Fox News, the official mouthpiece of the Republican Party (or is the other way around?) loves to extol what it calls “Christian American values” and how important those are to the future of the nation. But as a member of the Christian Left, I have to tell you that what they say doesn’t match up with what was said by Jesus.
So I thought it would be both fun and instructive to compare what Fox News says on a daily basis about the poor and needy to what Jesus said on the same issue. See if you can guess which of these quotes belongs to one of the folks from Fox and which are found in the New Testament:
“The handout nation rolls on.” (Yep, that’s Fox.)
“The image we have of poor people as starving and living in squalor really is not accurate. Many of them have things, what they lack is the richness of spirit.” (Hmm…wonder which that one could be? It’s Fox News again.)
“The true causes of poverty… are these: poor education, addiction, irresponsible behavior, and laziness.” (Oh, that has to be from the Bible, right? No. Fox News again. Starting to see a pattern?
“Addictive behavior, laziness, and apathy all override social justice programs.” (OK, so I stacked the deck; starting to see a pattern here?)
So now let’s see how you do with this portion of the test. Take a look at these quotes and tell me where they can first be found:
“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor.” (That one’s from Jesus and can be found in the Book of Matthew.)
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Yes, that one is also from Jesus. Hey, you’re really good at this aren’t you?)
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Did you get that one? Also from Jesus.)
“These programs do make people lazy.” (Wanna take a guess on this one? It’s Fox News.)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (This has to be Jesus because Fox News thinks the poor are leeches and cannot believe they want to ask for a living wage.)
I think you see what I’m trying to say here: Those who beat the drum about being in line with God’s word are often the furthest from it. So the next time a Fox News watcher you know tries to justify hating the needy and less fortunate, remind them what Jesus said.
h/t Jim Wallis, The Huffington Post
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.