Honestly, I’ve just been wanting to say that phrase for a long time. I heard that Al Sharpton made the claim that Jesus was a Liberal during the Democratic National Convention, but I can’t find a proper link. Nevertheless, it’s true: Jesus *was* a liberal, given the proper definition of “liberal”:
- Liberal:
- Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
- Favoring proposals for reform
Or try this: opposed to the establishment.
Of course, this begs the question of whether *Democrats* are liberals, since it seems that they’re more likely to be limited to “established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes,” since it seems to me that recently the Republicans have been the ones coming out with more non-traditional and experimental ideas and the Democrats who have been opposing them by authoritarian means. But:
Jesus was a liberal, by the generic definition. Hey, “liberal” means “free” and it was Jesus Christ who said “the truth will set you free.”
Let’s see, Jesus:
- Bucked the establishment.
- Dissented from authority
- Associated with social outcasts.
- Broke lots of rules
and
All in all, Jesus was probably about as liberal as they got, short of denying the authority of the Scriptures. He was even accused of being a glutton and a drunk.
This *should* give liberals the world around cause for great rejoicing: the founder of the Christian faith was *one of them.* (For that matter, Paul was considered pretty liberal too: he dragged poor uncircumcised Timothy with him to Jerusalem to make a point about gentile Christians.) It should also give pause to Christian conservatives the world around, since it wasn’t really Jews who killed Jesus, per se, as it was conservatives. Nearly every person involved in Jesus passion was Jewish, pro and con, so you can’t say much about it, based on race. But the people who rigged the crucifixion were almost all conservatives.
But honestly, the “Jesus was a liberal” meme doesn’t help many traditional causes. You see, Jesus was a liberal, but he wasn’t a libertine. Here’s a working definition for “libertine:”
- Libertine:
- one who acts without moral restraint
This means that, while Jesus was all for throwing out traditions made of men, he wasn’t too in favor of throwing out moral commandments given by God. Remember this quote?
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
If anything, Jesus was famous for upping the ante. “You have heard it said… but I say unto you…” Not once did Jesus take a moral law and make it lighter. There were a couple of times when he threw out extraneous foolishness, but never a time when he said something like, “actually, fornication’s not that bad, as long as you don’t get pregnant.”
Jesus wasn’t even all that tolerant. He was more likely to say “you’re all wrong” than “nobody’s wrong.”
You might even say that Jesus was in favor of capital punishment, since he practically rigged his own—refusing to defend himself, deliberately assenting to the most incriminating accusations…
The confusing thing for me is that, while Jesus was in fact a liberal, many of the people who currently *call* themselves liberals seem to be less liberal than libertines. In fact, if you cut out everything from the stereotypical liberal agenda that smacks of casting off moral restraint, what you have isn’t particularly liberal at all. It isn’t innovative. Not really. Those are the same positions that have been being held for, what, 50 years? I guess that’s better than sticking with the same positions as people 500 years ago, but (excepting areas of basic moral restraint) who thinks like the people 500 years ago? Even if we manage to come to a similar conclusion, the process of getting there is **way** more liberal for everybody, especially if you define “liberal” as simply “new.”
In all honesty, Jesus wouldn’t allow himself *ever* to be confined by someone else’s world-system. He had his own agenda, and it didn’t fit with anybody’s. He set his face like flint toward Jerusalem, because he had a mission to accomplish that could be performed by no other.
In short,
Don’t be co-opting the King of Kings,
Cause Jesus was a liberal, not a libertine.
EDIT: Incidentally, Eugene Volokh has some interesting things to say about liberals and morality at GlennReynolds.com
neumatikos 