The Gospel According to Pelosi According to Bauer

Think of the three or four words that most aptly describe the Left, …

Progressive. Liberal. Compassionate. Societal.

… and the word “secular” would certainly be among them.

D’oh!  Me and my silly lack of certain word.

A defining trend of the last two generations is that as culture war issues related to human life, family and religious freedom have emerged, the Left’s willingness to talk about faith has faded.

Actually, what’s been a defining trend has been the Right arrogating the role of the faithful to themselves, and considering anyone who doesn’t believe in their particular flavor of evangelical / conservative / dominionist Christianity to be, by definition, unfaithful.

In fact, for them, faith was an invalid viewpoint to include in any debate.

There are plenty on the Left who are willing to draw on their faith for their inspiration and their motivation.  That said, they don’t treat Scripture as something that holds as much weight as a legal principle as, say, the Constitution.  Nor are they quite as likely to assume their particular interpretation of the Scripture is, in fact, synonymous with the Might Command of God.

It is therefore interesting that whenever liberal politicians do find their religious voices they try to wrap their big government, socialist agenda in the adornment of Christianity. Other than Barack Obama, few liberals are as proficient at the shameless use of religion as Nancy Pelosi.

Wait — I thought you were just criticizing the Left for not drawing on faith and religion.  Are you now criticizing them for doing so, too?

Oh, wait — you’re just assuming that it’s an “adornment,” something that’s a false cover.  Because heaven forfend that a liberal might actually be a faithful Christian.

House Speaker Pelosi has urged the Catholic Church to speak up about the need for immigration reform that includes amnesty for the 12 million illegal immigrants living in America. Speaking at a conference recently, she revealed that she often tells Catholic priests and bishops, “I want you to speak about it from the pulpit. Some (who) oppose immigration reform are sitting in those pews, and you have to tell them that this is a manifestation of our living the Gospels.”

Ms. Pelosi must be reading the Democrat Party platform because she surely is not reading the Gospels. Our immigration system is broken, but the Democrats’ reform plan, which would reward lawlessness and penalize millions of people waiting to enter our country legally, is not the self-evidently Christian response.

The Gospels (and, heck, the Old Testament in places) repeatedly draws on the plight of “strangers in a strange land,” and the need both for people to seek out a place to live, as well as the need for others to welcome such strangers.  Consider Jacob’s brothers traveling to Egypt in the face of famine.  Or Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt ahead of Herod’s slaughter of the innocents.  And consider Jesus’ dictate to love one’s neighbor as onesself, and whom he identified as one’s neighbor.

It’s noteworthy that the National Accociation of Evangelicals, not to mention the Liberty Council — neither of whom is likely to be browbeaten by Speaker Pelosi, just came out with strong stands toward immigration reform, including a path forward for those already in the country.

Pelosi’s God talk isn’t confined to immigration. Talking about climate change legislation at a recent press conference, Pelosi said, “I think it’s essential to the health of our children that we reduce emissions in the air. And for those of us who believe—and I think most of us do—that this is God’s creation, we have a moral responsibility to preserve his creation.”

Just like Rick Warren and 96 other Leftist evangelicals who signed the Evangelical Climate Initiative in 2006, calling for biblical stewardship of the Earth, and national legislation about reductions carbon dioxide emissions.  Jeez, Pelosi’s even gotten to Rick Warren!

Barack Obama is the master of the opportunistic use of religion. The president has said that the Sermon on the Mount informs his support for homosexual rights, and he has insisted that “as a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering” through life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research. He repeatedly called socialized medicine “an ethical and moral obligation.”

Bauer nicely handwaves away Obama’s statements without actually addressing them.  And to me, Matt. 25:37-40 sound like a pretty compelling argument for national provision of health care and other social services:  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

The absurdness of the Left’s misuse of religion is best exemplified by perhaps its best known media mogul. Ted Turner is a well known anti-Christian bigot who has called Christianity, among other things, a “religion for losers.” But Turner recently found God off the Gulf Coast, telling a reporter that the Gulf oil disaster “could be” God’s work. “He’s sending us a message,” Turner announced. “I’m just wondering if God is telling us he doesn’t want us to drill offshore.”

