Old Testament Republicans, New Testament Democrats (8/3/06)

by Dean T. Hartwell

 

Senator Barack Obama and other Democrats have recently urged the party to target “evangelical Christians” in order to win Congressional seats in November.  Some conservatives have heaped praise upon a book in which the writer calls liberals “godless.”

 

Do liberals and Democrats suffer from a lack of religion?  Or do they simply interpret religious matters a different way?

 

By far the most dominant religion in the United States today is Christianity.  Neither party has done much to reach out to Jews (except on the issue of Israel), Muslims or followers of other faiths.  Democrats appeal to non-religious people by standing up (sometimes) for the separation of church and state.

 

Polls show that people who go to church at least once a week tend to vote Republican.[i]  Yet, many Democrats identify with a church, especially the Roman Catholic Church (which supports traditional Democratic anti-poverty programs) and non-evangelical churches (i.e. churches that don’t take a strict interpretation of the Bible).

 

It appears that the “religion gap” between Democrats and Republicans comes down to competing interpretations of the Bible.  The slant each side takes owes not to religious convictions, but rather to political ones.

 

Though Republicans typically profess their faith in Jesus, they remarkably look to the Old Testament for answers to political issues.  Democrats don’t, but instead interpret the teachings of Jesus rather loosely.  Recent issues such as gay marriage, abortion and the war in Iraq demonstrate these tendencies.

 

On gay marriage, Republicans almost unanimously oppose it.  In a recent debate, they called it an attack on traditional marriage.  Many of the same churchgoing Republicans hear from time to time that homosexuality is a “sin.”  Where did that idea come from?  Hint: not Jesus.  It is the Old Testament that describes homosexuality as an “abomination.”[ii]  Some say that the Apostle Paul in the New Testament condemns homosexuality, but there is no consensus on what his writings mean on this topic.

 

On the other side, most Democrats support gay rights, including gay marriage.  Why?  It could be a belief in human rights, but most likely it comes from the New Testament depiction of Jesus as spending time with unpopular people in society, like the lepers, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, etc.

 

As for abortion, leading Republicans have long opposed it.  The Old Testament here contains no direct teachings on the subject, so they refer to it indirectly.  Since most religious people regard conception as the beginning of life, the Republicans have shaped a point of view that abortion is murder.  The Old Testament forbids murder as the Sixth Commandment.

 

Democrats have framed the issue around “women’s rights.”  They point to the prominence given to some women in the New Testament (like the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene) as proof that women have moved up in standing from the Old to the New Testaments.  Furthermore, many Christian churches support a woman’s right to an abortion.  Strangely, the churches most ardent about a strict construction of the Bible have repeatedly condemned it (i.e. the Pentecostal church).

 

Republicans have rallied around President George W. Bush in supporting the War in Iraq.  In the Old Testament, the Israelis, God’s “chosen people,” go to war with nations as God instructs them to.  They had a God who communicated directly with them.  This is interesting.  When reporters asked Bush whether he relied upon his father, the former president, for guidance in going to war, he said, “I rely on a higher authority.”

 

Democrats, drawn toward the New Testament’s depiction of a compassionate, merciful God who does not intervene in world affairs, see things differently once again, especially the liberal wing of the party.  Some, like former President Jimmy Carter, call Jesus the “Prince of Peace.”  To go to war requires a strong judgment of the other nation.  Here, with Bush Administration lies about weapons of mass destruction and no threat by Iraq, the Democrats chose to “judge not, lest ye be judged.”[iii]

 

The Republicans use of the Old Testament brings to mind a theory of GOP thoughts brought up by author George Lakoff in his book, Moral Politics.  He speaks of a “strict father” who punishes behavior that deviates from a traditional family of a father in charge, a mother who has babies and children who emulate either the father or the mother.  With the stamp of approval from the Old Testament’s punishing God, the Republicans aim to stamp out abortion, gay marriage, adultery, pornography, women’s rights, feminists, pacifists and others as being against their concept of a family.

 

Democrats attract people rejected by these strict standards and those who reject the standards and form their own family in accordance with Jesus’ teachings, perhaps without consciously trying to do so.  They promote harmony with the Golden Rule (a rule shared with numerous religions) and tolerance with the expression “Let he without sin cast the first stone.”[iv]

 

Of course, the Democrats do punish some people, those who would violate this harmony.  But that is the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans – the GOP lives to punish.  The Democrats punish to live.

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