The Bible in American Law and Politics. John R. Vile

The Bible in American Law and Politics

The Bible in American Law and Politics - John R. Vile

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Bible since early childhood, and I believe that anyone who reads the ancient words of the Old Testament with both sensitivity and care will find there the idea of government as something based on a voluntary covenant rather than force—the idea of equality before the law and the supremacy of law over the whims of any ruler; the idea of the dignity of the individual human being and also of the individual conscience; the idea of service to the poor and to the oppressed; the ideas of self-government and tolerance and of nations living together in peace, despite differences of belief. (Flowers 1983, 128)

      Although he enjoyed reading Reinhold Niebuhr, who was known for his political realism, Carter believed that the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule provided guidance on matters of foreign policy, which his critics believed to be naïve. Carter put the advancement of human rights at the top of his foreign policy agenda but combined this emphasis with the biblical maxim from Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Berggren 2005, 56). Carter negotiated a treaty returning control of the Panama Canal to the nation of Panama, largely because he thought it was the right thing to do, and extended amnesty to nonviolent individuals who had fled the country rather than be drafted to serve in the war in Vietnam. Iranian revolutionaries held fifty-two Americans hostage during the last two years of Carter’s administration, and a mission that he sent to free them resulted in American casualties.

      Carter spent almost two weeks negotiating directly with the leaders of Israel and Egypt in order to secure peace in the Middle East. In his book The Blood of Abraham, Carter, explained, “For me there is no way to approach or enter Israel without thinking first about the Bible and the history of the land and its people. The names and images have long been an integral part of my life as a Christian”; he further observed that “the power of faith is a unifying bond between Christian and Jew and between the heroes of ancient Israel and those of New Testament times” (quoted in Berggren 2005, 57). Citing the story of Cain killing his brother Abel in Genesis 4, Carter observed, “The blood of Abraham, God’s father of the chosen, still flows in the veins of Arab, Jew, and Christian, and too much of it has been spilled in grasping for the inheritance of the revered patriarch in the Middle East. The spilled blood in the Holy Land still cries out to God—an anguished cry for peace” (quoted in Berggren 2005, 59). During his negotiations with the leaders of Egypt and Israel, Carter quoted the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Holmes 2012, 160).

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      Carter is often cited as one of America’s best ex-presidents, engaging with Habitat for Humanity and launching projects through the Carter Center to monitor elections and improve international well-being, perhaps most notably in its attempt to eliminate the parasitic Guinea worm. He received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, primarily for his work as president in promoting Middle East peace. In his acceptance speech, Carter observed,

      I worship Jesus Christ, whom we Christians consider to be the Prince of Peace. As a Jew, he taught us to cross religious boundaries, in service and in love. He repeatedly reached out and embraced Roman conquerors, other Gentiles, and even the more despised Samaritans.

      Despite theological differences, all great religions share common commitments that define our ideal secular relationships. I am convinced that Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and others can embrace each other in a common effort to alleviate human suffering and to espouse peace. (quoted in Holmes 2012, 172)

      Before, during, and after he became president, Carter led Sunday school classes. Meir Soloveichik (2018) believed that some of Carter’s lessons, especially during his presidency, suggested that he thought that his knowledge of the Bible was more important than political skill or diplomacy and that some of his interpretations, especially of the death of Jesus, were culturally insensitive.

      Carter continued teaching Sunday school at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, where he also served as a handyman. He has drawn his lessons from both the Old and New Testaments. His classes have become a major tourist attraction in his hometown. The church where he has taught has since left the Southern Baptist Convention for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Allowing for the ordination of women and the separation of church and state, this group distances itself from the view that the Bible is “inerrant” or without error, albeit on what it believes to be biblical grounds: “The Bible neither claims nor reveals inerrancy as a Christian teaching. Bible claims must be based on the Bible, not on human interpretations of the Bible” (quoted in Holmes 2012, 169).

      Among the latest individuals to attend this class was Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, whom Carter called upon to read Scripture (Reeves 2019).

      See also Buttigieg, Pete; Evangelicals; Niebuhr, Reinhold; Zionism

       For Reference and Further Reading

      Banks, John. 2019. “Visiting Jimmy Carter’s Sunday School Class Has Become an American Pilgrimage.” Dallas News. February 17. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/02/17/visiting-jimmy-carters-sunday-school-class-become-american-pilgrimage. Accessed May 6, 2019.

      Carter, Jimmy. 1996. Living Faith. New York: Random House.

      Flippin, J. Brooks. 2011. Jimmy Carter, the Politics of Family, and the Rise of the Religious Right. Athens: University of Georgia Press.

      Soloveichik, Meir Y. 2018. “Jimmy Carter: The Sunday-School Years.” JewishPress.com. October 28. https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinion/jimmy-carter-the-sunday-school-years/2018/10/28/.

      One indication of the continuing influence of the Bible on American understandings may be found in the number of cartoons that reference biblical themes or figures.

      Many recent cartoons, which can be accessed at PoliticalCartoons.com, center on President Trump. A cartoon by Dave Granlund published on January 11, 2017, shows Trump about to take an oath on his book The Art of the Deal. A second by J. D. Crowe dated March 9, 2019, shows him labeling commandments

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