The Politics of Jesus
And The Oxymoron That Is "The Christian Right"

August 20, 2005

Alva Goldbook

INTRODUCTION

Today America has seen the rise to power of the “ Christian right”, with the media confirming for us all that the Republican Party is the party of Christian morals and values, while the left are “Godless” and “immoral” creatures whose only concept of faith is to defend the “evil” of Islam. We are taught that the President is a “Godly man” of “Christian faith” who follows the “teachings of Jesus”. The sole evidence for this is the Republican Party’s opposition to abortion, the attempts to mix church and state, and the pandering to Christians by a President who prays before us for all to see.

After the 2004 election I began to wonder if the Republican Party really does follow the teachings of Jesus, and if their political views are consistent with His teachings. Was Christ really opposed to abortion and homosexual marriage? Did Jesus really wish to see church and state mixed? Did He really wish for us to pay little or no taxes, fight wars against our neighbors, and reward those of us who are the most wealthy? These are the questions I sought, and in His words I will present to you the answers He gave.

BACKGROUND

In this, I will stick as much as possible to the words of Jesus given to us in the Gospel. I will utilize both the King James and the New American (Catholic) Bibles. I prefer the New American Bible as it is written in modern English, and it makes understanding easier.

For those who have never read the Gospel, each book ( Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) is a recount of what Jesus did while He was here. Each book tells the same story from the perspective of each author. Most of what Jesus did is recounted in each book, with almost identical wording of what He said, however there are things that are included in some books that are not included in the others. Each book also has it’s own style. Matthew, since the 2nd century A.D., has been considered as the most important book of the Gospel by the Church, and was largely thought of being the first written. The consensus of modern scholarship today is that actually the book of Mark was probably the first written. Nevertheless, the importance of the book of Matthew cannot be overlooked, as it is by far the most powerful and best written. The book of Mark is the shortest and most concise of the Gospels. And Luke tells the story in the most detail. For the purposes here, I am excluding the book of John because it was likely the last written, and unlike the synoptic Gospels, is highly literary and symbolic, does not follow the same order of events, and shows that the author developed a highly theological reflection of the events before writing it. It is a fine book of the Gospel, but for the sake of historical accuracy I will not include it here.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Feel free to copy this piece for whatever purpose you wish, all I ask is that I’m given credit for writing this and that you include a link to Nitwit Planet. Also, because my link color is red, and reading a lot of red text on black can be of some strain on the eye, Jesus’ words will appear in blue.

So what is the politics of Jesus? He taught us much, about the Kingdom of God, but in his travels and in his teachings, he also taught us much about his political leanings. There was much that he taught that was purely religious and apolitical that is more or less common knowledge in the United States. What is not terribly well known by your average American Christian is Jesus’ political leanings. You will not hear it preached by the President, much less by figures of the “Christian right” such as James Dobson, Pat Robertson, or Jerry Falwell. In fact, I would wager to guess that most of you who might be reading this hasn’t the foggiest idea what Jesus’ politics were.

ABORTION

So how would Jesus view the politics of the Republican Party today? Would Jesus be opposed to abortion? The answer is that no where in the Gospel does Jesus mention abortion one way or the other. For one to suggest that Jesus would be opposed to it is nothing more than speculation, and a fairly wild one at that. Jesus did say (Matthew 5:17-18) “‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.’” Meaning, that Jesus was saying that he was not rebuking Moses and the rest of the Bible. While in the second story of the Creation, the Bible describes what classifies a human being as officially living. (Genesis 2:7) “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” In other words, man is not alive and with a soul until he breathes.

The closest direct reference to abortion was made when Jesus was addressing his Apostles at The Last Supper. Without naming Judas Iscariot, Jesus said, (Matthew 26:20-24) “‘Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.’ Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely it is not I, Lord?’ He said in reply, ‘He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.’”

CHURCH & STATE

Jesus didn’t have many good things to say about the religious rulers of his day, who controlled Israel. He consistently spoke out against the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Sanhedrin, as well as Herod. Jesus said of them, (Mark 8:15) “’Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’” Jesus didn’t just warn against them. (Matthew 3:7) “When He saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to His baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?’”

