By John D. Pierce
Jesus was in the business of casting out devils, not creating them out of the very people whom he loved through his life, death and resurrection.
So it is telling when those who profess his name today so quickly join political forces to demonize groups of people based on race, immigration status, sexual orientation or other descriptors.
The preferred method of demonization is to exaggerate threats and create unfounded fears — about everything from disease to violence to job insecurity — that are generalized to specific groups of persons.
Instead of children of God they are perceived as enemies to be avoided if not eliminated.
One can take a conservative position or hold a theological perspective on a variety of social issues without demeaning other people — but that doesn’t seem to stir up the fervor that politicians desire and their followers (many whom earlier professed to be followers of Jesus) so easily embrace.
But you can’t treat people differently than Jesus and claim to follow Jesus.
To demonize others is to reveal whose spiritual side you are on.
Pick one!
Director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and former executive editor and publisher at Good Faith Media.