Quote:
Let's have Christ our President
Let us have him for our king
Cast your vote for the Carpenter
That they call the Nazarene
-Woody Guthrie
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As per request, I'd like to continue an emerging discussion from
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?p=1434691. Basically, the assertion was made that Jesus was apolitical.
As i said there, i don't think that's the whole story. While it's far, far too simple to say Jesus is a Democrat or Republican...there is a profoundly political aspect to the message, teachings and person of Jesus the Christ.
He's executed on a political charge. Treason. Much of the way he's interpreted...especially by Paul, lends itself well to this view. Kyrios or lord, basilea or kingdom, eirene or peace, pistis or faith...all these words have extremely political meanings in that time. Caesar is the only power recognized who can deliver authority, peace, kingdom, order, peace... Jesus makes a claim to people that is beyond the poltical order. The apolitical comment is in someways correct...he's not stumping for yet another canidate...and in that way is apolitical. But his speech does bring him in to conflict with political systems. Then and now.
How do we take these teachings? Is Jesus' example or teaching to use political systems to effect change? To supercede them? To obey them? Is Christ, or Christianity intrinsically political?