“Given the clearly altruistic-socialistic nature of the Bible, it should come as no surprise that during his presidential campaign Senator Obama made clear that his statist agenda was biblically grounded. He frequently preached that we must ‘reaffirm that fundamental belief—I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper.’ He mocked the religious right for its hypocrisy in advocating both biblical ethics and property rights: ‘The Christian Coalition determined that its number one legislative priority was tax cuts for the rich. I don’t know what Bible they’re reading, but it doesn’t jibe with my version.’ He made clear that his version of the Bible would accompany him to the White House: ‘My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won’t be fulfilling God’s will unless I go out and do the Lord’s work.’ He said we should ‘spread the wealth around’ because ‘it’s good for everybody.’ He said, ‘I can be an instrument of God’ and ‘we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth.’ And, preempting the charge that his plans would breach the wall between church and state, Obama said forthrightly, ‘Secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square’—’Our values should express themselves not just through our churches or synagogues, temples or mosques; they should express themselves through our government.’ “Since Obama has been in office, he has striven to uphold that biblical mandate and to express religious values through our government. Not only has he pushed for a government-run health-care system by reminding Americans of the ‘core ethical and moral obligation . . . that we look out for one another’ and admonishing, ‘In the wealthiest nation on earth, we are neglecting to live up to that call.’ He has also sought to institutionalize the religious virtue of self-sacrifice under the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships—the purpose of which is, in Obama’s own words, to see to it that Americans ‘give something of ourselves for the benefit of others’ and ‘promote a greater good.’ ‘This is not only our call as people of faith, but our duty as citizens of America. . . . For it is only through common struggle and common effort, as brothers and sisters, that we fulfill our highest purpose as beloved children of God.’ “As part of this effort, Obama has established a ‘Faith Advisory Council’ consisting of twenty-five religious leaders who ‘will formulate proposals for achieving the office’s policy goals.’ Jim Wallis, who sits on the Council, explains, ‘This administration has taken it to a different level in terms of real input from the faith community on policy.’ Jim Towey, who directed George W. Bush’s faith-based office, exclaimed, ‘We would have gotten killed for doing that.’ “Why can the religious left get away with such blatant violations of the separation of church and state while the religious right cannot (yet) do so? The answer is instructive: The primary aspect of religion that the left seeks to blend with government is the aspect of religion that no one—neither religious nor secular, neither right nor left—is willing to challenge: the ethics of altruism, the creed of sacrifice. “Given what the Bible actually says and calls for—given the undeniable fact that religion demands altruism—how can anyone who embraces religion possibly argue against the moral validity of expressing altruism through government? What, according to religion, is more sacred, more important, more binding: the politics of individual rights or the ethics of self-sacrifice; the U.S. Constitution or biblical scripture; the words of James Madison or those of God?” —Craig Biddle Full article here: https://theobjectivestandard/issues/2009-fall/creed-of-sacrifice-vs-land-of-liberty/
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:05:00 +0000
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