To Pope Benedict, Jesus is most certainly not a social revolutionary, except in the sense that he came to show all humans the way to eternal life. To the liberation theologists shunned by the Vatican, Jesus was a revolutionary who came to show men that the way to please God was to redistribute their wealth.

In the 1920s, an advertising executive named Bruce Barton--the founder of one of the most famous ad agencies in American business history--wrote a bestselling book called The Man Nobody Knows. This book was an attempt to reclaim the image of Jesus from those who had portrayed him as a wimpy dreamer of impractical dreams (like peace and turning the other cheek).

In this unintentionally hilarious book, Jesus is portrayed as--what else?--the world's greatest salesman. His parables are seen as the greatest advertisements of all time. (In view of the durability of Christianity, that claim may even be true.) His miracles and presentation of himself are like great theatrical performances. Imagine, Barton said in the pre-television era, how much publicity there would be today if Jesus were to walk on water. Yes, but would it play on reality TV?

These conflicting claims about Jesus are endless. Jesus would have been on the side of anyone fighting the godless Communists when the godless Communists were in charge of the Soviet Union instead of being buried in Russian Orthodox cathedrals. Jesus would have opposed the Viet Nam war in the sixties and the Iraq war today. Jesus was gay. Jesus was married. Jesus would never have approved of female priests or married priests because he was celibate and he didn't pick any women to be among his twelve apostles.

Jesus, it seems, is just about anyone any Christian wants him to be. Poor man.

There is a good reason for the malleability of the image of Jesus. The Jesus of the gospels really was an ambiguous, endlessly fascinating figure who could be viewed in many ways.

Many atheists have taken me to task for my conclusion that Jesus was a real historical figure-- albeit a human figure. I have no idea why any atheist would think that the existence or nonexistence of Jesus the man tells us anything about the existence or nonexistence of God.
When I talk about the Jesus of the gospels, I am talking about the man as he was portrayed at the time the New Testament was written, and as he has been seen, in diverse fashion, by subsequent generations of Christian believers.

The gospels, filled as they are with supernatural nonsense, are also a powerful story of an extremely complicated and charismatic man. It is the New Testament itself, laden with ambiguity and human contradictions, that convinces me of the existence of a real man called Jesus. There were all sorts of wild prophets and political revolutionaries roaming around Judea at the time Jesus preached, but only he got talked about and written about as much as he did.

And I do think that the message of the "gospel" Jesus was subversive at the time--to the Roman order and to the Jewish high priests. Think of Jesus throwing money changers out of the temple. And telling Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world." What Roman would have believed that fishy statement? All in all, I think there is more fodder in the gospels for the liberation theologists than for the Vatican. However, the Vatican has certainly built a flourishing business based on preaching the gospel of the Jesus who wants you to listen to your bishops and your pope and be good and obedient followers.

For Christians, the story of Jesus has no meaning without his crucifixion and resurrection. Like Thomas Jefferson, who wrote a version of the life of Jesus with all of the supernatural events omitted, I find Jesus a more fascinating figure without the biblical ending.

In the pivotal moment of Jesus's fateful confrontation with Pilate, the Roman governor asks, "What is truth?" I can imagine a different ending to the story. Jesus answers, and Pilate says, "Hmm! Interesting. Why don't we all cool off and have something to eat and drink. What is it that you Hebrews eat this week? Matzoh? Perhaps with a drop of wine?"

And Jesus replies, "I am a bit tired. As one of the great prophets of Israel says, `Come, let us reason together.'"

But that would be a different story with a different ending.