Five Reasons Why Even Atheists Respect Jesus

Atheists have little use for god-talk, since much of it is based on faith and not reason. And faith is something an atheist cannot relate to. Yet history is a collection of facts and there is factual evidence that a prophet named Jesus once lived and traveled among the Jews and gentiles.

Jesus of Nazareth is somewhat of an enigma. Although he was well versed in the arts of reading and writing, he didn't leave any written accounts of himself and his work, so we only have second hand reports by those who followed him and they aren't always in agreement. 

There are some things that stand out and appear to be genuine occurrences or genuine accounts of perceived occurrences. If we read the four gospels that depict Jesus' life, a character begins to emerge that may have been quite unique for his time. And some of his character traits command the respect of even the most rational atheists.

Let's forget for a moment that Jesus claimed to be the way to salvation or the son of god. Let's ignore the quasi miracles and supposed healings and just look at the man. Much about him is impressive and he certainly had courage.

Jesus was not class conscious. Although he was treated with respect by his followers and was a learned scholar and trained craftsman, he had no prejudices about class. He dined with Pharisees, wealthy landowners, as well as prostitutes and beggars and presumably treated them with equal courtesy. He even kept company with the shunned lepers, something no self-respecting Rabbi would have done in those days.

Jesus introduced critical thinking to a society, ruled by blind adherence to rules and religious commandments. Over the years, religious leaders had implemented so many oppressive decrees that many Jews found it difficult to function without breaking the law. Jesus saw the folly of this practice and began to point out its flaws. He also emphasized the importance of love and compassion over all other traits and so won the hearts of the disadvantaged.