General Discussion

And that is the essence of the problem. As far as we know, Jesus was illiterate, as were most people at the time. There is no evidence of his writing anything for posterity. There were some supposedly first-hand accounts from the disciples, but even those were mostly written decades later. The theology, such as we recognize it today, was developed over several centuries. The New Testament was not published as a full compilation until the 4th century, after centuries of negotiation and editing. So it seems unlikely that this represents a fully accurate picture of what Jesus said or meant.

In my view, the central case for Christianity as a religion is what has survived through folklore as the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Beatitudes. IMHO, this is the closest thing we have to Jesus' original intent. But in 2000 years, in order for the Catholic enterprise (or any of the protestant spin-off shows) to survive, there has always been a "corporate" aspect, where the company refines its marketing messages and makes deals with the prevailing governments. It is this "necessary flexibility" that creates the space for the various factions that may be as different as night and day.

Keeping with the "corporate" theme, perhaps this is a time when the Catholic Church should accept their "downsizing" and really "focus on the core mission." That is to say, maybe it is time to insist that the Church commit to being the "Jesus wing" of Christianity, embracing and living the values expressed in the Beatitudes. And show the other factions the door.