Christianity is Liberal Progressive

Why is this so critical? Because the Christian philosophy is very liberal progressive philosophy. Every political activist should know enough about the basic Christian core beliefs to know and to be able to show that the Christian philosophy is a very liberal progressive philosophy. Remember that the natural religious experts, are prohibited by law from making these political connections clear. I, however, being of no particular faith can say this clearly.

To make this clear, we have to look at some biblical stuff. Even if these texts are not your beliefs, this exploration is no worse that examining a Bush speech or a McCain speech. Bear with it. Think of this as just another way of talking about values. And Christian text gives us a nicely documented set of values.

Christianity holds the teachings of Jesus in highest regard, the greatest teaching being the Sermon on the Mount, which basically gives the positive version of ten commandments of the old testament. A biblical scholar says the most important line of the Sermon on the Mount, is the golden rule, which makes all of the statements of Christian philosophy hang together in a unified principle, quoted here in translation:

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

The positive version of the ten commandments is given in the introduction of Sermon on the Mount, quoted here in translation:

"'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.'"(Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

Since the Sermon on the Mount is long, you can read all of it here or here.

Jesus was confronted by the religious "experts" of the day about the ten commandments:

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40).

A reflective reading of [Jesus]Christ's teaching reveals that the first four commandments given to the children of Israel are contained in the statement: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." It continues that the last six commandments are enclosed in the statement: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
(All about the truth)

Believe or not, the ten commandments come in several translations, here is one set:

1 I am the Lord thy God.
2 Thou shalt have no other gods besides me.
3 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4 Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
5 Honor thy Father and Mother.
6 Thou shalt not kill.
7 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8 Thou shalt not steal.
9 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10 Thou shalt not covet.
(biblescripture)

Thus you have the key parts of Christianity. Notice that it includes nothing about pregnancy issues, nor gay issues, even though historically it is easily proven that people in these times were very aware of these issues. The biblical discussion on these issues has to reference obscure parts of the bible, which are not deemed the core parts of the bible and even then the case is not clear. No matter what anyone decides on the biblical interpretations of pregnancy issues or gay issues, it is very clear that these issues should be considered less important than the issues directly confronted by the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments.

Taking these key texts, a very liberal progressive set of political values is generated:

1) No torture is clearly implied by "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them;" , the golden rule of the Sermon on the Mount.

2) The US starting two wars is clearly wrong under "Blessed are the peacemakers" and "Thou shalt not kill" . Interestingly this commandment is now frequently stated as "You shall not murder" , implying that some killing is good. In any case, a further quote is from the Sermon on the Mount makes it perfectly clear: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' "But I say unto you that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." . It does not seem to me that our response to 9/11 was turn the other cheek. Even using the argument that the ends justify the means is shown to be wrong in another line from the Sermon on the Mount. "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

3) Lying by the Republicans is wrong, clearly documented in George W Bush White House told 935 lies after September 11. Lying is against core Christian beliefs shown by "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" and "Blessed are ye, when men shall say all manner of evil against you falsely".

4) Taking Iraq's oil and using government for personal greed and corruption is wrong. This is based on very core values of ""Thou shalt not steal" and ""Thou shalt not covet". Here is the clearest case of biblical verse:""No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.(Mathew 6:24)" Note that mammon means wealth, property, possessions, etc. Frequently, the worship of money is seen as the worship of a false god. Against greed, the bible verses really begin to stack up: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:19-21) and "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.(Ecclesiastes 5:10).

5) "No taxes" is totally the opposite of Christian charity. The bible clearly instructs to give and to give secretly. Perhaps we should rename taxes "alms". Jesus said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35)". The bible makes very clear that giving builds the whole community, coming back to even benefit the giver:"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:24-25) And finally do your giving in secret. without fanfare: so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)

It appears to me that Jesus was a "spend spend spend"(conservative saying) kind of guy and that Jesus clearly endorsed "socialism"(mis-applied conservative epitaph for any good government). While any particular may be debated, the general trend is clear, that to be Christian according the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments is to be a liberal progressive.