Reframe Religious Issues> 5 Big Ideas
WWJD? If you’ve been to the States there's a good chance you've seen the “What Would Jesus Do?” bumper sticker. There is also a good chance the people in that car voted Republican. But would Jesus do the same?
The New Testament gives us an idea of what Jesus believed in. These words have been interpreted and reinterpreted for almost 2000 years to the point where Jesus apparently was anti-abortion, anti gay marriage and anti stem cell research which happen to be the positions of social conservative Republicans in the United States. Now I’m no big city Theologist, but I do know this: the bible does not state Jesus’s position on any of those issues. What it does say over and over again is that Jesus preached compassion for the sick, poor and un-empowered. That was his thing. So WWJD?
Would Jesus be in favor of a tax policy that greatly favors the rich? Would Jesus cut benefits to the poor? Would Jesus be against Universal Healthcare? Would Jesus be for the death penalty? (He had a bit of experience with that one.) Would Jesus start a voluntary war? Would Jesus be a card carrying member of the NRA? Of course not! Would Jesus have voted Republican? Christ no!
So then why are poor, white, social conservatives voting not only against there own financial interests, but also Jesus’s interests? Perhaps because they see Democrats as godless elitist gay baby killers (mind you Democrats aren’t killing gay babies. Actually that’s a policy that would win some of their votes). The Democratic Party needs to start reframing these issues.
I know Dems are uncomfortable speaking about religion because we feel it has no place in politics. But let’s face it, part of the reason the GOP is in power is because they have carved out a position that Religious Christians seem to support. You’ve got to hand it to the Republicans for seizing this ground. Bravo you evil bastards. Bravo.
I don’t think we should be losing elections because we are pro-choice. Frankly there are more important issues. I like Hillary’s recent tactic of explaining that she thinks abortion is a horrible decision some women have to make. That is reframing the issue. Now go the next step. Use some scripture to back up sensible Democratic policies. Us secular Democrats will look the other way. Talk about Jesus’s priorities. Stem Research to help the sick. Raising taxes on the rich to help the poor. Legal equality to help un-empowered Homosexuals. (Uh, maybe save that one for later.)
posted by Larry Beethoven @ 1:10 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I'm no worshipper of the christian man-god, but if you want to appeal to chritians with your big ideas, you might want to avoid talking about jesus in the past tense ("jesus WAS against this, jesus WAS for that").
But I totally agree with you. From what I have read about Jesus, he's pretty granola. Definately a democrat. HOWEVER - The god of the old testament, Mr. Fire and Brimstone - now there's a republican for you.
the pink wizard
So why again do you vote Republican? You know you are welcome to a guest column on my website. My responce to my post is that Americans just don't care about the poor. I guess that probably goes back to our protestant work ethic. Most Americans think that being poor is for the most part that person's fault. In a land of opportunity there are going to be some winners and some losers. Also, a majority of Americans think they will eventualy end up in the top tax bracket. So that is why talking about helping the poor doesn't really bring in the votes.
It's true fancypants, I should have mentioned the whole good and evil thing. I knew it would unravel a good amount of my point so I left it out. Maybe you are right about being frank with the American people and not reframing and spinning everything. That seems like something Washington doesn't do anymore.
Old-Testament God said "Adam, Eve, don't eat the apple." But they ate the apple and they suffered the consequences. I believe they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, and Eve was given menstrual cramps and the snake had its legs taken away. I forgot what happened to Adam. I think he got off easy.
Anyway, had Jesus been in charge of the Garden of Eden, it would've been like Romper Room. Adam and Eve would've been running like drunken toddlers, doing whatever they wanted, sticking the apples of knowledge up each others butts, etc. Jesus would impotently say "come on guys" once in a while like a certain ineffective substitute teacher I once knew.
You see, Jesus and Old-Testament God should've worked together as good cop/bad cop. In fact, I believe that we should have two co-presidents -- a democrat (good cop) and a republican (bad cop). That would work nicely in my opinion. It almost happened in 2000.
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