How Would Jesus Vote?

Religion Experts Ask How Jesus Would Vote

Just a few miles from George W. Bush's former office at the state Capitol, a panel of religious experts weighed a question with relevance to many people of faith: How would Jesus vote?

It's a complex topic that can't be boiled down to simple political terms, said religious leaders who attended a Texas Faith Network conference in Austin on Tuesday. Many at the conference voiced concerns that the religious right dominates discussions of faith and morality in politics. They complained that issues such as abortion and gay marriage seem to take priority over hunger, corporate crime and even the war in Iraq.

James C. Moore, co-author of "Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George Bush Presidential," drew laughter and applause when he offered his view to the moderate to left-leaning crowd of about 250 clergy and lay leaders.

"If ever there were a bleeding-heart liberal, it was Jesus Christ," Moore said at Congregation Agudas Achim synagogue. "I think the carpenter from Galilee was the original Democrat."

Normally I find these kinds of debates rather useless but I like this quote by the Rev. Timothy Tutt:

As I read the Scriptures and as I understand faith, God's side is the group that's feeding the poor, caring about children, making sure that people have enough food to eat - not killing others,

The reason I think this is useless is because it reminds me of the story of The Grand Inquisitor from, "The Brothers Karamazov," by Dostoevsky. Furthermore, it seems farfetched that a middle-eastern Jesus would be allowed to get citizenship or, let alone, register to vote under the current climate of fear that grips our country. Hell, he'd mostly likely be on a terrorist watchlist...