Posted on 06/09/2005 2:07:33 PM PDT by Teófilo
The results are quite imperfect
Folks, I've been following a little bit what John Kerry and Howard Dean have been saying lately on various venues, and their recent rediscovery of the Bible as an instrument of campaign.
Consider John Kerry. While stumping in Florida the other day he said:
I went back and reread the whole New Testament the other day. Nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ did I find a suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover, that you ought to take the money from the poor, the opportunities from the poor and give them to the rich people.How nice. The man reread the entire New Testament, all 27 books, to reach this conclusion. What a guy!
Of course he's right, but that's beside the point. The New Testament simply does not address that matter. It is silent on evolution too, and try as we could, we will not find the blue prints of the moon-rocket there either. Nor will you be able to find anything in the New Testament supporting gay rights, or abortion, euthanasia, socialism, or the welfare state. Any mildly biblically literate Catholic would know that, but Kerry is anything but a biblically, or doctrinally literate Catholic. Worse, he also gets an "F" as a logician and rhetorician.
Although the New Testament is the ultimate source of moral guidance for all Catholics, it does not contain all human knowledge. It is not the sole source of moral teaching for Catholics, the other being Natural Law, which is a concurrent philosophical system that also sheds light upon the nature and end of man. For the Catholic Christian, the Bible is not the sole rule of faith. A dashing Catholic like Kerry should've known that. Even by Protestant standards, his proof-texting leaves a lot to be desired. But I'll leave that correction to my Protestant brethren. Or consider this jewel from Howard Dean:
"The other side seems to want to lecture us on moral values while they cut health care in rural areas … while they cut programs for the poor, while they cut education...Three thousand times? Now, there's a testable claim. So I decided to make a little experiment. I went to the Biblegateway.com, selected a "keyword" search matching all words, and searched for help and poor in the NIV and I got seven hits, and two of those were not on subject. The same search on the New King James version resulted in three hits, of which only one was on subject. The Contemporary English Version resulted in twelve hits, of which all but three were on subject. I'll quote the nine relevant ones:I don’t think those moral values are consistent. I don’t think they’re biblical. And I don’t think they’re consistent with the message in the New Testament.
He said the idea of helping the poor is mentioned 3,000 times in the Old and New Testaments. "Don't forget that"
1. Exodus 22:27 - because that is the only cover the poor have when they sleep at night. I am a merciful God, and when they call out to me, I will come to help them.A search for help and needy in the same version returned three hits of which only one was on subject.2. Leviticus 25:35 - If any of your people become poor and unable to support themselves, you must help them, just as you are supposed to help foreigners who live among you.
3. Deuteronomy 15:9 - Be careful! Don't say to yourself, " Soon it will be the seventh year, and then I won't be able to get my money back." It would be horrible for you to think that way and to be so selfish that you refuse to help the poor. They are your relatives, and if you don't help them, they may ask the LORD to decide whether you have done wrong. And he will say that you are guilty.
4. Job 29:12 - When poor people or orphans cried out for help, I came to their rescue.
5. Psalm 74:21 - Don't disappoint those in need or make them turn from you, but help the poor and homeless to shout your praises.
6. Proverbs 18:23 - The poor must beg for help, but the rich can give a harsh reply.
7. Proverbs 21:13 - If you won't help the poor, don't expect to be heard when you cry out for help.
8. Jeremiah 5:28 - and prosperous, but you refuse to help [ refuse to help: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.] the poor get the justice they deserve.
9. Ezekiel 16:49 - They were arrogant and spoiled; they had everything they needed and still refused to help the poor and needy.
What do we make of all of this? First, that it is true that God wants us to help the poor and needy. Even if the Bible only had said it once, it would've still been important and a commandment.
But it also shows that Dean is a neophyte when it comes to Holy Scripture, that he is completely unfamiliar with the text and with the basic principles or tools governing biblical exegesis and hermeneutics. His interpretative key is lost on me and the "3,000 times" quote, he plucked from thin air.
