A Word from Eric Miller for December, 2002

Would Jesus Drive?

A Pennsylvania-based environmental group plans to run the ads in North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana and Missouri to urge consumers to trade in their SUVs for cleaner cars, a laudable but at the same time questionable goal.

"There really isn't a decision in your life that isn't a moral choice," said the Rev. Jim Ball, executive director of the Evangelical Environmental Network, the group putting up the bucks for the campaign. How true it is, but….

While the Bible belt ponders what kind of vehicles the devout should drive, they might also look past the cloud of what living life by the automobile does to the earth and ponder what it does to people--and "whatever you do to (or don't do for) the least of my brothers...."

Christians and TV viewers everywhere, when you see these commercials, consider pondering these additional points:

What would Jesus drive?
Or better, "Would Jesus drive?" The group contends driving a fuel-efficient car will help keep God's green earth clean. And they are right, but not right enough. In their attempt to be Christ-like, they might consider getting some new sandals and making it even cleaner by walking or using public transit.

Would Jesus live in the suburbs?
Or, unloaded, "Where would Jesus live?" Would Jesus live in a gated community, isolated from the poor and humble who inherit the smog suburbanite's SUVs leave in the city? Or would he live in the city where he would encounter the least of his brothers continuously throughout the day.

Would Jesus want to get anywhere fast?
Or "How fast would Jesus go?" Life is so hurried these days we hardly have time to know or learn anything about the people around us. Surely there are so many good deeds that need doing right in the area around us that we would not need to get anywhere much at all, let alone get anywhere fast. Living in the city, without a car, Jesus wouldn't have to go much of anywhere, and rarely need to get anywhere fast.

What would Jesus think of church parking lots (I)?
Or "Would Jesus go for judging people by their autos?" Anyone who's been to church has noted at least in passing what kind of car fellow church consumers drive in on. Some church parking lots have more SUVs and luxury autos than others. The kind of churches Jesus might attend, if any, are the ones built conveniently within walking distance of the congregation.

Note: Bill Maher has a new book out called "When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden," a takeoff on the famous World War II fuel conservation poster. He adapts government slogans from past presidencies to give messages for today. Like the Jesus campaigners, however, he doesn't follow the question far enough.While driving alone may burn more oil, not driving at all burns no oil at all. Don't get me wrong, both the ad campaign and the book send a good message. I just hope we can get to the point soon when we can take the logical next step. Buy the Book

Would Jesus tolerate recent environmental disasters for the convenience of having a car of any sort?
We all know the Exxon Valdez disaster has competition from a more recent disaster off the coast of Spain. If Jesus drove at all, he would be contributing to the transport of oil in big ships that risk such calamities.

Would Jesus support military intervention for the sake of oil?
The morality of Saddam Hussein's regime aside, would Jesus support killing people when the flow slows and the price goes up?

What would Jesus think of church parking lots (II)?
Even if a zero-emissions automobile were available, the miles of highways and acres of surface parking lots do untold damage to the environment. Believers should ask themselves whether Jesus' church would have a lot and whether he would have a driveway.

Would Jesus kill?
Perhaps Catholics leaving mass take some increased risk when they get behind the wheel, but even tea-totaling Protestants should consider that driving is the most dangerous mode of transportation, with or without the influence of alcohol. Someone dies on our roadways every 12 minutes, and about 114 people die in crashes every day. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people under age 34. Today the road to Manassas is quite a bit more dangerous. More than 110,000 pedestrians are injured, and some 5,000 pedestrians (a third of whom are legally drunk) die, in auto crashes each year.

So here's an additional message for Christian television viewers in Charlotte, Indianapolis, Iowa City, and Saint Louis. Jesus wouldn't drive at all. He wouldn't live in the suburbs, use a drive-thru teller, have a lawn, or support his taxes being used to build highways. If you want to be like Jesus, sell the car and move to the city. Then turn off the TV.

Eric Miller is editor of The New Colonist.

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