Was Jesus A Liberal?

Toogood Reports ^ | December 26, 2001 | Henry Makow Ph.D.

[Tasha]

Not according to the archaeological findings. Jesus said, listen to and respect what the Pharisees tell you, because they are sitting in Moses' chair. Jesus was a believer in the Old Testament. By the way, the Dead Sea Scrolls are Essene documents which were preserved in a cave and found not that long ago. I tried to study them and definitely the Essenes did not worship the Sun. The Mithrases did. But In Jerusalem in that time, there were not many of them. The Sun God was a very popular religion in Rome. King Herod the Great was giving offerings with Marc Antony to Mithras when he was in Rome. By conclusion, Herod was partially a sun worshipper.

[The Shootist]

No. Jesus was a radical.

[Abcdefg]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[Tasha]

If you want to find some more knowledge of the early days in Jerusalem, try to find a book written by Josephus. Some libraries have it. It's the best description of Jerusalem society. It's just incredible. I can read it over and over. It talks about everything and it is written sixty years after Jesus' death. It describes, in detail, the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. It is one of the best sources of knowledge of the ancient times.
Anyhow, have a good night.

Sincerely,

Tasha

[ProudGenXLibertarian]

Jesus was a neither. Remember, not one book of the Bible was written by Jesus Christ himself. The Bible is a book of stories, written by men who are interpreting what Jesus said. These men may have bent or twisted his words to suit their purposes.

[Liberty Ship]

No, Jesus was not a liberal. He was not a Socialist or Communist, either. Jesus offered divinity to the INDIVIDUAL human soul. Liberals, Socialists, and Communists see the individual and his soul as expendable currency with which they can purchase earthly power, expand their agenda, and to hell with anything spiritual. They are evil, Jesus was not.

Jesus as a liberal comes from same spin factory that told me for years that Robin Hood robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, like a Communist. In reality, he robbed from the Government and gave back to the people.

[Vince Ferrer]

The Bible is a book of stories, written by men who are interpreting what Jesus said. These men may have bent or twisted his words to suit their purposes.

For what purpose would they twist his words?

[Dr. Good Will Hunting]

Tasha: what is the name of this book?

Starmaker: TooGoodReports.com is an excellent website with a lot of new, interesting commentary each weekday. I have it on my IE toolbar right alongside WorldNetDaily.com, FoxNews.com, and Dadi.org

[Dr. Good Will Hunting]

Jesus is a moral absolutist, the definition of a moral conservative. It's not that He follows moral conservatism; rather, that moral conservatives follow him.

I have no doubt that He wants the scourge of abortion to end.

[Tall_Texan]

**Jesus is a moral absolutist, the definition of a moral conservative. It's not that He follows moral conservatism; rather, that moral conservatives follow him.**

But I see one major difference - the moral conservatives (of which I also consider myself) tend to want the law (i.e. government) to outlaw objectionable behavior and enforce a punishment for those who violate it (drug laws, pornography laws, sodomy laws. prostitution laws, abortion laws, etc.) because they see the harm such activities do and how they suck in the innocent to create still more harm.

Jesus took the moral law of his time and exploded it to the point that NO man could claim to be sinless (hate his brother, look upon a woman with lust, etc.). Surely no person wants the government to intrude THAT far into people's lives.

Jesus allowed the guilt and punishment of all the sins (of omission, comission, even of thought) to be placed upon Himself because He knew no man was capable of such behavior on their own. That's where the compassion comes in.

Jesus realized that all mankind was in the same boat and to consider ourselves so unworthy as to die to ourselves freeing us to give mercy and compassion to others (even those who sin against us) in acknowlegement that we are all sinners.

So, again, I feel no political philosphy can totally embrace Him and I believe He wants it that way because He is greater than any political philosphy. Even a theocracy (rooted in Christianity) is a poor system of government compared to what will await us in His kingdom.

[Dr. Good Will Hunting]

Well said...I offered such a characterization in contrast to the idea that He is liberal.

Some re-paint Christ in his 33 years on Earth as a flower child...yet there are accounts of Him wrecking temples and telling evil-doers that they were going straight to hell, with no ifs, ands, or buts.

That said, I take your point that no human perspective can encapsulate the Son of God.

He is all we who belive in moral absolutes could hope to echo, and infinitely more.

Proud2brc, JMJ333, GoodieD, comments?

[Tourist Guy]

I was at a local horse stable the other day.

I do believe that what I scraped off my shoe was more relevant than anything Mahar ever had to say.

[wwjdn]

Amen to that. Jesus often spoke of being poor to the world and rich in heavenly blessings. He did not teach that we should give money to the neighboring village because they are lazy or poor.

[hsszionist]

Look a little closer at the Pharasees, there were two schools of philosophy at that time. The school of Shamiah and School of Hillel, the Messiah as reflected in the Apostolic writings for the most part taught according to the pholosophy of Hillel. The followers of Shamiah and Hillel actively, sometimes with great hostility, opposed each other. The Apostolic writing reflected the Messiah's opposition to the positions of Shamiah. However the Missiah also instructed his students and believers to do as the Pharasees taught but not what they did, they taught the whole Torah, not just the Ten Statments.

[riley1992]

What your father does of his own free will with the spare change in his pockets is entirely different than being forced to hand over your money to someone. That is comparing apples and oranges.

[TN Republican]

You must be referring to the Old Testament, which seems to have had a more consistent message. For their time, I like the Pharisees.

[Texbob]

No Jesus was too smart to be a Liberal.

[RightOnline]

"Bill Maher may be a sincere idealist,..."

Henry, you're being far too charitable.

No, Bill Maher is a drooling idiot who somehow feels that people should listen to 'im. Thinking people don't.

[DouglasKC]

"Sell all your belongings, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow me" might be construed as a call to support your neighbor not to mention an anti-capitalist, pro commie message.

Jesus was speaking this specifically to a young man that was asking to be his disciple. It was simply a test of his committment.

Mat 19:16 And behold, one came and said to Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He said to Him, Which? Jesus said, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mat 19:20 The young man said to Him, I have kept all these things from my youth up; what do I lack yet?
Mat 19:21 Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven. And come, follow Me.
Mat 19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.

The lesson here wasn't that everyone has to sell their possesions. Jesus knew that this young man preferred wealth over Christ. When presented with a clear choice of follow Christ or keep your worldy possessions, he denied Christ.

All followers of Christ need to make similiar decisions. Will we give up anything to be true to Christ? Our jobs? Our homes? When the time comes, we may all need to choose.

[sausageseller]

By your post you are equating conservatives to be Pharisees. You don't really belive this do you?