Was Jesus A Liberal?

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

[Starmaker]

It was dark and snowy late last Friday night. The city was eerily quiet in expectation of Christmas.

My 15-year-old son had hurt his thumb in a basketball tournament and I took him to Emergency.

There was a TV in the waiting room. Bill Maher was doing a Christmas show, about Jesus' message of Christian brotherhood.

"Just as in nature, there is a human ecology," Bill Maher intoned.

"As long as America monopolizes the world's wealth, as long as there is poverty and sickness, there will be terrorists. We have to level the playing field."

The audience applauded and Bill Maher instantly became a moral giant.

"Oh sure, we all respond positively to words," he continued.

"But would you be willing to give 15% of your wealth to people in the Third World? Would you be willing to level the playing field?"

Again, the audience responded dutifully.

My jaw dropped. What is this man saying?

That America is to blame for the attack Sept. 11 because it is so successful? That we have to pay guilt money, or else?

First, "human ecology" doesn't cause terrorism. Ideology does.

The Taliban and Al-Queda were brainwashed by religious schools. Improving their economic conditions would make no difference.

Second, everyone knows that you can't give money away. People have to work in order to feel self respect. Has Bill Maher forgotten about "earning" money?

My father was a Jewish holocaust survivor.

After the war, he took just one year to make up for missing high school. He won an Entrance Scholarship to Albert Einstein's alma mater in Zurich, and became a distinguished physicist. Like millions of immigrants in his day, he didn't ask for affirmative action or "diversity" programs. He asked for an even chance.

He never gave me a cent.

When I was 11-years-old, I told him I wanted to go to university. He told me to start saving for tuition. This inspired me to approach the local newspaper to write an advice-to-parents column.

"Ask Henry" ran weekly in 35 newspapers from 1961-1964, and later paid for my tuition.

If my father had said, "no problem son, your tuition is assured," I would never have acted on my own behalf.

Bill Maher may be a sincere idealist, but surely our focus in the Third World should be on improving economic opportunity, on providing a hand-up NOT a handout. If we turned people into welfare cases, they would hate us more.

Jesus said we should love our neighbor. He didn't say we should support him.

Christ's teaching is NOT about economic equality. It is not about money at all.

Christianity is about wealth of Spirit. Jesus told the rich man to renounce money altogether and follow the gospel. Jesus knew that the experience of God's grace makes money insignificant.

Conversely, the farther we are from God, the more important money becomes.

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

Notions of Christian brotherhood make us vulnerable to manipulation by Liberals and Marxists who accumulate wealth and power by pretending to champion "have-nots". Social workers and charities grow fat. Hollywood stars gain moral stature.

At Christmas, let's be critical of appeals to our higher nature.

For example, what if Bill Maher was being paid to soften us up for "world socialism?" That's what he's talking about, after all.

What if the real aim was a world government designed to perpetuate unsustainable inequities, not alleviate them.

"The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion," said Edmund Burke in 1784.

I know this sounds paranoid but we live in strange times.

Let's be discerning when proffering the hand of Christian brotherhood.

"Be simple as a dove and lay snares for no man: but be cunning as a serpent and let no man lay snares for you."

Jesus wasn't a liberal.

[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?