Did you catch the republican youtube debate? One question from a guy:
I have a quick question for those of you that call yourselves Christian conservatives: The Death Penalty; What would Jesus Do?
To which Mike Huckabee (a Baptist Minsiter, among other things) answered (to lots of laughter):
Jesus was too smart to run for public office
That exchange brought up two things for me. The first is fairly small: Huckabee is a politician and completely sidestepped the question and then managed to change the subject. Very effectively. Stupid politicians. Why can't we get people who will actually answer questions and take stands on issues that matter?
Now, I said that first one was small. It's actually H-U-G-E. But by comparison to the second one it is teensy.
The second issue is about my faith, the fundamental belief system that I hold clumped somewhere in my 5th chakra.
The second issue is this: I never really thought about Jesus being "smart." All knowing, all-compassionate, all-forgiving, etc. etc. but not necessarily smart. So then I started wondering what I think is really "smart" after all.
Einstein was smart. He understood a lot of stuff. Jesus understood a lot of stuff but isn't necessarily smart.
When we hurt ourselves we sometimes use the expression "that smarts!". Why is that? I really want to know what's smart?
Is Smart good? Is it bad? Like I said, it's huge. Knowing that a politician is a weasle doesn't rock me to my foundations. Wondering why I never thought of a figure like Jesus as smart does.
Hmmm. I'm off to ponder.
2 Comments
Smart is good.
You've never thought of Jesus as smart because you already know.
Smart is good.
As you pointed out, though, "smart" has multiple meanings. One thing about "smart" – it is applied to a single situation or for a particular instance. Einstein could calculate the mass of the universe, but could he calculate a tip for his waiter? Did he know what that comb is for? Is he still smart?
I never see "smart" used as a descriptor these days. When you talk about your friends, they are "funny, moody, intelligent, thoughtful, etc" but hardly ever "smart." If "smart" is used, it has another word tacked on: book smart, street smart.
"Smart" is overused, which is why there are so many meanings. Try substituting "not capable of" when the phrase is "Jesus is too smart to…" – you can get pretty deep. If you say "Jesus is not capable of running for public office," then that implies he has a higher character than the typical politician. He was known for his compassion, empathy, bravery, honor, honesty, etc… not exactly the trait of a politician.
It's kinda sad to think that to be capable of running for public office, one has to be sleazy, sneaky, dishonest, crafty, etc. That doesn't sound very smart.