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But Glenn Beck is saying something else, which might get lost in the translation: Leave Christianity.  Again and again in the Gospels, Jesus points to our responsibility to care for the poor, to work on their behalf, to stand with them.  In fact, when asked how his followers would be judged, Jesus doesn’t say that it will be based on where you worship, or how you pray, or how often you go to church, or even what political party you believe in.  He says something quite different: It depends on how you treat the poor.

In the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 25) he tells his surprised disciples, that when you are meeting the poor, you are meeting him.  They protest: “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

But our responsibility to care for “the least of these” does not end with simple charity.  Giving someone some money, or clothes, or shelter, is an important part of the Christian message.  But so is advocating for them.  It is not enough simply to help the poor, one must address the structures that keep them poor.  Standing up for the rights of the poor is not being a Nazi, it’s being a Christian.  And a Communist?  It’s hard not to think of the retort of the great apostle of social justice, Dom Helder Camara, archbishop of Recife, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.  When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”