Was Jesus a Conservative or a Liberal?

[Divine Insight]

Pope Francis believes that he is carrying out the teachings of Jesus.

I agree with Pope Francis. Jesus was an extreme Liberal.

Jesus let the woman accused of adultery go and refused to stone her to death.

Jesus preached that we should love our enemies.

Jesus preached that we should give the thief our coat as well and let him go.

Jesus preached that a good Samaritan is closer to God that a hypocritical believer.

Jesus preached to give to the poor and help the needy.

Pope Francis appears to be in perfect harmony with the teachings of Jesus.

But there are Conservatives who hate Pope Francis and want to excommunicate him from the Church.

[youtube][/youtube]

Who do you see as being more in harmony with Jesus?

Pope Francis or Steve Bannon?

[1213]

...

Who's views and actions do you think are more Christ-like? Pope Francis or Steve Bannon?

So, if I understood correctly, Bannon is against Pope, because Pope is against nationalism, is that correct?

If Pope is against nationalism, I think he is against God who set all the nations. Also, I think those who are against nationalism, are usually hypocrites. They support “weak� nations and try to weaken other nations. And it all seems to be just to get more power to themselves.

I think it is good to help others, but for example the immigration program has not any good purpose. It is meant to destroy western Christian nations and freedom. And in democracy it works nicely, if you replace educated citizens with less educated who will vote for all thing that destroys free country.

I don’t think either of them are in harmony with Jesus. Jesus was just, righteous and loving. Pope and Bannon don’t seem to be that. But, this is just my weak opinion, I don’t know them well, so I can be wrong.

But what is the point, why the need to know who is more in harmony with Jesus? I think you have already decided.

[AgnosticBoy]

Pope Francis believes that he is carrying out the teachings of Jesus.

I agree with Pope Francis. Jesus was an extreme Liberal.

Jesus let the woman accused of adultery go and refused to stone her to death.

Jesus preached that we should love our enemies.

Jesus preached that we should give the thief our coat as well and let him go.

Jesus preached that a good Samaritan is closer to God that a hypocritical believer.

Jesus preached to give to the poor and help the needy.

Pope Francis appears to be in perfect harmony with the teachings of Jesus.

But there are Conservatives who hate Pope Francis and want to excommunicate him from the Church.

[youtube][/youtube]

Who do you see as being more in harmony with Jesus?

Pope Francis or Steve Bannon?

I don't see Jesus fitting perfectly in either camp. Like me, he probably agreed with some liberal positions but not all. Jesus was no liberal when it came to marriage for instance. He made justified divorce harder. He was not really against punishing for adultery but rather he was against the type of people dishing out the punishment while being sinners themselves.

[Divine Insight]

He was not really against punishing for adultery but rather he was against the type of people dishing out the punishment while being sinners themselves.

In that case Jesus was in disagreement with Yahweh.

Yahweh commanded men to stone adulterers to death. In this religion there can be no such thing as a sinless man. Therefore Jesus is in disagreement with Yahweh by demanding that only sinless people cast the first stone.

Moreover, the Bible is clearly wrong. It claims that these Pharisees set out to trap Jesus in not understanding the law. Well, if that was their intent then they did just that. There is nothing in the original law that says that only sinless people should cast the first stone. In fact, that is not only impossible in this religion but it's also utterly absurd.

So while the authors of the Gospels weren't clever enough to catch their own errors, we can see that they had no clue what they were talking about. They had Jesus making erroneous claims thus proving that they were either lying about Jesus, or Jesus himself was a fraud.

You can't blame the people who were following the commandants of Yahweh. Yahweh was the one who commanded sinners to stone adulterers to death. It wasn't the idea of the people who were doing this. They were just following Yahweh's directives. And clearly Jesus didn't even understand what Yahweh's directives were or he would have never suggested that only sinless people should cast the first stone. All that did was display Jesus' own ignorance of Old Testament law.

[RightReason]

[Replying to Divine Insight]

Pope Francis believes that he is carrying out the teachings of Jesus.

