Religion and Politics: Quoting Scripture

This is the second part of a series. The first post can be found here.

Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart
Oh, what a goodly outside falsehood hath! 
(Antonio to Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene 3)

The Bible doesn't say that God helps those who help themselves. That's Ben Franklin, in "Poor Richard's Almanac." That doesn't prevent people from quoting that "scripture" however. The truth is that the overwhelming witness of the Bible is that God helps those who cannot help themselves.

Icon by Kelly Latimore: See Leviticus 19:34

Similarly, there are some who think the Bible says that the devil can cite Scripture for his purpose; this may be true but it comes from Shakespeare, not the Gospel of Matthew.

Having said this, however, it is also true that in Matthew 4, when Jesus is being tempted in the wilderness by the devil, the devil does quote scripture to Jesus in tempting him. Jesus responds with his own scriptural quotes, a practice that continues to this day and raises the question: which parts of Scripture are pertinent in a given time and place? How do we interpret the Word of God?

My Facebook page has been lit up with this back and forth: the White House Press Secretary and the Attorney General quoting from Romans 13 while most of my progressive friends are quoting from Leviticus (somewhat ironically!) about how we are to treat the alien in our midst.

Years ago when the neighboring New Hampshire Diocese of The Episcopal Church elected an openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, we held numerous forums for discussion in the parish I served. One man who had never before ever come to a Bible study in the previous five years I'd been there showed up with a red-letter King James Bible (that did not show much wear) to tell me that he only believed what "the good Lord himself had written in the Saint James' Bible." I resisted the temptation to tell him it was the Bible translated during the reign of King James and had nothing to do with the brother of our Lord.

There is a prayer that comes from my tradition that says that we are called to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest Holy Scripture. Wrenching texts out of context to hurl at one another is really not the way to engage in dialogue. In fact one might rightly ask what place this has in civil discourse. I suspect Jefferson is turning over in his grave right about now! And I tend to agree with my more secular friends, both conservative and liberal, that our public discourse ought to be focused on political arguments, not theological ones. Leave the arguments about Scriptural interpretation for Sunday morning!

Nevertheless, it's hard to avoid. So if we are going to turn to Scripture we need to engage it all - not just look for a quote to bolster our political ideologies. (This is true on all sides and people can be just as guilty of this on the right and on the left in my experience.)

I don't question the piety of Attorney General Jeff Sessions but I respectfully challenge his theology, shaped in the Jim Crow South. Quoting Romans 13 about obeying civil authorities is sketchy to say the least. It's exactly where (white preachers) went when King was making the Biblical case for civil disobedience of unjust laws. Before that it's where Anglican loyalists went during the Revolutionary War as well: obey King George, they said. That's what the Good Book says! Also popular in apartheid South Africa...

Anyone who attempts to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest Holy Scripture will realize it's not a list of aphorisms or rules. When it comes to empire, most of the Bible is written by those who are being oppressed by unjust imperial rules, from Egypt to Persia to Babylon to Rome. When Jesus says "render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar" he's being ironic and clever. He's really asking people to think about how much of their lives they are willing to let belong to Caesar (who claimed to be lord) and how much they are willing to give over to the one who says, "Follow me." It is bad exegesis to use that text to defend imperial power or as an excuse to avoid generosity during stewardship season.

In Paul's Letter to the Romans there is a socio-political context that cannot be ignored: those followers of Jesus, for whom the claim "Jesus is Lord" is a political claim (Caesar is not the lord of me!) were in danger. They have to figure out how to thread the needle: how to be both citizens of the empire and know where their true allegiance lies. That's a challenge for every generation of those who follow in the way of Jesus.

So there are other texts I'd invite the Attorney General to pray about. Throughout the whole of the Old Testament and the prophets there is a witness, including in Leviticus 19:34. As well as Matthew 18:6 and 19:14. But the goal isn't to see who can find the most quotes. The goal is to see that Jesus was right when he summarized the whole of the Torah and the Prophets by putting together Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Love God. Love your neighbor. Even if it requires disobeying the civil authorities for making unjust laws.

And who is my neighbor? Oh, that's a good one. Jesus says all means all. Luke 10:25-37