COMMENTARY | According to a transcript of his remarks, President Barack Obama used the occasion of the National Prayer Breakfast to enlist Jesus Christ in a partisan political battle. He suggested that Jesus would be in favor of his plan to tax the rich.
The Bible verse that Obama choose to support this opinion with was from Luke 12:48, which states, in the King James version, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required." It is perhaps a more decorous Bible verse than Mark 12:17 which states, in part, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's," meaning give to Obama what is his. The latter verse may better capture the true attitude Obama has toward taxes, but he showed some discretion in not invoking it.
Most people reading the Bible verse that Obama invoked would marvel at his interpretation of it. It has been assumed that God would do the requiring and not the president of the United States, even if he sees God every time he looks in the mirror. The admonition is understood to be a call to perform charity and to help one's neighbor, not to pay ones taxes.
To be sure, Obama invoked Islamic and Jewish doctrine to support his soak the rich proposals as well. But under Islam, a believer is required to directly give alms to the deserving poor, not to the Department of Health and Human Services to hire bureaucrats to in turn give money to other bureaucrats to run programs that might or might not help the poor. Judaism has similar requirements of its adherents.
The problem is that the three great religions were founded long before the bureaucratic welfare state was created or even conceived of. It was well understood that helping the least among us was a highly personal act, which benefits the giver as well as the recipient. The welfare state model that Obama favors is not only more impersonal, but far more wasteful.
Obama's invocation of religion is also very offensive. Imagine if George W. Bush, on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, had said it was God's will that we end the reign of terror and misrule of Saddam Hussein. The outrage would have been heard around the world. But Obama feels that he can get away with enlisting Jesus, Moses, and Mohammed in a partisan fight over tax policy.
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