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Luis, Thought you'd be interested in the following information put together by College Religion Professor Ron Cooper, Ph.D. Should you have any comments or questions, and/or would like to talk to Ron directly, just let us know. In an effort to be fair to each side, we are also sending this to the National Republican Campaign Committee and Trump's campaign office for their response since we're expecting the media to run with this story shortly...We will plan to include the comments we receive, so hope to get your feedback as soon as you have a chance. Sincerely, Isabella Michon ImMedia, Inc. 415-898-4838 TO SET UP AN INTERVIEW OR FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Isabella Michon, Publicist 415-898-4838 [email protected] In Grades by Prominent Jesus Biographer Previewing the General Election, Trump, GOP’s Presumptive Nominee, Gets an F, While Clinton, Dems’ Frontrunner, Receives a B+ (Ocala, FL―May 13, 2016) Religion professor and Biblical researcher Ron Cooper, Ph.D, has studied Jesus his entire teaching career, just written a novel portraying Jesus from birth to crucifixion, and decided to grade Trump and Clinton as he believes Jesus would. Here are the overall results: REPORT CARD Donald Trump F Hillary Clinton B+ A teacher of comparative religion at the college level for 21 years, Dr. Ron Cooper wrote his doctoral dissertation, which became his first book, on the philosophy of religion. Comparative religion is offered at practically every four-year college and university in the U.S., and is one of the most popular courses offered, having been taken by millions of students over the past two decades. His historical novel, The Gospel of the Twin , was published in April 2016 by Bancroft Press, who also published The Missing Kennedy . Gospel of the Twin is based on years of research, and on the basis of that research and his decades of teaching comparative religion at the college level, Cooper has graded these presidential candidates on how they do based on what he considers the four most important teachings of Jesus: 1. Equality . Jesus was an egalitarian. In his movement, everyone was equally welcome, from the unemployed beggar to the (despised) tax collector to the well-off. A member of his following is described as Herod’s steward’s (that is, accountant’s) wife. This shows Jesus’ inclusion of all, a rejection of the usual divisions of class and gender. 2. Poverty . Jesus was all about the poor. While he was willing to accept rich people into his movement, he had little hope they would join. After all, in an exceptionally colorful analogy, he said that a camel has a better chance of passing through the eye of a needle than a rich man has of entering the Kingdom of God. In another passage, he tells a wealthy man that he can enter the kingdom only if he sells his possessions and gives his money to the poor. 3. Love . Jesus was about love, with utterly no room for hate. Most remember that he charged his followers to “Love your neighbor,” but they often forget the rest of that sentence, “as yourself.” That’s a pretty tall order, and it prompts his listeners, in Luke’s Gospel, to ask, who exactly is my neighbor in that case? He then offers one of his best known parables―that of the Good Samaritan. But he goes even further. He demands that we love our enemy, and if our enemy assaults us, we should turn the other cheek, he says, and let the enemy slap that cheek as well. 4. Human Rights . Jesus believed everyone deserves basic human necessities. In two similar stories, we are told that, when his followers were hungry and only a tiny bit of food was available, Jesus miraculously enlarged the amount to feed thousands. You do not have to believe in miracles to get the meaning of this story: fill the stomach, then fill the soul. And remember the healing of the leper? Even those considered the worst, most unclean outcasts deserve our help, Jesus said. Cooper emphasizes that these grades are not meant as measures of the candidates’ religious faith. Only recently has Donald Trump had anything at all to say about his religion and has declared the Bible his favorite book. Hillary Clinton professes Christianity, and is often photographed in church, but she discusses religion only when asked. Cooper readily acknowledges that Presidential candidates are evaluated on many other important factors, such as their views on the economy, foreign affairs, education, and civil rights. While the American public doesn’t always admit it, Cooper believes other concerns may be even more crucial to voters. Is this candidate a good parent? What charities does she support? Did he do drugs in college? Did he have extra-marital affairs? How often does she call her mother? How strong is his faith? Cooper believes that when voters insist they want a Christian in the White House, they may mean they want someone like the historical Jesus, and on that he is an authority. Here’s his analysis of each of the candidates, starting with the one who gets the majority of media attention and is the central subject of most American conversations today―Donald J. Trump: Donald Trump F Equality F Poverty F Love F Human Rights F Overall Explanation : * Jesus never promised to build a wall to keep out the Samaritans. In fact, even though Jews and Samaritans had been at each other’s throats for centuries, Jesus makes a Samaritan the good guy and two Jews the bad guys in one of his most famous parables. * In addition, when Jesus was involved in a disagreement with, say, Pharisees, he engaged them in discussion; unlike Trump, he didn’t hurl insults at them or call them liars. Unlike Jesus, Trump is rich, and he is quick to brag about his wealth at every opportunity. * Also, Jesus sought out those marginalized by society to offer them compassion and encouragement; unlike Trump, he didn’t scoff and call them losers. So much for Trump loving his neighbors, whether on his street or south of the border. Hillary Clinton B+ Equality B+ Poverty B Love B Human Rights A Overall Explanation : * Clinton scores points on a number of fronts: her push for human rights internationally as Secretary of State, her support of affordable health care for all Americans, her stand on equal protection under the law for women and minorities, and the charitable work she and her husband have done, including establishing her own charitable foundation. * She loses points, though, for the same reason that makes many Democrats leery of her—her close associations with the corporate world. Jesus held a deep distrust of the wealthy; Clinton pals around with them often. Some may defend her by saying she is a realist or pragmatist. If you want to accomplish big things in a capitalist world, they say, you need the help of people with the capital. That may be true, but couldn’t she spend a little more time with the capital- less.