Riddle me this: When did Christianity become solely owned by Conservatives?

[On the Road]

107. It is So Unusual to Hear Someone Say That

even though it should be completely self-evident.

People tend to read their own times back into historical documents. But even a century ago the social, political, and religious lines were drawn so differently as to be almost unrecognizable. It takes a huge amount of context to even begin to understand the milieu that Jesus lived in.

People who think that Jesus' central message can be summed up in the Sermon on the Mount might do well to read Mark, which was probably the first gospel ever written. It's not in there at all. Nor is it in John, although there is something sort of like it in Luke. However, Mark 13 is there, as well as a lot of angry diatribes.

So if it wasn't the Golden Rule and the beatitudes, what was it all about? Mark is extremely cagey. It was certainly apocalyptic, nationalistic, and purist, even if the details are not clear. The Romans thought he was plotting a revolution. That may or may not be true, but his patterns of teaching resembled others that did start revolts.

So who knows? But Jesus would probably reject both Democrats and Republicans. He might feel actually more comfortable in the orthodox Jewish community.