Republican Jesus

Last updated

Republican Jesus or GOP Jesus is a meme satirizing Republican socially conservative and libertarian Christians whose values appear antithetical to the Gospels, [1] a Jesus who "loves borders, guns, unborn babies, and economic prosperity and hates homosexuality, taxes, welfare, and universal healthcare", [2] and for whom the ten commandments take precedence over the beatitudes. [3] Republican Jesus memes "often spotlight contradictions between Christian values/beliefs and Republican policies/ideals". [4]

Contents

A viral video titled "GOP Jesus" portrayed Jesus as if he had adopted Republican policies. [5] It referenced well-known passages including Matthew 25:35-40, satirised as "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. And behold, now I’m all lazy and entitled. You shouldn’t have done that". In one scene satirising the parable of the good Samaritan, GOP Jesus is approached by a woman asking for healing, and responds: "but who would pay for it?" the woman has no money so GOP Jesus responds "Yes, it’s a sad story, but it does not make me responsible." [5] [6]

It has similarities to the Who Would Jesus Bomb? slogans used during the early 2000s. [1] [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What would Jesus do?</span> Phrase popular in the 1990s in the United States

The phrase "What would Jesus do?", often abbreviated to WWJD, became popular particularly in the United States in the early 1900s after the widely read book In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? by Charles Sheldon. The phrase had a resurgence in the 1990s as a personal motto for adherents of Christianity, who used it as a reminder of their belief in a moral imperative to act in a manner demonstrating the love of Jesus through their actions. The resurgence of the motto during the 1990s stems from the W.W.J.D. abbreviation on wristbands that became popular among Christian youth groups.

Christian anarchism is a Christian movement in political theology that claims anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the Gospels. It is grounded in the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable—the authority of God as embodied in the teachings of Jesus. It therefore rejects the idea that human governments have ultimate authority over human societies. Christian anarchists denounce the state, believing it is violent, deceitful and idolatrous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet meme</span> Cultural item spread via the Internet

An Internet meme or meme, is a cultural item that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. The name is by the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations. Characteristics of memes include their susceptibility to parody, their use of intertextuality, their propagation in a viral pattern, and their evolution over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anointing of Jesus</span> Gospels event

The anointings of Jesus’s head or feet are events recorded in the four gospels. The account in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 12 takes place on the Holy Wednesday of Holy Week at the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany, a village in Judaea on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. In Matthew and Mark, he is anointed by an unnamed woman. In John, the woman is identified as Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus of Bethany. The event in Luke features an unnamed sinful woman, and is in the northern region, as Luke 7 indicates Jesus was ministering in the northern regions of Nain and Capernaum. The honorific anointing with perfume is an action frequently mentioned in other literature from the time; however, using long hair to dry Jesus's feet, as in John and Luke, is not recorded elsewhere, and should be regarded as an exceptional gesture. Considerable debate has discussed the identity of the woman, the location, timing, and the message.

<i>Live from Golgotha: The Gospel According to Gore Vidal</i> Novel by Gore Vidal

Live from Golgotha is a novel by Gore Vidal, an irreverent spoof of the New Testament. Told from the perspective of Saint Timothy as he travels with Saint Paul, the 1992 novel's narrative shifts in time as Timothy and Paul combat a mysterious hacker from the future who is deleting all traces of Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raúl Labrador</span> American politician (born 1967)

Raúl Rafael Labrador is an American lawyer and politician from Idaho, currently the state's attorney general. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. Representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2019 and chaired the Idaho Republican Party from 2019 to 2020. He also represented the 14B district in the state legislature from 2006 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clint Eastwood at the 2012 Republican National Convention</span> Speech by Clint Eastwood

On Thursday, August 30, 2012, American actor and director Clint Eastwood gave a speech at the Republican National Convention. Eastwood had endorsed Mitt Romney for the 2012 United States presidential election earlier that month, and spent much of his speech's running time on a largely improvised routine in which he addressed an empty chair that represented President Barack Obama. The speech, broadcast in a prime time slot, was viewed live by around 30 million people. It generated many responses and much discussion.

Vicki Yohe is a gospel singer, songwriter, and worship leader. She was born in Normal, Illinois and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. She sang her first solo at the age of five. Her family moved to Hammond, Louisiana when she was 14. At age 19, she accepted the position of music director at a church near Baton Rouge.

