Just Don’t Call Them Biblical Values
Gary Blaine

Republican candidate Rick Santorum has criticized President Obama’s faith this week and stated that it is, “Not a theology based on the Bible.” Mr. Santorum seems to have a vision of America that is a theocracy based on Jewish and Christian principles. Mr. Santorum’s comments invite a host of questions that theocrats inevitably raise. Why a Jewish and Christian theocracy as if these two traditions were synonymous and meant the same thing. Which Judaism of the Hebrew Bible would he endorse, that of the pre-Davidic monarchy, or the Judaism of the various kingdoms of Israel and Judah, an exilic Judaism or post exilic Judaism? Or does he mean the theology of the Jewish peasant, Jesus, prior to the crucifixion and resurrection or the post resurrection community through the Council of Nicea? After Constantine everything “Christian” changes through the Dark Ages to post-Christian America.
I wonder if Mr. Santorum really imagines a United States government based on the Bible. As I read the Bible the nation would spend little time debating questions about gender orientation and put a tremendous amount of work and money into caring for the poor. There are only about six, possibly nine, Biblical references to homosexuality. But there are hundreds of references about the poor, God’s concern for the poor, God’s commands about caring for the poor, the consequences of not providing for the poor, and the blessings on those who provide for the poor.
I am not sure Mr. Santorum would win the endorsement of the Chamber of Commerce, banks, and corporations because a distinct value of the Bible prohibits usury. In the strict sense, usury in the Bible is any interest on loans, not just exploitive loans. And how about the year of the Jubilee? That Biblical value would require that all land borrowed, stolen, purchased, or seized for unpaid debts would return to its original owners. The Jubilee Year, every fifty years, would mean that all debts are forgiven.
Mr. Santorum wants to finish the wall that separates the United States from Mexico to stop illegal immigration. Never mind that it won’t really work given the massive border that surrounds the U.S. More importantly it is not a Biblical concept. Torah speaks repeatedly about caring for and even protecting foreigners and aliens. In fact, the Deuteronomist instructs us to “Love you therefore the stranger: for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt.”
Finally, do most Americans really want Biblical values when it comes to issues of national defense? Does Mr. Santorum really want to beat our drones into plowshares and our nuclear missiles in pruning hooks? I’ll bet nobody at the Pentagon, the Defense Department, or proud investors in the military industrial complex would vote for that. Biblical values require us to seek peace and reconciliation and not commit acts of violence against even our worst enemies. Mr. Santorum might do well to re-read the Sermon on the Mount.
Without a doubt people will argue with me about same-sex marriage, the abuse of entitlement programs, capitalism and a free-trade economy, the necessity of secure borders, and a strong military presence in the world. Their values will reflect their worldview and political ideology. Just don’t call them Biblical values.