It is essential that we understand the religious nature of our present crisis. At this point, “Jesus” is still a very useful tool in the hands of tyrants. The liberationists, socialists, barbarians, and Scythians can easily use Jesus’ name to fit into any of their agenda. Jesus can be the easiest way to push a “love thy neighbor” agenda that can apply to just about any modern governmental impulse from forcing masks to wearing Bernie’s mittens. The reason Jesus is such a compelling figure is that unbelievers know that there is still a modicum of spirituality among the leftist base that still cherishes Jesus as a decorative piece in the intellectual journey of any human being.
We should, of course, decry such a thing and fight back with the feistiness of Poirier’s knockout against McGregor. We cannot tolerate seeing our Lord manipulated by the speeches of evil men. Chesterton adds this piece to his masterful hymn, “O God of Earth and Altar,” that jumps right into our current political cycle when he warns about the:
…lies of tongue and pen,
from all the easy speeches
that comfort cruel men.
Cruel men are easily comforted by easy speeches, religiosity displayed in the name of collective faith, and variations of “Amazing Grace” that give even the foulest men goosebumps. But in the end, the entire message is a ploy to get you to think goodies are the government’s specialty. And to deliver these goodies, Jesus becomes the means to an end.
Ever since there was an Arius and Marcion, and Raphael Warnock, there were guilt manipulators using Messiah Jesus to convey their abc’s. Leftists need Jesus, but one made in their image, and they prey on the ignorance of evangelicals to get them to side with their causes. This entire scene explains the New York Times’ sudden fascination with the religiosity of Biden. He is “perhaps the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century.” But here is where the rubber meets the cathedral: Biden is, says NYT, “a different, more liberal” kind of Christian. It grounds his life and policies.
Machen said long ago that “there can be no greater mistake than to suppose that Jesus ever separated theology from ethics.” Nobody on the Left separates theology from ethics, but what they do separate is theology from Jesus. If men can create a new Jesus–and man is a factory of creativity–then, they can offer the world a new ethic based on a Jesus-figure. This allows them to carry their “nice” Christian identities around the Fox News world while simultaneously carrying their “intolerance” identity towards us on MSNBC. It’s a win-win.
Good people, don’t negotiate with manipulators. Bury your eyes and hands in the work of the kingdom. Keep the Epiphany spirit going–the spirit of hard labor and bold proclamation. When Lent comes to town, we can mourn while singing psalms of imprecations against any who would use our Lord’s name in vain.
