What the bible Didn't Say May Be Grounds For Legislation

 

Although I am a great believer in much of philosophy found in the New Testament, I am always suspicious of any argument that starts out with "Jesus said this" or the "Bible says that." One of the things about the bible is that it says a lot of things, and the point of the book is not really to take some quote out of context and use it to explain why it is OK to carry on some horrifying and pointless activity. I think that the focus of the New Testament is supposed to be about understanding the message of the philosophy that it contains as a whole. I seriously doubt that it was written to be used as a series of lame excuses for enterprises of questionable value.

It is amazing how many energetic contortions of language and dazzling leaps of logic that are used to coax a justification out of the bible as an excuse for every manner of vile human endeavor. Yesterday my jaw dropped anew at a statement made by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

Huckabee said that Jesus was pro-death penalty because he didn't say that he was against the death penalty while he was on the cross. (Which seems kind of odd to me, I could have sworn that Jesus complained to his father about the unfairness of the situation.) Think about it - Mr. Huckabee used what the bible didn't say as an excuse for killing people.

Oh, and God apparently talks to Huckabee via cell phone. I am not sure which is worse, the hypocrisy of using the name of god to win an election for your political party, or the astronomical long distance charges.

At Wednesday's CNN/YouTube debate, a questioner asked former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee "what would Jesus do" on the death penalty. He replied:

You know, one of the toughest challenges that I ever faced as a governor was carrying out the death penalty. I did it more than any other governor ever had to do it in my state. As I look on this stage, I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person on this stage that's ever had to actually do it. [...]

Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office, Anderson. That's what Jesus would do.

Huckabee dodged the question that time. But in 1997, Huckabee claimed that Jesus would have agreed with him on supporting the death penalty. Shortly before a triple execution in Arkansas in Jan. 1997, a caller called into Huckabee's show on Arkansas Educational Television Network and asked how he squared his Christian teachings with his support for the death penalty. As the Arkansas Times reported on Jan. 22, 1997:

"Interestingly enough," Huckabee allowed, "if there was ever an occasion for someone to have argued against the death penalty, I think Jesus could have done so on the cross and said, 'This is an unjust punishment and I deserve clemency'."

Jesus, though, did not ask for clemency. Therefore, according to Huckabee's logic, Jesus must have been in favor of capital punishment.

Huckabee also believes God supports Republicans. As ThinkProgress reported yesterday, Huckabee interrupted his speech to the Republican Governors Association in 2004 to answer his cell phone. He proceeded to have a three-minute conversation with God about President Bush's re-election:

We're behind [Bush], yes, sir, we sure are. Yes, sir, we know you don't take sides in the election. But, if you did, we kind of think you'd hang in there with us, Lord, we really do.

Matt Taibbi has more on Huckabee's religious zealotry.

Think Progress

Freida Bee has added a poem:

Mike Huckabee, go ahead smile and say
Your cute buddyship with your sweet Uncle J
Justifies murders from which your own hand bleeds.
Mothers in Iraq who want their children back should get over their petty worldly needs.

Asshole.