Jesus for President!

HawkgrrrlAsides, christ, church, Culture, curiosity, evangelicals, faith, Government, Humor, inter-faith, Jesus, LDS, liberal, media, Money, mormon, Mormon, Mormons, news, politics, questioning, religion, thought, Utah 21 Comments

Many view the Second Coming as a time when Jesus will personally and politically reign, not just host lamb & lion mixers.  So what do you think?  Will Jesus govern politically?  Or is the notion that Jesus will govern politically more of the same wishful thinking that people had the first time around when they thought the Messiah would free them from political oppression by the Romans?  (Weren’t they disappointed!)

Before you give your opinion, here are some more specific questions to consider about an actual government with Jesus at the helm:

  1. What kind of government.
    • Will the earth be a theocracy (like Iran) or will there be separation of church and state like in the U.S. (except the deep South and Utah)?
    • Would Jesus be subject to elections?  What if He got voted out?
    • Will there still be dissenting opinions?  Different political parties?  What if someone disagrees with Jesus?  What would He do?  Go all “cleanse the temple” on the Senate?
    • Is Jesus a Democrat or Republican  (remember he hung out with both poor people and tax collectors)?  Will He cut through pork barrel spending with a double-edged sword of fire?  Is Jesus good with money (wasn’t He keeping His money in a live fish last time)?
  2. Role of churches.
    • Will there be a “church” during the millenium?  Why would there be?  Isn’t the church like the babysitter while the Savior’s away?  Remember, there wasn’t a church per se when He was on the earth.  He created a movement.  The disciples created a church to keep the movement going and provide support to new followers.  At the least, He could reduce the three-hour block.
    • Will there be various churches then?  Will some be non-Christian?
    • Will there be a mass conversion to one faith or at least Christianity?  Will there be apostates after that?
  3. Culture.
    • What kind of shows would be on TV?  Would everyone be self-censoring?  Would there be less taking of the name of God in vain?
    • Would WWJD shirts & caps be irrelevant or an even bigger seller now that we know the answer to the question?
  4. Jesus as a Leader.  What kind of political leader would Jesus be?
    • A great communicator (if you have ears to hear anyway).
    • Your basic delegator.
    • He might host some amazing parties (His reputation as a wine-bibber), but none of the cool people will be invited (expect guys in tin foil hats and aging hookers based on His friends the first time around).
    • Would He do interviews with Larry King?  Stephen Colbert?

So, do you take this idea literally?  If so, what do you think it will be like?  Do you fall into the “it will be so different than things are now that we can’t fathom it” (because if so, I guess I would just say “people are people”)?  Discuss.

Comments 21

  1. @#1: Yes! It is from this website: http://www.jcnot4me.com/ , which reveals Hawkgrrrl’s secret agenda.

    I think part of the problem in assessing Jesus’ role is that his mission will be so different from his first coming, which will therefore not be a good guide.

    There’ll still be dissenting opinions, I’m certain, but I think we need to know more about how a terrestrial society would function, and none of us really has a benchmark for that. I don’t particularly feel that there will need to be a bureaucratic church after the second coming, but maybe that’s just me projecting my tastes onto God.

  2. “Will there be a “church” during the millenium? Why would there be? Isn’t the church like the babysitter while the Savior’s away? Remember, there wasn’t a church per se when He was on the earth. He created a movement. The disciples created a church to keep the movement going and provide support to new followers. At the least, He could reduce the three-hour block.”

    you REALLY think that Jesus will be content with just 3 hours on a sunday
    IO can see it going to 6 or 7! lol

  3. If Jesus were our all-powerful political leader, the WWJD T-Shirts and hats would have a seriously propagandistic feel that kinds of creeps me out. A little too Mao or Fidel Castro for my taste.

    But really, I think we (mortals) are constantly outsmarting ourselves, trying to figure out what God and Christ and heaven and the millennium will be like. My guess is that Christ will reign in a way that we do not presently understand, or have not really thought of, but which will make other forms of government or control kind of meaningless. Just my guess, though.

  4. The pic of JC in sunglasses concisely reiterates the inherent problem with expecting JC to govern. Leaders in government are all about image. Remember watching President Bush clapping his hands awkwardly to music and doing a two-step? He knew he had to look cool; he failed to look cool, but that’s irrelevant. Lots of politicians fail at that. Remember Mitt “don’t touch the hair” Romney? Politicians live and die by popular opinion. Content becomes irrelevant when populism reigns. The WWJD shirts and hats are already propaganda, IMO, and strike me as creepy, and they are certainly a commercialization of Jesus’ image to make him “cool” to Christian youth. Image is an inherent problem in considering His role in government. Image control (PR) creates authenticity problems, and I just don’t see how Jesus can be Jesus and not be authentic.

    What do people want from political leaders? For them to do their will (the will of either the individual or “the people”). If a leader does His own will instead of the will of the people, that is a dictator or theocrat in this case. The entire idea is problematic. Jesus was about changing people from the inside out, not the other way around.

  5. At the least, He could reduce the three-hour block.

    I agree with Steve W. Those who struggle with a 3-hour block of meetings are going to have a hard time with “come follow me to the mountainside while I talk long enough that we need to gather some fishes and loaves and have a prison-cell-like picnic meal”. 🙂

    Andrew S, are you referring to the amazing pictures in this hilarious post?

    “Putting the RAD in Traditional Values”

  6. 1-1 Theocracy
    1-2 no elections. He won’t get voted out until after the Millenium is over
    1-3 Yes, dissenting opinions, but not enough to matter. Yes, probably minor political parties. If someone disagrees with Jesus, he will try gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, and then reprove with sharpness, cleansing the Senate if necessary.
    1-4 Jesus is an Independent, and find Demos and Reps both equally bad. Jesus is great with money, and will get a line-item veto.

    2-1 Yes church in millenium, but it will probably include much more service.
    2-2 No non-christian churches will be left, but their buildings would be used.
    2-3 Yes, a mass conversion to Christianity, and yes there will be apostates.

    3-1 TV would be self-censoring at first, and then it will change to promote family values.
    3-2 WWJD shirts disappear.

    4-1,2,3 Jesus will be great communicator, delegator, great partier.
    4-4 no interviews with Larry King and Stephen Colbert, but probably Pat Robertson, Pres Monson.

  7. MH – “1-4 Jesus is an Independent, and find Demos and Reps both equally bad.” I knew it!

    “3-2 WWJD shirts disappear.” Rapture-like?

    “4-4 no interviews with Larry King and Stephen Colbert, but probably Pat Robertson, Pres Monson.” Surely King, Robertson and Monson will be dead by then . . .

  8. Surely King, Robertson and Monson will be dead by then . . .

    Hawk, that just might be the best line in the history of the Bloggernacle – IF it is amended as follows:

    Surely, King. Robertson and Monson will be dead by then . . .

    I’m not sure King will die – ever.

  9. #11—“3-1 TV would be self-censoring at first, and then it will change to promote family values.”

    yea, I don’t think anybody will be watching tv either…..

  10. Holden,

    Certainly Jesus wouldn’t object to CNN covering his proclamations. And I doubt Jesus would dump televised General Conference.

    Yes, the sitcoms and dramas would probably be greatly changed, if not eliminated.

  11. A man is in line at a convenience store and sees a hat with WWJD on it.

    He asks the cashier, “What does WWJD mean?”

    She tells him, “It stands for ‘What Would Jesus Do’.”

    He looks at the hat again and finally says, “I don’t think he’d pay $14.95 for a hat.”

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