re: I don’t understand how there can be so many liberal Catholics

Liberals storm out of my parish in Winchester, VA.

I think you are referring to cultural Catholics whom show up to Mass a few times a year and haven’t been to Confession in a long time,

The folks that I attend Mass with seem devout and opposed to liberal nonsense. I also live in one of the reddest areas of Kentucky.

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Considering he was executed by the death penalty and willingly went, you tell me what his views are? Y

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you’re saying that because he was crucified, he must be pro death penalty? And then you have the nerve to type this next:

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Your understanding of Jesus is at a cartoonishly elementary level

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Yes, if we completely ignore the 10 commandments and everything in the Gospels, we can argue that Jesus favored killing His brothers and sisters.

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He was actually conservative,

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Conservative compared to whom? He was radical for his time. He ministered to lepers and stuck up for accused adulterers. Those actions were radical at the time.

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drawing people back to the Old Testament Scriptures

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absolutely not.

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He certainly wasn't a "progressive" in the modern sense of the word.

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he’s absolutely not conservative using the modern definition either. He is non-judgemental, rejected material wealth, preached that everyone has a responsibility to care for the poor and marginalized, preached to turn the other cheek and forgive those who harm you - none of that aligns with the modern conservative platform. He transcends the petty political back and forth of today.

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Matthew 26:51–52)

“Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

Doesn’t get much more explicit than that.

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If you are going to quote Matthew 26:51-52, dont leave out 26:52

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“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."

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The death penalty is handed out by the state. The ten commandments, the gospels, are directed at the individual - not the state. The state absolutely has the authority to shed blood.

Romans 13:4

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For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

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Genesis 9:6

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Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made mankind.

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And to your passage from John, again that is directed towards encouraging the individual to grant mercy.

Leviticus 20:10

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If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death

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The state absolutely has the authority to shed blood.

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Who comprises the state? Octopi? Corgis? Saying that you’re exempt from following Jesus because you are acting not as a human but as “the state” is nonsense.

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again that is directed towards encouraging the individual to grant mercy.

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You are an individual who isn’t granting mercy if you are doing these mental gymnastics to justify your bloodthirst.

cafeteria Catholicism

I don't know why people feel compelled to call themselves "religious" when they don't actually believe much of anything their religion believes but they do.

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Liberals (and Jesus) believe in helping the poor. Republicans say the poor are "takers." Republicans sayit is SOCIALISM anytime you want to help the poor! Republicans say cut USAID. Liberals (and Jesus) believe in supporting immigrants. Republicans want ICE officers in masks to round up brown people and send them anywhere. Build a Wall!

Jesus supported liberal causes.

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If Jesus walked the earth today his views would be extremely conservative on almost every issue. He upheld the Law from the Torah (Easily viewed as EXTREMELY far right today) and expected people to follow both the rules and the spirit behind them. The only position anyone could spin as liberal was his instruction to care for the poor, but no major party is trying to end safety net programs. Conservatives simply want them free from fraud and abuse. He respected government authority and would have told people to follow immigration laws the same way He expected obedience to every other civil law enforced by the Roman Empire.

Sometimes I wonder if people have read the Bible, or if they just parrot talking points they’ve heard.

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I don’t understand how there can be so many liberal Catholics

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It’s pretty simple. Most people don’t base their politics on religion whatsoever.

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Conservative compared to whom? He was radical for his time. He ministered to lepers and stuck up for accused adulterers. Those actions were radical at the time.

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Conservative compared to the Jewish leaders that perverted the law and the prophets. Jesus explained the true and original meaning of the Scriptures, showing how the law condemned everyone and pointed to Him as the Messiah that would save His people from their sins.

You are also thinking about Him incorrectly, according to human thinking. He didn’t come for social revolution but to save sinners into a spiritual kingdom through the forgiveness of sins.

He didn’t heal lepers to be “radical” but to show that He was God incarnate with the power to heal the sick. Lepers were also symbolic of spiritual uncleanness, being outside the city and covenant community. Jesus’ healing was a picture of cleansing sin.

He didn’t stick up for adulterers but forgave sin. The woman caught in adultery was used to trap Jesus. He didn’t fall for the trap by pitting Rome against Moses. He turned the trap on the scribes (lawyers) and the result was an opportunity to forgive sin. He didn’t merely forgive her, though. He told her to go and sin no more. Forgiveness requires repentance.

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absolutely not.

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Absolutely yes. He was quoting the Scripture all the time and explaining it to the people. He demonstrated that He was the fulfillment of it as the Son of God who was there before Abraham.

If you think Jesus’ ministry was nothing more than social revolution, you don’t understand the Bible. The gospel is about forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God for eternal life. It is not about social progressivism as so many liberals think.

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he’s absolutely not conservative using the modern definition either.

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Not politically, but He wasn’t political; His ministry was spiritual, not political. He was a conservative Jew in that He was teaching a return back to biblical truth before it was perverted by the Jewish leaders who twisted the law and didn’t obey God’s commands.

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He is non-judgemental

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He condemned sin and told people to repent all the time. He “judged” the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders and even rebuked His own follower for impeding His ministry. He didn’t come the first time as a judge, though. He will come again and judge all nations.

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rejected material wealth

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No He didn’t. He rejected greed and worldly-mindedness. He rejected the idolatry of wealth.

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preached that everyone has a responsibility to care for the poor and marginalized

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As an act of charity, yes. However Jesus didn’t come to care physically for the poor and marginalized. He came to save sinners. Caring for the poor as one is able is good because all people are made in the image of God, and yet we are to prioritize our service and charity based on our means and relationships.

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preached to turn the other cheek and forgive those who harm you

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Yes, as an individual, we are to forgive those who harm us. He was not opposed to justice, though. Being the supreme Judge, He will say to many “I never knew you”, and cast them into Hell for their sin and rebellion against Him.

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none of that aligns with the modern conservative platform.

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As citizens and people made in the image of God, we are to be kind to one another and forgive one another. However the State must uphold justice and protect its people. Not everything we are supposed to do as individuals carries over into government policy.

I agree that many conservative policies and ideals do not align with biblical Christianity, but as a conservative Christian, I can see the wickedness of the progressive left, that rejects the commands of God and seeks to make this earth into Heaven while damning souls to Hell.

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He transcends the petty political back and forth of today

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I can agree with this.