Jesus isn’t a liberal

Eric Johnson (“Liberals create progress,” July 13) repeats a common but incorrect view that Jesus was a liberal.

In their basic political definitions, before cultural overuse morphed them into confrontation catchwords, liberal simply meant change advocate and conservative meant status quo advocate. As rigid labels, the terms have never been useful. Examples: How liberal were Russian revolutionaries Lenin and Trotsky; how conservative once communism succeeded? How liberal are abortion activists; how adamant for status quo of the 46-year abortion tradition?

Similarly in the time of Jesus, Jewish religious officials continued the unauthorized changes (change from established norms denotes liberalism) developed by previous leadership which had established new traditions. Thus Jesus said to them, “… ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:9). His response to certain questions was never, “What do today’s scribes and Pharisees say?”; it was “What is written in the law?” (e.g., Luke 10:26). In saying that, Jesus took questioners backward 1,400 years to Mount Sinai and Moses, negating leadership’s supposedly progressive changes. Returning to a previous standard is considered reactionary not liberal.

As God in human form, Jesus is Savior, not sociologist, and God never changes (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). Tagging Him as liberal is wrong.

Rod Foss

Spokane