Cliche' Diving for Christmas

I routinely get sent rubbish like this by people who think,  “Ah hah!   This will really sting those hypocritical Christians who will have no response.    This stuff only works on Biblically illiterate people….and that list is long.  Some even have bestselling books and have TV shows on Fox.

Jesus wasn’t radical in any sense of the word.  He followed every tenant of the Law to perfection. His radicalism was that He called out the hierarchy for hypocrisy.   He wasn’t non-violent as He whipped the true hypocrites, the scam artist money changers out of the Temple.   “He wasn’t an American and never spoke English”.     True, and not relevant to any point that I’m aware of.  Jesus is a Jew, who spoke Aramaic in a Hebrew culture under the thumb of conquering Rome.  He was likely literate in three languages.    He wasn’t against the death penalty as He said none of the law would pass away.   He wasn’t against wealth, only the hypocrisy and the self-righteousness of some of the wealthy.  “…harder than a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”  He was against hypocritical public prayer, which  by then had almost achieved ritual status.   He said those people “already have their reward”.     "Gay" wasn’t in His vocabulary in that term is a marketing word invented by our own credulous generation.   He was against the behavior of sodomy in that it was and is still prohibited by the Law which He asserted.   Abortion didn’t need a separate category in that it was already covered by the Law against murder.   “Against birth control?”   Only pagans worry about birth control.   The ancient Hebrews considered children a blessing and their future safety net in old age.    “Never justified torture?”  Why would He?   However He was tortured to death for the salvation of His people.    “Never called the poor lazy?”   “Look to the ant thou sluggard”—and--  “…if a man will not work, neither shall he eat…”     In a pre-welfare state society,  laziness was lethal to itself.   “Never fought for tax cuts for the wealthy?”   He fought for honest tax  policy in a pagan nation…  He kicked the crooked money changers out of the temple for ripping off God’s people and he busted Zachius, a crooked Jewish tax collector who pledged to pay back his victims four fold,  consistent with the Law.  “Never asked a leper for a co-pay?”   That’s for sure.  There is no record of Him billing Lazarus for raising him from the dead, nor for healing the blind guy,  or  the healing dozens of others  he healed as a sign of His divinity.   In his culture the oppressed (poor who couldn’t care for themselves) were given care paid from the tithes (10 percent) of people.   Everyone else paid their own way, just like all decent people do.   Yup as a Jew (Semitic) he was likely brown…so what?  “Long-haired?”  Debatable,  but also an irrelevant non-issue.  “Community organizing?”   Rubbish.    He had trouble hanging on to his own 12 disciples.  And when He actually preached the Gospel,  that human works don’t merit points with  God,  he lost most of the crowd.   They came for the goodies,  the free food and healing,  but most rejected a non-political savior. Pretty much like the guy who is still looking for a “community organizer”.     They wanted to be rescued from the Romans,  not their own sin.   On day one in Jerusalem they gave Him a parade, but by day three, they gave Him a crucifixion.   “Anti-slut shaming?”  More rubbish… the slut who was brought to Him to judge was already shamed before she got there.   And after no evidence was presented against her, He told her to “go and sin no more.”     “Middle Eastern Jew.”    Yup.    Just like the prophecies anticipated.