Jesus for President...or not?

By Gabriel Green

These posts are really an excuse to publish theological musings. Insofar as I want the government to stay out of religion, my theology is more an insight into my personal beliefs and way of thinking than it is into how I'd govern. "Render unto Caesar," and whatnot.

Introduction

Until recently I worked in a very conservative/libertarian political space.

The kind of space where each dinner is accompanied by performative prayer; always “in Jesus Holy Name.”

Amen.

As a Christian myself, I kind of dug this.

Granted, if we’re doing the whole public prayer thing I prefer the rodeo-style, “protect these brave riders and give us a good show” kind of prayers, and not the “I’m so connected to God and worthy of admiration in my own right” kind of prayers.

But, it takes all kinds I suppose. And I trust God to know what’s on hearts; not me.

I was mostly grateful I didn't make folks uncomfortable by mentioning my Lord & Savior.

I'd experienced that sort of "instant discomfort with God" at a very liberal school in college, and frankly find it to be about as offensive as when someone goes around spewing slurs. It's one thing to not want me to evangelize; it's another to not want me to acknowledge the single greatest influence on my own life and my personal beliefs.

So, like I said, I appreciated the conservative space for what it was.

And, I typically didn't offend folks until I started talking about the specifics of my beliefs...Gotta love being raised unapolagetically Protestant; we're probably too free-minded for our own good.

In the demonstrably Christian space of the conservative nonprofit world, I came across a truly mind-boggling phenomenon. This is the first of my theological musings I'd like to cover.

Jesus too socialist for presidency?

Once, I was bemoaning that our Constitution would prohibit Jesus Christ himself from serving as President since he died before he reached the age of 35.

A colleague of mine, a reputed Christian, responded that she wouldn’t vote for Jesus regardless.

“He’d be too much of a socialist.”

It’s not the first time I’ve heard this sort of thinking. So, I’d like to unpack it a bit, and offer two of the many theological and moral concerns that have lived rent-free in my brain since that conversation.

First, Jesus is not a socialist.

I will admit that Jesus seemed to disdain private property (Matthew 19:16-30), as did his Apostles and the earliest church as recorded in Acts (2:42-47). But, while this would make him a poor capitalist, it doesn’t imply “socialism.”

Without getting into the weeds of exactly how much of your money Jesus thinks you should keep, it’s clear that the biggest difference between Jesus’ teachings and socialism is this: in socialism the government TAKES your money. Jesus wants you to GIVE your money away.

Second, if you believe Jesus is a socialist, why aren’t you?

Now, as clarified, I don’t think my Lord and Savior is a socialist.

He also legit told us to “render unto Caesar,” (Matthew 22:15-22) so I don’t think he cares one iota about government. He cared about individuals and the choices they made to love one another.

As a wise teacher told me, it's also important to note that if Jesus was here there would be no need for an election anyway; "it wouldn't be that kind of party!"

But, if I believed that my personal Lord and Savior was an anything-ist, I’d be a that-thing-ist.

That’s literally the point of being Christ-like. We are called to embody the values and teachings of our God-made-flesh in this ungodly world. So, if I believed that God’s calling was to do something revolting — like eating flesh or drinking blood — I’d do it.

If I thought Jesus was a socialist, I’d be a socialist.

But he wasn't. He wasn't interested in government, taxation, or redistributive mechanisms. He was interested in something much deeper. Your soul.

Without getting into a Faith vs Works thing here (that'll come later), how much faith does it really show if your works in giving away wealth are compelled by a government? Conversely, what good is the work of giving away your wealth if it's not based in the faith that love is all we need. "God is love," after all (check out the Gospel of John if you don't believe me, or the first epistle of John 4:7-21).

I shared these thoughts, and others, with my colleague. She eventually asked me what I thought would happen if Jesus actually did run for president.

“People like you would crucify him.”

Granted, that felt super witty at the time and got a laugh at the table. But, as I've thought about it since, I wish I would've offered something deeper.

Here's a start...

A Way Better Reason Not to Vote for Jesus (a troubling one, too)

If we think Jesus was hostile to the hoarding of wealth, we know he was opposed to violence. Between "live by the sword, die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52) and "turn the other cheek," (Mattew 5:39 + Luke 6:29) he made that abundantly clear. He is even reported repeatedly as running away and hiding from groups like the Pharisees (John 8:59, John 10:39, Matthew 12:14-26, etc.) ; avoiding conflict is a consistent theme.

It's obvious that Jesus wasn't permissive of self-defense by the many refutations he gave. It's dubious he'd approve violence on behalf of others, even those who were suffering.

He refused to use his ~God Powers~ to destroy Satan, save his disciples, or save the Israelites from the yoke of their oppressors. He is never reported as having swooped back down to save those he loved from persecution, or those who worshipped him.

Wouldn't it be nice if all the martyrs like Stephen got the Elijah/Enoch treatment instead of suffering brutal deaths? But, no (Acts 6:8 - Acts 7). Suffering and Christianity go hand-in-hand through most of history.

Besides when we inflict the suffering, but that's another topic...

So, all of this is to say that, if you are a Christian who wouldn't vote for Jesus, there is a way better argument than "he'd be a socialist." If anything, he'd be a total pacifist, and let China walk all over the world while dismantling the entire US Military.

"Render unto Xi what is Xi's" just feels wrong to me though. And, like I want the government to stay out of my church, it's probably a good idea for church to stay out of government. The temporal concerns of states, and the eternal concerns of churches, are nigh incommensurable at the end of the day.

Conclusion

I am guided by my Christianity, and by the belief that we ought to be striving to live like Christ to make the world more like the Kingdom of Heaven he described.

We can deal with the afterlife stuff when we get there.

But, I am also guided by my love of the United States and my belief that it must persist as an imperfect but worthwhile experiment in self-governance. It's a tough pair to balance.

I'd hope that with a sound economy and a strong military we could do a lot to feed, clothe, and care for the rest of the world as Christ commanded.

But, I would never let pacifist ideals and the desire to "walk softly" prevent us from carrying the biggest darn stick we can find.

There's too much tyranny to fight, y'all.