Disclaimer. I recently witnessed the most infuriating of conversations about Jesus and Christianity on Twitter. I cannot believe the level of ignorance some "Christians" have reached. Please, indulge me as I take solace in a piece I wrote last year.

“Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children, recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised.” Leo Tolstoy

Because lie-detection and truth finding is an evolutionary tool our current big brains developed to outfox one another. We know now that serious problems arise when parents lie or ask their children to lie, and when children see parents use violence against others, especially for monetary gain. Yes, a child innately wants his parent to earn, not to take by force. Truth is justice, and justice is truth. Think about it. Justice is an inherent human universal, a basic criterion of human reason and logic, a deeply rooted Law of Design against unprovoked violence. Social justice was, is, and will always be the message of the Designer.

“My soul exalts the Lord. He has brought down rulers from their thrones and has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty handed.” Luke 1:46-53

Known now as the Magnificat, the Song of Mary is arguably the most profound statement in the New Testament, less abstract and more politically specific to its time than the older Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10) of the Old Testament. It is an introduction to the coming Jesus and the essence of His sociopolitical philosophy. "My soul exalts the Lord," is theologically so powerful it almost abolishes the line between divine and human will.

Mary lives under the oppression of the rich in Roman-occupied Palestine, shares the people's suffering and dreams of a rural kingdom of justice and peace where shepherds, farmers, and skilled workers are free from violence, unfair taxes and where all must care for the weak. These are the pillars of the Kingdom of God on earth. Therefore, when in many parts of the United States today churches and parents are teaching their children that Jesus loves the rich and despises the poor; it is a crime against God… and His people.
 

Whether you are a Buddhist or a Muslim, European or African, humans have always admired Jesus' altruism and His message of love and compassion for the weak. We all know His story. The evidence that Jesus defended the poor and died for the poor is overwhelming; the Sermon on the Mount is just another example. Christians keep asking, what about the moneychangers, the banks and interest on loans? Should conglomerates force individual farmers out? Should there be two systems of "justice," where the one with more lawyers wins? Why is the mortgage deductible but not the rent? Would Jesus condone capitalism?

The big money gofers—right-wing-clergy, politicians, and some media—have a single "official" answer to all these questions: "Hey! Give unto Caesar," the most overplayed spin and the stupidest lie in the history of Christendom. It is also the sole evidence these heretics use to show that Jesus is a capitalist. Yet, when you read the story in Luke, you will see that it is but a simple cautionary tale with a simple moral: Do not let them trick you into saying self-incriminating stuff. They try to have Jesus talk against Caesar; Jesus navigates the tight and answers a question with a question, drawing an obvious and clear distinction between two paths, God or Caesar. 

And it happened, on one of those days, as He [was] teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the Gospel, the priests and the scribes, with the elders, approached [Him]. And having watched [Him] closely, they sent spies, pretending themselves to be righteous, so that they should seize on His word [fig., catch Him in some statement] in order to hand Him over to the rule and the authority of the governor. And they questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach correctly, and You do not accept a face [fig., show favoritism], _but_ You teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful for us to give tribute [or, a tax] to Caesar or not?" "Show to Me a denarius [i.e., a Roman, silver coin]. Whose image and inscription does it have?" Then answering, they said, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "So render the [things] of Caesar to Caesar and the [things] of God to God."
Luke 20:1, 20:20-25

Jesus, the Son of Man, fought for the poor, and died for the poor. This is his everlasting legacy. To say otherwise is heresy, sacrilege, and an egregious offense against the Lord. If you believe the poor deserve to suffer, or you are, for example, against social programs for the poor, you are not a follower of Jesus, and you may not invoke His name, for it is an affront to the true believers of Jesus Christ. So pick another god. After careful research, I found the perfect god that fits all the American Evangelical/Tea baggers criteria: William Graham Sumner. Call yours the Evangelical Church of William Sumner, and take William Sumner to be your Lord and Savior. Doesn't it sound patriotic?

William Graham Sumner: A Yale University political scientist who concocted an ideology driven pseudoscience to rationalize social injustice. Sumner, the most influential social Darwinist of his time, and his followers theorized that millionaires like J. P. Morgan are descendants of the first hominids to stand on two legs, while the poor descend from creatures that lack opposable thumbs and stood on all fours. Sumner decided that business titans of the Gilded Age were "A product of natural selection" and fair "scientific" market competition.

Samuel Ryan © 2013