Jesus and American Society Today

Many politicians today claim that Jesus, the famous Nazarene, has had a major impact on their lives. Former President Bush cited him as his “favorite philosopher.” Recently, current President Barack Obama said at the National Prayer Breakfast about deficit reduction “And I think to myself, if I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually thinks that’s going to make economic sense. But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’ teaching that, ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.’ “ GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum said of Obama’s Prayer Breakfast speech, “He made the claim that his policies of taxing the rich is authorized by the Bible, that he is doing what is biblically called for by taxing the rich, by having the government tax the rich. Now, I’ve read the Bible, and I must have missed that passage.” Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, responded to Obama, claiming “[Obama] suggested to the attendees that Jesus would have supported his latest tax-the-rich schemes. With due respect to the president, he ought to stick to public policy. I think most Americans would agree that the gospels are concerned with weightier matters than effective tax rates.” All sides of the political spectrum believe Jesus is on their side. However, mutually exclusive claims cannot all be true. That would be contradiction and chaos. Therefore, there is a real question of which policies Jesus would be more likely to support if he were to get involved politically, and I plan to pursue this question here. It is my assertion that Jesus would support redistributive measures, and possibly in an even more expanded way than the current Democratic party and would not have been a market fundamentalist. I am only looking to show he would not have supported the low tax, low regulation religion of the current Republican party. I think his own words speak for themselves. He would have been a pacifist in terms of war, and supported a universal health care system. I will begin by countering an objection that Jesus would not be involved politically. I will then move on to the evidence for my claim that Jesus would be, in American jargon, an economic “liberal”, a pacifist, and a supporter of universal health care. On a side note, unless otherwise indicated, all verses quoted will come from the New International Version, or NIV for short.

Objection to Jesus not being Politically Active

Often times, when a believer is confronted with passages from the Bible that Jesus allegedly spoke, they claim that Jesus would not get involved in the political affairs of the state, but instead was simply admonishing his followers on how to live as “private” individuals. “Jesus never claimed high taxes were divinely authorized.” This is true. Yet it does not explain the whole story. The public policy of the government is about the will of the people electing lawmakers to create the society the majority wants to live in. Therefore, the organization of the resources in a society is a moral, as well as a policy question. Conservatives currently understand this much more than liberals do, with their exhortations to “take responsibility” for one’s personal life choices. This is good advice, and it also applies to how one votes. The most effective way to transform the economic structure of society is to enact government legislation doing so. Therefore, the best way to achieve “heaven on earth” is to attempt to apply what Jesus said to which political party one supports and how that parties' policies are in line with his actual teachings. And if a government policy is more in line with Jesus, then it should be supported.

Jesus on Economics

Jesus makes a plethora of claims throughout the Gospels. Some are not found in every Gospel, and others are found throughout most. Therefore, the most effective way to bring out what Jesus would think about the economic distribution of resources in society would be to examine what verses appear consistently across all Gospels, and in these verses, Jesus is never in favor of allowing the rich to accumulate massive amounts of riches. There are actually numerous verses that deal with worldly wealth, and are also consistently found throughout the Gospels.

Matthew 19:21- “Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Mark 10:21- “Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Luke 12:33-“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

As all of these verses show, Jesus is clearly not in favor of having possessions, at least not for an extended period of time, for this is a direct command to sell everything one has and give the profits to the poor. There is also instruction to not store up treasures on earth, where they have no eternal value. Furthermore, Jesus also has harsh words for the rich and their prospects for salvation.

Matthew 19:24- “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Mark 10:25- “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Luke 18:25- “Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

These words are wonderfully poetic, and also very alarming if an individual is one of great wealth, for Jesus is saying it is much easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man (or woman, I presume) to go to heaven. When was the last time anyone ever saw a camel go through the eye of a needle?

Jesus on War

Jesus also had some interesting things to say with regards to war.

Matthew 5:44- “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Luke 6:27-8- "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

So we now have commands to actually love AND pray for our enemies. How outrageous!

Matthew 5:39- “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”

Matthew 18:21-22- “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^"

Mark 12:31-“The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Luke 6:29-“If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.”

What is this crazy talk about forgiving your enemies and love being the most important thing in the world? Jesus is claiming that to be truly moral, one should actually FORGIVE people who have wronged us, and not seek revenge of any sort. Any true Christian who takes Jesus even remotely seriously cannot support war.

And the most famous dictum Jesus uttered, which is shared by almost all people, is that of the Golden Rule, which states “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Does it appear that we would want to be bombed,invaded, and tortured for being an "enemy combatant"? Clearly, the answer is no.

Come All Ye Weary

Jesus never once charged someone for his medical services. His healing of the sick knew no bounds of class or income.

Matthew 8:3- "Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy."

Matthew 4:23- "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people."

Matthew 9:29- "Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region."

Mark 7:32:36- }There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”).At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

It is a sad state of affairs in the world today, when America is one of the richest nations on earth, and yet does not provide universal health to its citizens. As Jesus showed when he lived on earth, the miracles he performed were NEVER charged for. It is unimaginable a situation where Jesus would say "Sir, how much money do you have? Oh, you only have ten dollars to your name, well my services are at least five hundred. I'm sorry, but I cannot heal your leprosy or blindness today. Perhaps this will teach you to get a job so you can pay for your own health care!" It is a topsy turvy world when a conservative politician claims Jesus is his "favorite philosopher" and actively fights against a universal health care system.

Confusion

What can be said of the high degree of religiosity among conservatives in the United States, especially of the Christian variety, and their apparently contradictory proclamations that they are followers of Jesus Christ himself? There is a serious case of selective interpretation with regards to Jesus’ most controversial pronouncements. When the conservatives believe a verse supports their preconceptions, they are all too willingly to cite it, such as with Leviticus in debates about homosexuality. However, when it comes to taking Jesus literal on matters of money, the criteria is magically changed. The only thing they want to take Jesus literally on at all is that he is God, which is only found in the Gospel of John, but that is a topic for another day. It seems as though they have fallen to the most sinful act of all, laid out in 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Low taxes for the rich are of most importance than the starving or medically ill.

Summation

I have provided a cornucopia of Bible verses to support my position that Jesus would, at least, been an economic liberal,that he would have been a pacifist with regards to war definitely, and would be in favor of a universal health care system. Since public policy is enacted by legislators, who are chosen by the people, based on their approximation of what the best society should look like, and the religious claim that Jesus is their model for the ultimate morality and society, there is no escaping the fact that Jesus would never have supported America’s current version of capitalism and would find many components of American society utterly immoral.

Quick Side Note

If anyone who reads this article completely disagrees with the government side of things, I can only ask why, as a private individual and follower of Jesus Christ, they do not follow his teachings. Even if everything I have laid out is a misinterpretation, it does not change the fact that Jesus ordered individuals themselves to sell all possessions and forgive one's enemies.