Jesus Rules
One Nation Under Jesus? Bring it on!
"The final reunion of church and state will take place at the end of time. Christ will claim a definitive political power over all creation, inaugurating an entirely new society based on the supernatural," James Leon Holmes once said (as quoted in In These Times, August 9, 2004). Holmes' beliefs are important because he is one of President Bush's nominees for the federal judiciary. So, if the Republicans win this November, we may soon live in a faith-based theocracy.
Civil libertarians may blanch at such a prospect, But as a church-goer myself, I can only repeat the words of our Fearless Born-Again Leader, "Bring it on."
Perhaps I should clarify what I mean. If Jesus really ruled this country, we could forget about the fulminations of the Old Testament which sound like something the Taliban would dream up, and which Christ himself frequently denounced. We can also skip over the writings of his Apostles which are frequently misconstrued, mistranslated or misguided, or all three. Let’s just focus on the teachings of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Here s what a Christ-centered society would look like
1. You can forget about prayers in public school. Christ ridiculed the Holier-than-thou hypocrites who prayed on street corners and other public places. He made it clear that when you pray, you should pray in a closet where God can hear your prayers. In addition to banning prayers in public schools, Jesus would definitely denounce the Republican-controlled media s penchant for promulgating pictures of President Bush in prayer as well as the cross of Jesus on the speakers podium of the Republican National Convention. Jesus wasn't fooled. These pious posturings are a sure sign of the religious hypocrisy Jesus despised.
2. You can also forget about posting the 10 Commandments in court houses or public schools. Jesus attacked clergymen who embroidered scripture verses on the sleeves of their garments and then evicted windows and children from their homes. Besides, the folks who are trying to post the 10 Commandments in public buildings are themselves guilty of violating the Third Commandment, Thou shalt not use My Name in vain. (i.e. for thy own vain purposes.)
3. Forget, too, about constitutional amendments banning gay marriages. Jesus never once mentioned homosexuality in any of the four gospels, but to illustrate his concept of love thy neighbor he told the parable of the Good Samaritan. He blessed the Samaritan for a specific reason. Samaritans were the one group of people that The Holy and Righteous of his day loved to hate, just as many born-again, faith-based Christians love to revile homosexuals. Enough said.
Instead, Jesus would favor
4. Universal health care. Jesus spent most of his ministry healing. Never once did he ask any of the people he healed about their HMO. What would Jesus think of our current system of health care for profit? What would Jesus think of the Republican Party's attempt to trade off people's health and lives for the profits of HMOs and pharmaceutical companies which in turn bankroll the campaigns of many Republican politicians? To say the least, he'd strongly disapprove.
5. Jesus would favor Weapons of Mass Salvation over Weapons of Mass Destruction. According to Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, about 27 million people die each year because of poverty, disease, starvation and contaminated drinking water. The number would even go higher if we added the refugees from the Sudan. According to Sachs, .many of these lives would be saved if the United States devoted just 0.7 % of its Gross National Product to Weapons of Mass Salvation, rather than bigger and better weaponry. Jesus would definitely switch our priorities. To be sure, the fearless governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, would call Jesus a “girlie man.” But remember what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane where Peter hacked off the ear of a Roman soldier. Jesus not only healed the ear, but he also commanded Peter to put down his sword. Is this a sign of a girlie man or was Jesus simply aware of what Martin Luther King would enunciate 2,000 years later: History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations that failed to follow Christ s command. (i.e. “Peter, put down your sword.”)
6. Jesus would definitely tax the rich. In fact Jesus told a rich man to sell everything he had and give to the poor. Taxation, under a Christ-centered society, would mirror that principle. Like Martin Luther King, Jesus would have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits. Jesus would find nothing wrong with taxing the incomes of the wealthy to enable these miracles to occur.
In addition, a carpenter himself, Jesus would favor a fair day s work for a fair day’s pay. He d even favor unions. Jesus would also summon all of the global trade organizations, the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO as well as every CEO in every mega-billion dollar corporation and demand radical changes in their policies. He would demand on a complete rewriting of GATS to ensure that no man, woman, or child was condemned to a life of misery, poverty or despair.
When Righteous Republicans babble about A-Vote-for-Bush-is-a-Vote-for Jesus, I can’t help wondering... Have they actually read the Bible? As for me, when I repeat the Lord’s Prayer in church, I believe what the Lord’s Prayer commands us as a society to do.
I know that I can’t vote for Jesus. I also realize I live in a secular society . However, as I study the political platforms of both political parties as well as their histories, there is no doubt which party comes closer to following the teachings of Christ. There’s no doubt which party puts a greater emphasis on the Mandates of God over the Gospel of Greed. That s a big reason I’m a card-carrying Democrat and an even bigger reason that I am voting a straight Democratic ticket this November.
I urge all my fellow believers to do the same.
Editor's Note: There are so many sad SOB's who claim to be "real" Republicans or "real" Christians who definitely don't follow scripture one whit. If they did, they might know that Jesus saved his harshest criticisms for the rich, the publicly over-pious, the hypocritical, and those who used the words and trappings of religion for their own political or financial ends rather than to spread compassion and love. The current incarnation of the "true believers" of the GOP, be it Bush-Cheney and the gang, or equally obnoxious local politicians, have little-to-nothing in common with the figure they most often cite to rationalize their selfish behavior.
Jesus would toss them head first out of the temple--assuming these "true believers" didn't have him arrested (and crucified) first.
We're glad to have fine writers like William to help us spread the truth of facts like these. -- Editor
