Okay, now I’ve ticked off a ton of people, right? And left? Hah. Sorry if I’ve upset you, but the title was an attention-getter. I learned the method from Ann Coulter.

As a Christian Democrat (yes, we really do exist!), I mean the title of this posting as a compliment. Jesus was a liberal. That phrase has become somewhat of a mantra to me in the past 6 years. It gives me hope. And it’s true. That’s not to say he was a Democrat. I really can’t imagine Jesus being involved in politics at all, but he was absolutely more left than right. Here’s my reasoning:

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, liberal means “not bound by authoritarianism or orthodoxy.” I can’t think of too many people who fit this criteria as well as Jesus does. He broke almost every rule of Jewish law, and he was executed by the Pharisees, one of the best examples of orthodox authority in history.

Jesus was no friend to big business. The only time in the Bible when we see Jesus get really angry is in the second chapter of John when he overturns the tables of the merchants and moneychangers. He told us to be on our “guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” [Luke 12.15.] He said, “You cannot serve both God and Money.” [Matthew 6:24.] But so many conservatives seem terrified of giving up any of their possessions. The Republican Party provides tax breaks to the rich and tries to protect the interests of big business. These actions directly contradict Christ’s teaching.

Jesus was not racist or homophobic or restrictive. He said, “Love thy neighbor.” [Matthew 19:19] Not “love thy straight neighbor” or “love thy neighbor as long as he’s not in the country illegally” or “love thy Christian neighbor.” Love everybody, no matter what God they worship or where they’re from, or whom they have sex with. He did condemn divorce, though. Isn’t it strange that so many Christians are up in arms about gay rights when Jesus never mentioned the word “homosexual” once? He talked about the evils of divorce a lot, though; most Christians prefer to overlook that because so many of them are divorced. (See Matthew, chapters 5 and 19; Mark, chapter 10; and Luke, chapter 16.)

Jesus did not condone war. He was a pacifist at a turbulent time in history. Israel was under Roman rule. It would have been easy to call for war. But Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” [Matthew 5:9] He also overturned the “eye for an eye” philosophy of the Old Testament, calling instead for his followers to “turn the other cheek” [Matthew 5:39].

Jesus supported separation of church and state. He told us to render “unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” [Matthew 22:21] Everywhere I go in Indiana, I see those “One Nation Under God” bumper stickers. They make me angry for two reasons. First, the “under God” phrase was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in the 1950’s. Second, these people who want to include God in all our governmental slogans, currency and architecture accuse anyone opposing them of being an atheist. I’m opposed to mixing church and state because I cannot be sure that my faith will always be the faith in power! If the United States becomes a mostly Hindu nation sometime in the future and our government is intermingled with religion, I guess I’d be out of luck. Kinda like all the poor Americans today who aren’t Christian.

Jesus believed in taking care of others. He didn’t tell us to give the rich tax breaks in the hope that they’d give more to charity. In chapter 14 of Luke, he told us to invite the poor and disabled to our feasts because they cannot repay us: “You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” I wonder how often Pat Robertson invites homeless people to dinner at his house.

Finally, Jesus did not support the death penalty and reiterated the sixth commandment in Matthew 5:21: Thou shalt not kill. Personally, I have a tough time with this one. Emotionally, I feel that anyone who hurts a child should be wiped off the face of the earth. But that is not what Jesus said. His teachings are often hard to follow. Let’s face it: for such a sweet, compassionate man, Jesus was tough.

Over the past few years, I’ve been surprised and dismayed by the ease with which the Republican Party has monopolized Christianity in this nation. Most people just assume that, if you are a Christian, you are a conservative. I find this notion especially ironic since I am a Christian and a liberal while my husband is agnostic and usually votes Republican! Living according to true Christian principles is difficult, though, and most people would rather hear a diluted, dumbed-down version they can live with more easily; the Republican party has obligingly translated Christ’s teachings to allow for hate, violence, discrimination and greed. It is time for liberal Christians to stop letting the religious right drown out our voices. Pat Robertson does not speak for me. Ann Coulter does not speak for me. Jesus speaks for me, and it’s time to hand him the microphone.