Was Jesus an anarchist?

Question

Is anarchy compatible with any religion?

Comments

What does religion mean to you? Does it differ from spirituality? Is anything unscientific religious?

Answer 1

Christian anarchists, who are fairly significant branch of the anarchist family even if they never get invited to the reunions, say yes, and they have the scripture to prove it. Citing that book, though, with all of the other things it endorses, to advance a libertarian philosophy strikes me as unjustifiable.

Then again, before they went all pacifist the anabaptists were more anarchist, in my book, than many who have been granted that title. The ideas of equality and justice are flirted with in the New Testament, but in the 16th century the anabaptists advanced by sword and fire the hererodox idea that God's Kingdom should be brought to earth, and set about offing nobles and priests and restoring the commons.

Nonetheless, the majority reading of "Give to God what is God's and to Caesar what is Caesar's" finds in Jesus a challenge to, but not a negation of, authority, and thus, not anarchy.

Answer 2

Jesus was not an anarchist, but I don't exclude the reality that some people have reached anarchist conclusions by following his (supposed) teachings, even if that anarchism doesn't quite look like mine.

As far as other religions, there are people who have done the same with other religions. In particular Buddhism lends itself nicely to some aspects of anarchist thought. The danger comes when people actually believe that Buddha was more than just human (that enlightenment was somehow holy), or that Jesus was the son of god more than anyone else might be (if we were to accept the existence of said god).

That is where the rub comes. If people are accepting the dictates of some god over their own desires, they are still enslaved. There is something to be said here about religion versus spirituality, but I don't have the energy in me right now, and I reject both religion and spirituality, so I might not be the best person for the job anyway.

Comments

edited for punctuation and readability.

Answer 3

I would say 'no,' he is not because he advocated submission to authority (i.e. God).