Wish I'd written it

Jesus, what do you think of the recent presidential election?

In the United States?

Yes.

I don't do politics.


But the President is a Christian. He has dedicated his life to serving you.

He has dedicated his life to serving himself. That is the opposite of what I teach.


But he's a Christian.

He is an Old Testament Christian. The ancient Hebrew scriptures say that God is an angry God, a vengeful God, a jealous God. But he is not. Nor is he petty, nor vindictive, nor narrow minded, nor self-righteous. God was not made in our image. He is not insecure or emotionally immature. God is not like us, but in our better moments we can be like him.

He wants his children to be full of love, not full of hate.

He wants his children to be compassionate, not vindictive.

He wants his children to be open-minded, not narrow-minded.

He wants his children to be accepting not intolerant.

He wants his children to be righteous, not self-righteous.

This is the message that god sent me to share with the world two thousand years ago. This is the message for which I was crucified. And just as those who put me to death then ignored god's message, so your president ignores god's message today.


But he believes in the Ten Commandments.

If he does, then why does he ignore them? One says that "Thou shalt not kill." Yet he sends an army to invade a foreign land and kill tens of thousands of men, women, and children. Another commandment says “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” In modern language, this means that you shouldn't tell a lie. Is there anything your president has said that isn’t a lie?

Think of the Ten Commandments as one, single commandment that encompasses all the others: Love your fellow human beings as you love yourself. If you obey this one commandment then all the other commandments will take care of themselves.

This single commandment is the foundation of god's laws, the one on which all of the others are based. If you treat this as the foundation of your laws, and of your life, then you will be doing god’s work. If you honor this single commandment with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, then you honor god. There is no greater form of worship. There is no other form of worship that even matters. A thousand years in church are not worth a single act of compassion toward another human being, or to any of god's creatures.

But Bush has been born again. He accepts you as his Lord and Savior.

I was sent to teach people to turn the other cheek. He starts a war in the Middle East.

I was sent to teach people to feed the poor. He steals from the poor and gives to the rich.

I was sent to teach people to heal the sick. He ignores the tens of millions people in his own country who have no way to pay for health care. And he cares even less about those outside his country who need help.

I was sent to teach people to love all their fellow human beings as they love themselves. He orders American soldiers to slaughter the citizens of a foreign land. He brags about the death penalty. He ignores the millions of starving and sick human beings around the world who will die without food and medical supplies, things that his rich nation could provide for half the cost of his war in the Middle East.

It doesn't matter who you claim as your Lord and Savior when your hands are drenched in blood.


Are you saying that President Bush will go to Hell?

I'm saying that he has brought hell to us.


But he says he is a Christian. People believe him. I believe him.

Then watch what he does instead of what he says. He is a man full of hate, and anger, and violence. He is an anti-Christian. Verily, I say unto you that if he had he been alive two thousand years ago, his voice would have been the loudest among those who clamored to have me crucified. To him I would have been a terrorist.

The Bible speaks of the Antichrist. But there isn't just one, there are many. Everyone who washes his hands in blood and then claims to do so in my name is an Antichrist. These hypocrites say one thing and then do the opposite. They say they love god but then they brutalize god’s children. They say they are compassionate, but instead of comforting those in need they increase the suffering of their fellow human beings. The Antichristians are those who spew hatred, intolerance, and violence in the name of Jesus Christ. For now, for this generation, your president is their leader.


Then you don't agree with his policies?

I don't agree with his morals. He talks about moral values but his actions are immoral. In a world full of poverty and want, his life's work is to make the rich still richer. In a world from which god’s creatures are disappearing in huge numbers, where the air in many places is unfit to breathe and the water unfit to drink, where the future of life on the planet is in jeopardy, the crowning glory of his presidency is to make matters worse. He is a liar and a hypocrite. Worst of all, he is a mass murderer. These are the things I condemn.


Do you condemn him for using politics to pursue his religious agenda?

I condemn him for using religion to pursue his political agenda. He uses religion to manipulate people. He uses religion to spread intolerance and commit violence. And he does it all in my name.

He claims to follow my teachings, but I teach love, not hate.

I teach compassion, not “compassionate conservatism.”

I teach acceptance, not intolerance.

I teach forgiveness, not revenge.

I teach that “Thou shalt not kill” means just what it says. There is no exception for capital punishment. There is no exception for war.

Your president lives a life that violates everything that god asks of us.


But he’s such a devout man.

If you believe that a liar, and a hypocrite, and a mass murderer can be devout, then you do not know the meaning of the word. Reading the Bible doesn't make the world a better place. Going to church doesn't save lives or feed the hungry. God doesn't care about our devotion to scripture, he cares about our devotion to each other. That's why he sent me here. Not to save man from sin, but to save man from himself. That is the meaning of salvation.



http://www.chattingwithjesus.com/Politics.htm

With thanks to my mentor, Elsie.