Okay, I’ll buy this argument of Bauer’s, not because of Turner’s religiosity (I have no knowledge of it), but because attributing events to God is usually something that people do who are trying to sell you something.  But that’s hardly an attribute of the Left.

The Left’s piety, which surfaces when it suits their political purposes, mysteriously disappears when real issues of grave moral concern are discussed. Bring up protection for innocent unborn children or the meaning of marriage and liberals suddenly remember that talk of faith in politics is a severe infringement on the First Amendment.

I’ll notice the Right’s piety tends to surface when it suits their purpose as well (support Israel, protect the unborn, stone the homosexual) but disappears when issues that would inconvenience them come up (feeding the poor, caring for the sick, taking in the stranger, visiting the prisoner, stewarding Creation, seeking justice, offering mercy, loving one’s neighbor, not living by the sword).

What you will tend to hear more from the Left, though, is someone speaking from their personal moral convictions — Christian or not — but not asserting that this country is ruled by the Ten Commandments, or that their view of What God Wants should trump the Constitution or the views of others on the subject.

Pelosi’s recent God talk came only a couple months after she was slammed by her bishop for promoting abortion, which he reminded her “is entirely incompatible with Catholic teaching.” In response, Pelosi insisted (wrongly) that “free will” allows her to support abortion in good conscience.

I can’t speak ex cathedra of whether one can have “free will” in opposition to the formal opinion of the Church (though many American Catholics do, on sundry matters in addition to abortion).

But, then, that assumes that Catholic teaching (as interpreted by a Catholic bishop) is the ultimate arbiter of what is Right and Wrong.  Which is an odd position for an evangelical who is not, in fact, Catholic.

Liberals constantly remind us that Jesus loves everyone—homosexuals, the poor, Muslims, illegal immigrants et al. I agree and, given my own foibles, I take comfort in God’s unconditional love.

I find it interesting who Bauer lumps together there: sinners, heretics, criminals … and, oh yeah, the poor.

But just because God is liberal in His love doesn’t mean He endorses the liberal agenda.

What agenda is that, Gary?

Pelosi claims that immigration amnesty is “a manifestation of our living the Gospels,” which sends a rather bleak message to immigrants who did things the right way, waiting years to have a shot at citizenship, and to American workers unable to find jobs because illegal immigrants work for less pay.

Even if illegal immigrants somehow were to breeze in more easily than legal ones (highly unlikely), I might refer Bauer to Matthew 20:1-16.

The Left constantly reminds us that God loves uninsured Americans and those with pre-existing conditions, and that we are obligated to care for them.

Caring for the sick — yup, Jesus seems pretty darned insistent on that.

While that is true, it does not mean God has endorsed Obamacare, which will force many Americans to face higher premiums, penalize some employers for hiring low-income workers and compel doctors and nurses to perform abortions.

Um … wrong, hadn’t heard that one, and dead wrong.

By the way, do I take the above to mean that Bauer is willing to fight for basic health care for uninsured Americans, and those with pre-existing conditions?  Funny, he hasn’t been at the forefront of that particular battle on behalf of what he admits is an obligation from God.

Some liberals see higher taxes as a sort of religious tithe (if only they wanted just 10 percent of our income!) and as a response to God’s call to help the needy. While more spending may help some poor people in the short-run, most federal poverty programs fail in the long-run.

Really?  On what basis does Bauer assert that?  And what does Bauer suggest as an alternative?

And what about struggling taxpayers and our children and grandchildren, the ones who will be saddled with paying for today’s unprecedented borrowing? Jesus loves them too. The scriptures don’t justify government squeezing those families to give away their money to ineffective “anti-poverty” programs.

Nor does it justify squeezing those families to pay for a war in Iraq, which Bauer supported and pushed for wholeheartedly.  What’s the Biblical support for that particular action, Gary>

(Bauer also seems to forget that whole “render unto Caesar” thing viz religious objections to taxes.)

Anyone who takes the Bible or Torah seriously should be cautious when they hear the Left’s appeals to faith.

Or the Right’s.

The Left is on dangerous ground when it cites God only when they believe it bolsters their policy preferences.

As is the Right.

The only thing worse than a politician who ignores the Creator is one who shamelessly distorts His message for political gain.

What do you know?  Bauer and I agree on something (at least in his second clause).