Monday, April 28, 2014

What Did Jesus Teach?

OK, so I am responding to a post I saw on Facebook that included a list of supposed positions that Jesus held on a variety of issues. Almost the entire list is the exact opposite positions held by most conservative Christians in America. The point, it seemed, was to say, "Here is what Jesus REALLY taught." As if to say Christians are really just a bunch of hypocrites. Well hypocrites we may be, but you'd be hard pressed to find any person on the planet who can't carry that label for something. However, the issue of what Jesus meant and what He taught is an interesting claim.
For the benefit of skeptical friends, to give a bit of perspective, to maybe show conservative Christian positions are not simply the product of closed-minded, anti-progressive bigotry, and to at least spur some conversation on these issues, I am walking down the list and trying to address where I see Jesus' teaching or words being misinterpreted or outright twisted to mean something else.
Here are the points on the list which seemed to me to be loaded and most likely to be based on faulty understanding of what Jesus taught.
Anti-wealth
Anti-Death Penalty
Anti-Public Prayer
Never Anti-Gay
Never Anti-Abortion or Birth Control
Never called the Poor "Lazy"
Never Justified Torture
Never pro tax cuts for wealthy
Never asked a Leper for a co-pay
Community Organizer
Anti-Slut-Shaming
Anti-Violence
I dealt with Christ's teaching on violence in a previous article, and will just walk up the list answering these issues in articles to come.

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