As if we harbored any last doubts, we now have statistical evidence of a truth that's seems more obvious by the year. "God" appears 12 times in the Republican platform this election season and just once in the Democrats'.

 Couple this with the rhetoric of the candidates and GOP enthusiasts, and it seems clearer than ever that Republicans, the party of tax cuts for the wealthy and up-by-your-own-bootstraps regard for the poor, is the God party, the Christian party, in American politics.

If you're like me, you have often puzzled over the combination of Christianity and hard-edged conservative politics and, like many progressives, you've probably asked how a religion of love, compassion and selflessness could lead to the positions and tactics that seem so at odds with what we think about Jesus.

Allow me to answer the question — by rejecting its premise.