Spring Break
Web site asks: What if Jesus were President?
Matthew Streib/Religion News Service
Issue date: 2/10/08 Section: Divine Intervention
Wallis adds, however, that divining what Jesus would prioritize brings perspective to national issues.
"Would Jesus care about 30,000 children dying worldwide from poverty every day or would he care about a gay marriage amendment in Ohio? That's a fair question."
Jacques Berlinerblau, who teaches at Georgetown University and is author of "Thumpin' It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today's Presidential Politics," said the site has the potential to become quite popular, because it reflects the ubiquitous nature of religion in American politics.
"It works in two senses: it will let the secularists and nonbelievers get their ya-yas out because it'll be funny to see evangelicals and fundamentalists fume," Berlinerblau said. "But if it's also an actual conversation to discuss what Jesus would want as a candidate, it could make people think harder about the choices they make in the political process."
But would he vote for Jesus? "Perhaps," Berlinerblau said. "The Jesus that I've constructed in my mind, the Jesus that I like, but that's my Jesus. When you ask people would you want Jesus to be your president, people would almost always answer yes, but different people have different Jesuses. It's when Jesus enters the public sphere that people start to argue."
"Would Jesus care about 30,000 children dying worldwide from poverty every day or would he care about a gay marriage amendment in Ohio? That's a fair question."
Jacques Berlinerblau, who teaches at Georgetown University and is author of "Thumpin' It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today's Presidential Politics," said the site has the potential to become quite popular, because it reflects the ubiquitous nature of religion in American politics.
"It works in two senses: it will let the secularists and nonbelievers get their ya-yas out because it'll be funny to see evangelicals and fundamentalists fume," Berlinerblau said. "But if it's also an actual conversation to discuss what Jesus would want as a candidate, it could make people think harder about the choices they make in the political process."
But would he vote for Jesus? "Perhaps," Berlinerblau said. "The Jesus that I've constructed in my mind, the Jesus that I like, but that's my Jesus. When you ask people would you want Jesus to be your president, people would almost always answer yes, but different people have different Jesuses. It's when Jesus enters the public sphere that people start to argue."
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