For the past few weeks we’ve talked about race, but on Easter Sunday it’s only right to refocus on religion. Years ago some ingenious marketer first created the WWJD bracelets. But instead of what he’d do I’m much more drawn to the interesting—but unanswerable—question of “What Would Jesus Think?”
Currently in our national debate on everything from spending to gay marriage, the founding fathers are invoked…probably a lot more than they should be, truth be told. The question of “What would the Founding Fathers Think/Do?” is not only unanswerable, but in all likelihood it’s irrelevant. Every single thing since that time period has changed from America going from scrappy new nation to becoming an empire to weapons that completely change the right to bear arms to the wealthy exploiting the working class…well, maybe not everything. As much as I consider Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and the rest of the Founding Frat geniuses, they were mortal geniuses, men whose ideas were meant to live on, but not be slavishly followed. [The Greeks don’t wonder “What Would Socrates think?”] That isn’t me saying the constitution should be changed or radically altered. I’m just trying to say that when a nation changes, so must its priorities.
Religions don’t change however, and the stubborn question of “What Would Jesus Think?” remains. My gut tells me he’d probably be disgusted. America is arguably the most Christian nation on the globe save Vatican City, and some very influential religious groups have spent an awful lot of time chasing down non-issues—all things homosexual—and ignoring the real focus of The Bible: economics.
As any Christian scholar will tell you, The Bible mentions homosexuality three times (and most likely in the context of pedophilia instead of Elton John), but it mentions income inequality, giving to the poor, caring for the sick, charity, etc. thousands of times. And yet where is that message in modern evangelical movements?
Do they donate to the poor? Most do (but just as many donate to themselves and church trips/youth groups/fun activities for church members), but there’s a distinct lack of outrage at poverty, sickness, and suffering. [I don’t even have the paragraphs to mention how modern evangelicals have shunned environmental causes, a big part of The Bible]
Just last week Republicans—the self appointed party of Christ and the one evangelical Christians block vote into power—announced plans to cut social security and medicare funds, and even eliminate Medicaid. Medicaid literally gives money to the sick and the poor, a more Christian organization couldn’t exist in government, BUT the response from most evangelical movements: nothing. They are nowhere on this.
In fact, there is a disturbing and increasing trend among “Christians” to not only be comfortable with the gross income inequality in America, but to support it. And by supporting it, I mean think it’s justified (“The poor are just lazy, if they worked as hard as I do, they’d have money too”) and support cuts to any and all welfare programs to the poor—Lord knows Republicans have been after everything from food (WIC) to education (Pell Grants) for some time—even Medicaid.
I just can’t get my head around a religious figure like Jesus who devoted much of his life to taking care of the sick and poor, even curing lepers, and the disconnect between his followers, who think it’s okay to cut off healthcare to those lepers. The Bible famously says “Blessed are the poor,” but its followers seem too disgusted by them.
Too true
I’m pretty disgusted
it’s pitiful that “Christians” have become so greedy in 2011