I agree with Pope Francis. Jesus was an extreme Liberal.

You are confused about the meaning of the terms liberal and conservative and also that Church teaching is not about politics.

Jesus let the woman accused of adultery go and refused to stone her to death.

Yes. And then He told her – “go and sin no more�. He made sure she knew what she had done was wrong and that she was not to do it again. Something the liberal party of today has a very difficult time doing.

Jesus preached that we should love our enemies.

Yes. And He also threw out the money changers from the temple and said of Judas it would have been better had he never been born. Sometimes our enemies might be in need of a little tough love and Jesus knew this.

Jesus preached that we should give the thief our coat as well and let him go.

Not exactly.

Jesus preached that a good Samaritan is closer to God that a hypocritical believer.

Yes. How exactly is this liberalism?

Jesus preached to give to the poor and help the needy.

As do conservatives. In fact, statistics show it is conservatives who give more to charity than liberals.

Also, if Jesus was what you would consider a liberal . . . why would He have opposed abortion, divorce, and homosexual acts?

Pope Francis appears to be in perfect harmony with the teachings of Jesus.

Pope Francis is awesome, but the media also likes to distort what he says. He believes abortion is wrong and he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. He also is not a fan of socialism or Marxism and speaks against it.

But there are Conservatives who hate Pope Francis and want to excommunicate him from the Church.

There were people who hated Pope Benedict and wished he were gone. Such is always the way, no?


Here are some quotes from Francis. What do you think – conservative or liberal?


"The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life."


"Let's think of the nuclear arms, of the possibility to annihilate in a few instants a very high number of human beings. Let's think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation."


"[...] I wish to express my appreciation to the entire Slovak church, encouraging everyone to continue their efforts in defense of the family, the vital cell of society."5

Who do you see as being more in harmony with Jesus?

Pope Francis or Steve Bannon?

Well, I’ wouldn’t exactly think you are comparing apples to apples. Why not compare Pope Francis against a liberal.

Who is more in harmony with Jesus Pope Francis or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?

And if you want to compare Pope Francis against what society might label as a conservative you should be asking, Who do you see as being more in harmony with Jesus, Pope Francis or Mother Teresa?

[Divine Insight]

You are confused about the meaning of the terms liberal and conservative and also that Church teaching is not about politics.

Church teaching has always been about politics. There's no avoiding it.

Jesus let the woman accused of adultery go and refused to stone her to death.

Yes. And then He told her – “go and sin no more�. He made sure she knew what she had done was wrong and that she was not to do it again. Something the liberal party of today has a very difficult time doing.

This is a false perception on your part. The liberal party doesn't condone sinning. They simply have different ideas of what should or shouldn't be considered to be a sin. Moreover, aren't you the one who is now confusing personal opinions about what should be considered a sin with politics?

The laws aren't meant to enforce your personal opinions of what you think might be a sin. This is the grave error that is made by many conservatives. They claim to not be political while they hypocritically try to force their personal religious beliefs into law.

Jesus preached that we should love our enemies.

Yes. And He also threw out the money changers from the temple and said of Judas it would have been better had he never been born. Sometimes our enemies might be in need of a little tough love and Jesus knew this.

And so you have just suggested that Jesus himself was a hypocrite by not practicing what he himself preached.

I won't argue with that.

Jesus preached that we should give the thief our coat as well and let him go.

Not exactly.

Yes, exactly.

Luke 6:29-30. To him to strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him to takes away your goods do not ask them back.

Show me a conservative who would follow Jesus' teachings regarding a thief. Hint: Don't hold your breath while trying to find one.

Jesus preached that a good Samaritan is closer to God that a hypocritical believer.

Yes. How exactly is this liberalism?

I think most liberals will agree that many atheists are far more in harmony with the attributes of goodness we associate with a God than many hypocritical believers.

Jesus preached to give to the poor and help the needy.

As do conservatives. In fact, statistics show it is conservatives who give more to charity than liberals.

Except the conservatives support treating those who seek asylum from inhumane conditions like sub-human animals to be put into cages and used as political pawns in hateful ways.

