I think many Christians think this about Jesus. I’ve argued in various places that my version of “being a Christian” is not actually about worshiping (idolizing) Jesus. If Jesus, however, was the Ultimate Narcissist, then, of course, he would gladly accept and encourage that.
Here are some of the common symptoms of this disorder:
- Reacting to criticism with anger, shame, or humiliation
- Taking advantage of others to reach own goals
- Exaggerating own importance, achievements, and talents
- Imagining unrealistic fantasies of success, beauty, power, intelligence, or romance
- Requiring constant attention and positive reinforcement from others
- Becoming jealous easily
- Lacking empathy and disregarding the feelings of others
- Being obsessed with self
- Pursuing mainly selfish goals
- Trouble keeping healthy relationships
- Becoming easily hurt and rejected
- Setting goals that are unrealistic
- Wanting “the best” of everything
- Appearing unemotional
I don’t see it. Do you?
One thing I’ve learned when dealing with these kinds of people over long periods of time is that you should avoid them. What if many Christians actually understand Jesus in this way, and rather than avoiding “him,” they are actually trying to emulate that Jesus? Now, that would make a hell of a lot of sense…
