'' USA: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1911. p.314.

Lord Ernest Hamilton Lord Ernest William Hamilton (5 September 1858 – 14 December 1939) was a United Kingdom soldier and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892. Hamilton was the seventh son of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn ...

in 1912 wrote that "Jesuism" was simply to love one another and love God. The philosophy of Jesusism was described in the book ''The Naked Truth of Jesusism from Oriental Manuscripts'', penned by theologian Lyman Fairbanks George in 1914, as follows: The Orthodox theologian

Sergei Bulgakov Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (; russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Булга́ков; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist. Biography Early life: 1871–18 ...

further noted in 1935 that "the concentration of piety on the Christ alone has become a deviation already known by a special term as Jesusism". Influential Catholic theologian

Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of t ...

referred to "Jesusism" as a focus on the life of Jesus and attempts to imitate his life, as opposed to a focus on

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

or the

Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...

. University of Melbourne professor

Lindsay Falvey John Lindsay Falvey FTSE (born 23 May 1950), known as Lindsay Falvey, is an Australian-born international R&D specialist and writes on topics concerning agricultural science and philosophy, religion, international development and spiritual de ...

noted in 2009 that "the gospel story so differs from Church doctrine that it could well be of a different religion – Jesusism". Jesusism became the subject of increased academic discussion following its reference by Duke University neurobiologist and philosopher

Owen Flanagan Owen Flanagan (born 1949) is the James B. Duke University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Professor of Neurobiology Emeritus at Duke University. Flanagan has done work in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of social s ...

in his 2007 book ''The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World.'' Flanagan defines Jesusism as the "message" of Jesus and notes that he "call it 'Jesusism' because most Christian Churches do not endorse Jesus' message truthfully". Flanagan characterized Jesuism as a naturalistic and rationalist philosophy, rejecting the conflict between

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

. Rodney Stenning Edgecombe, a professor at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

, in a 2009 essay titled ''Commutation Across the Social Divide'' remarks how Christianity shifted away from Jesuism; the moral tenets Jesus preached. The terms Jesuism, Jesusism and Jesuanism are also referenced popularly on religious blogs and internet groups.

Beliefs, practices, and adherents

There is no definitive meaning of Jesuism and hence no clear

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

. Various groups use the terms Jesuism, Jesusism and Jesuanism. These include disenchanted

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

who are critical of

institutional religion Organized religion, also known as institutional religion, is religion in which belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established. Organized religion is typically characterized by an official doctrine (or dogma), a ...

, people who identify themselves as

disciples of Jesus In Christianity, disciple primarily refers to a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. In the ancient world, a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the ...

rather than Christians, and Christian atheists who accept some of Jesus' teachings but do not believe in God. Adherents may be termed Jesuists, Jesusists or Jesuans.

References

{{Religion topics Doctrines and teachings of Jesus Christian terminology Christian radicalism

Etymology

History of usage

Beliefs, practices, and adherents

See also

References