Jesus vs. Venus

The gospels tell us nothing about the appearance of Jesus. For all we know and might suspect, and despite all visual art to the contrary, Jesus was nothing to look at. It would be more helpful if we thought of him as ugly. If he were the Son of Venus, she would have made him gorgeous.

Imagine hearing all the strange words of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters 5-7) from a guy who doesn’t even look like he knows what he’s talking about.

As far as we know, Jesus was a lifelong virgin. No mention is made of sexual conquests, courtships, marriage, or divorce. Still, Jesus had things to say about relationships between the sexes. All his words point to a close relationship between intimacy and commitment. They all point to the importance of regarding the other person as an end in themselves and not as a means to one’s own happiness.

So, unlike Venus, Jesus encourages us not to lust for others. Unlike Venus, he encourages us to remain with our spouse rather than junk them for some more pleasurable companion. When a woman caught in the act of adultery was hauled before him, Jesus regarded the moment as a cautionary tale for her and us rather than as an excuse for us to vent our own misplaced self-righteousness by hurting her (John 8:1-11)

Copyright © 2014 by Steven Farsaci. All rights reserved.