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One of the more frequently asked questions these days is "What Would Jesus Do?" Teens sport bracelets with the initials WWJD to remind them to ask themselves "What Would Jesus Do?" in difficult situtations. I thought I might take a few minutes to discuss "What Would Jesus Do?" in the light of current events. As part of my response, I will also address the issue of what Jesus would not do.

• Jesus Would NOT be on the Board of Directors of a Fortune 500 corporation (or of a Fortune 5000 corporation, for that matter, either).
  
• Jesus Would NOT head a large multinational corporation (or a large national corporation for that matter, either. Indeed, he probably wouldn't even head a small corporation, although he might be involved in a small, family-owned business.)
  
• Jesus Would NOT go into business (including oil, gas, gold, and diamond extraction industries) with some of the most ruthless dictators in the world.
  
• Jesus Would NOT lobby politicians on behalf of wealthy corporations.
  
• Jesus Would NOT be a Wall Street trader, a banker for a large national or international banking conglomerate, or participate in the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

  Jesus would remind rich men to sell all of their worldly goods and to follow him if they wanted to enter the kingdom of God, for it is "easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

• Jesus Would NOT wear Gucci's and schlep for corporate executives.
  
• Jesus Would NOT demand tax cuts for the wealthy and benefit cuts for everyone else.

  Jesus would do everything in his power to care for the "least of these, my brethren."

• Jesus Would NOT use the name of the Lord to advocate war, death, destructions, and spending unlimited amounts of money for those purposes.

  Jesus would drive the money changers from the temple.

• Jesus Would NOT own his own religious television network, host a religious radio show, or sell time shares in his religious theme park.

  Jesus would cry, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!"

• Jesus Would NOT support Star Wars missile defense systems, another military build-up, or expanding our "war on terrorism" to 60 nations around the world, including our own.
  
• Jesus Would NOT participate in the production of any weapons of war in any capacity, even as a factory laborer.
  
• Jesus Would NOT participate in the development of new weapons systems, including advanced military aircraft, chemical or biological weapons, or nuclear weapons (especially nuclear weapons, like the neutron bomb that are designed to kill people while sparing property.)

  Jesus would turn swords into plowshares -- convert existing military equipment into tools for improving the quality of life of existing people -- such as turning armored troop carriers into vehicles for transporting produce to market and converting military field hospitals into medical centers for people in the remotest and most inaccessible parts of the world.

  
  
• Jesus Would NOT blur the line of separation of church and state.

  Jesus would work to keep church and state separate: Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, render unto God what is God's.

  
  
• Jesus Would NOT permit big corporations to despoil the environment.

  Jesus would remind citizens that God made man stewards of her creation. Good stewards tend to their environment is such a manner that it is left in better condition than they found it for future generations.

  
  
• Jesus Would NOT wear a triple decker crown, live in a princely palace in Rome, and hold out his hand to have people kiss an enormous gemstone on his finger as a greeting.

  Jesus would wear a crown of thorns, live the life of a modest carpenter, and greet his fellow human beings with a warm, friendly, "Hi, How are YOU"

  
  
• Jesus Would NOT encourage racial animosity.

  Jesus would teach us that all humanity are one and that racial differences are only skin deep, praising the goodness of the Good Samaritan over the highest ministers in the temple.

  
  
• Jesus Would NOT limit women's horizons and aspirations.

  Jesus would encourage women to become educated and to participate in all aspects of life to the fullest, for there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus.

I could continue along these same lines by discussing foreign and domestic policy initatives by our current administration. But I think you get the drift of my message.

Jesus of Nazareth's message was NOT to bring comfort and aid to the rich and powerful, but rather to empower the downtrodden and to bring social justice to the sick, the defenseless, and those most despised and oppressed by society. He was born of an unmarried, uneducated, peasant girl, probably just beyond the age of puberty (for it was the custom of the time to marry girls off shortly after puberty). In her own time, she was probably thought of in little higher regard than that of a slave. Yet, she was not of too humble an origin to give birth to one of the most influential people ever to have walked upon the face of the earth; a man that many claim to be divine.

Jesus would NOT be a Republican and Jesus would be a die-hard, liberal democrat. But these messages are messages you will not hear from televangelists, TV and radio "news commentators," and captains of banking and industry. It is time for liberal Democrats to ask, "What Would Jesus Do?"

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