Also, if Jesus was what you would consider a liberal . . . why would He have opposed abortion, divorce, and homosexual acts?

It's been pretty well-documented that there is nothing in the Gospels that support the idea that Jesus ever mentioned homosexual acts. I don't believe he ever mentioned abortion either.

And besides, you've already established that Jesus was a hypocrite when you acknowledge that he taught us to love our enemies while he treated his enemies with great hatred.

Pope Francis appears to be in perfect harmony with the teachings of Jesus.

Pope Francis is awesome, but the media also likes to distort what he says. He believes abortion is wrong and he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. He also is not a fan of socialism or Marxism and speaks against it.

What he personally believes and how he judges other people are two entirely different things. If everyone were like Pope Francis we could all get along. Pope Francis loves everyone, including atheists, asylum seekers, homosexuals and even hypocrites.

But there are Conservatives who hate Pope Francis and want to excommunicate him from the Church.

There were people who hated Pope Benedict and wished he were gone. Such is always the way, no?

So would you support them?

Here are some quotes from Francis. What do you think – conservative or liberal?

"The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life."

I never claimed that Pope Francis is perfect. I simply claimed that he's more in harmony with Jesus than Steve Bannon. Jesus himself was far from perfect.

"Let's think of the nuclear arms, of the possibility to annihilate in a few instants a very high number of human beings. Let's think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation."

Voicing opinions and trying to force them onto the people via laws are two entirely different things. Pope Francis isn't suggesting that anyone be forced to adopt his opinions.

"[...] I wish to express my appreciation to the entire Slovak church, encouraging everyone to continue their efforts in defense of the family, the vital cell of society."5

So what. The man is entitled to his opinions. Notice also that he is speaking defensively here and not offensively threatening to force everyone to follow his beliefs by law.

Who do you see as being more in harmony with Jesus?

Pope Francis or Steve Bannon?

Well, I’ wouldn’t exactly think you are comparing apples to apples. Why not compare Pope Francis against a liberal.

Because I'm addressing the video in the OP. Steve Bannon is out to overthrow the Pope's papal authority in the church. Liberals aren't concerned with trying to do that.

Who is more in harmony with Jesus Pope Francis or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?

Probably AOC. I really don't know her policy positions well enough to say. Besides as you have pointed out, Jesus was a hypocrite on many things. Therefore AOC may actually be far superior to Jesus in terms of actual moral values.

And if you want to compare Pope Francis against what society might label as a conservative you should be asking, Who do you see as being more in harmony with Jesus, Pope Francis or Mother Teresa?

I feel very sorry for Mother Teresa. She wanted to believe in Jesus so bad but came to the realization that the entire religion is nothing more than a hoax. Even after having made that realization she was so dedicated to the religion that she actually continued to support it even after she realized it was fraudulent.

Mother Teresa was simply a victim of a fraudulent religion. That's all that happened there. Jesus was a rebel who rejected his native Judaism and tried to create his own personal version of the religion allowing those who saw him as God to believe their delusions.

So in the end Mother Teresa was most likely a better person than Jesus. She was just terribly confused and felt betrayed by a religion that promised her that Jesus was an actual living God real when in fact he wasn't.

Mother Teresa was simply a victim of this fraudulent religion. Wanting it to be true only to discover that it is nothing more than empty lies.

[marco]

Who do you see as being more in harmony with Jesus?

Pope Francis is more in tune with the practical humanity advocated by Christ: giving water, clothing the needy, helping the sick, visiting the prisoner. Jesus appears to have considered people more important than rules. Unfortunately he was brought up in a faith where rules rule supreme and he is often hard pressed defending the God he adores. When he does speak in a conservative manner, he seems to be contradicting himself: Love your neighbur - and yet you must hate your brother and your father; I call on everyone - but few are chosen. Eye hath not seen nor ear heard - but there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. We therefore have a plastic Jesus, not unlike the one in Cool Hand Luke:

"I don't care if it
Rains or freezes
As long as I've got my
Plastic Jesus..."


