It was not an April fool! What would Jesus vote?

It was not an April fool as some thought. Laughter soon turned to tears when it was confirmed it was for real.

The BNP really are claiming Jesus would vote for them.

The Church Times carries the news here:  BNP puts Jesus on its poster

I do not normally link to BNP or other sites that promote racism, but I want to look briefly at party leader Nick Griffin's argument for it: BNP's Jesus Billboard.

“The British National Party is the only political party which genuinely supports Britain's Christian heritage. It is the only party which will defend our ancient faith and nation from the threat of Islamification.

Its easy to criticize that but it really needs deconstructing, which I shall seek to do sometime.

Ekklesia carried the story early on: BNP to launch advertising campaign featuring Jesus Christ where  Jonathan Bartley wrote:

...  “This is clearly a gross misrepresentation of both Jesus Christ and Christianity. Jesus was completely opposed to bigotry. He is recorded in the Gospels as challenging those who didn’t welcome foreigners - not as working for their exclusion.

“But the church must critically reflect on how it is aiding the far-Right. Leading figures within the Church of England have become far more vocal recently in their calls to ‘stem the tide of secularism’, and to defend the predominant 'Christian culture' of Britain. The uncomfortable fact is that this puts the Church into the position of arguing the same political point about national identity as the BNP. ...

....Church figures should also exercise caution in their uncritical backing for high-profile cases of ‘Christian persecution’ which have featured most prominently in the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail. These stories have often been misreported, but used nevertheless by church leaders as examples of a wider move of discrimination against Christians. This is creating a victim mentality which will only serve to drive people into the BNP’s hands.

“But the latest advert from the BNP which quotes Jesus Christ should be seen by the church as an opportunity for a new approach. Instead of adopting a defensive stance which pleases those seeking to make political capital out of civic 'de-Christianization', the Church should refocus on the vocation of Jesus, who clearly challenged bigotry in all its forms. Whilst 'Christian nation' rhetoric will only create more BNP support, a focus on Jesus Christ will undermine the party's ideology completely.”

This picks up a theme in a earlier article originally from Ekklesia :  Is ‘Christian nation’ rhetoric aiding the far-right?.

The English heritage line is strong and attractive for many.  And they are playing it hard. They have a separate site dedicated to it. BNP Land and People: Caring for Our Land and People  Its very attractive.

We have a lot of work to do to ensure they cannot claim they won their case.