Did Jesus hug trees?

Jesus was not an environmentalist in the way we would use the word today. Nor, was he a tree-hugger. Jesus did show respect for the environment. He lived a low impact lifestyle and in times of contemplation left the comforts of home to go into the wilderness. He did this at beginning of his ministry and then again in the garden before his arrest. We can conclude that he enjoyed the benefits of a clean environment and today would encourage the protection of God's creation. He did not, however, hug trees.

DId Jesus Join the Tea Party?

Jesus was a revolutionary of sorts, so many might look to him as the sort who might join up with an anti-establishment group like the Tea Party. But then, Jesus preached against some of the main ideas of the Tea Party. Most notably, Jesus said give unto Cesar what belongs to Cesar: not exactly throwing tea overboard because of taxes. There are a few other things Jesus might disagree with Sarah Palin about, but they both would agree that Alaska is beautiful place.

Did Jesus Make Money?

There is no evidence that Jesus made money, but Jesus did accept the generosity of others who presumably had some income.

Did Jesus say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

People complain about the war on Christmas–that is the much ballyhooed political correction of the winter holidays. Did Jesus say Merry Christmas? Well, of course not. Christmas wasn't a holiday in those times. But would Jesus say Merry Christmas today? From all reports, Jesus often mingled with people who believed differently from himself. It's not likely that he would go out of his way to make people feel uncomfortable. So, if the point of saying Merry Christmas is to insist on one's own beliefs, I'm guessing Jesus was a Happy Holidays kind of guy.

Did Jesus travel to India?

Just like Martin Luther King, Jr. learned much from Gandhi, so some have suggested that Jesus learned from the Buddha. A few coincidences make this theory plausible. Firstly, Jesus' life story has a serious gap in it. We see Jesus at birth, when he is a tween and not again until his ministry begins when he is grown man. His story has plenty of time for him to travel by foot or by treacherous sea to India.

The problem is there is nothing we know of that would compel Jesus to do this. One could argue that God told Jesus to go and guided Jesus to the correct person in India, but there is no record on either side of the Indian Ocean to suggest this.

What is more likely is that people have seen the commonalities between Jesus and Buddha and taken it to mean they must have been of one mind. Some have seen this coincidence and thought it proves they were after the same peace, the same God.

Did Jesus Smoke?

Tobacco is a new world crop, so if Jesus did smoke, it wasn't tobacco. There is the possibility that Jesus used marijuana, but even then it wasn't likely in a bong or a pipe or even a joint. Some have even suggested that Jesus' healing was actually a numbing from using cannabis infused oils to anoint those he healed.

Many people ask this question to get a sense as to whether Jesus would condone smoking. There is no evidence that Jesus would call smoking sinful except that smoking often hurts others and can be inconsiderate.

Did Jesus write?

In Ben Franklin's Autobiography, he tells his readers that if they would like to be humble to see Socrates or Jesus as examples. The irony of his statement, probably not lost to Franklin, is that neither of those gentlemen wrote a word of their own story.

Jesus almost certainly knew how to write as many stories have him interpreting the scriptures. In another story he makes marks or writes in the dirt in front of him. If Jesus knew how to write, why didn't Jesus write down his own story rather than let others write it down for him.

Perhaps Jesus didn't see the point of his ministry to be canonized instruction. Or perhaps Jesus was afraid that writing down his own story might lend too much authority to the words and close the door to interpretation.

Or maybe Jesus knew what Franklin knew, humility demands that you not write down your own story.