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First Church of Public Opinion

Are we seeking the approval of God or the market?

Could you imagine what Jesus' ministry would have looked like if after giving "The Sermon on the Mount" he immediately checked social media to see how many retweets he got, or if #beatitudes was trending?

Or, before riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, he sat down with his creative team to map out exactly how to create a moment people would remember for thousands of years. (#TriumphalEntry, anyone?)

I wonder what opinion polls would have looked like after the crucifixion … or a big throw down with Pharisees … or a mass healing session. What if he healed certain people more than others because data showed healing someone with leprosy went viral (heh, viral) faster than healing the blind?

If Jesus had built the direction, branding, ideology of his earthly work around any of those things, I wonder if Christianity would exist at all today. Yes, I understand that Christ was the very Son of God, but I'm not speaking to that reality in this post, I'm simply saying this: There was one thing conspicuously ...

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