I would like to share my perspective on progressive politics here in my first diary on Kos. I have been a regular commenter on Howard Dean's
Blog For America and I am just now getting acquainted with DailyKos and the Kossacs - I look forward to interacting more within this community. I am an Evangelical Christian, a Black man, and a
Pro Life Democrat who
opposes George W. Bush with every fiber of my being.
I say that by way of introduction because we all bring our own biases and personal preferences to everything that we do, and I like to fully disclose mine up front. This is simply my perspective on how the Bible affirms - and in many instances demands - a Progressive Perspective on politics.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Matthew 25:31-46
But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Jesus says that the difference between those who are going to heaven and those who are going to hell is found in how we treat "the least of these" - the needy and those who cannot take care of themselves. While it is important to note that Jesus is not saying that we are saved by these actions - we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 14:6) - merely professing faith in Jesus is not sufficient, notional assent is not enough. As James put it, "Faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" and "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." It is often said more colloquially, "Don't talk about it - be about it!" Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21-23) Notice that these are no small matters that were performed - prophesying, casting out demons, performing many miracles - but they were not done in obedience to God. There is a world of difference between doing things that we want to do under the assumption that God will cosign our efforts, and doing what God commands us to do. Our primary command from Jesus is the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20, not the Republican Platform of 2004 - nor for that matter the Democratic Platform of 2004.
I wonder how many Republicans will find themselves in front of the Judgment Seat of Christ saying, "Lord, Lord, did we not vote Republican in Your name, and in Your name cast out homosexuals, and in Your name oppose many abortions?" Jesus spoke harshly of their kind in Matthew 23 when He said to them, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves" and "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" Today's Pharisees and Scribes may be Biblically correct regarding homosexuality and abortion, but they have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
So what does any of this have to do with politics in America? It's a matter of perspective. The Religious Right has associated the name of Christ with a nationalistic brand of politics that in no ways resembles the teachings of Jesus Christ. It would seem that they have forgotten Jesus' words to Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." (John 18:36) The primary heresy of the Religious Right is their equating The Kingdom of God with The United States of America. Those are two completely different entities with two completely different sets of standards from two completely different standard-givers. The United States of America is not a Christian nation - it has never officially (or even unofficially) declared Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior. And even if America were to make such a declaration, the declaration would be meaningless - every individual has to accept or reject Jesus for themselves; there is no corporate salvation through group affiliation. I believe the Catholics may differ on that issue, but that can be the subject of another diary.
Moreover (and this is actually comical to me) the majority of the Religious Right could be described as Premillennialists - think Left Behind - yet they approach politics as if they were Postmillennialists. Theologically, that is the easiest way to dismember the politics of the Religious Right - but that is an in-house conversation that needs to be had within Evangelical Christianity, and I look forward to that discussion.
As to Progressive Politics, the mantra is simple: "To the extent that you did it to one of these, even the least of them, you did it to Jesus Christ." The GOP wants to cut welfare? "To the extent that you do it unto the least of these, you do it to Jesus Christ." Cut Medicare? "To the extent that you do it unto the least of these, you do it to Jesus Christ." Kill Social Security? "To the extent that you do it unto the least of these, you do it to Jesus Christ." Kill public education? "To the extent that you do it to the least of these, you do it to Jesus Christ." Eliminate immigration? "To the extent that you do it to the least of these, you do it to Jesus Christ." That one phrase counters the entirety of the GOP's agenda to comfort the comfortable and to afflict the afflicted. Use that phrase often, but use it lovingly - that's the key to winning people to our side instead of just trying to win the argument.