People mould Jesus into the man they want him to be. There are millions of Christs all saying what their owners want them to say.

[Divine Insight]

People mould Jesus into the man they want him to be. There are millions of Christs all saying what their owners want them to say.

Exactly. Everyone has created their own plastic Jesus.

Pope Francis is currently in a position to hold his plastic Jesus up with papal authority.

Steve Bannon is just upset that his plastic Jesus has no official authority backed by the church.

Although, as we all well know, there are many churches who back up their own plastic Jesus with the authority granted them by their own congregation of supporters.

What I find to be ridiculous are those who refuse to acknowledge the plasticity of Jesus.

"Oh, you don't believe that Jesus was the Son of God? Then your plastic Jesus has no clout. I firmly stand behind the claim that my plastic Jesus is the Son of God, therefore my plastic Jesus has more credibility than yours"

(Basically a theist's view toward an atheist)

But that's exactly where we're at. Everyone creates their own Jesus and then goes about using him to belittle their brothers and sisters. Exactly the opposite of what the original fables has Jesus supposedly standing for.

[marco]

But that's exactly where we're at. Everyone creates their own Jesus and then goes about using him to belittle their brothers and sisters. Exactly the opposite of what the original fables has Jesus supposedly standing for.

And sometimes followers of Jesus do what Jesus would have disliked. Here in Scotland a group of pious, God-fearing Protestants expelled a judge from their number because he attended the funeral of a Catholic colleague. I wonder which image of Jesus they were following.

[RightReason]

[Replying to Divine Insight]

Church teaching has always been about politics. There's no avoiding it.

Of course one’s religion can and should affect one’s political view, just like the beliefs of the non religious affect their view. Christians realize we are allowed to disagree politically as long as we are still upholding the teachings of Christ. “Render unto Caesar, what is Ceasar’s and give to God what is God’s� There need not be a contradiction.


You are claiming conservatives and liberals are what you think they are. I suggest you are getting quite a bit wrong and painting with quite a narrow stereotyped brush. To say that liberals are for the poor and the hungry and conservatives are not is quite frankly laughable and merely demonstrates your bias and hatred. Clearly, everyone believes in helping the poor and hungry – we simply disagree on the best way to do that.

This is a false perception on your part.

Right back at ya.

The liberal party doesn't condone sinning. They simply have different ideas of what should or shouldn't be considered to be a sin.

I agree they have different ideas about what sins they will permit. They clearly are ok with a woman killing her baby. Science/reason/logic shows us abortion is wrong. You don’t get to turn around and just say, “Well, that’s your opinion.� That’s not how truth or the moral law work.

Moreover, aren't you the one who is now confusing personal opinions about what should be considered a sin with politics?

No. I think right and wrong are something all men can know via observation and acknowledgment of this world we live in, regardless of religion or politics.

The laws aren't meant to enforce your personal opinions of what you think might be a sin.

Nor are they to be your personal opinion about what you don’t think is sin. Gee, I’m sure many argued there was no problem with slavery and they didn’t believe it was wrong. Of course, those acknowledging the moral order didn’t give two cents about whether the slave owner didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. We can make the same argument regarding abortion today. Liberals typically don’t think it is wrong. Good thing right and wrong is not based on feelings/personal opinion. Let’s leave it to science, biology, facts, logic, reason, etc, huh?

This is the grave error that is made by many conservatives. They claim to not be political while they hypocritically try to force their personal religious beliefs into law.

Hmmmm . . . and yet we see it more often from the liberal left. It isn’t the conservative party who forced the legalization of abortion and same sex marriage (which by the way were determined by unelected officials). It is the liberal party who want to take away religious freedom and force those like the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide insurance coverage that covers abortions and contraception, even though those things violate the beliefs of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Why force them to violate their conscience? Doesn’t sound very liberal or tolerant.

RightReason wrote:


Quote:
Jesus preached that we should love our enemies.


