12/22   Dear Religious Democrats (emarkp, jrleek, etc), please help out.
        I'm trying to find biblical sections like John 12:34,
        Genesis 56:78, or something like that, which may suggest
        that Jesus 1) favors more government handouts for
        welfare 2) is compassionate and is soft on crime
        3) prefers raising tax for the rich to support the poor
        4) anything else that aligns with the Democratic agenda
        I'm trying to come up with something cool, but I need actual
        sections from the bible. ok thx     -don't know much about bible
        \_ Apparently you know even less about the motd and its cast of
           characters than you do about the bible.
           \_ I have to wonder what I or jrleek have written which led this
              person to believe we are Democrats. -emarkp
              \_ Well, it sounds pretty bizarre to me.  Is there *any* issue
                 on which you would consider yourself to be a "liberal?"
        \_ This has to be the dumbest request of the year. You can't take
           the bible and start applying 21st century politics to it.
           Anyway, the Bible as a whole is definitely conservative, especially
           the Old Testament. You are prohibitted from homosexuality, you can't
           eat pork, and anyone who isn't part of your group is slain. If you
           think that Jesus was a liberal, you'd be wrong. He expressly
           states that although he brings something new, the old ways are
           by no means to be overthrown. Also, although the Catholic
           Church has traditionally been aligned with the Democrats, they
           are firmly against abortion, divorce, and contraception. I'm
           not quite sure how you could align the strongly traditional message
           in various parts of the Bible, especially books like Job or Jonah
           which teach absolute faith in God without reason, to liberal
           democratic views.
           \_ look, if Karl Rove can successfully use the Bible to
              manipulate the not-so-bright mass of people, then it
              shouldn't be so hard to use his own ammo to manipulate
              them the other way. If all logic and reasons fail, you
              have to resort to... Religion, which is proven to work well.
        \_ Maybe instead of finding a few choice quotes to bend to your
           agenda you should read the whole bible to get a better idea
           of what Jesus stood for.  You're no better than O'Reily.
           \_ it takes one OReiley to counter another OReiley.
              \_ Maybe you should watch Jon Stewart on Crossfire.  He
                 seriously disagrees with that approach.
        \_ Um, I'm most certainly not a Democrat. -emarkp
           \_ uh, ok. So what are you, a conservative?
           \_ he's not a Democrat, he's been Visited by the Angel Moroni
              \_ Yes.  And I see very little in the Bible to support government
                 policy of any sort. -emarkp
        \_ Luke 12:33, Matthew 19:21, Colossians 3:2
           \_ None of those have anything to do with public policy. -emarkp
            \_ so emarkp, would you say that if Jesus were alive today, he
               would rather support Republican agendas than Democratic agendas?
               \_ I don't think he'd support any political agenda. -emarkp
        \_ If you ask me, Jesus is a communist. Just read:
        Luke 12:33 "Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
        Matthew 19:21 "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions
           and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven."
        Colossians 3:2 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
        \_ Yes, those would be the verses listed above.  They are about how you
           should live your own life, not how you should legislate the lives of
           others.  Note also that in Luke he was speaking to the twelve
           (slightly different commission) and in Matthew he was responding to
           the young man who asked how to become perfect. -emarkp
           \_ "not how you should legislate"?  Give me a break, conservatives
              are trying to legislate religious values all the time.
              \_ That doesn't mean Jesus would advocate it, or that all
                 conservatives suggest that Jesus would advocate it. -emarkp
        \_ hi kchang!
        \_ "As you treat the least of mine, you treat me also".
        \_ 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire
           prepared for the Devil and his demons! For I was hungry,
           and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give
           me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't
           invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me
           no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'
           Jesus goes on to say Then they will reply, `Lord, when did we
           ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or
           sick or in prison, and not help you?' And he will answer,
           `I assure you, when you refused to help the least of
           these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to
           help me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment,
           but the righteous will go into eternal life." -Matthew 25:41
           Also look up liberation theology to see how leftists have
           interpreted these ideals into action.
           \_ Jesus advocates charity.  Leftists advocate charity at the point
              of a gun. -- ilyas
      \_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Theology#Passages_from_the_Bible