Was Jesus a liberal or conservitive?

Liberal or conservative what?

 

you mean, you walk on water ?

 

If you are asking if he is a liberal or a conservative when it comes to politics, the answer is neither.

If you are asking if he would support the basic principles of either side, the answer is yes...both conservative and liberal.

 

We see in the parable of the talents, Jesus believes in wealth re-distribution, by taking from the lazy and giving to the industrious.

We see in the tale of the woman at the well that he teaches personal responsibility.

We see in the writings of the epistles that he does not support welfare. He wants people to earn what the get.

I would say Jesus was the perfect compassionate conservative.

 

I gotta correct myself. There are several references in scripture, both O/T and N/T, that instruct us to work.

 

He was conservative because he opposed the overthrow of the Roman government.

 

you mean, you walk on water ? </font>[/QUOTE]

 

He was neither.

He was both.

 

Jesus Christ was the most radical individual in history. Conservatives tend to want to preserve the status quo. Jesus turned the whole world upside down and it has never been the same since. (This says nothing about he would fit into the American political system because he wouldn't.)

 

He is libertarian of course. Or was that green? Or maybe NDP? He's definitely not Parti-Quebecois, no way!

 

Jesus also told the rich man to sell and give away his possessions and to follow him. In that sense it would make him a liberal but the real truth is that he was both and more, Jesus actually fits into the catagory of being Perfect.

 

He is an absolute monarch. That puts Him at the far right end of the scale.

All Hail King Jesus! And those who won't kiss the Son? Into the fires of Hell they go!

 

Jesus is God. We should not try to place Him into our petty political squabble boxes.

 

Politically he was somewhat of a radical in his day.

Theologically, by 1st century Jewish definitions, he was DEFINITELY liberal.

 

He wasn't liberal by Jewish definitions -- he fulfilled the law and prophecies perfectly. He just didn't fit their expectations of the Messiah.

He wasn't status quo, either, because he was against the Pharisees and their man made laws and customs.

I agree with KenH. It's anachronistic and I think silly to try to fit Jesus into our conceptions of liberal and conservative.

 

I agree with Ken too!

 

The Pharisees were liberal by 1st century Jewish definitions.

The Sadducees only accepted the Torah--they were the conservatives.

The Pharisees accepted the Torah, the Writings, and the Prophets, plus the oral traditions passed down--they were the liberals.

Jesus accepted the Torah, the Writings, the Prophets, and he added the requirement of believing in him as the son of God.

By our modern definitions, Jesus as recorded in the NT was a theological conservative. By 1st century Jewish (read: non-Christian Jewish) definitions, Jesus was a liberal because he introduced change to the system of belief.

Liberal is not inherently a dirty word. We just have to define what standards we are using.

 

Depends upon what you are trying to prove. Since they did not have liberal and conservative monikers back then we really have no way to guage where God fits upon the political, academic, or do you really want opinion to contend over the religious spectrum ...