this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Have you ever looked at what the messiah was supposed to do?

The messiah was supposed to be a king of the line of David who was supposed to defeat the enemies of Israel, and lead the nation to subjugate the entire world and usher in a new age of “peace.”

Jesus said, himself, that he would bring in that new age of peace and toss everyone who wasn’t his followers into fire for eternal torment.

It’s unsurprising that nationalism crops up… even if Jesus wasn’t, uh, you know. Christian.

[–] VerilyFemme@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 hour ago

Yeah, and? Have you ever looked at what Jesus commanded his followers to do?

One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31 NASB)

What Jesus said, when addressing the idea of people who would be thrown into fire, was this:

Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46 NASB)

Those are the people being eternally tormented - those who would not serve the least of these.

There's so much more to expound on as well.

Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10 NASB)

Later, in Acts, Peter meets a centurion, who is the first Gentile to receive the Holy Spirit:

When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up; I, too, am just a man.” As he talked with him, he entered and found many people assembled. And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner; and yet God has shown me that I am not to call any person unholy or unclean." (Acts 10:25-28 NASB)

The Messiah was indeed prophesied to defeat the enemies of Israel. He was also prophesied to be rejected by the people of Israel.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of dry ground; He has no stately form or majesty
That we would look at Him,
Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him.
He was despised and abandoned by men,
A man of great pain and familiar with sickness;
And like one from whom people hide their faces,
He was despised, and we had no regard for Him.
However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore;
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God, and humiliated.
But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:2-5 NASB)

I won't say the problem isn't organized religion.

Which would also line up with how Jesus acted toward the Pharisees and Sadducees.

From the Sermon on the Mount:

And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:5-6 NASB)

Later, in the Temple:

Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple grounds. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all the crowd was astonished at His teaching. (Mark 11:15-18 NASB)

Jesus showed up, flipped the script on organized religion, and they killed him. I do think Christian Nationalism is an oxymoron. It makes a show of faith and positions a government as an authority of God. This is not what Jesus commanded.

Therefore Pilate entered the Praetorium again, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “You are the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” (John 18:33-37 NASB)

Bonus Verses:

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:21-24 NASB)