Was Jesus a conservative or a liberal? (Gather 30 Day Countdown)

"I know that God is always on the side of right; my concern is not whether God is on our side but whether or not we are on God's side."

                                                                                                                     Abraham Lincoln

The question of Jesus' political affiliation has been asked quite a lot recently. In fact, there are entire websites dedicated to the concept of Jesus being a liberal or not being a liberal There are arguments on both sides and even strong feelings that the question itself is disrespectful or even blasphemous.

The Bible, some wags have observed, can be used to justify almost any set of beliefs, if you want to quote selectively from it or interpret it very narrowly. The Nazis relied, in part, on Christianity to justify their philosophy including the Holocaust.

However, I think that the Bible does give us a strong indication of the philosophy of Jesus Christ and how that philosophy would translate into political positions. I am specifically using the terms conservative and liberal, rather than "Democrat" or "Republican", or even "left-wing" or "right wing". Of course, neither American party, or America itself as a nation, existed in the time of Christ. The concept of the right and left side of the political spectrum also only came into being in the late 18th century, almost two millennium after the time of Christ. Liberal and conservative are international designations for political ideologies. Here in Canada our two ruling parties are the Liberal and Conservative parties (which leads to distinctions like "small 'l' liberal, meaning one who is liberal in their views but not necessarily a supporter of the party bearing that name, and "big 'C' Conservative, meaning someone who is a supporter of that party). But for the purposes of this question I am talking about the philosophies or ideologies, not any partisan connection to them. Merriam-Webster defines the two political philosophies as follows:

Liberalism: 1) a theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usu. based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard; 2) a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties.

Conservatism: 1) disposition in politics to preserve what is established; 2) a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change.

In practice today the left or liberal branch of politics broadly identifies itself with the interests of the masses, while the right or conservative is seen to favour the interests of the established propertied classes.

Jesus Christ was no politician.  Many of the issues which are debated on the political scene today did not exist in his time on Earth. Saying categorically what he would have supported in our time is a speculative game, at best.

However, when relying on scriptures for a clue, the following passages are the ones that are most indicative to me of Jesus' political leanings:

From the Gospel according to Matthew Chapter 25: Verses 35-40:

For I hungered, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in;

naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.'

Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, `Lord, when saw we Thee hungering and fed Thee, or thirsty and gave Thee drink?

When saw we Thee a stranger and took Thee in, or naked and clothed Thee?

Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?'

And the King shall answer and say unto them, `Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.'``

In this passage it seems clear to me that Jesus was saying that when we feed and shelter strangers, clothe them, care for them when they are sick, visit them compassionately when they are in prison we are doing this also to Him and will earn His eternal reward for doing so. These are clearly liberal political issues. Sheltering strangers is comparable today to providing social housing. Feeding them and providing clothing for them can be analogous to welfare payments to the poor and to food banks. Caring for the sick compares with today's socialized public medicare. Visiting prisoners shows compassion for those who have committed crime. By contrast the conservative agenda is to cut welfare payments, to stop building social housing, to support privately paid for healthcare, to be harsh with criminals.

From the Gospel according to Matthew Chapter 22: Verses 17-21:

"Tell us therefore, what thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?"

But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, "Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites?

Show Me the tribute money." And they brought unto Him a penny.

And He said unto them, "Whose is this image and superscription?"

And they said unto Him, "Caesar's." Then said He unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." "

In this passage Jesus is directly addressing taxation and clearly refuses to give any spiritual or divine justification for avoiding paying taxes. The conservative agenda is one that embraces seemingly endless tax cuts. Jesus was not a proponent of that philosophy.

And finally from the Gospel according to Luke Chapter 10: Verses 30-37:

"And Jesus answering said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was. And when he saw him he had compassion on him,

and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host and said unto him, `Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee.'

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?"

And he said, "He that showed mercy on him." Then said Jesus unto him, "Go and do thou likewise." "

One of the things that often obscures the meaning of this passage, I think, is the fact that to most people today 'Levite' and 'Samaritan' are meaningless designations. Who were these people? Clearly most of us no longer know. The point, however, was about prejudice and not condemning a person because of what they are. If this parable had been told by Jesus today, would He not have substituted "Arab" or perhaps "illegal alien" for Samaritan?

I invite all members of the Gather community to weigh in on this question. Everyone's opinion is valid. Whether you are Christian or not, religious or not, we can all be respectful of each other's opinions and beliefs and discuss this maturely. Please, tell me, how do you see Jesus Christ in terms of modern political persuasions? Can you support your position from scriptures?

(This is the last installment of the Gather 30 Day Countdown.  This has been a very interesting and exhausting exercise.  For those who have joined me on this journey, or any part of it, my thanks for your participation and contributions.  Within one week's time I will have made my final decision about the results of the Countdown and what it means for me personally as a member of the Gather community.)