The Historical Jesus and the Anonymous Christ
An Interreligious Exploration of the Particular and the Universal
“The essential function of religion is to radically connect us with everything. (Re-ligio = to re-ligament or reconnect.) It is to help us see the world and ourselves in wholeness, and not just in parts. Truly enlightened people see oneness because they look out from oneness, instead of labeling everything as superior and inferior, in or out. If you think you are privately ‘saved’ or enlightened, then you are neither saved nor enlightened, it seems to me!”
— Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe (Convergent Books, 2019), 7
The Quran references Jesus numerous times, intimating what one may call a very “low” or non-divine Christology: in Islam, Jesus is an exceptionally righteous messenger of God, but not ontologically distinct from other humans, let alone ontologically on par with God.[1] The text then goes on to describe subsequent generations of Christians as distorting the Messiah’s human nature, putting him on the same level as God. However, the Quran states, Jesus is not only distinct from God, but, in a very real way, he never died.
