Jesus: The Worthiest Victim

Dichotomization is a word I had never heard before until quite recently. My understanding of dichotomization is admittedly quite limited, but I do know that, in the context of media, it describes the separation between worthy and unworthy victims. This knowledge has recently paired with the religious and philosophical questions frequenting my mental dialogue, and I have come to the conclusion that Jesus falls into the category of worthy victims and is the most notable, publicized and worthy victim of all time.

http://www.thecouragetolive.com/2010/11/10/consider-jesus-from-hebrews-121-3.html

I was raised Catholic and forced through Sunday school, where I learned quite a lot about the story of Jesus and other religious teachings. I attended a camp for 10 years founded and run by a church, and my lower year I took "The New Testament Perspective." So you could say that I have had my fair share of experiences with Christianity and more specifically Jesus' legacy. Time and time again I have seen the immense amount of media, such as the Bible, prayer books, films, etc., which all portray Jesus as a martyr for "the sins of the world." For millions upon millions of people, Jesus was a victim so that they would not have to be victims. 

Jesus' worthiness as a victim is shown through the large amounts of Bibles bought and sold every year, and the millions of churches scattered across the world. His name must be one of the most if not the most widely recognized name on the planet, and it is difficult to grow up and not here his story. I personally like to think of  Jesus' life and teachings as the longest covered media event to date. One can still see advertisements on TV or billboards along the highway preaching the name of Jesus, and his biography remains a number one best-seller, almost 2000 years after the (so called) fact.

This is just pure speculation on my part, but I cannot help but think that the Gospel was the product of the media equivalent of the time giving consumers the story they wanted to hear. Most people of the time were poor, and Jesus' teachings gave hope to these once unmotivated people. And if enough people start to believe that God came down as man and performed miraculous miracles, who is going to doubt its legitimacy?  

Writer's note: As of now I do not believe in God and the divine nature of Jesus: the larger and broader my knowledge of the world grows, the less I am able to believe that there are supernatural forces at work in my life. This kind of stuff has been on my mind a lot recently, and I thought I would use this "extra credit" blog as somewhat of an outlet for my many thoughts. All while retaining my identity as a media studies scholar, of course.