Sunday, July 29, 2018

Three Liberals’ Take on Interpreting the Bible (Part I)


Recently, two Democratic Party Senators, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, used Scripture to warn All and Sundry (ANS) about the “evil” Brett Kavenaugh – President Trump’s recent Supreme Court nominee to replace retiring Judge Anthony Kennedy. Of course, these illustrious politicians (IP’s) wanted to inform Us Peons (UP’s) of the Lord’s intention to align God’s Kingdom with one side of the Congressional aisle.
The two IP’s joined (or were joined by) the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, a preacher and NAACP leader in North Carolina, who lost no time in helping his fellow Bible scholars explain Jesus further. No doubt, he wanted to add weight to an already meaty argument: Democrats – no stranger to the ever-changing meaning of words – are experts in telling the Republicans how uncharitable and wrongheaded they are about Just About Everything (JAE).
 
The passage of Scripture that these Three Bible Scholars (TBS’s) chose was quite a dramatic one – an explanation of one aspect of the Last Judgement that each and every Christian should ponder and give serious – yeah, monumentally serious – consideration to. It involves Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 25, verses 34 – 40. For UP’s who need refreshing with regard to Jesus’ words, I reproduce this passage below:
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Here is how the TBS’s explained this passage:
Point Number One: The “I” in this passage does not really mean Jesus; it means the Democratic Party. How do I know this? Because this is the first interpretation of this passage – and I have heard numerous sermons about it over the last 40 years – that says that I, a Republican, have no chance of entering the Kingdom of God unless I become a Democrat, acting as they do, and thinking as they do. Golly!
Point Number Two: The definition of a “righteous” person includes only those individuals who agree with the TBS’s. For goodness’ sake, don’t you want to be “on the moral side of history”?[1]
Point Number Three: Only IP’s (who have a magical connection to Bible verses and their meanings) can identify which persons deserve the “hungry / thirsty / stranger (alien) / sick / imprisoned” labels. (Dinesh D’Souza or Martha Stewart need not apply to be included under the last label.)
Point Number Four: Brett Kavanaugh, in order to be included under the heading of “righteous,” must prejudge each case that comes before him in favor of the people described in Point Number Three. He has not done this; therefore, he is an evil man, and the TBS’s have the Bible verses to prove this! (Although which came first – the label “evil” or the Bible verse to “prove” it – is not clear.)
Point Number Five: In light of this marvelous revelation from the TBS’s, all who oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court (obviously Democrats) “are on the moral side of history.”[2]
Now, I have no wish to disturb those fine, godly TBS’s (especially the man who preaches God’s words for a living). However, I would like to exercise a bit of Biblical exegesis myself:
Liz’s Response Number One: Do Warren, Booker, and / or Barber defend the murder of innocent unborn children in the womb? If they do, how do they claim “the moral side of history” when God’s Word is clearly set against child sacrifice (see Leviticus 18:21, 20:3 and Deuteronomy 12:30-31, 18:10)? The modern-day slaughter of children in the womb for the “health” of the mother is every bit as reprehensible as the slaughter of infants by burning them in a fire to the god Molech to buy material favor (money, sheep, crops) from him.
Liz’s Response Number Two: Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, (chapter 5, verse 20 to be exact), Jesus said "For I say unto you that unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” I wonder why Jesus thought He could dictate who gets to go to Heaven! Aren’t the Democrats better at deciding membership in the Kingdom?
Liz’s Response Number Three: In what century did the meaning of sacrificial giving change from using one’s own wealth, fortune, or resources to using that which is demanded from others through taxes and fees? (And while we’re at it, corporations who “donate” copious amounts of money to charity are a joke. It’s really the money from their customers which they “give,” not their own. If you want to argue that it’s their profits that they give away, go ahead, but they cannot deny that these companies charge higher prices just so that they can appear “benevolent.”) What are Warren’s, Booker’s, and Barber’s – and let’s not forget Bernie Sanders’ (who was also with the TBS’s) – net worths? Have they volunteered any of their wealth, fortunes, or resources on behalf of their “moral side”?
Liz’s Response Number Four: The Old Testament is replete with example after example of true justice: to live in awe of God, to honor His laws, and to judge fairly when evil or injustice (as defined by the Almighty) has been committed. At no time in the Bible does God state, “Put aside all that and prejudge a case according to your own definitions and agendas.” However, Warren, Booker, and Barber are convinced that the Bible does say that exact thing. Unfortunately, the examples they provide (from St. Matthew’s Gospel, the Book of Isaiah the Prophet, Psalm 23, and the Book of Numbers) utterly fail to prove their points with regard to true justice. (Psalm 23? Really?)
My final word: When trying to steer through to coherency during this and future political rodeos, avoid all IP’s who use ANS Biblical passages to shame UP’s into doing JAE.
Gobbledygook? Exactly.


[1] O’Neil, Tyler.Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker Host Bible Event against Trump Supreme Court Pick” PJ Media, July 25, 2018. https://pjmedia.com/faith/bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-cory-booker-host-bible-event-against-trump-supreme-court-pick/


[2] Ibid.


No comments:

Post a Comment