The Man Nobody Knows
...e transition from a normal person into the development of the best salesmen ever. In order to do this he had to recruit people who would lead and help spread his word. To do this he recruited twelve men that were not very popular amongst the people and turned them into his organization. Barton portrays Jesus as an executive when calling on his disciples because the only words he spoke of were “come with me”. Now with all that said and done, Jesus needed to spread the word of God to the people. This was going to be by far his hardest task due to the fact that there were so many people that needed to be convinced. Not only would he it be hard because the amount of people, but also the authority. Barton even states that, “At this date he had become so large a public influence as to threaten the peace of the rulers, and they sent a detachment of soldiers to arrest him” (15). The question that must be asked is how a book about a man living in the earliest of times can exemplify the transition from the old to the new middle class in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century? Although some may think that this is not feasible, this book can be seen as one that is extremely comparable. Jesus changed people’s views about him and gave them new skills and ideals in which to live their lives upon, much like the change in classes gave the people in the twentieth century a new way to conduct them. Jesus’ method is best explained by, “He invited frail bewildered humanity to stand upright and look at God face to face! He called upon men to throw away fear, disregard the limitations of their mortality, and claim the Lord of Creation as Father.” (47). Knowledge, one of the keys of the new middles class, was spread by word of mouth from person to person about the acts of Jesus. This spreading of Jesus’ works was a form of advertising that we today respond more and more to. Jesus and his “sales team” traveled all over performing miracles and giving talks in order for the people to learn about what he really is and what he is about. When talking he would tell people not to worry about property, and to give to those who were less fortunate than themselves. Barton portrays Jesus’ teachings telling people how to live their lives and how to be successful. This book is looked at as a “self improvement” book and that changing our attitudes and anything else helps us towards heaven. The protestant’s would not agree with this teaching because they believed in predestination and that God already knows who is going to heaven. In doing this Jesus was teaching people that we need to try to make everyone as happy as you are, much like the way that the new middle class was because people became happier when there was a new emphasis placed upon knowledge and management skills. Another important key in the relationship between Barton’s novel and the new middle class is that of sales. As already mentioned, sales become an extremely critical part of the new middle class. The most successful salesman in this new class would adapt to his customers, do whatever physically possible in order to complete the sale and make sure that his consumers are satisfied. “He was never trite or common place; he had no routine” (60). This contributes to the main reason whey he was so good at selling this religion. One would say that he always had a different sales pitch in mind each and every time. In Barton’s novel there is talk about when Jesus walked into a city in which the people worshiped many different religions. This could pose a problem for many people, but not him. “Men of Athens, I congratulate you on having many so many fine religions. I’ve traveled quite a bit and your assortment is larger and better than I have seen anywhere else.” (77) While entering this town Jesus even notices that there is a monument of an “Unknown God.” Jesus tells them that this is the God in which he represents. Few people were more than likely skeptical about what he was saying and this is where he used twentieth century style personality and management skills to relay information to the people and make them believe. Jesus understood the minds of people and how they worked and did what he could to be sure that in the end they would have to believe in him because what he was saying was true. He also empowered the minds of his disciples. Barton says, “That higher type of leadership which calls forth men’s greatest energies by the promise of obstacles rather than the picture of rewards- that was the leadership ...