Jesus Lives (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Jezus Leeft'') is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

that was founded in November 2013 by

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

Joop van Ooijen in

Giessenburg Giessenburg () is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Molenlanden, and lies about 6 km west of Gorinchem. Giessenburg was a separate municipality between 1957 and 1986. It was created in a merge ...

History

The history of the party lies within Joop van Ooijen's

evangelisation In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in ...

, originally spreading the gospel by means of flyers at cycling races his son participated in. After an accident, he stopped spreading flyers. In 2008, he painted the text 'JEZUS REDT' (Jesus Saves) on the roof of his farm with reflective paint which is generally used for painting road markings. The case resulted in a

civil case - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

by the municipality of

, which made headlines in 2009 and 2010. The party participated in Giessenlanden and some other municipalities in the

2014 Dutch municipal elections The Dutch municipal elections of 2014 were held on 19 March in most municipalities in the Netherlands. This election determines the composition of the municipal councils for the following four years. Background Municipal elections are, unle ...

. The party also participated in the

2014 European Parliament election in the Netherlands The 2014 European Parliament election for the election of the delegation from the Netherlands was held on 22 May 2014. This is the 8th time the elections have been held for the European elections in the Netherlands. Background Voting and ele ...

with nine candidates on the list. In the

2015 Dutch provincial elections Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 18 March 2015. Eligible voters elected the members of the States-Provincial in the twelve provinces. These elections also indirectly determined the members of the Senate, since the 566 ...

the party participated in

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, and

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

. The party never won a seat. In the

2017 Dutch general election General elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 15 March 2017 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives. The incumbent government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the first to serve a full term since 2002. The previo ...

the party participated in 7 electoral districts, with Florens van der Spek as party leader. The party won 3,099 votes, which was not enough for a seat. In the

2018 Dutch municipal elections The Dutch municipal elections of 2018 were held on 21 March in 335 municipalities in the Netherlands. This election determined the composition of the municipal councils for the following four years. The election coincided with the Intelligence an ...

, Jesus Lives participated in thirteen municipalities; nowhere was a seat obtained. In the

Jesus Lives took part in three provinces. No seat was obtained in any of these three. The party was again running in the

2021 Dutch general election General elections were held in the Netherlands from 15 to 17 March 2021 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives. Following the elections and lengthy coalition formation talks, the sitting government remained in power. The elect ...

, but gained no seats.Tweede Kamer 17 maart 2021 - Uitslag
Kiesraad

Election results

Dutch general elections

Ideology

According to the party's founder, Joop van Ooijen, the party's primary purpose is making

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

known to the people. The party opposes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, and supports

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

. Van Ooijen has said that the party's

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

stance is non-negotiable, having said that he would "not sit at the table with someone who supports abortion, that is not open to discussion. We will not negotiate, that's what's different between us and the other Christian parties." In that same interview, he expressed confidence that he would get the 64,000 votes in the

required to obtain a seat, but they would end up getting 3,099 votes.

References

External links