What would Jesus drive is part of the ubiquitous WWJD campaign that started five or so years ago to encourage people to be more critical about their every day choices and model their lives after Jesus. The What Would Jesus Drive? campaign is aimed specifically at SUVs with local churches circulating petitions that ask people to pledge not to buy an SUV when purchasing their next car because Jesus would not want you destroying your planet.
In theory, I don't fault the idea because it's a decent enough cause to promote and using a well-known, if twitch-inducing, phrase can get results. So bully for the Christians if they help end the SUV craze. However, it seems to me a slippery slope to attach a theological imperative to consumer choices. Would it bother Jesus if you waste valuable water for the vanity of your rose garden? Is Manolo Blahnik like unto Satan, giving women bad arches at outrageous prices? Would Jesus be displeased if you spend $3.50 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks? In the 1920's the Women's Christian Temperance Union challenged us to ask ourselves what would Jesus drink. Not to suggest that it was simply a grass roots Christian movement that birthed prohibition, but it was part of the impetus and not such a good idea.
Perhaps more importantly, it's too easy to modify doctrine into whatever you want it to mean. Case in point, on the local news in the Piedmont, NC, heart of the bible belt, our intrepid field reporter camped out at a gas pump to ask drivers of Camaros and SUVs whether they thought that this is what Jesus would drive. One said he reckoned Jesus would just walk, but he sure liked his Camaro. The other lady in a brand new Explorer declared that it is thanks to Jesus that she has the money to be able to afford such a vehicle.
Maybe the real lesson here is that I should never watch the local news. Ever.