IS JESUS A REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?

I have a friend who is a very conservative Republican, Christian. He has a mailing list of Christian friends, all conservative Republicans. Weekly I get emails which praise Jesus, the Bible and Republican politics. He recently sent the following email to the group in order to prove that it is smarter to be a Republican than a Democrat. The story itself makes a pretty good point from a conservative, fiscally responsible point of view. However, I find great irony in the story because of the Christian factor. Is this a story or parable Jesus would have told or agreed with? Please read it and see what you think. You will see that I have revised the story in Part II, making it more consistent with the Jesus of the New Testament as opposed to the Jesus of American Republicans. I am not asking you to side with anyone, or arguing for one version over the other necessarily. I am simply pointing out the odd use of Jesus with the conservative agenda.

STORY FROM MY REPUBLICAN, CHRISTIAN FRIEND:

Father-Daughter Talk

A young woman was just finishing her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat and was very much in favor or redistribution of wealth. She was ashamed that her father was a staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. She felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought was his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs.

He responded by asking her how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4. 0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, difficult course load, no partying, no boyfriends, and not many friends because of the heavy studying.

Her father asked, "How's your friend Audrey doing?"

She replied, "Barely getting by, she takes easy courses, never studies, goes to all the parties, and missed classes being hung-over, she barely has a 2.0 GPA."

The father says," Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to Audrey, who only has a 2.0, then you both will have a 3.0 GPA, certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of the GPA.

The daughter, visibly shocked by the suggestion angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked my tail off to get my good grades and Audrey has done next to nothing to get hers!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and gently said," Welcome to the Republican Party"

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MY REVISION OF THE STORY FROM JESUS' TEACHINGS:

More Jesus-Friendly Version of the Father-Daughter Talk

A young woman was just finishing her first year of college. Proud to be different, she considered herself to be a very staunch young Christian Republican and was very much in favor of earning and keeping her wealth. She was ashamed that her father was a staunch Democrat, a feeling she openly expressed. She felt that her father had for years given way too much to people who did not deserve it, helping drug addicts, unwed mothers, people living in squalor and criminals who had wasted their lives away.

One day she was challenging her father who was asking people to give their money to the poor and those who hadn't done anything to deserve it. He responded by asking her how she was doing in school.

She answered rather haughtily that she had a 4. 0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, difficult course load, no partying, no boyfriends, and not many friends because of the heavy studying.

Her father asked, "How's your friend Audrey doing?"

She replied, "Barely getting by, she takes easy courses, never studies, goes to all the parties, and missed classes being hung-over, and is failing most of her classes."

The father says," Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to give Audrey your 4.0 GPA and you take her failures?"

The daughter, visibly shocked by the suggestion angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked my tail off to get my good grades and Audrey has done next to nothing; she deserves to fail!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and gently said, "Now you know how God felt when he gave up everything for a world filled with people like Audrey who failed miserably, wasted their lives and ended up with nothing but their sins and failures. Now you know why Jesus said, "If a man asks you for his shirt, give him your coat too; and now you know why Jesus told the Rich Young Republican to sell all that he had and give it to the poor. Now you know that Audrey is the Prodigal daughter, and how a father shows love to his lost child. Welcome to the Jesus' Party."

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It never ceases to amaze me how those who call themselves Conservative Christians are so often the farthest from the message of the original Gospel of Jesus.