Jesus Was A Libertarian
Posted at the requested of Katie who was pondering whether Jesus was a liberal or conservative.
I think Jesus was libertarian. He gives us total freedom to choose with the consequences coming only after we make our choices. Rich people have to give to the poor but He doesn't make them. People must pray and honor God but He doesn't make them.
He didn't kick down the door of the rich guy's house, take his money and give it to Lazarus at the gate which is what the left pretends to do. And of course He didn't refrain from saying what the ultimate fate of the rich guy was, which would be a message Ayn Rand conservatives would not want to hear.
He didn't use force to stop the stoning of the adulteress, He just shamed those who wanted to do it into considering what it was they wanted to do.
And of course, He didn't enforce the law commanding that the adulteress be stoned.
So I think Jesus was a libertarian.
Judas, OTOH, was the classic lefty.
I think Jesus was libertarian. He gives us total freedom to choose with the consequences coming only after we make our choices. Rich people have to give to the poor but He doesn't make them. People must pray and honor God but He doesn't make them.
He didn't kick down the door of the rich guy's house, take his money and give it to Lazarus at the gate which is what the left pretends to do. And of course He didn't refrain from saying what the ultimate fate of the rich guy was, which would be a message Ayn Rand conservatives would not want to hear.
He didn't use force to stop the stoning of the adulteress, He just shamed those who wanted to do it into considering what it was they wanted to do.
And of course, He didn't enforce the law commanding that the adulteress be stoned.
So I think Jesus was a libertarian.
Judas, OTOH, was the classic lefty.
While I agree with what you say, I have to point out that he is only a liberal if you look at it from the bible's point of view. If you look at him from the point of view that he was not the son of god, but just someone preaching christianity, then he would be conservative. Christianity was even stricter then than it is now. He told them that if you do this, you'll get through those pearly gates, and if you don't, you're gonna burn. Nobody wanted to burn, so they did whatever the bible said - you had to live in a confessional, because it's a sin to be jealous, which every person feels. And if you read the bible, you have to to A LOT to get through those gates. So if he was the son of some higher being, he was liberal. If not, a conservative. (just my 2 cents)
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Honey Badger says:
"I don't care."
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Kristina, in your response to this column, you're confusing "libertarian" with "liberal", they are not the same thing (except, perhaps, that many big-L Libertarians and Liberals are both potheads, but there, it ends). Jesus certainly was a conservative, in that he preached that we must each decide for ourselves to work towards salvation, not that someone else must compel us. The author is correct in her description. To take her point further, the Sanhedrin and the priests were liberals, in that they believed in compelling everyone else to do what they thought was best. And in they were liberals in our current, modern American sense, because, though they preached this right way to live, and compelled compliance, they frequently violated the very rules they enforced on others.
So, the illustration is apt.
Best regards!
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Thats an interesting way to look on the life of Christ. I will introduce the concept in my church and will see what other people think about it.
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