The Beardless Jesus – Part 5 (Socrates and Jesus)

As Professor Buck faces his looming excommunication, he reflects on his spiritual isolation, feeling abandoned by the community he once called home. He wrestles with anger, questioning whether his lifelong loyalty to the church was worth it, while finding solace in literature and academia. Meanwhile, his students, particularly Scarlett, grapple with their own conflicts—caught between loyalty to their faith and the unsettling realization of its contradictions. As Buck traces the evolution of Jesus’ image from a humble carpenter to a Greco-Roman philosopher, he challenges his students to consider how belief is shaped by history, culture, and power. Ultimately, the question lingers: if Jesus returned today, would he resemble the God we've been worshipping for all of these years—and does it even matter?