Cross-posted from Bold Faith Type
bernardplier found a gem of an article from Herman Cain's columnist days at Red State. In it Cain boasts about how Jesus was the "perfect conservative:"
He helped the poor without one government program. He healed the sick without a government health care system. He feed the hungry without food stamps. And everywhere He went, it turned into a rally, attracting large crowds, and giving them hope, encouragement and inspiration.
For three years He was unemployed, and never collected an unemployment check. Nevertheless, he completed all the work He needed to get done. He didn't travel by private jet. He walked and sailed, and sometimes traveled on a donkey.
While these examples are self-evidently silly, the kicker is Cain's summation of Jesus's message:
For over 2,000 years the world has tried hard to erase the memory of the perfect conservative, and His principles of compassion, caring and common sense.
Now Herman Cain is a minister, and I only had eighteen years of religious education, but I'm pretty sure Jesus's principles were anything but common sense. In fact, in my recollection, they were the complete opposite. The story of the Gospel is Jesus openly challenging the prevailing norms, social structures, and power dynamics of his day and turning them on their heads with a radical message of humility, non-violence, selflessness and faith in the seemingly impossible.
Common sense Jesus, in contrast, would be a pretty uninspiring guy:
Check out commonsensejesus.tumblr.com for more.
H/T Think Progress