"RED STATE, OR BLUE STATE, JESUS ?"............

With the political landscape of the United States of America having become a 50/50 nation between affiliation and support for the Democrats and Republicans, as a tug of war between Conservatives and Liberals, has intensified, over the past twelve years, divided into Red States and Blue States with less than a dozen Purple States, the polarization it has caused has spilled beyond the political and governmental realm and exists in the religious and spiritual spheres of American life and relationships as well.  John Blake, a blogger on the CNN Belief Blog wroye about this on Friday, and I put some of his thoughts and a quiz he has constructed with the assistance of pastors and religion professors to gauge some of the defining characteristics of the politically polarizing differences and divisions we are experience in the context of our individual religious identity and philosophy and whether we see ourselves and the issues before the USA and the World through the lens of a, "Red State Jesus, or a Blue State Jesus", as Catholic-Christians ?  I add to his query, are we perhaps advocates of neither of these, but a 'Purple State Jesus' ?  John Blake admonishes us in his blog post that while some Faith based Liberals may see Jesus, as a Champion of the Poor, who would be willing to tax the Wealthy more while Faith based Conservatives think Jesus would be more concerned with Abortion and Same Sex Marriage.  He also forewarns his readers that even Jesus' followers in the Biblical accounts of his Public Ministry did not always agree on Who Jesus is or what he stands for.  Blake quotes Professor of Religious History at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. who says, "Jesus did not leave clear instructions.  He was a man who said many things that were quite cryptic.  All Christians tend to pick and choose some of His Teachings over the other".  I do not view Jesus' words as Professor Worthern calls some of them as, "cryptic", but open ended; causing us as Disciples to choose the "narrow way" of Holiness and Fidelity to Gospel Values, or the easy and worldly way of self interest.  Blogger Blake's conclusion is that most of us who are Christians in America are a bit Red State Jesus, and a bit Blue State Jesus.  I found that to be true after taking his quiz, but also that my responses are predominately not of a Red State / Blue State Jesus, but that of a Purple State Jesus, as the majority of my responses were to agree with both possible answers, to some degree.  My answers to the ten questions as to what defines Jesus as a matter of Personal Belief and a member of the Catholic-Chtistian Community of Believers were 1 Red State Jesus response; 3 Blue State Jesus responses; and by my own definition as I believe in a part of both possible choices, 6 Purple State Jesus responses.  You can find the Red State Jesus, Blue State Jesus, Quiz and take it yourself on the CNN Belief Blog.  Pondering John Blake's blog post and the quiz he created, I think a shift in the current Red State, Blue State, political - religious polarization in the USA would be well served by moving toward a Purple State Jesus approach that is not my way or the highway, but compromise and consensus building for the Common Good of all American Citizens and Believers.  In asking Who Does Jesus Want Us To Be ?............tdp