The humor of the piece stems from the assumption that Jesus would never say these things. The piece trades on what's supposed to be cognitive dissonance, but I'm not entirely sure if that's true. Jesus in the Gospels is pretty complex and not always a warm and fuzzy guy. In Luke, for example, he tells his followers, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one" (22:36). This sounds a little like some of the quotes used on the campaign trail!
Some people might find this video offensive, but I appreciate it. I find that practitioners of any religion are able to construct any argument out of their holy scriptures and doctrine. We find this in Islam: Muslims who say, with Qu'ranic evidence, that Islam is peaceful next to Muslims who are violent, with Qur'anic justification. In the same way, I think, politicians in the US cherry-pick their Biblical evidence to support their opinions. This is something not unique to Christians, but most prominently exemplified by Christians in the US. This specific piece brings the contradictions to light by asking Christians if they can see Jesus actually saying the things they say that he would agree with. At the same time, this video is not completely objective. People tend to imagine Jesus and peaceful and loving, but He said some pretty harsh things that made many people stop following Him. While I appreciate that this video challenges the arguments some politicians are making, supposedly supported by the Bible, people watching it should not forget that this video is making a certain argument.
ReplyDeleteThe political opinions of many Republican candidates are rooted and influenced by Christian values. Christians believe Jesus died on the cross to save our souls from the blemishes of original sin—a concept none of us can escape. People of faith are always growing in their religious journey, learning as they make mistakes along the way. If Christians in the United States prominently exemplify sinfulness, how are we sinning uniquely compared to Christians in other parts of the world? Jesus never picked and chose preferable cultures when taking sin into consideration. If we are all burdened with original sin, is mine any worse than yours? Aren’t we all under the same umbrella? Yes, some individuals sin more than others, but what proof do we have that America is any worse than another country?
DeleteDemocrats base their beliefs on non-religious ideas and religious ideas. For example, Jimmy Carter spoke freely of his faith during his presidency. Both believers and non-believers are no freer of hypocrisy and cherry picking than a Republican. Hillary Clinton believes “black lives matter. Everyone in this country should stand firmly behind that.” Yet according to centers for disease control and prevention, an African American woman is five times as likely to have an abortion than a white woman. As a pro-choice supporter, Clinton cannot have both.
Christian or Atheist, everyone agrees we’re only human. Democrats and Republicans alike make mistakes, especially when sweating under the spotlight. To explicitly accuse Republicans is ignoring the other half of the equation. I can take any kind of numbers or data, and pick and chose which I want to support my argument. Some statistics may not help me out, so I leave that out of my paper. Is that unethical? Isn’t that what we’re taught to do in English? Republicans do it, and so do democrats.
I appreciate many of the Republican candidates taking risks, and answering honestly. Differing opinions often encounter conflict, but disagreements lead to change, another abstract concept vital to maintaining a society which guarantees as many rights and freedoms to as many as possible. In fact, I would argue Christian values even back some of the statements made in the video. With the country so concerned with respectful wording and political correctness, we cannot fully focus on the issues at hand. We’re dancing around, focusing on flowery words and phrases to cover up the reality. But to work toward solutions, we must remove the security blanket which hides the truth of the matter. And sometimes, the truth isn’t pretty. And if it isn’t pretty, why should we pretend otherwise? We’re only lying to ourselves. Proverbs 28:18 preaches “whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.”
First off, I think you have a skewed idea of what BLM represents. BLM first became a movement as a reaction to several high-profile examples of racially-charged police brutality and police shootings, such as the Eric Garner case, the Michael Brown case, the Akai Gurley case, the John Crawford case, etc. The movement has since evolved to encompass all areas of society that harbor systematic racism, which is especially prevalent in issues of justice and policing. It doesn't mean "save the lives of all black people!" It's meant to act as a phrase to rally the country against the unfair treatment of black citizens. Hillary can, in fact, be both pro-choice and agree that we need to stamp out these instances of institutionalized racism that so often turn unfairly fatal. Also, the reason so many more abortions happen for black women is because funding to predominantly black areas is significantly lower than white areas, meaning that education is at a lower standard - this lack of knowledge regarding safe sex leads to far more pregnancies, which translates to more abortions.
DeleteI don't see the Republican candidates "making mistakes" or "taking risks." The statements that Jimmy Kimmel's Jesus repeated weren't mistakes at all - they were calculated sound bites that are incredibly popular with their voter bases. Many people in Donald Trump's base, for example, want us to respond more harshly to terror, so what does the Donald do? He and his team decide to play directly into those fears and say "we need to take out their families." That is neither a mistake nor a risk. That is someone who is poised to be the leader of the free world completely disregarding the Geneva Convention and allowing our country to sink to the standards of the terrorists we fight. He has never redacted that statement, he lets it stand to draw people to his camp.
And please, please, please stop using that Fox News punchline "political correctness" in serious debates. "Political correctness," as you call it, is what I call "not being an asshole." Of course, there are instances when actions to hide inflammatory language or triggers are taken too far - I won't deny that it happens. But I don't think that using inclusive, non-divisive language is an impediment to finding solutions to difficult matters. What are impediments, however, are phrases like "we have to take out their families" or "I don't think orphans under five should be admitted to the United States" or "look at that face - would anybody vote for that?" being spewed by some of our nation's most prominent, powerful politicians.
Jesus wasn't entirely the fuzzy and meek hippy that we've come to know and love in Western culture. But I'm pretty sure he wouldn't condone taking out the families of terrorists.