What if Jesus showed up in current day America and ran for President of the United States?

I know that there are plenty of theological holes in this question, but a book I recently finished: American Savior by Roland Merullo explored this very question.

The story is told through the eyes of a former TV news reporter who is called by Jesus to join his campaign. Throughout the book “Jesus” never actually says he is God, but the parallels to the Jesus of the Bible are abundant. Not to mention the occasional miracle and a Jesus encounter after his foretold death.

What would a Jesus candidate look like? I think everyone on Epinoia could agree he wouldn’t fit into either political party. What would be his issues?

In the book, Merullo brings up the topic of Abortion, an obvious hot-button issue for a lot of politically minded Christians. Jesus’ response in the book, is exactly what I’d hope a response from Jesus would be in life… Sit down prominent people on both sides and have a round-table discussion, because everyone can agree that they’d rather see fewer abortions than more abortions. It’s that simple… listen to each other.

One of my favorite lines in the book comes after an assassination attempt against Jesus by members of a Christian fundamentalist cult. The narrator can sense a frustration within Jesus, and asks how he is. Jesus responds by commenting on the ignorance of humankind. “It’s not your ignorance that’s frustrating, it’s your persistent ignorance.” That sentiment went on to become a common theme for the rest of the book.

Overall the book is a fantastic commentary on American Christianity, Politics, and a solid criticism of the media. The writing quality wasn’t suburb, but it was an entertaining book, if for nothing else then the thoughts that follow…

So, setting the book aside… if Jesus showed up today, what would his issues be? I think we can all agree that he’d be a champion for the poor… but beyond the obvious… what would he spend his days doing? What issues of our day would he be calling attention to?