In President Obama’s address to the nation regarding his immigration actions, he ended his message with a passage from the Bible. Fox News was quick to be enraged, because as we all know, only conservatives are allowed to use the Bible in political messaging.
Citing Exodus 23:9, President Obama said:
“Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger — we were strangers once, too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.”
According to Elisabeth Hasselbeck of “Fox and Friends,” Obama using a Bible verse to justify his immigration actions was “the audacity of nope.”
Tucker Carlson was enraged that Obama was supposedly “lecturing us on the Christian faith” and said:
“This is the Christian Left at work, and it’s repugnant.”
Carlson also mentioned that quoting scripture is “totally out of bounds.” (Yes, he said that. Let the hypocrisy sink in.)
To watch the bewilderment coming from the “Fox News” panel, see below:
Cheeky.
So let me get this straight — only conservatives are allowed to cite the Bible when explaining something?
Maybe it’s this — they clearly jumped on the defense in regards to the president’s remarks. It has been said, or rather to use “Fox News” speak, “some people say” when you are quick to get defensive you’re probably on the losing side of the debate. Perhaps they’re mad because Obama used the passage accurately. Perhaps they’re even madder because when looking at policy, liberals are clearly on the side of the Bible.
You know, the whole healing the sick, feeding the hungry and helping the poor thing (see Matthew 31-46). Not to mention the fact that not only does the Constitution separate government from religion and justify taxes, but so does the Bible (see Matthew 22:15-22). The Bible, in particular a man named Jesus, was also against public prayer (see Matthew 6:5-8). And as far as the environment, the Bible asks that we be stewards of the earth (Leviticus 25:23-24) and take care of it (Genesis 1:28).
Conservatives have notoriously used their version of Christianity to garner votes and sway policy. They claim the United States is a Christian nation, but it is not. There are Christians in this nation. In fact, it is the chosen religion of the majority, but the U.S. is not a Christian nation. It is a nation of many religions, and the freedom to worship as you choose (1st Amendment), or not choose at all if that’s your fancy. Most of the founders of the United States were actually Deist and didn’t believe in the deification of Jesus — you know, the cornerstone of Christianity.
Freedom of and from religion is kind of one of the main reasons the United States was formed in the first place.
Now, should President Obama have used scripture in his immigration speech? Well, he’s a Christian and that’s his freedom to do so. Should Fox News be upset he cited a Bible verse? You wouldn’t think so since touting Christianity is one of their calling cards and they should be ecstatic their president is using the Bible to make a point. However, they were mad. . . and they were mad because the verse Obama used went against their narrative of hate and oppression. They’re mad because Obama used the Bible verse accurately.
No comments:
Post a Comment