Serving Biblical Verses but Not Serving God
Throughout history, Biblical verses have been served to the public to justify despicable actions taken by the American government. The most recent example of this is Attorney General Jeff Sessions citing Romans 13 and stating that he “would cite [us] to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.” [1] This chapter has been used to justify other abominable acts in history such as slavery and the Holocaust. [2] But one must ask oneself why the Bible has been used by the government of a country that believes in the separation of the Church and the State to justify such acts. One must also ask why certain verses are used to justify these doings while others are deliberately ignored because they do not fit political agendas.
Why Use the Bible?
The Bible is a holy book. It was written for the divine guidance to salvation for its believers. It is not meant to be used to oppress people or push political agendas. Politicians realize, however, that using the Bible to back up their political agendas is an effective tactic to gain encouragement from their believing supporters. It is a method of self-righteousness that has been proven to be effective time and time again in history. It seems, though, that the Bible is often used in bits and pieces, whenever it seems convenient. For example, Jeff Sessions used Romans 13 to appeal to the masses to support the government in whatever they decide, i.e. separating immigrant children from their families, making his believing supporters more susceptible to accepting whichever policy is in question.
The Bible Verses Conservatives Ignore
Aside from citing Romans 13, demanding complete submission to the government, Republicans such as Rep. Jodey Arrington also cited 2 Thessalonians 3:10, that states that “those unwilling to work will not get to eat”. [3] Oftentimes the Republican party forgets that it is their moral obligation to care for the needy and the poor. Psalms 72 is a prayer of Solomon to God, concerning kings, that asks for kings [and other governing authorities] to rule with God’s love of justice. In verse 4, Solomon prays that God helps kings to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors. Republicans seem to have forgotten this passage and many other verses when making policies to separate children from their families and cutting SNAP and other benefits. For a government that loves to quote Bible verses, they also love to forget that God is a just God and instructs us to always serve justice objectively. In Amos 5:15, it states to “hate evil, love good, and maintain justice in courts,” yet from the dawn of the United States, marginalized groups, particularly African Americans, have been unjustly treated by the criminal justice system.
Seeing that Republicans also are not fond of taxes, they must have also forgotten that Romans 13:7 says, “If you owe taxes, pay taxes,” and the story of Christ in Matthew 22:15–22, where He instructed the Jews to “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” when asked if the Jews should pay the Romans’ imperial taxes. In other words, pay your taxes. Lastly, concerning the separation of parents from their children, not only is the Bible very pro-family and the separation of a child from his or her parents can be very detrimental, but Mark 9:36–37 states “Then [Christ] put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”” The government has been anything but welcoming to refugee and immigrant children and their families.
God Knows the Heart
Morally, one must question whether or not these Republican leaders know what they are quoting and if they actually ever read the Bible outside of looking up quotes that support their policies. Let us remember that Matthew 7:22–23 states that “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name…’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Quoting the Bible is not enough if your policies are godless.
References
[1] Zauzmer, Julie and McMillan, Keith. “Sessions cites Bible passage used to defend slavery in defense of separating immigrant families.” The Washington Post. June 15, 2018. Accessed July 2, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/06/14/jeff-sessions-points-to-the-bible-in-defense-of-separating-immigrant-families/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6dbd134b0a7d.
[2] Weber, Thomas. “When Romans 13 Was Used to Invoke Evil (Opinion).” CNN. June 22, 2018. Accessed July 9, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/22/opinions/jeff-sessions-bible-verse-nazi-germany-opinion-weber/.
[3] Dewey, Caitlin. “GOP lawmaker: The Bible says ‘if a man will not work, he shall not eat’.” The Washington Post. March 31, 2017. Accessed July 3, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/31/gop-lawmaker-the-bible-says-the-unemployed-shall-not-eat/?utm_term=.c8634bf73d7e.
