By Patrick Hynes

In a recent USA Today op-ed, Tom Krattenmaker argues that “playing the God card” has backfired on President George W. Bush. The president’s favorability has fallen through the floor, Krattenmaker argues. And surely God would never side with unpopular presidents. “The God’s-on-our-side rhetoric is looking even less credible now, after more than a year of frequently bad news for the president and his administration,” he writes.

As for the actual “God’s-on-our-side” rhetoric, Mr. Krattenmaker’s examples are pretty lame. He quotes an obscure alternate delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention and New York Governor George Pataki (no favorite of the religious Right, to be sure) as proof that the GOP considers itself “God’s Official Party.” He then chides the president himself for calling freedom “God’s gift to every man and woman in this world”; a florid idea every president since George Washington has expressed in one manner or another.

To be fair, Krattenmaker cites equally lame examples to show Democrats take the Lord’s name in vain, too.  But nowhere in his piece does Krattenmaker make reference to the Left’s recent extraordinary claims to divine endorsement.  Since their 2004 drubbing at the hands of roughly 30 million conservative Christians, Democrats have invoked the Lord’s name in such ways and with such frequency; it would make the Rev. Pat Robertson blush.

“God is a liberal,” declare Jim Carville and Paul Begala in their latest book Take It Back. “Jesus is not a Republican,” demands Clint Wallis, editor of, among other tomes, the very un-Christian sounding The I Hate Republicans Reader. “Jesus is a progressive.” 

“When did Jesus become pro-rich?” asks liberal evangelical author and activist Jim Wallis. “Jesus cared for the poor/so do we,” reads a South Dakota Democratic Party bumper sticker. “The role of government is to protect its people and work for the common good. This is not the time for a budget reconciliation process. To do so is not only unjust, it’s a sin,” echoed the Leftist National Council of Churches USA. 

Here’s how The Hill described a Nancy Pelosi floor speech on the budget process in 2005, “In the final Democratic speech before the vote, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said a vote in favor of the bill amounted to a ’sin.’”

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It’s funny to see the Democrats pulling toward the right every election year, and especially interesting to see them when they quote Bible verses. For some reason, when I see a Democrat quote a verse from the Bible, they never seem sincere.

However, sincerity is not the issue I’d like to discuss today, though Democrats give sincerity a bad reputation. I’d like to explore the issue of God in politics, and more specifically, whether Jesus would’ve been liberal or conservative.

To understand whether Jesus would’ve even cared about government, we must first explore what the Bible says about government. Paul, in Romans 13, explains what the role of government is and how God feels about it:

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Here, we can clearly see that God has created government for the good of mankind and to promote the rule of law. And as the Bible says it is to our advantage to follow God’s commandments, it is likewise to our advantage to do what is lawfully right, or follow what rules our government has given us.

In the book of Matthew, chapter 22, Jesus is asked by Pharisees if it is right to pay taxes to Caesar:

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
 
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

This passage clearly shows that Jesus  respected the rule of law in Isreal at the time. Because Jesus would know that God instituted government for the good of mankind, it would be wise, if not prudent, for him to pay taxes to help uphold the institution of government.

Now let us move back to the issue whether Jesus could’ve been considered liberal or conservative. The inherent problem with this argument is that we must move beyond the partisan bickering and ask ourselves “What is the real difference between liberals and conservatives?” Simply, conservatives and liberals hold different beliefs about the role of government in American life.

Jesus, in all his wisdom, did not tell us what role government should have, except that government should be an authority to be followed. He also layed down specific guidelines for his followers and promoted moral values like generosity, integrity, honesty, and servanthood. It would only make sense for government officials to uphold these values. Jesus did not promote the values simply for his followers, but for everyone on Earth.

So the basic argument of Democrats or Republicans stating Jesus would be on their side is simply inaccurate. In my opinion, Jesus did not tell us what type of government to have, whether conservative or liberal, but instead demonstrated what kind of people we should be. This thought includes all people, and even those who work in, and create government. Therefore, I conclude, Jesus was neither a conservative or liberal, but instead, someone who thought government and the people following its laws, should be moral and demonstrate the love of God.