Liberals & Progressives better reflect Jesus than today's bible thumpers

[egbertowillies]

Liberals & Progressives for too long allowed the Right to promote the fallacy that they are the moral and Christian Party. Actions speak much louder than words. And we must graphically paint those actions precisely onto the shepherds misleading the flock.

https://egbertowillies.com/2019/06/11/progressives-right-wing-jesus/

[Tobin S.]

1. Most of us have always known that.

It's really very simple if you read what Jesus actually said and did during his life and not just about his sacrifice on the cross.

The right turned Christianity into simply the person of Jesus on the cross, and almost completely ignore what he taught otherwise. You have to do that if you want to try to make Jesus an example that doesn't contradict your politics if you're a right winger. Because if you go to what he actually taught in his life before the crucifixion, you will see that Jesus was actually a liberal.

I ran across a fundie the other night. I had thought the guy was cool before then because he was always nice. I had a book about a Hindu guru that I really have been getting into lately the other night, and he looked at it and without knowing anything about the guy said he was an anti-Christ. Then he told me what he really believed. Fundamentalism is shockingly paranoid, ignorant, and combative. The nice guy facade quickly broke down when I said something he disagreed with.

[onetexan]

4. I really question the purpose of organized religion

Tends to make fools of the simpleminded. Many so-called Christians, caucasian Christians in particular, tend to conveniently forget that Jesus was a person of color, and a Jew.

[Tobin S.]

5. Christianity lost its way probably about 1500 years ago.

But the ignorance of Christianity's roots is particularly striking in America. The religion is mostly dead here- completely devoid of its original spirit. There are still some good liberals like Christ out there, and there are some Christian intellectuals who still understand what it's all about, but politically conservative Christians remind me of zombies.

[Maru Kitteh]

2. No offense to anybody, but that isn't and shouldn't be the f'ing goal

or even really, a consideration.

This whole argument assumes and reinforces the concept of the Christian as default, as the defacto/standard "good" person.

[Tobin S.]

3. The point is that Jesus was a good person

and if you're going to align yourself with his example then you're supposed to be one as well. But you don't have to be a Christian or religious at all to be a good person. I'm sure the guy in the video would agree.

[Maru Kitteh]

6. Well, that kind of depends on one's perspective, doesn't it?

God is Imaginary
Proof #39 - Realize that Jesus was a jerk

Matthew 15:22-26 we find this telling conversation:

A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

Jesus calls this woman a dog because she is not the right nationality. That is both ridiculous, and a clear indication that he is a jerk.

snip

In Mark 11:12-14 we find another emotional reaction:

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

Later we learn that the tree is dead.

Let's see. The son of God is hungry. He approaches a fig tree. The tree is out of season and has no fruit. Jesus wants fruit. So he kills the tree. What a total jerk! Why didn't he wave his all-powerful hand and cause figs to appear? Or how about borrowing a raisin from someone and turning it into a 5,000 baskets of figs? Only a true jerk would kill something out of spite.


Here is one final example. Let's say that you want to really jerk people around. One way to do that would be to constantly contradict yourself. Therefore, we find Jesus saying this in Luke 14:26:

Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.

OK, so if we hate everything, we can be Jesus' disciple. That's a great message from someone who elsewhere says, "Love your enemy" and "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." And don't forget that one of the commandments is to honor your father and mother. So which is it Jesus? If we want to be your disciple, should we love our enemies, our neighbors and our parents, or should we hate them? Only a jerk would create a totally contradictory set of requirements like that.


https://godisimaginary.com/i39.htm

[Voltaire2]

7. The point is that it is a bunch of fairytales.

We might as well argue about which party best emulates Harry Potter.

And as the texts can be interpreted to validate just about any position, their jesusness is just as strong as ours.