News and Politics Forum

Thundersnow wrote:

axe wrote:

If Jesus had a business card, it would have to be 11"x17".

He doesn't need a business card. Word of mouth ftw.

"Hi! My name is Jesus H. Christ, Messiah, Son of God, Long Awaited One, King of all kings and Lord of all lords, The Perfect Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace, the Rose of Sharon, the Logos, the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, Salt and Light, the Blessed One, the One Born of a Virgin, the One Coming Again to take what is Rightfully His, The Creator, the Sustainer, the High Priest, the Lover of Your Soul, The Incarnate God of the Universe. How may I save you today?

from wiki

[edit] Be subject to ruling authorities
The Apostle Paul takes a very conciliatory approach to earthly governments. Jesus advised cultivation of an unworldly kingdom of Heaven; Paul went further, and taught a positive duty to submit to and obey earthly governments, in several passages, most extensively in Romans 13:1-7:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.
Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (ESV)
All authority comes from God; even pagan rulers have been established as legitimate by divine providence, and obedience is therefore a positive obligation. These passages were much quoted by later writers who wished to establish a divine right of kings. Paul's message of submission to the established social order extends even to acceptance of slavery, as evidenced by the Epistle to Philemon.

it was a non-comment neither endorsing or repudiating taxation.

Thundersnow wrote:

DD, in that instance it was, and only because had he taken a stance he would have been beaten/executed. In other parts of the bible he directly states anti-tax things, which is where this particular question came from. Romans had heard of his anti-tax stance and this was against Roman law (inciting revolutions etc).

cite please.

Matthew: 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick

Matt 18:17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.


I will look up more passages that mention such. To clarify, I am not stating that Jesus said disobey the gov't. I am stating that he was anti-tax.

Double Down wrote:

notice the comment is directed to the collector, people who where known to be a criminal and corrupt lot in the day.

As opposed to when?

zukiphile wrote:

iD, if you are this bored, why not address BHO's renunciation of Wright?

What makes you think I'm bored?  I'm game, where's the thread?

OT here's a good article:

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/creech/060314
Excerpt:

Much of what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount has considerable political ramifications.

Consider the Savior's words, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). The late great Bible teacher James Montgomery Boice, formerly the senior pastor of the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, notes the heart of Christ's statement in this text has to do with a sinner mourning over their transgressions against God. But he also rightly contends the text is "a call to involvement in the social arena — in the struggle of blacks for true equality, the plight of underpaid workers, pollution of our natural resources, education, ethical problems in politics, medicine, and business, and other contemporary problems — just as Christians were formerly active in the war against slavery, child labor, lack of freedom of the press, and immorality. We should mourn for such things. And we should mourn deeply enough to do something about them."

Jesus also said in this same sermon, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). Again, this text's primary application is about a person's yearning for salvation — one's hunger for forgiveness — thirsting to have the righteousness of Christ imputed to one's account as a free gift by faith. But as Tom Minnery contends in Why You Can't Stay Silent, "righteousness is more than that .... In the Hebrew culture, people thought far more about the community than they did about the individual. Righteousness was not primarily about one's personal relationship with God; it was the standard for right relationships between people ... this passion for a righteous society was a part of Jesus' meaning when He pronounced His blessing on those who hunger and thirst to see righteousness dominate the affairs of mankind. The Revised English Bible translates Matthew 5:6 this way: 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail; they shall be satisfied.'"

Furthermore, Jesus argued in the Sermon on the Mount that His followers were to be "salt" and "light" (Matthew 5:13, 14). "Salt" in Jesus' day was used as a preservative for food stuffs. "Light" dispels the darkness. John R.W. Stott, rector emeritus of All Souls Church in London says of this text: "The function of salt is largely negative: it prevents decay. The function of light is positive: it illumines the darkness. So Jesus calls his disciples to exert a double influence on the secular community, a negative influence by arresting its decay and a positive influence by bringing light into darkness. For it is one thing to stop the spread of evil; it is another to promote the spread of truth, beauty and goodness. Putting the two metaphors together, it seems legitimate to discern in them the proper relationship between evangelism and social action in the total mission of Christ in the world."



This is another interesting article:
http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i42/42b00601.htm
Excerpt:
The New Testament echoes those themes, calling the followers of Jesus to care for orphans and widows, to clothe the naked, and to shelter the homeless. The New Testament I read says that, in the eyes of Jesus, there is no preference among the races and no distinction between the sexes. The Jesus I try to follow tells me that those who take on the role of peacemakers "will be called the children of God," and this same Jesus spells out the kind of behavior that might be grounds for exclusion from the kingdom of heaven: "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, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."

We could have a lively discussion and even vigorous disagreement over whether it is incumbent upon the government to provide services to the poor, but those who argue against such measures should be prepared with some alternative program or apparatus.

The agenda of the Republican-religious-right coalition, moreover, is utterly disconsonant with the distinguished record of evangelical activists in the 19th century. They interpreted the teachings of Jesus to mean that, yes, they really did bear responsibility for those on the margins of society, especially for the emancipation of slaves and for the rights of women.

In addition to distorting the teachings of Jesus, the religious right has also been cavorting with some rather unsavory characters in its quest for political and cultural power. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who last year pleaded guilty to accepting $2.4-million worth of bribes, had earned a 100-percent approval rating from Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition while a member of the House of Representatives. During more than two decades as a member of the state Legislature, Jim West, a former mayor of Spokane, Wash., sponsored various bills aimed at curtailing the rights of gays and lesbians, as well as a bill that would have outlawed any consensual sexual contact between teenagers; the voters of Spokane recalled West last December, after he admitted to arranging gay sexual liaisons over the Internet and offering city jobs in exchange for sexual favors.



Again, I' not assigning Jesus a political party.  I'm simply stating his numerous liberal stance would put him at odds with the religious right.

Sven wrote:

2.DOH wrote:

One slightly important aspect you've ignored... Christ taught if you didn't believe He
was -the- Son of God, you were destined for eternal damnation.

Some guy named John wrote this - I have my doubts if Jesus actually said it.

You're certainly entitled to believe that.

Since -all- of Christ's words were written in the Bible by others, which ones would you
claim to be authentic?

iDissent wrote:

zukiphile wrote:

iD, if you are this bored, why not address BHO's renunciation of Wright?

What makes you think I'm bored?  I'm game, where's the thread?

You appear to be advancing arguments you might not believe.

Here is the thread.

http://www.npboards.com/thread/13008/re … iah-wright

zukiphile wrote:

iDissent wrote:

zukiphile wrote:

iD, if you are this bored, why not address BHO's renunciation of Wright?

What makes you think I'm bored?  I'm game, where's the thread?

You appear to be advancing arguments you might not believe.

Here is the thread.

http://www.npboards.com/thread/13008/re … iah-wright

I started one for you.  Its called "white people don't have passion".

Jesus looks like he's been working out lately.

Jesus Is My Pilot wrote:

Jesus looks like he's been working out lately.

I think that's the Hardcore Battle Jesus. I haven't collected that one yet. I found one for sale on eBay last year, but he was missing his AK, and the seller said that the Hammer of God action spring on his right arm was broken.