- Home
- About Us
- Contributors
- Departments
- Topics
- Back Issues
- Weekly Archives
- AmSpecBlog
- Subscribe
- Newsletter
- Advertise
- Donate
- Contact Us
- Daily Digest
- Templeton Essays
search
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The Nation's Pulse
The Bible vs. the Bailout
(Page 2 of 2)
Most of all, the bailout debate ought to remind Americans exactly who foots the bill for the "compassionate" gestures of liberal politicians. During Friday's debate, Obama defended his tax proposals and health-care plans by saying, "I think those are pretty important priorities. And I pay for every dime of it."
You pay for it, senator? Don't you mean we pay for it?
Of course, the Illinois Democrat was not offering his own substantial wealth to pay for his proposals -- even Obama's lucrative book royalties would be just a drop in the bucket to defray the cost of his multi-billion dollar plans for Change.
Rather, Obama was speaking the language of those who've spent decades endeavoring to delude Americans into thinking that federal giveaway programs are funded by the generosity of politicians, rather than by expropriations from the pockets of taxpayers. Why worry what "affordable health care" will cost, if Obama is offering to pick up the tab?
The something-for-nothing promise of "free" benefits is the corrupting Big Lie of the welfare state. As I told those Christian homeschoolers years ago, this false promise is a temptation to sin.
EVER SINCE that unexpected question prompted my epiphany about the fundamental immorality of liberalism, I have wondered why I'd never heard this idea proclaimed from any pulpit.
No theologian or televangelist informed my conviction that redistributionist policies violate the Eighth Commandment. Indeed, if one had to name an author who showed the keenest perception of this issue, it wouldn't be the evangelical bestseller Rick Warren, but the atheist Ayn Rand. As the apostle Paul explained in the first chapter of Romans, however, moral truth is "manifest" even to pagans, "so that they are without excuse."
Yesterday, so-called Christian conservative columnist Michael Gerson accused bailout opponents of being blinded by "ideological purity." He would have hit closer to the mark had he blamed their opposition on moral clarity.
Comments
Leave a Comment
Related Articles
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you in a mob?
The Democrats say Obamacare opponents are a mob. Are they right?
Participating in this survey will subscribe you to the American Spectator email newsletter. You may unsubscribe at any time.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mark Seay| 1.16.09 @ 4:18PM
What does the Bible say about the Bailout?
By Mark Seay
“The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow” (Deuteronomy 28:12). The Bible also says the borrower is slave to the lender. When you are in debt to another, you enter into a slave/master relationship with your creditor. Proverbs 22:7 reads: "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender".
Likewise, God wants us to lend to others. Obviously, this is difficult if you don’t have anything to lend. "For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you" (Deuteronomy 15:6). Also, Matthew 5:42 instructs us to "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you".
We are required to pay back what we borrowed. It is easy to take this lightly, but if we borrowed it, we should pay it back. "The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously" (Psalm 37:21). And too, Ecclesiastes 5:4 speaks loud and clear on God's expectations: "When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow".
On the other hand, the Bible does not say that it is a sin to be in debt. As aforementioned, it is not God’s best for us, but the Bible does not say that it is a sin. One could even argue the point that Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin. We were slaves to sin, until He set us free. If He wanted to set us free in one area, why would He want us to be slaves in another?
However, there is one instance in the Bible where God provides through a loan that can be found in II Kings 4:1-7. These few verses tell the story of an impoverished widow that was on the verge of losing her sons because of the debt of her late husband. In verse 3, the prophet Elisha instructs her to “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.” God then proceeded to use the vessels to supernaturally provide the funds to redeem her sons from slavery and to provide for the needs of her household.
In fact, the size of this miracle was limited to how many vessels the widow could borrow! It is easily revealed that God’s provision offered a far greater blessing than just the settling of her miniscule debt. Our God is a God of MORE than enough!! (Note: Although God used what the widow already possessed, we are not limited from God’s blessings based on what we DO NOT have.) While the Bible generally does not encourage debt, this passage does indicate that there are instances in which it is appropriate, and even encouraged!
In keeping true to a keen sense of objectivity, let me propose the following argument as an advocate of our Lord's sovereignty. God grants us all different gifts and talents. And too, God deals with many of His children differently, although he mainly does this based on the principles of reaping. For His Word promulgates “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing…” (Galatians 6:7-9). Could it be that God deals with the issue of debt on a case-by-case basis? I'm not as resolute as I would like to be on this one.
However, I cling tightly to II Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. We all have daily choices and we all need to make sure each choice in life falls in line with the Word of God. Remember, with every "IF" there comes a "THEN".
I may not know the right answer. I may not even discover the truth while I'm still in this body. But in the meantime, I'll keep working on my list of "IFs". When I arrive at my Father's Kingdom, I'm sure to get the answer to the "bailout" question. Hope to see you "THEN"!!
Mark Seay| 1.16.09 @ 4:19PM
These are some really informative posts.
Blessings,
Mark Seay
www.LighthousePrayerLine.org
Pingback| 3.14.09 @ 11:57PM
Robert Stacy McCain: “The Bible and the Bailout” « Prydain links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
D R Sanchez| 6.18.09 @ 11:12PM
Bailout 2008 by David Jeffrey
Like a bloodied warrior,
laying broken and torn.
Like a dying soldier, hopeless and forlorn.
But the blood, it be green,
the color of money.
And the soldier is an economy,
and it is anything but funny.
Broken are it's people and shattered are their dreams.
Thanks to the ultra rich and their full proof schemes.
It is a tragedy with more pain to come.
Finance will be Hell, and their wills will be done.