The caricature they make of Republicans and people of faith is also off-mark. For we do care about the poor. When have you seen Kerry or Dean working in a soup kitchen, or raising funds for national or international relief efforts? We do differ from Liberals on how to help the poor, we simply don't want to make the government the left hand of Divine Providence in an illusory quest to help the poor and needy using the government as a means. We don't want to delegate to the government our personal duty to help the poor and needy.
Kerry and Dean are shallow thinkers when it comes to faith and values. They don't take people of faith seriously, nor do they take the contents of their faith seriously, heck, not even the contents of their own personal faiths-if Dean has one, Kerry alleges he does.
Neither should we take this pair of buffoons seriously. The Democrats should consider finding other real thinkers who take faith seriously to act as their spokesmen.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 The wise man's understanding turns him to his right, the fool's understanding turns him to his left.
wow in one day even, with his busy schedule....riiiiiiight.
Hey, he's a goal oriented individual. Didn't he get three or four Purple Hearts in a very short period of time. There's nothing that man can't do when he sets his mind to it. If you don't believe it, just ask him.
Best Regards
Sergio
I don't know. I thought no one could beat Terry McAuliffe. Park Avenue Howard could outperform Terry. Just keep him talking.
At least it gives the Dem leadership a real 'issue' all their own. Howard. Thumbs up? Thumbs down?
And why not ? Why, Romans is practically baby talk ! Anybody could understand all of it in a few minutes !
But seriously have you noticed how the godless are trying to push something called "Jesus centered Christianity" ? That means ignoring the Old Testament and the Epistles and Acts and just turning Jesus into this philosopher who may or may not have really existed and preached tolerance and inclusiveness and diversity and a God who accepts us all just as we are. Of course this kinda leaves God out of Christianity. Of course this completely denies the divinity of Christ, his ransom sacrifice, and his role as the fulfilment of prophecy.
Good stuff!
of course, nothing surprises me anymore at all, including the apathy of so many people to just let it go without taking a stand and saying it's wrong.
That means ignoring the Old Testament and the Epistles and Acts and just turning Jesus into this philosopher who may or may not have really existed and preached tolerance and inclusiveness and diversity and a God who accepts us all just as we are. Of course this kinda leaves God out of Christianity. Of course this completely denies the divinity of Christ, his ransom sacrifice, and his role as the fulfilment of prophecy.
Or, in other words, the infamous "Social Gospel".
Ummm....okay. Yep...he's a devout Bible scholar.
The DemocRAT party is composed of criminal mentalities, P.C. fascists, and entitlement mentalities that believe they have a right to steal a share of what others produce (either at the point of a gun or with their votes).
When Kerry said he had - "reread the whole New Testament" and that - "nowhere in the three-year ministry of Jesus Christ did he find a suggestion at all, ever, anywhere, in any way whatsover, that you ought to take the money from the poor, the opportunities from the poor and give them to the rich people" - he was right.
But telling half-truths is the same as lying - because the intent is to deceive.
Will he lie and tell us that he doesn't KNOW that God condemns taking resources and opportunites away from __anyone__ ... not just "the poor"???
If you do it, it's called, "not loving your neighbor as yourself".
If you do it, it's called "harming your neighbor"
Whether "your neighbor" is rich or poor is not a factor.
The New Testament "Law of Christ" is "The Law of Love" - the second half of which is: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Matt. 22:37-40; Rom.13:8-10
"You shall not steal, "You shall lie, You shall not covet, ...." is part of not doing harm to your neighbor.
You are doing him harm if you hire a politician with your vote to take resources from him - resources that he worked hard for and produced which would otherwise be used for his own family - so as to force him to give some of his substance to you.
The DemocRAT party has great success playing the class-envy card with the base of their party- ie: the "victim mentalities" who covet what others have but don't have the guts to go up and down the street themselves engaging in force to get what they want. It's so much easier to vote DemocRAT and kid yourself that your hands are clean.
When mentalities like Kerry really do read the New Testament they can't help but recognize themselves in Romans 1:18-32 as being among those who know the truth and deliberately suppress it.
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