HOMOSEXUALITY

Did Jesus ever decry homosexuality, or any other form of sexual “perversion”? Jesus does not once mention homosexuality anywhere in the Gospel. The only time Jesus mentioned perversion was when he was speaking of everyone. (Luke 9:41) “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you and endure you?”

PRAYER

Would Jesus want our leaders to pray before us in the public square, in order to confirm that they are “Godly men”? (Matthew 6:2-6) “‘When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret…When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them…But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.’” In fact, Jesus didn’t have very many good things to say at all about religious political and social leaders of his day. (Mark 12:38-40) “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.’”

TAXATION

Would Jesus be opposed to you paying your taxes? The Pharisees asked Jesus exactly that saying, (Mark 12:14) “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” Jesus’ replay was (Mark 12:15-17) “‘Bring me a denarius to look at.’ They brought one to Him and He said to them, ‘Whose image and inscription is this?’ They replied to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.’”

Well, Jesus might have said to pay your taxes, but what about a flat tax verses a progressive tax? The Republican Party has for some time opposed progressive taxation for a flat tax where everyone contributes the same percentage. What did Jesus have to say about this? (Mark 12:41-44) “He sat down opposite the treasury [of His ministry] and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to Himself, He said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

GREED

What did Jesus say about those who are greedy? (Matthew 6:19-24) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be. No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon [money].”

THE WEALTHY

It might be a bit of an understatement to say that Republicans are more favorable to business and the wealthy than they are to the poor. They have consistently decried giving welfare to the poor, meanwhile numerous tax breaks and government giveaways are given to business interests. The recent energy bill is a prime example. It gives billions to the energy industry despite their skyrocketing prices and their record profits. What would Jesus say of giving such largess to the most fortunate among us? (Matthew 19:16-24) “Now someone approached Him and said, ‘Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life [in heaven]?’ He answered him, ‘Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into [eternal] life, keep the commandments.’ He asked him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus replied, ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’” Jesus continued, (Matthew 19:30) “‘Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’”

Did Jesus not have a single good thing to say about those who are wealthy? Of course He did. (Luke 19:1-9) “He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see Him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When He reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.’ And he came down quickly and received Him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to the house of this man too, a descendent of Abraham.’”

THE POOR

If this is how Jesus felt about the wealthy, then how did he feel about the poor? Jesus spoke of the parable of Lazarus: (Luke 16:19-25) “‘There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.’”

Would it be too much to say that when you do not care for the poor among us that you are not caring for Him? In The Judgment of the Nations Jesus explained what will happen when the Messiah returns. (Matthew 25:31-34) “‘When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit upon His glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before Him. And He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then The King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” Jesus went on, saying, (Matthew 25:41-46) “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, a stranger and you gave Me no welcome, naked and you gave Me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for Me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to Your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of the least of my brothers, you did not do for Me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’”

CAPITALISM

Republicans frequently give much praise to capitalism and to the wonders of the marketplace. Their faith is so strong in the market that one might suspect that it’s righteousness came from on High. In the entire Gospel Jesus rarely ever became angry. That was not the case here. (Mark 11:15-17) “They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. Then He taught them saying, ‘Is it not written: ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’? But you have made it a den of thieves.’”

WAR

How would Jesus view our war in Iraq? Not only did Jesus say (Matthew 12:7) “‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’”, but when asked, (Matthew 22:36-40) “‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.’”

If this is the case, then how would Jesus view the War on Terror? Would He argue an eye for an eye? (Matthew 5:38-39) “‘You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.’” But aren’t Republicans at least righteous in their anger against Muslims? (Matthew 5:21-22) “‘You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.’”

Which brings us full circle and to the anti-war moment. Recently, Bill O’Reilly said of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier who died in Iraq who is stationed outside of George W. Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch, that “her actions border on being treasonous.” Would our Lord, Jesus of Nazareth agree? In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus proclaimed The Beatitudes: (Matthew 5:3-10) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God… Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And most importantly of all: (Matthew 5:9) “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God.”