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How Jesus Got Demoted by the Religious Right
Leaders of the decidedly nonconservative "conservative" right avoid focusing on what Jesus actually said; his teachings would prohibit their campaign to forcibly remake others – Christian and nonChristian alike – into their own image.

But they can't just come out and say "don't pay any attention to Jesus' teachings" because this would alarm the majority of Christians. So rightwing religious leaders are doing what tyrants aiming to divide and conquer Christians have always done:

(1) They distract us away from Jesus' teachings and commands by focusing exclusively on his birth, death, and ticket-to-salvation role,

(2) They claim to be biblical literalists, "Bible-believing Christians" to pre-empt criticism, yet blatantly pick and choose only those verses that serve their purposes, and

(3) They refer constantly to "God" rather than "Jesus," a potent subliminal strategy that convinces Christians to focus on a violent disciplinarian God rather than a gently shepherding Jesus. By instilling the terror of God's punishment instead of the love of Jesus' guidance, rightwing Christian leaders have convinced American Christians that the wrathful, violent God portrayed in pre-Christian times is the one they’d better obey, while they need only to believe in Jesus (easy), not obey him (difficult).

In these ways, Jesus has been demoted in the current strain of "conservative" Christianity. Such Christians deny this of course, exclaiming that they do obey Jesus' teachings – in their hearts. They'll say that Jesus never expected us to actually implement those teachings, that they were more or less spiritual insights: We can persecute and kill, so long as we do it with a pure heart.

Leaders of the radical right give all manner of creative reasons for disobeying Jesus' teachings. This is especially apparent when they pick and choose scriptures that condone sexism, oppression, war, slavery, domestic violence and the domination of others.

Most damaging of all to our faith – and to Christians everywhere, in the long run – rightwing leaders are inserting the word "Jesus" into their ugliest campaigns in the US and around the world....