What do you think of this quote from Rush drummer Neil Peart?

Religion and politics have been tightly enmeshed since perhaps time immemorial. One of the reasons religion even still exists is that political leaders find it useful. In fact, if the Roman emperor Constantine hadn't decided to use Christianity as a -political- tool to re-unite the Roman empire in the 4th century, Christianity might not even exist today, or be remembered.

The Republican Party has had a deliberate strategy to co-opt fundamentalist Christianity in the US, so as to capture the Bible Belt. They did this by corrupting a few high-level, highly-visible spiritual leaders to get them to conflate a political message with their spiritual one. Many of the principles these leaders teach their following are political, what passes for 'conservatism' these days. But they are totally opposite the teachings of Jesus. Jesus was NOT a supply-sider, totally preoccupied with the concentration of wealth. Jesus did not hate the poor and blame their poverty on their own laziness and unworthiness, or think all poor people were cheaters and crooks. Jesus did not think the rich were heroes for getting richer and richer at the expense of the bottom 95%. But this is what the Christian Right is being taught.

This corruption of spiritual leaders is exactly what angered Jesus himself when he came to Jerusalem and saw the corruption of the leaders of his own religion, how they had sold out to secular power and began pushing a political message for their own self-aggrandizement. Jesus got angry and told them off in strong language. He made a big scene, and it was this scene that led to his demise.

The modern leaders of Fundamentalist Christianity in the US are the new Pharisees. If Jesus came back, the same Jesus with the same message, he would denounce them just as harshly, and they would be first in line to have him hung up again.

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What do you think of this quote from Rush drummer Neil Peart?

In a recent interview with Canadian magazine Maclean's, Neil Peart, the drummer for the 1970's rock group Rush, which just released their 20th studio album "Clockwork Angels", stated: "It is impossible to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and be a Republican. It's...

Even if a majority of Republicans call themselves Christians it still doesn't make Neil Peart's opinion correct or incorrect. If a majority of Christians were Republicans it still wouldn't make his opinion true or false. Consider what once seemed like the majority opinion in Nazi Germany during those days. It certainly didn't make the majority correct. But it could mean that a majority of the people were misled in their thinking.

Is there any reason why the opinion of Rush drummer Neil Peart on this matter should carry any more weight than the opinion of the average Christian Republican walking down the street?

The drummer of Rush?

What would someone like that have any theological background to make such an accusation?

Seems to me it is always liberals bashing Jesus, all Christians and God.

But never Allah, they respect Allah.

He's entitled to his opinion, whatever it may be. In my opinion, he's a great drummer, but he's not as good as Buddy Rich.

You can be a Republican, but you can't go along with the majority of Republican agendas and be anything like Jesus.

For instance tax breaks for the wealthy.

"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Mathew 19:24

That's who I look to for all my philosophical, religious and political advice.... the drummer of Rush.

He's just an aging drummer from a rock and roll band, hardly anyone whose opinion matters.

Peart is correct. If Jesus were alive today, he'd be considered a bleeding heart liberal.