Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
What would Jesus do?
The phrase "What would Jesus do?" (WWJD) achieved immense popularity in the United States by the mid-1990s and had become the personal motto of thousands of Christians, who used the phrase as a reminder that, under many interpretations of the Bible, Jesus is the primary model for morality. The purpose of the phrase is to remind people to act in a manner that Jesus would approve of. The first known use of this phrase is by Charles Sheldon in his 1896 book, In His Steps . This can be seen as a form of the concept of imitatio dei, the imitation of God.
The initialism WWJD is sometimes also used by Christians to mean "Walk with Jesus daily".
Accessories
Bracelets with WWJD are popular with some Christian teens. Other paraphernalia with WWJD inscribed are available as well (mugs, rings, bumper stickers, key rings, etc).
Humor, sarcasm
Sometimes the phrase is used sarcastically, in variations of the form What would [person] do?, or to represent phrases from What would Jesus drive? to We want Jack Daniel's in order to criticise or satirise the phrase, its common usage, or certain strains of Christianity.
A notable example of this is the replacement of Jesus with US figure skater Brian Boitano as a role model for all situations in the parodistic song "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" which was written for the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.
There is also a humorous t-shirt that says: "What Would Jesus Do... for a Klondike Bar?". Another has the phrase printed on women's thong underwear, with obvious sexual connotations.
In The Simpsons, Homer Simpson wears a bracelet that reads "WWJD". Lisa looks at it and says, "Good point, what would Jesus do?" At that point, Homer complains "It's Jesus? I thought it was Geppetto!"
A common protest phrase in the wake of George W. Bush's born again Christian platform is "Who Would Jesus Bomb?"
External links
- Cave, Damien, "What would Jesus do -- about copyright?". (Christian merchandise intellectual property violations.)
- Snider, Brian, "What would Jesus do?".
- What would Jesus drive?
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