St Paul really was kind of a Republican
by digby
We knew that Glenn Beck’s favorite historian, the right wing fabulist David Barton, was completely dishonest about American history. (Even his super conservative publisher was forced to withdraw his latest book under a barrage of criticism from other Christian historians.)
Here he is lying about Obama lifting the work requirement for welfare and using the Bible as justification for his anger at this non-existent act:
[I]t was on a biblical principle; the Bible says if you don’t work, you don’t eat and he removed the work requirement. He says “well, you can eat without working.”
See, that’s another area where I could say he is biblically hostile because the Bible says if you don’t work, you don’t eat and he says “well, not in this country, we’re not going to do that.” So not only is it anti-Constitutional, it’s anti-biblical and that’s a real problem.
He’s right. The Bible does say that in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13:
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
We talked about that in Sunday school once. The teacher really pounded it in that if you didn’t have a job, you would starve and I always remembered it. My Dad was between jobs at the time. I stopped going to Sunday school not long after.
But the Bible is full of contradictions and complications and nothing if not subject to interpretation. I think most people are more familiar with this:
Acts 20:35
I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
But then Jesus was that kind of guy.
But all of this misses the point. Even if the Bible said “Thou shalt not lift the work requirement in the welfare reform bill of 1996” if wouldn’t mean thing. We are a secular democracy and it doesn’t matter even one little bit what the Bible says about anything.
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