If Jesus had a vote
If Jesus were to express a view on the merits of any political party, I suspect he would have things to say which all parties would find very uncomfortable.
It has been my experience that there is a strong and inverse correlation between the actual merits of anyone involved in politics, and the degree to which they are convinced that they have a monopoly of virtue.
Those with the strongest conviction that their opponents are evil tend to find it easiest to convince themselves that therefore the most morally dubious tactics can be justified to stop those opponents. And those who imagine themselves to be the strongest arbiters of morality all too frequently think this allows them to take liberties which they would be the first to condemn in anyone else.
If I knew nothing else about a given political party, should they be arrogant enough to publish election publicity claiming that Jesus would vote for them, then that alone would make me suspect that he would do nothing of the kind.
While the country is suffering from a severe recession, I think it likely that Jesus would praise those who made sacrifices to help others: and likely that he would urge those, of whatever party, who claimed every possible penny from the taxpayer, let alone those who actually claimed fraudulently, to think again.
The bible makes very clear that Jesus discouraged those who stirred up hatred between different races, telling his followers to "love your enemies" and picking a member of a despised neighbouring race, the Samaritans, as the hero of his parable of the good neighbour. It is unlikely that he would encourage a simplistic approach to immigration policy.
Attempts to to close loopholes in our immigration system, particularly those which allow criminal gangs to exploit and effectively enslave vulnerable people - whether women forced into prostitution or cocklers working in dangerous conditions - is something which I think he would understand. Playing the race card, either by stirring up hatred against foreigners, or falsely accusing your opponents of doing so, is something which I think Jesus would condemn.
If any aspiring politician who claims to be a Christian should be thinking about whether Jesus would vote for his party, perhaps he or she might bear one thing in mind. Before asking yourself whether Jesus would vote for you, ask yourself what change in the way you treat other people would make it most likely that you deserve his support.
It has been my experience that there is a strong and inverse correlation between the actual merits of anyone involved in politics, and the degree to which they are convinced that they have a monopoly of virtue.
Those with the strongest conviction that their opponents are evil tend to find it easiest to convince themselves that therefore the most morally dubious tactics can be justified to stop those opponents. And those who imagine themselves to be the strongest arbiters of morality all too frequently think this allows them to take liberties which they would be the first to condemn in anyone else.
If I knew nothing else about a given political party, should they be arrogant enough to publish election publicity claiming that Jesus would vote for them, then that alone would make me suspect that he would do nothing of the kind.
While the country is suffering from a severe recession, I think it likely that Jesus would praise those who made sacrifices to help others: and likely that he would urge those, of whatever party, who claimed every possible penny from the taxpayer, let alone those who actually claimed fraudulently, to think again.
The bible makes very clear that Jesus discouraged those who stirred up hatred between different races, telling his followers to "love your enemies" and picking a member of a despised neighbouring race, the Samaritans, as the hero of his parable of the good neighbour. It is unlikely that he would encourage a simplistic approach to immigration policy.
Attempts to to close loopholes in our immigration system, particularly those which allow criminal gangs to exploit and effectively enslave vulnerable people - whether women forced into prostitution or cocklers working in dangerous conditions - is something which I think he would understand. Playing the race card, either by stirring up hatred against foreigners, or falsely accusing your opponents of doing so, is something which I think Jesus would condemn.
If any aspiring politician who claims to be a Christian should be thinking about whether Jesus would vote for his party, perhaps he or she might bear one thing in mind. Before asking yourself whether Jesus would vote for you, ask yourself what change in the way you treat other people would make it most likely that you deserve his support.
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