I was over at unbeliefnet.com today reading this article by Tony "The Communist"* Campolo, shaking my head at what passes for "Christian" these days, and getting just a little irritated. It seems that when Marc Heinrich, he of Purgatorio fame, questioned the contention that Jesus was a socialist, the answer should have been an emphatic "Yes!"

Campolo and company (a distinguished group of fine theologians including Brian McLaren, a Catholic Priest, and some Rev. Dr. Cheryl J. Sanders) have adopted the title "Red-letter Christians." Now, in my youth - earlier in my youth, that is - before some genius decided that the Democrat states were blue and the Republican states were red, red represented that Socialist Utopia that would have welcomed Comrade Tony with open arms. It would have been a proper bear hug, you know. Now, however, the title "Red-letter Christians" seemed out of place. I was confused, but help was on the way.

Campolo was referring to the red letters in the New Testament in red-letter Bibles, the words of Christ. These pious individuals have discovered that the red letters make it very clear that Republicans are evil. Read the Sermon on the Mount, for pete's sake! It's obvious, you ignorant red-necks! Jesus was a socialist! Disturbed by the fact that 83 percent of evangelicals voted Republican in the last Presidential election, these heavy-weights of the post-modern theological illuminati convened an emergency summit to save the world from (gasp) CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS! OK, I'm dramatizing a bit. Here is what Campolo said:

The purpose of this gathering was not to create a religious left movement to challenge the religious right, but to jump-start a religious movement that will transcend partisan politics. Believing that Jesus is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, we want to unite Christians who are concerned about what is happening in America.

What is happening in America that has these enlightened folks up-in-arms? It is important to remember that they are not merely talking about a Christian response to these concerns, they are proposing a political solution. In spite of the stated purpose to "transcend partisan politics," this is clearly a partisan effort. After all, it began with consternation over the number of "evangelicals" who vote Republican. They are upset about:

• "What is happening to poor people in America"
• "Environmental policies that are contributing to global warming"
• "The increasing arrogance of power shown in our country’s militarism"
• "Less than two-tenths of 1 percent [of our national budget] is designated to help the poor of third-world countries"
• "discrimination against women, people of color, and those who suffer because of their sexual orientation" (empasis added)

Each one of those issues deserves a lengthy discussion, but I will just say that they demonstrate just how far left this group is, and how far from Biblical their worldview is.

Now, back to the red letters. Through what must be very interesting exegesis and free-style hermeneutics, Dr. Campolo has divined the solution to these problems from the Sermon on the Mount. He says,

Of course, the message in those red-lettered verses is radical, to say the least. If you don’t believe me, read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

In those red letters, He calls us away from the consumerist values that dominate contemporary American consciousness. He calls us to be merciful, which has strong implications for how we think about capital punishment. When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he probably means we shouldn’t kill them. Most important, if we take Jesus seriously, we will realize that meeting the needs of the poor is a primary responsibility for His followers.

Christians should be concerned about the poor, but I would be very interested in seeing the passage of Scripture in which Jesus rebukes government for not looking after the poor, or individuals for not coercing others to give charitably. Make no mistake, that is what Campolo is talking about. He is not admonishing Christians to be more generous, he is calling for a rule of law that confiscates resources and redistributes them. Theft by any other name would smell as foul, as Shakespeare said.

Notably absent from Campolo's assessment of the Christian mission is the Gospel. The Christian mission is simply to irradicate poverty, get everyone into a Prius, do away with such barbaric practices as capital punishment, and accept sodomy for the completely natural thing that it is.

I am pretty sure the red letters say something else.

As I was scratching my head, wondering how anything I was reading fit under the heading "Christian," I noticed the sidebar, reproduced for you here, and realized just how narrow-minded I am.