Jesus was a Radical (Progressive)!

¡Hola! Everybody...
A little sumptin’ for the Holy Rollers amongst us...

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-=[ Jesus’ Radically Progressive message ]=-

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10

[Warning: this posting is violent and has simulated sound effects]

DANG! I have to make several meetings today, so I won’t be able to give this post my usual care...

So, let me start out by getting to the significant part: I have huge issues with the neoconservative characterization of Jesus’ ministry. I will say upfront (and I do not say this with rancor): anything less than equal rights for gays is at best hypocritical -- especially when mouthed by people of color. If you want to see the consequences of creating a separate set of rules for a class of people just look at the photograph above (t/h to Rippa). That’s what separate means. Separate is never equal. People against gay marriage are espousing a view that would create one set of laws for “straight” people vs. a set of (unequal) laws for “the gays.” In other words, such a view is bigoted.

Now, back to good ole Jay-sus(!)

I get a little confused because conservative Republican policies favor the wealthy and ignore the needs of the poor. Their policies are often grounded on greed, with no concern for the environmental or societal consequences for their actions. These values go counter to the teachings of Jesus. The Jesus I know taught that the love of money is the root of all evil. If one were to believe the neocons, Jesus would fit right in with the Likes of Lush Rimbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Ann Coulter. LOL!

Yeah! Jesus was a social conservative! He was born in a red state, hunted, drove gas-guzzlers, hated people of color, kicked the poor while they were down, and probably sent down the AIDS plague to punish the queers!

SMH...

Consider the following:

I can make a strong case that Jesus was a radical progressive (with socialist/ anarchist leanings)! I kid you not. Allow me to get all New Testament on yo asses!

According to my own “research,” Jesus came with a new progressive vision, saying repeatedly, “You have heard that it was said to those ancient times... but I say unto you... ” (see, for example, Matthew 5:21-22, 5:33-34)

BAM! (<-- sound effect)

Instead of an eye for an eye, he asked us to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-39)

PANGANA! (<-- Spanish for “BAM!”)

Instead of loving just our neighbors, he called upon us to love our enemies too. (Matthew 5:42; Luke 6:27, 35)

KA-POW!

He spoke of a new testament, distinct from the old testament that came before (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20 -- King James version)

::BODY BLOW::

When the apostle Paul described Jesus’ New Testament, he explained that it was “not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.” (2Corinthians 3:6)

::SUPLEX::

Jesus was not a fundamentalist in the sense of being a biblical literalist. He would break one of the Ten Commandments when he thought is was a humane thing to do, as when he worked, healing people, on the Sabbath. The Jesus I know would never say, “Sorry about that lame leg, hooker, but can’t you see it’s the Sabbath?!! Don't bother me and get back to me some other time.” He did what he had to do as motivated by love, not scripture.

BOING!

As he CLEARLY said, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)

KNOCKOUT!

Which brings to the issue of relevance: What would Jesus do? Better yet, what should we do? Should we blindly follow Old Testament laws that encourage a belief in a jealous and vengeful God or follow the words and deeds of that old radical Rabbi, Jesus? Old Testament or New? Which depiction of Jesus do you think is more correct? Are the actual words from the New Testament still relevant?

So what was it: was Jesus some tame bible literalist as he is depicted by the neocons of today, or was he a radical progressive who tended to the most despised, the unforgivable, and the dispossessed? Was he the biblical conservative they make him out to be? One who would deny gays their rights, or was he a radical teacher, espousing a new way of seeing the world so radical and deemed so dangerous, the biblical literalists and pagans of his day had him crucified?

:;blank stare::

In the4 coming days, I am going to make a case for a radically progressive Christianity, a Christianity based on the core teachings of a man who was motivated through love, not hate, nor bigotry.

Love,

Eddie