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BIBLE 101

The name of Jesus Christ has been bandied about quite a bit these days in political forums, rally signs and floods of emails that are around these days to remind us of the mandates of our Christian faith in the modern world.




What would Jesus do?
This is a Christian nation,
We want a return to the Christian values of our forefathers.

A great number of public figures, past and present, have not hesitated to use the Christian faith and Jesus himself to justify their political stand on various issues like the separation of church and state, abortion, the God given right to carry weapons, the fear of socialism or Marxism and the redistribution of wealth. Unless they are having sporadic visits from the Lord himself or his mother through visions, voices or mystical experiences, the only authentic source for their arguments is the Christian bible and more specifically the words and behavior of Jesus Christ as reported by his friends or friends of his friends in the New Testament. Here is a brief summary of my Bible 101 course.

Separation of Church and State

"My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence" (John 18:36)

"And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's and unto God the things which be God's" (Luke 20:25).

In these two citations, Jesus makes it clear that there is a separation between His kingdom and the kingdoms of this world. His kingdom is heavenly while governments are secular. His work is not political; it is spiritual. Violence, even in self-defense, is an earthly endeavor not a spiritual matter. Unlike Mohammed and Pope Julius II, Jesus was not a warrior. After his death and resurrection, his followers were told to serve as representatives of the heavenly kingdom in their contacts with secular governments. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Abortion
Although abortion has been around for centuries, Jesus is not reported to have said anything about it nor about when a fetus becomes viable as a person. There is, however, a passage in Luke that implies that the fetus is a person who rejoices at the news of the coming of Christ.

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. (Luke 1:39-44)

On the other hand, there is a passage from the Old Testament that makes it clear that killing a fetus in the womb is not as serious as killing a human being.

"And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,” ( Exodus 21:22-24)

Although Jesus seemed to have no public utterances about the issue of abortion, the Bible itself seems contradictory. It appears that it will have be up to modern theologians ,scientists and the individual conscience to decide on the issue. Most modern women feel that the choice is up to them and not any secular or religious institution.

The God Given Right to Carry Weapons
This is a “no-brainer” when it comes to the words and actions of Jesus as reported by the four evangelists. The Rev. Dr. Welton Gaddy tells a story of a little boy who liked to play cowboys and church, his very own role-playing game. One day she overheard him reenacting Jesus summoning Lazarus from the tomb; the little boy, toy gun in each hand, shouted, “Lazarus, come out with your hands up.”

After reading the New Testament, No one can deny that Jesus was a peacemaker and against keeping weapons and violence of any sort, even in retribution.
The following biblical quotations say it all:

But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other. (Matthew 5:39)

"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." (Matthew 26:52).

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5.5). Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matthew 5.9)

Socialism and the redistribution of wealth
Critics of the present administration have railed against what they call the socialist leanings of the federal government. They warn against the rise of Godless Marxism that threatens our thriving capitalist economy. A conservative Christian blogger, Gary North, writes:

Fact: There has never been an expository Bible commentary that shows that the Bible teaches anything other than free market capitalism.

He goes on to cite obtuse excerpts from Genesis and Deuteronomy to establish his point.

But what does Jesus say and do? It is clear from these excerpts:

One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Mark 10:21).

Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' ……….., Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. (Mt. 25:31-46)

To the rich he said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth," and "go, sell what you have, and give to the poor." When the rich turned away from him because they couldn't follow his command he observed, “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)

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. (Matthew 21:12-13)

What is really great about this country is that it protects our rights to differ on many social and political issues. Conservatives and Liberals will differ on the role of the federal government, fiscal policy, religious freedom and sociopolitical issues, like abortion, welfare and freedom of speech. These variances of opinion are what make this country unique and challenging.

But when Christians decide to use their particular interpretation of what God or Jesus may want for this country, they should, at the very least, cite their sources correctly. Personally, I am not at all certain about much in the area of religious beliefs, but I do believe that in His three years of public life, Jesus had clearly delivered a message to all of us about how God wants us to live together. To distort His message to support a particular political opinion is at best hypocritical---at worst blasphemous.