What I do find awesome about this Hebrew carpenter is that he took complicated (laws made complicated by those in charge) and broke them down to simple parables and illustrations so that the common person could easily grasp "the law".
When I read and look at the history it was a case of the leaders (Pharisees and Saducees) who despised him for being able to make it easy for the common person to understand and showing their hypocrisy who used the state to have him killed. Even the governor didn't want to have him killed under the guise of treason although he caved to avoid trouble with the leaders of Judah.
One of the most common mistakes people make regarding Jesus these days is to try to shoehorn him into some modern political philosophy.
Conservatives are sure Jesus would be republican (or at least that He wants everyone to belong to the GOP), because abortion is wrong, because He told his disciples to acquire swords, or just because the left is anti-religion. Liberals figure similar things about being a Democrat because Jesus helped the poor, gave them free food, told us not to judge, forgave the woman taken in adultery, told people to keep their prayers private,and told the rich man to sell all he had and give the money to the poor. Libertarians figure they are on the side of angels because Jesus never forced anyone to follow him, it was always a free choice.
It seems anarchists are prone to the same error. Many who rejected Him at the time did so because they wanted a Messiah to free them from Roman rule, to cast off the unwanted government. Even some who followed Him hoped He would do just that at some point. That wasn't His mission.
It is like the old parable of 4 or 5 blind men describing an elephant and all of them getting it wrong.
Even in the political climate of His times, Jesus transcended political and social labels, or at least avoided them. He rendered to Caesar that which was Caesar, even paying taxes (though obtaining the funds to do so miraculously). I am not an expert in ancient Hebrew/Jewish law, but I have been told that Jesus strictly observed "the law" as it had been given to Moses, he never violated a single tenant thereof. He lived a perfect life and so would have had to have perfectly abided the commandments from God. He simply declined to be bound by tradition that had been built up around the law, but did not actually have any force of law.
So He certainly doesn't fit into any modern, flawed, political philosophy.
My religious beliefs certainly influence my world view and are part of the reason I'm a conservative republican. But the exact same thing is true of fellow members of my congregation who are democrats and libertarians. This is as it should be. It would be a weak faith or religion that didn't influence our social and political views.
As an agnostic/atheist, this doesn't apply to you so much. But men of faith need to remember the critical--if subtle--difference between having our social and political views informed by our faith in Jesus and actually thinking that those views represent the only proper embodiment of the Gospel of Christ.
A man's faith is a most sacred thing and I think it most offensive and counterproductive for any man to question the religious faith, devotion, sincerity, or correctness of any other man based on differences in social or political views or affiliation.
I see far too much of this among many in my church and political party who are prone to question the religious devotion of Sen. Harry Reid who belongs to the same church, but to the other major political party. I expect that Sen. Reid and I don't agree on very much politically. In many cases I do not know how he squares his religious beliefs with his political conduct. But Jesus expressly forbid me from rendering judgement on matters of another man's religious devotion or standing before God. That is between that man and God; it is not my business.
I don't suspect you intended to broach any of these topics with your post. And I don't intend to continue in any such political discussions on this thread. For Christians, Easter is the crowning event in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. It and He are God's gift to us. They have nothing to do with politics or even social theory. They are the answer to the age old question, "If a man die, shall he live again." And the answer is "YES. Most assuredly yes we shall."
I hope all who believe or hope to believe had a very good Passover, Easter, and/or Pascha, as the case may be.
Charles