<i>Jesus for President</i> 2008 book by Chris Haw and Shane Claiborne

Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals is a 2008 book co-written by the evangelical authors Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, two important figures in New Monasticism. The book asserts that the countercultural themes in the ministry of Jesus, such as those of self-denial, are ignored by American Christians because they have become accustomed to exercising Christian privilege and are unwilling to give it up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social media in the 2016 United States presidential election</span> Overview of social media usage in the 2016 U.S. presidential election

Social media played an important role in shaping the course of events leading up to, during, and after the 2016 United States presidential election. It enabled people to have a greater interaction with the political climate, controversies, and news surrounding the candidates. Unlike traditional news platforms, such as newspapers, radio, and magazines, social media gave people the ability to comment below a candidate's advertisement, news surrounding the candidates, or articles regarding the policy of the candidates. It also allowed people to formulate their own opinions on public forums and sites and allowed for greater interaction among voters. The accessibility of information online enabled more voters to educate themselves on candidates' positions on issues, which in turn enabled them to form unique opinions on candidates and vote on those opinions, ultimately impacting the election's outcome.

<i>The Babylon Bee</i> Satirical website

The Babylon Bee is a conservative Christian news satire website that publishes satirical articles on topics including religion, politics, current events, and public figures. It has been referred to as a Christian or conservative version of The Onion.

<i>Gunshow</i> (webcomic) 2008 American webcomic

Gunshow is a 2008 webcomic created by KC Green. The webcomic is gag-a-day, having little overarching story and covering a large variation of topics with strong tonal shifts. Gunshow is well known for spawning the "This is fine" internet meme in 2013. The webcomic concluded in 2014, as Green moved on to other creative work.

Thanks, Obama is an Internet meme both seriously and satirically used in regard to former U.S. President Barack Obama's policies.

"[citation needed]" is a tag added by Wikipedia editors to unsourced statements in articles requesting citations to be added. The phrase is reflective of the policies of verifiability and no original research on Wikipedia and has become a general Internet meme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VoiceoverPete</span> American YouTuber and voice actor

Pete Accetturo, better known by his online alias VoiceoverPete, is an American YouTuber, streamer, voice actor, comedian, and spokesperson.

Bye Felipe is an Instagram account and book by Alexandra Tweten; the term became an internet meme for men "behaving badly" in online dating apps. The Atlantic called the Instagram account a "crowdsourced menagerie of mankind's worst specimens." The Instagram account accepts submissions of "insulting, ridiculous and sometimes outright threatening messages" women receive in online dating apps and posts them for commentary by followers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Javelin</span> Russo-Ukrainian War meme

Saint Javelin is an Internet meme and fictional character depicted in a religious icon style as a saint-like figure cradling a modern weapon used in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such as the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank weapon. The meme was created by Christian Borys during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and became famous around the world, eventually resulting in other similar memes. The meme boosted morale and was used in merchandise products, resulting in more than a million dollars raised for humanitarian charities assisting Ukraine.

Rage farming or rage-baiting is internet slang that refers to a manipulative tactic to elicit outrage with the goal of increasing internet traffic, online engagement, revenue and support. Rage baiting or farming can be used as a tool to increase engagement, attract subscribers, followers, and supporters which can be financially lucrative. Rage baiting and rage farming manipulates users to respond in kind to offensive, inflammatory headlines, memes, tropes, or comments.

Limor Shifman is a professor of communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. Her work has been in researching and developing an area of study surrounding Internet memes, a subarea of digital culture and digital media research. Since the late 2000s she has been an active contributor to the research area of memetics, a more broad area of research interested in cultural evolution of ideas. She is married to neurogeneticist Sagiv Shifman.

References

  1. 1 2 Duerringer, Christopher M. (2016-01-06). "Who Would Jesus Bomb? The Republican Jesus Meme and the Fracturing of Ideology". Social Media + Society. 2 (1): 205630511663709. doi: 10.1177/2056305116637095 . ISSN   2056-3051.
  2. Keddie 2020, cover.
  3. Hitt, Jack (2005-04-26). "Jesus Was No GOP Lobbyist". LA Times. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  4. Campbell, Heidi A.; Arredondo, Katherine; Dundas, Katie; Wolf, Cody (2018-04-01). "The Dissonance of "Civil" Religion in Religious-Political Memetic Discourse During the 2016 Presidential Elections". Social Media + Society. 4 (2): 2056305118782678. doi: 10.1177/2056305118782678 . ISSN   2056-3051.
  5. 1 2 "Jesus Putting Children in Detention Centers? Viral 'GOP Jesus' Video Mocks Trump and GOP". Christian Post. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  6. Briggs, Megan (2018-11-06). "'GOP Jesus' Takes Satirical Look at Christian Republicans". churchleaders.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  7. Mikulan, Steven (2003-01-23). "Who Would Jesus Bomb?". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  8. Berger, Knute (2006-10-09). "'Who Would Jesus Bomb?'". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 2020-05-29.

Reference bibliography