The best records we have of Jesus’ teachings are the gospel books that are typically referenced. And there are enough references to Jesus of Nazareth in other texts to suggest this is what he was like and taught.
Jesus’ teachings on government and social structures are nuanced and difficult to apply to our human structures, because he proposed a government ruled by a perfectly good, benevolent monarch (which, in theory, is a great system if you can guarantee the monarch is really perfectly good). He preached a lot about “the kingdom of God” and contrasted it to how we do things on earth. So the point was never to provide a blueprint of how we should do government, but that there was something above all earthly governments that superceded it all.
Unfortunately, people have used those teachings in very bad ways (the same reasoning that the religious leaders used to kill Jesus). All of that to say–there are a lot of congregations that have more in common with the Pharisees than the early church.
LesserAbe@lemmy.world 1 day ago
No sense imagining a hypothetical Jesus, but if you go by what the bible says, Jesus said “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom is heaven.” He said sell all of your possessions and then follow me. The bible talks about how people in the church shared what they had in common. If someone had a need someone would sell their property and distribute it to those who needed it.
Of course they also thought Jesus was going to return soon, within their lifetimes, and bring a perfect world. Not wait over 2,000 years