Give them some credit: the British National Party, whatever we may think of their narrow and racist tendencies, knows how to get attention. Getting Jesus on one's side and to stamp one's campaign that is geared to reclaim Britain for Christians will certainly resonate with many of the populace. It does not matter what Jesus will think or do! Doing it around this time of the church year is an even smarter move. Not to mention the employment of a bible verse! Such timing is spot on, even though it may not win them votes!
British churches, especially from the historic traditions, and their theologians are running around trying to mount an opposition to what they rightly consider the pathetic hijacking of Jesus by a far right political group. Whether Jesus needs defending is another matter! For the churches it is clear that the policies of the BNP are highly objectionable from a gospel imperative – especially their narrow and excluding nationalism. The irony is that some church leaders have also been concerned about the Christian heritage of the nation (one even hinting at a return to Christendom), though their strategies have been more measured, sophisticated and perhaps less excluding. Yet, similarities are there if one scratches hard enough to get below the surface.
From all of the comments thus far from Churches and pundits, no one has yet commented on the white-looking Jesus that accompanies the BNP’s campaign. A close up look (of this popular image) will reveal interesting colours of Jesus' hair and eyes as imaged in this picture. Where did the BNP get their image of Jesus from? Certainly it is not their creation. British and European Christianity cannot wash its hands of this distorting image. Over hundreds of years what kind of Jesus has the church been imaging? Where did they get their distorted theology from and their obscene inclinations to link faith to British identity or nationalist tendencies? This, I suggest, did not drop out of Cloud 9.
Indeed, some may wish to contend that we have moved on and that this is no longer the image we use in our churches. I, for one, would want to believe that it has moved on for some Christians, but not for the majority of churches and the nation. I would also want to believe that most churches’ theology will not be narrow or restrictive and that in fact there are churches that have spoken out against membership in the BNP and their racist policies.
Yet, the reality is that Christian imaging in most churches has remained largely un-interrogated. Eurocentric indoctrination has been so thorough that Jesus – a Galilean Jew of the Asia Minor region- has become blond and blue-eyed (compare this with Lula’s swipe on the architects of the global banking scandals). Check all our stained glass windows, look at the religious books published over the last years,; peruse the news sheets and magazines of churches; and check the hymns and liturgy we sing and recite (especially during lent, the passion and Easter) and then consider whether our imaging of Jesus in churches is any different from the BNP’s and even their use of scripture. BNP’s imaging of a European Jesus is the story of that unpleasant version of eurocentric Christianity “coming home to roost” and haunt Christians as we are yet to do our home-work of expunging years of bad theology and theological imaging. What Jesus looks like has implications for what he means for today!
What would Jesus do? For starters, he may just wish to exorcise the demons of the BNP with a mandate that they have a mass cleansing at the nearest river and then go and sin no more! And if that is not convincing, in practical terms he may be more forthright – give up politics and start emulating the Good Samaritan to stake out a place in heaven!
© copyright Jagessar April 3rd, 2009
