Jesus Rode a Donkey: Why Republicans Don't Have the Corner on Christ

I read this book at the request of my wife, who has always had a more liberal bent than me. And as I read it, I found that almost every page had me agreeing with the beliefs and seeing those belief lead to a different conclusion than I had always championed. This book helped revolutionize my socio-political views, just as "The Bible Is History" by Ian Wilson helped revolutionize my approach to Scripture. Let it be said over and over by all liberal Christians everywhere: It is NOT the Church's role to tell others how to live. It is the Church's role to be a light and force for improvement and change in the lives of others. One can not expect others to change their morals until they embrace the same God we do. And even then, it is primarily God's job, not ours, to work the changes in lives that He desires. The Church should be about pacifism and charity and never about nationalism, war, or any condemning flavor of evangelism. I will admit to disagreeing with the author's stance on homosexuality, and finding her arguments a bit convoluted. Even if you extract every single verse that expressly forbids it, the entire Bible as a whole simply recognizes male-female relationships as the intended mode. But you see, this doesn't matter. Because I would rather stand with 5000 gays who love Christ and practice charity and peace, than 5 "good Christian boys" who vote for war and speak out condemningly against abortionists or whomever you choose. And if homosexuality is wrong, that's between the homosexual and God. And it's none of my business.

I found Dr. Seger's book to be very enlightening. Not being Christian, I was appalled and insulted by the Christian Right's stated goal to turn our democracy into their theocracy. History has been riddled with various churches' deadly attacks on personal freedoms and civil liberties, all in the name of Christ. JESUS RODE A DONKEY exposed me to a truly spiritual Christian agenda that, by understanding the compassion of the Old and New Testaments, leads to tolerance, care of the needy, environmental responsibility and respect for the religious beliefs of others. As I was reading, I kept thinking: "these are my values." Now I'm much more aware of, and grateful for, the valuable contributions that compassionate Christians make to the political process and our world

I am writing this review as a former non-Christian Democrat (because of a creative profession), former Christian-Republican (because that was what my church dictated I should be), and now a Christian-Democrat (because I believe this party embraces Christ's compassion and love). If you are a Christian-Democrat reading this book, I hope it encourages and reaffirms your moral and political values. If you are a Christian-Republican reading this book, I hope you will do so with an open mind and that it will bring you a greater appreciation of your fellow Christian-Democrats and their values. If you are a non-Christian reading this, regarless of your political affiliations, I hope it will help you know that not all Christians are without the compassion and love that Christ teaches. In "Jesus Rode a Donkey", Dr. Seger brings to light the current questionable values of the Republican party, which seems to hold to the following values: greed, hatred, intolerance, destruction and war. At the same time, she highlights the Democratic party's values of generosity, love, acceptance, care and peace. Thank you, Dr. Seger, for having the bravery to write such a well thoughtout and objective book!

No book can provide us with all the answers to the political turmoil in this world, but I found this book to be extremely helpful in sorting out all the rhetoric that the political spin-masters so easily toss at us on a daily basis. Dr. Seger reminds us that our spiritual or faith-based beliefs should never be "elistist" nor should it be a "one-size-fits-all" as some politicians would have us believe.

"Jesus Rode a Donkey" is a warm book written from the unique perspective of strong Christian values applied to the world we live in. The author's background in theology gives her arguments authority and weight, and even if a reader doesn't agree with all her ideas, she makes her points in a way that is both well researched and passionate. I particularly liked the chapter on War and Peace, because it summed up so many of my own thoughts on the subject. I live in Europe and have my own perspective on the Iraq war, which often seems far removed from the American mind-set. Yet I know my devoutly Catholic relatives in Missouri, one of whom did two tours of duty in Iraq, are puzzled about why we are in this war and how they should vote as Catholics. I ordered a copy for them, too, because I think it will help clarify their thinking. Even if they don't agree with everything, they'll certainly find stimulating food for thought. Another great plus is how the book confronts so many social issues and fearlessly relates them to our moral choice of politics and the politicians who govern us. I don't think I have ever read a spiritually-oriented book or even a magazine article that was remotely this ambitious.