Between ethics and miracles, the church made the wrong choice. Jesus is held by many to have been a healer who was born of a virgin and arose from the grave. The thought in this book is that he was a teacher, and that the stories of the resurrection, the virgin birth, and the healing were created by his followers. That is, Jesus is here regarded not as a savior but as a spokesman for goodness.

There are two chief issues dividing Christianity from Judaism: whether to love your enemy as yourself, and whether the messiah has come. The first of these, the Jesus rule, is here considered the more important. The other issue is minor; faith is a dubious passport to a kingdom. Is it then being said that you can be a Christian without Christ? Yes, you ought to be generous even to those that hate you, but you need not believe either in God the Son or in God the Father. There are crucial qualifications, though: as it is a mistake to be generous no matter what, so is it one to believe in nothing beyond yourself.

The problem may be recast for the sake of the moment. Not long ago the "World Islamic Front," the organization of Osama bin Laden, issued a religious ruling, or fatwa, for a "Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders." In that phrase there are four gatherings, three of them explicit, one implicit. The first is Islam, another is Judaism, a third is the militant Christianity of a thousand years ago, and the fourth is present-day America with Britain and others. There is much to admire in all four, but I would speak against them, to the degree they are warlike. I accept instead what Jesus taught. There is a danger though that his sayings will be regarded as tightly binding; in truth they are loosely so; to his mind charity should go only so far. We ought to have kind intentions even towards our adversaries, looking at things from their point of view, but we ought not to yield beyond measure. The Jesus rule is the answer, but it must be qualified. Our duty is to think matters through.

To some followers the faith is otherworldly; to them love for the enemy is not relevant. This book argues to the contrary that Jesus did not die for our sins, or to pay the debt of Adam, or to complete the destiny of his people; he died from a way of living on earthan example to nations as well as persons. But now there is the menace of an opposite absolutism. Complete earthiness, or utter practicality, is also wrong. Those who need mysticism for their well being ought to have it. Not all of us are lumps of clay; otherworldliness is an element we have room for; we can be inspired and made better. Some of us are nourished by communing with Jesus in a meal on his day of the week. But the daily bread for everyone should be his rule.

My aim is first (I) at commenting on Jesus' interpretation of the ten commandments by his sense of right and wrong, next (II) at applying his rule to certain issues of our day, then (III) at seeing whether Jesus is with his followers in ritual, and finally (IV) at mapping some highways and byways to God.