When asked by Joan Ball over at Belief Net to respond to Karen Armstrong's Charter for Compassion, I said:

"I don't think [Jesus] would sign [the Charter for Compassion]. I think he would be aware of how easily it could lead to condoning the actions of other faiths that are unjust. Jesus was not compassionate towards those who had no compassion. Instead, he was ruthless with his words of rebuke of whatever injustices they were committing."

This generated a heated debate, as you can imagine. To see my justification for my conclusion and read the discussion, head on over to Joan's blog.

I think Jesus' view on compassion presents an interesting (and surprising; even shocking) perspective on how the Infinite God is involved in everything (and how he perceives everything). Does an abrasive God who sometimes responds out of anger (not compassion) change the way we should respond to other people? Drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

For more on what I think Jesus was really like, listen to my podcast titled "Jesus Uncensored."