No other individual can be regarded as the most influential in the world as Jesus Christ. It’s no wonder so many look up to his teachings and consider his philosophy to be of utmost importance. While some conservatives view Jesus as their “personal” savior, it’s difficult to reconcile the philosophies he preaches in the New Testament with that of a conservative viewpoint. In reality, most of what Jesus actually spoke are in line with much more liberal ideas than the supply-side Jesus portrayed by right-wing Christians.
Jesus clearly favors an egalitarian society, one that considers all people equal and deserving of equal rights, as he states in John 13:16, “The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” Yet conservative views dictate a promotion of public policies that rejects social aid for the poor, advocates tax breaks for the rich, and leaves the middle class in the dirt. In the next verse, Jesus explains, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” Except conservatives advocate slashing programs that feed families like food stamps, affordable healthcare for the needy, or housing for the homeless.
Right-wing Christians tend to look down on people who need help from the government with no regards as to what brought them to their unfortunate situations. Jesus implores us to care for everyone, regardless of any lack of morals or work ethics. Hypocrisy is a huge violation in Jesus’ teachings, as stressed with the well-known verse, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” When a crowd gathered to stone a woman to death for her crime of adultery, Jesus stepped in between them, demanding that the only the person without sin has any right to judge.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus commands his followers to not be judgmental towards their neighbors, yet right wingers can’t help but judge every minority group from women, LGBTs, to people of color, and just about everyone who isn’t a rich, white, Christian man. Without a doubt, Jesus always preached mercy for women, children, sinners, criminals, the poor, and even his own enemies.
Jesus preached peace and love to his followers, yet conservative Christians are among the first to call for acts of war. In Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God,” however conservative Christians today would prefer the U.S. carpet-bomb any middle-eastern country in the name of American supremacy. When his followers asked him which of the Ten Commandments are the most important ones to follow, he said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” He wished for us to first love God, then our neighbors, and the rest would follow naturally. A Christian, by definition, is someone who lives their life as Christ or strives to follow his teachings. It’s difficult to see how denying homosexuals the right to marry, or cutting welfare programs would follow the teachings of Jesus, but that is exactly what the so-called conservative Christians insist we should do.