Yes. And He also threw out the money changers from the temple and said of Judas it would have been better had he never been born. Sometimes our enemies might be in need of a little tough love and Jesus knew this.


And so you have just suggested that Jesus himself was a hypocrite by not practicing what he himself preached.

I won't argue with that.

Huh? I was pointing out you got the Scripture wrong in the first place. It is you, not me, who thinks turn the other cheek and love thy enemies means allowing or permitting wrongdoing/evil. There is nothing wrong/immoral with righteous anger. So, no Jesus was not a hypocrite. You just demonstrate you do not understand the teachings of Christ but pretend you do.

RightReason wrote:


Quote:
Jesus preached that we should give the thief our coat as well and let him go.


Not exactly.


Yes, exactly.

Luke 6:29-30. To him to strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him to takes away your goods do not ask them back.

Again, if you think this Scripture means if Jesus saw someone raping someone, He would give the man His coat and let Him be on His way, you clearly do not get it.

Show me a conservative who would follow Jesus' teachings regarding a thief. Hint: Don't hold your breath while trying to find one.

There are countless Christians and conservatives who help and aid thieves. We do so, however, not by allowing the criminal to go free or by ignoring their wrongdoing, rather by helping the criminal to get the help he needs so this doesn’t happen again. Whether this is in the form of rehabilitation, education, etc. Many a conservative has visited the imprisoned and helped them with programs and outreach.

RightReason wrote:


Quote:
Jesus preached to give to the poor and help the needy.


As do conservatives. In fact, statistics show it is conservatives who give more to charity than liberals.


Except the conservatives support treating those who seek asylum from inhumane conditions like sub-human animals to be put into cages and used as political pawns in hateful ways.

False. This once again is seeing the world thru your liberal glasses. Obama then in your opinion must have been a conservative, because he did the very thing you describe. Some illegal immigrants have been treated better than many legal citizens in our country and this is typically due to failed liberal programs using minorities in this country as political pawns but not really doing much to help their situation.

It's been pretty well-documented that there is nothing in the Gospels that support the idea that Jesus ever mentioned homosexual acts.

Then you are unfamiliar with the Bible. Condemnation of homosexual acts are seen in both the OT and the NT. Also, Jesus did not do away with OT teachings. He said He came to fulfill them. Here are a couple examples from the NT . . .


Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. -Romans 1:26-27


8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. -1 Timothy 1





Also, nothing in Christianity says everything we know about Jesus comes to us from the Bible. We also learn about who Jesus was and what He taught via His Church. And there is a great deal in the Church that tells us homosexual acts are contrary to God’s law. Does this mean we hate gays? Ridiculous!

I don't believe he ever mentioned abortion either.

Does “Thou shall not kill� ring a bell?

And besides, you've already established that Jesus was a hypocrite when you acknowledge that he taught us to love our enemies while he treated his enemies with great hatred.

No, you established you are disingenuous when it comes to understanding the Bible and being fair regarding what it actually says.

What he personally believes and how he judges other people are two entirely different things.

How he judges others is precisely based on what he personally believes, which is generally the case for most of us.

If everyone were like Pope Francis we could all get along. Pope Francis loves everyone, including atheists, asylum seekers, homosexuals and even hypocrites.

I couldn’t agree more. The Christians I know love everyone too. I’m sorry you’ve met those who don’t.

RightReason wrote:


Quote:
But there are Conservatives who hate Pope Francis and want to excommunicate him from the Church.



There were people who hated Pope Benedict and wished he were gone. Such is always the way, no?


So would you support them?

Not at all. I dig Francis. I think he is Pope for a reason and we are free to disagree with him at times, but as long as he doesn’t contradict Church teaching, we owe him respect and really ought to consider he has a great deal to teach us, even when he does things differently than we might. I also think main stream media gets a lot of what he says wrong because it fits their liberal agenda to do so.

RightReason wrote:


Here are some quotes from Francis. What do you think – conservative or liberal?

"The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life."


I never claimed that Pope Francis is perfect.

Why would holding the above view not be perfect? I think it sounds pretty good and Christ like.

