For God sake, Jesus was a lefty-liberal!

There's a rather interesting piece in the Guardian today about how the Church of England has realised its buggered up with young people and intends to have a drive to "recruit" Churchgoers.What's most interesting for me are the comments under the article which contains lots of hyperbole about how the Church is being evil and planning to brainwash children.

As the shortest sentence in the Bible says. Jesus wept. Is belief in a God really so bad that children shouldn't come into contact with a general message that tells them that they shouldn't murder; shouldn't steal; shouldn't lie; should respect their parents; shouldn't cheat on a partner; should treat others as they would wish to be treated themselves; should look to forgiveness over retribution etc etc?

Look, I'm not suggesting for one moment that the Bible (like the Koran), isn't full of some right vicious and violent nastiness. In fact the Old Testament makes the violence in the Koran look pretty mild in comparison. However, what I find incredible is the way the positive sides of the message that Christianity gives (be it in Catholicism (putting aside its patent heresy natch!*) or Protestantism**), get cast aside by you're typical Guardian reader when in fact they're exactly the sort of liberal values they support generally, and all because at the top of it it has some subjugation of one's hope and faith to a monotheistic Deity.

Seriously, if Jesus was alive today (a man's who's existence at least is not I think in dispute) he would be a Guardian reader. Yet, he would of course be pilloried for believing that he was the Son of an unprovable God, no doubt ridiculed for being a bit mad (oh the irony given the average Guardian readers hatred of prejudice towards the mentally ill), and his core beliefs about non-violence, turning the other cheek, forgiveness and the like would be dismissed out of hand.

I realise this is the second post in as many days where the subject of faith has come up, but honestly, I just don't comprehend the sheer hypocrisy of those on the so-called "Liberal Left" when they display so much hatred for a faith that is essentially in keeping with their values, all, so it seems because of the bit about God.

If a kid is brought up with the liberal moral teachings of Christianity but also believes in God is it really "evil"?

Apologies for labouring the point here, but politically speaking, if you look at the New Testament, the carpenter's son from Nazareth known as Jesus was essentially preaching a message that today would be seen as incredibly left wing. He was a little man standing up against an Imperial oppressor, he was preaching the evils of capitalism, and extolling the virtues of the weak and meek over the the rich.

Pardon my blasphemy for those that have an issue with it, but: Jesus Christ! Is it not patently absurd that Guardian readers should hate something so in line with their own beliefs just because it's not secular?

Here endeth the lesson for the day.
* This is a running joke with a Catholic friend.
** Obviously there are other denominations in Christianity, I just couldn't be arsed to write them all.