Definition of "Republicanity"

Republicanity: the calculated melding of the American political right with poorly constructed, spiritually empty Christian theology so that the blind adherent loses track of where one ends and the other begins, thereby (1) fallaciously allowing Republicanism to claim the moral high ground above the Democratic party in all things political and (2) socially demonizing Democratic party members in the process

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

"Christians" Who Weaponize the Bible

Romans 13 has been a particularly useful tool for evangelical Trumpists.  So we all know:

Romans 13:1-2 1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

In fact, we have seen Attorney General Jeff Sessions use it to validate the current southern-border immigration policy:


And, we then saw Sarah Huckabee Sanders do her thing by more generally using the Bible to defend Sessions and attack the Democrats:



So, if you are of the ilk to root these two on when they use the Christian's sacred text in order to validate a vile, inhumane policy of treating human souls as if they are "less than" by throwing them into cages, then allow me to challenge your "less-than" Christianity:
  1. The current immigration policy is NOT a policy from the former administration; it was specifically changed in April of 2017 by Sessions and Trump.  Anyone, including Sanders herself, who tells/told you otherwise is lying for the sake of political gain, pure and simple. Now that that fact is out of the way, we can move forward.
  2. Sanders's statement that "it is very Biblical to enforce the law" is laughable in this context for a few reasons: (a) I didn't know anything could be "very" Biblical.  Does that mean other precepts are only "kinda" Biblical?  If so, which ones?  We'd all like to know from this Biblical scholar. (b) Her hypocrisy is beyond blatant since her own boss was a consistent law-breaker before he came into office and has remained as such since being elected.  So it seems that enforcing the law only on poor, powerless people is what is "very" Biblical.  (c) That argument could literally be used for ANY law those in power want to put into place.  Don't like red-heads?  Outlaw them; then, ipso facto, argue that it is godly to obey the law against red-heads, for that's what "God wanted" when He put those lawmakers into power. Of course that's preposterous, but that argument of Sanders is putting the law up on a pedestal as if it should not be challenged, just obeyed.
  3. That brings me to my next point; that is, the Christian has a godly responsibility in fighting against unjust laws, not just blindly complying with them because some Republican in power has weaponized Romans 13 by completely ignoring other parts of the Bible.  Parts like (a) Isaiah 10:1-2, which states, "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people"; OR (b) Isaiah 1:17, which states, "Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause"; OR (c) Romans 12:2, which states, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect"; OR (d) Matthew 25:40, which states, "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."  ALL of these (and many others like them) compel the Christian to push back against the world's laws if those laws are hurting the "less thans" of the world; many current evangelicals seem to be forgetting that God's precepts should hold a higher status than man's laws.
  4. And finally, I'm so very glad that past Christians remembered points 2 and 3, since all of the following were completely legal in the past: (a) slavery, (b) Native American forced migrations, (c) gender inequality, (d) racial segregation, (e) Nazism, just to name a few.  Meaning, had all Christians in the past weaponized Romans 13 the way many are doing now, then all of those moral atrocities just mentioned would never have been addressed.  Rather, they would have been ignored under the guise of "godly obedience."
All of this is to say that this kind of contemptible, yet conscious, misuse of the Biblical text by the current Republican party to validate their immoral leanings is EXACTLY what Billy Graham was warning us about (See the quote directly under this blog's title.).  Republicans presently are using Christianity for their own non-godly purposes, and when Christians can't even recognize that simple fact, then they put their own souls in danger. 

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