<p>Do you think it would be a bad idea to use Jesus as an example for the essay? I feel like excluding the religious aspect, a lot of his social teachings and his ministry could be used for a variety of topics. Jesus is a historical figure so wouldn’t it be similar to using Aristotle or Confucius? If you think an essay grader would have a bias against my essay because I used Jesus please let me know.</p>
<p>No as long as you didn’t say anything that would offend someones views, you’re probably OK, although I will note that the SAT essay does not take accuracy into account so if you wanted to play it safer you could make up a name and then substitute it for Jesus’s to prove your point</p>
<p>Do your very best to avoid using any kind or religion as an example. ESPECIALLY CHRISTIANITY. Even if the reviewers are payed to be unbiased, they will have personal views which they shall apply subconsciously. If the reviewer was atheist or just didn’t believe in Jesus Christ, you’d kinda screwed. Cuz unlike Aristotle or Confucius… a lot of people don’t believe Jesus ever existed.</p>
<p>There are many more examples, its very risky to use this example. If the examiner gets offended he/she may take out all of your marks.</p>
<p>but I mean even if you’re an atheist, you probably still believe that Jesus was a real person ( just not the son of God), and even if you don’t he would still be a fictional character like you would use in other essay examples from other books.</p>
<p>Like Prince said, I’d substitute the name for something else and leave the points as they are.</p>
<p>I agree with PrinceofParties…even if Jesus wasn’t the son of God, it wouldn’t be any different from citing a fictional character.</p>
<p>@Extract, I wouldn’t “completely” avoid using religious beliefs as an example, since much of history and literature were founded/inspired from religion. </p>
<p>You can allude to Jesus or Paul or Muhammad or any other character from religious aspects, but never assume that such events actually happened. You could say, “Christians believe that…” Similarly, if you cite a topic such as the big bang, don’t assume that is true either since it is only a theory.</p>
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<p>You’re joking, right?</p>
<p>I think Jesus Flores (catcher for the Washington Nationals) would be a much better essay subject.</p>
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</p>
<p>:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Oh my gosh.</p>
<p>Says who?</p>
<p>Don’t do it.</p>
<p>Either Christ is or isn’t the son of God, right? I do believe that Christ is the son of God, but that’s beside the point for this thread.</p>
<p>If Christ is the son of God, then you can reference the Bible in an essay. If Christ isn’t the son of God, or if God doesn’t exist, then why would citing Jesus be any different from citing any fictional character?</p>
<p>don’t use controversial thing, maybe reader doesn bolive jesus exist, then you are rolling down a slippery slope to a pit of spikes</p>
<p>tanks</p>
<p>Why not use Aristotle and Confucius then? Either switch up the names when talking about Jesus or use a completely different example.</p>
<p>To be honest, atheists and many types of non-Christians have this elitist bias where they begin unconsciously associating belief in Christianity with a lack of intelligence and closemindedness. It’s not legitimate, but it’s there and it will stay there for a pretty long time.</p>
<p>Because of that, I wouldn’t use Jesus Christ. It would bias some readers against you.</p>
<p>“You can allude to Jesus or Paul or Muhammad or any other character from religious aspects, but never assume that such events actually happened. You could say, “Christians believe that…” Similarly, if you cite a topic such as the big bang, don’t assume that is true either since it is only a theory.”</p>
<p>Just like the theory of gravity is “only a theory.” Do you even know the definition of a theory? </p>
<p>“When used in non-scientific context, the word theory implies that something is unproven or speculative. As used in science, however, a theory is an explanation or model based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning, especially one that has been tested and confirmed as a general principle helping to explain and predict natural phenomena.”</p>
<p>[What</a> is a Scientific Theory? | Definition of Theory | LiveScience](<a href=“http://www.livescience.com/21491-what-is-a-scientific-theory-definition-of-theory.html]What”>What is a scientific theory? | Live Science)</p>
<p>You can’t just say whatever you want and call it a theory. It has to be tested, supported, and peer reviewed repeatedly.</p>
<p>Here’s my answer, which I offer as an educated person, an English teacher, and a non-Christian.</p>
<p>I’d have no problem with an essay that cited Jesus as a figure from history or as a moral teacher. Educated people pretty much agree that Jesus existed and that he espoused a moral philosophy. So if you want to cite Jesus as an example of how religious authority interacts with civil authority, and you quote “Render unto Caesar…,” that’s fine by me.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you want to rely on Jesus’ divinity as evidence for some point in your essay, I’d have a problem with that–not only because I don’t believe Jesus was divine, but because Jesus’ divinity is not a universally accepted proposition in an audience of educated adult readers. So if you want to use the fact that the Gospels report that Jesus worked his first miracle at a wedding at Cana as evidence that God favors “traditional marriage” between one man and one woman, I wouldn’t be on board with that.</p>
<p>The key issue for me would be whether your citation of Jesus was confessional (i.e., part of a statement of personal faith) or non-confessional (i.e., not a statement of faith, but the citation of a figure from history).</p>
<p>I would also suggest that if you’re going to cite Jesus in a non-confessional manner, you avoid the use of the word Christ. Christ comes from the Greek word for annointed, and necessarily refers to Jesus’ messianic mission. If you want to refer to him as a figure from history, and not a religious figure, it would be better simply to call him Jesus. I’m a big, big Nationals fan, and even I wouldn’t think you meant Jesus Flores.</p>
<p>Go, Nats!</p>
<p>Wow, great answer, Sikorsky.</p>
<p>I just spoke to Jesus Christ.</p>
<p>He said don’t do it.</p>
<p>There, done.</p>
<p>Parent46, thanks. I appreciate that.</p>
<p>There was an uncommon amount of nonsense sprinkled throughout this thread.</p>
<p>@Lacrosse37: "hello sir, I will analyze this scenario for you.
Let’s say that you are allowd to use HISTORY, LTERATURE or FACTS. </p>
<p>jesue “christ” is not any of these. for support on the prestigious SAT essay, you must use someone that existed and is real. sadly jesus christ is not so you can’t use it. think of it this way: what if you’re grader is muslim? black? jewish? he will not agree with you. don’t use him next time"</p>
<p>I don’t understand your logic. Jesus Christ and the entire Bible fall into at least one of these three categories. If the Bible is false, then you can consider it literature, just like any other work of literature.</p>
<p>Also, you don’t need to use “real” people as examples on an SAT essay. You could theoretically write an essay referring to some made-up president of some other country and score a 12.</p>