I simply claimed that he's more in harmony with Jesus than Steve Bannon

Probably. I don’t really know tons about Steve Bannon. Though I certainly wouldn’t take what Steve Bannon is like from you. I would have to look into it myself. You clearly see him through your biased liberal eyes.

. Jesus himself was far from perfect.

Agree to disagree.

tReason wrote:


"Let's think of the nuclear arms, of the possibility to annihilate in a few instants a very high number of human beings. Let's think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation."


Voicing opinions and trying to force them onto the people via laws are two entirely different things. Pope Francis isn't suggesting that anyone be forced to adopt his opinions.

Agree. Nor do conservatives. We all live in a Democratic society where I suppose things are put up for vote and by declaring our “opinions� we, just like Pope Francis, can hope to influence public opinion. I wouldn’t call that forcing anything on anyone.

RightReason wrote:


"[...] I wish to express my appreciation to the entire Slovak church, encouraging everyone to continue their efforts in defense of the family, the vital cell of society."5


So what. The man is entitled to his opinions. Notice also that he is speaking defensively here and not offensively threatening to force everyone to follow his beliefs by law.

Right. As do conservatives.

I'm addressing the video in the OP. Steve Bannon is out to overthrow the Pope's papal authority in the church. Liberals aren't concerned with trying to do that.

Ha! This time. Typically it is the liberals who hope to silence the Pope. Usually it would be liberals who scream stay out of politics – separation of church and state – we don’t care what you think. Until, it suits them. If the Pope agrees with them, well, then it’s “all hail the Pope!� They’ve erroneously concluded this Pope is ‘on their side’ , because they always give his comments the liberal spin they need to hear and don’t report on his more “conservative� views. It’s actually really funny. They will report his, “who am I to judge?� regarding homosexuality and yet don’t seem to give air time to Pope Francis commenting on the beauty and truth of the definition of marriage being between a man and a woman.

RightReason wrote:


Who is more in harmony with Jesus Pope Francis or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?


Probably AOC.

Yikes! She is the one who said people should not bring more children into this world. Jesus would not say such an sad thing.

I feel very sorry for Mother Teresa. She wanted to believe in Jesus so bad but came to the realization that the entire religion is nothing more than a hoax. Even after having made that realization she was so dedicated to the religion that she actually continued to support it even after she realized it was fraudulent.

This is false. You have bought into more liberal lies. Please stop. You are embarrassing yourself.

[AdHoc]

Pope Francis believes that he is carrying out the teachings of Jesus.

I agree with Pope Francis. Jesus was an extreme Liberal.

Jesus let the woman accused of adultery go and refused to stone her to death.

Jesus preached that we should love our enemies.

Jesus preached that we should give the thief our coat as well and let him go.

Jesus preached that a good Samaritan is closer to God that a hypocritical believer.

Jesus preached to give to the poor and help the needy.

Pope Francis appears to be in perfect harmony with the teachings of Jesus.

But there are Conservatives who hate Pope Francis and want to excommunicate him from the Church.

[youtube][/youtube]

Who do you see as being more in harmony with Jesus?

Pope Francis or Steve Bannon?

I think neither is in harmony with Jesus but to answer your question directly which was ... who appears "more in harmony with Jesus?" its clearly not Steve Bannon.

I think the deeper point you're making with this question is something that I've often wondered about ... Why does Christianity seem to be connected with the right when the New Testament church seemed more like the left.

But then even the left isn't like the left anymore...

The left likes capitalism and bombing other countries as much or more than the right now it seems. If not then only Fox news would beat the drums for war.

Whenever someone suggests free healthcare and college EVERY NEWS OUTLET asks "How are you going to pay for that?

No money for healthcare or college but we can invade and bomb countries all over the earth. How come no one ever asked "How are you going to pay for THAT?"

It seems like every time someone questions the ethics or logic of the war in Syria the questions are either: "So do you think Basher Al-Assad is a good person?" or "So you agree with Russia?".

"Venezuela get ready!"

"Syria is at bat but you're on deck..."