Why I am no longer a conservative evangelical: part 5: what it means to follow Jesus

I didn't want to write any more posts for a while, but when I saw this quote it made me mad and I knew I had to.  I feel like one of the things I have learned along the way in my journey is how important Jesus is.  That might sound kind of ridiculous, like: "why didn't you know that in the beginning?"  But, part of the problem is that a lot of other things are important to evangelicals along with Jesus.  Things like the book of Revelation, Paul's epistles, the Old Testament, Republican politics, and so on.  Not that there's anything wrong with those things, but in my theology, if they seem to be out of step with Jesus' life and teachings - then I'm going to choose Jesus every time over them.  So, here's what Gary Bauer had to say about Jesus and torture:

Gary Bauer, a former Republican presidential candidate affiliated with several Christian right groups, said the discussion should not come down to "Would Jesus torture?"

"There are a lot of things Jesus wouldn't do because he's the son of God," Bauer said. "I can't imagine Jesus being a Marine or a policeman or a bank president, for that matter. The more appropriate question is, 'What is a follower of Jesus permitted to do?' "

Bauer said the answer is "it depends."

"I think if we believe the person we have can give us information to stop thousands of Americans from being killed," Bauer said, "it would be morally suspect to not use harsh tactics to get that information."

He said he does not consider waterboarding — a form of interrogation that simulates drowning — to be torture.

There's really a lot of things to not like about this statment, but that absolute, most horrific part of it is when Bauer claims that followers of Jesus should be prepared to do things that Jesus himself would not do.  I guess my question then is: "what does it mean to follow someone, or to be a disciple of that person?"  How in the world are you a follower or disciple of Jesus if you would act in a way that Jesus wouldn't?  Bauer, in essence, is admitting that Jesus would not torture, but he's sticking a lot of other activities along with it to make it more palatable, like saying, "Sure, Jesus wouldn't torture because he was the Son of God.  Jesus was too ethical for that.  But he would also be too ethical to do the dirty work required to be a bank president, marine, or policman.  Here, in the real world, we have to get our hands dirty and do stuff that Jesus wouldn't."

To me, you are not really acting like a disciple or follower of Jesus if you do things that he wouldn't.  I don't know what you are.  Maybe you are a good Republican, or a good utilitarian, or a good American, but you are not a Jesus-follower.

So, that's why I have trouble with my evangelical heritage.  My theology now says: "Jesus first!  Everything else - second."