WDJT

Some years ago, there was a movement that was particularly popular with young people that used the acronym WWJD for "What Would Jesus Do?". There were tee shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs and more with WWJD on them.The intent was to apply that question to everyday life, to lead people to make decisions using their religious background as a guide to how to handle their real-world situations.

This sounds like, and often is, a worthy goal. The problems arise in what the religious background contains. An individual's understanding of what Jesus would do could be influenced by many factors and many people. Not the least among these factors is the absence of knowledge of what Jesus himself said and did. How many people have actually studied the Bible, or even read it with understanding? What version or translation might they have used? (Have you ever tried to read and understand the King James version?) Whose interpretation of things in the Bible may have influenced them? To what extent might they be basing their decisions on the writings of others, such as Paul, instead of on the words and acts of Jesus himself? And worse, to what extent might someone be influenced by someone who claims authority but uses that to sway others who just do not know they are being mislead?

That is the impetus behind this effort. Here we will attempt to examine what Jesus said and what he did. Perhaps by understanding what Jesus taught we may more reliably answer the question, "What Would Jesus Do?