The desire to capture Jesus and twist him to fit our individual political personality is one that every age wrestles with. After bringing Israelites out of Egypt, they formed a golden calf so they can worship a god that they could control, that would obey them. God resisted this and punished His people.
During the time of Jesus, the Jewish people tried again to fashion a god that would do their bidding. Once while Jesus was healing people and feeding thousands, a political/military group tried to seize Jesus by force. 'Here is the perfect leader,' they thought, 'let's force him to be our King.' Jesus resisted and fled from his people. The lesson learned is this: Jesus rebuffs any and all attempts to be made the poster child for anyone's political party.
Celebrated author Marilynne Robinson, recently spoke about her perception of the Republican Party and Christianity. She spoke to The American Conservative here. Her main quote:
Well, what is a Christian, after all? Can we say that most of us are defined by the belief that Jesus Christ made the most gracious gift of his life and death for our redemption? Then what does he deserve from us? He said we are to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek. Granted, these are difficult teachings. But does our most gracious Lord deserve to have his name associated with concealed weapons and stand-your-ground laws, things that fly in the face of his teaching and example? Does he say anywhere that we exist primarily to drive an economy and flourish in it? He says precisely the opposite. Surely we all know this. I suspect that the association of Christianity with positions that would not survive a glance at the Gospels or the Epistles is opportunistic, and that if the actual Christians raised these questions those whose real commitments are to money and hostility and potential violence would drop the pretense and walk away.
How about a civil discussion on Robinson's quote.... Are both political parties acting in ways that are contrary to the teachings of Jesus? Does one party have a spiritual monopoly on Christianity? Would Jesus resist today trying to be a poster-child for a wing of American politics?
1 comment:
The article in The American Conservative and the book review of When I was a Child I Read Books from the Weekly Standard are very interesting reads. I think her quote is right on the mark. To many Christian's, at least in my experience and myself included, can put our politics first ahead of our faith when things political are in play. Asking ourselves the question " Is this something that Jesus would approve of?" when considering our political choices should be self-evident but apparently is not, myself included.
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