What does it mean that the political force that most loudly declares itself to be Christian manifests a spirit that's so diametrically opposed to what the biblical movies in the 1950s taught me to regard as the spirit of Christianity? Another possible way in to constructively challenging my right-wing radio audience.

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When I was a boy growing up in America in the 1950s, among the most vivid impressions I got of the spirit of Christianity was from the movies on Biblical themes that Hollywood was making at the time. Some of the films of this sort were THE ROBE, QUO VADIS, and BEN HUR.

A frequent theme of these films was the stark contrast between the Romans and the Christians. Often, the hero has been banging up against the brutality and harshness of the Roman empire, and then he encounters some Christians.

These Christians are not wearing armor, like the Romans, but simple cloth. They are not brutal, but gentle. They are not full of angry energy to assert their power and dominance, nor full of punitive rage toward anyone who opposes them; they are kind, loving, conscious of other humans as their brethren, ready to forgive even as their Lord forgave even those who nailed his flesh to the cross.

In the presence of these Christians, the music of the soundtrack switches away from the militaristic brass and drums that Roman legions tromp along to, in the streets of Jerusalem or Rome, and become more heartfelt strings and winds, expressing the human spiritual yearning for Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men.

Was I misled in believing that the compassionate, forgiving, peace-loving spirit these films portrayed captured something of the essential heart of Christianity?

Now, in America, there is a political force that, more than any other in our country today, identifies itself as Christian. And this force has aligned itself with certain leadership-- a particular political party, led by particular political figures and prominent media voices.

When we look at this political force, and at how it acts and how it speaks, what kind of spirit do we behold?

Where among the leaders this force support, where among these prominent voices these conservative Christians heed, is to be found anyone who expresses anything like the spirit of those Christians in those Bible-story films? Dick Cheney? Newt Gingrich? Rush Limbaugh?

How would these people look if they were placed down in the midst of one of those scenes where the "Goodwill toward men" of the Christians is being contrasted with the brutal imperial dominance of the Roman Empire?

What are we to make of the starkness of that contrast?

Authors Bio:
Andy Schmookler, an award-winning author, political commentator, radio talk-show host, and teacher, was the Democratic nominee for Congress from Virginia's 6th District. His new book -- written to have an impact on the central political battle of our time -- is WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST. His previous books include The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution, for which he was awarded the Erik H. Erikson prize by the International Society for Political Psychology.