God Does Take Sides in Politics

And now for a camel-through-the-eye-of-a-needle moment via Walter Wink:

God sides with the poor, not because of their virtue, but because of their suffering; not because of their goodness, but because they have been sinned against. And [Jesus] proclaims them blessed [in the Beatitudes], not because poverty is holy, but because their poverty gives them a perspective to understand Jesus' condemnations of wealth. He declares those who weep fortunate, not because their suffering produces character, but because it opens their eyes .... Indeed, what are the Beatitudes if not a systematic and explicit repudiation of the Domination System? [Engaging the Powers, p. 112].

If it weren't for those damned Beatitudes, Jesus would be a swell guy merely taking the role of our personal saviour.