David Barton doesn’t pretend to be just a historian. He also appears to see himself as qualified to judge who is a real Christian and who isn’t. See here, for example. Our friends at Right Wing Watch heard him do it again Wednesday on his WallBuilders Live! radio program.
Lamenting the fact that polls show many young Christians don’t think homosexuality and abortion are sins and that some have had abortions or are LGBT themselves, Barton insisted that they — those young folks — can’t really be Christians:
“Whoa. There is nothing in the Bible — nothing — that aligns with this. How can you be a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ when you don’t follow his teachings on these things?”
Here’s a fuller audio clip provided by Right Wing Watch:
Thus saith Lord David.
Judge not, David, lest ye be judged.
Ever heard that before?
And does something about casting the first stone ring a bell?
Hell, even I — an atheist — know and try to live by that.
John, the problem with your quotes is that they are completely out of context. What David said here is exactly right according to Scripture.
Let me see if I can put something in perspective for you here. Are you judging David by referencing “judge not lest ye be judged”? Hmmm? Don’t forget the same guy that uttered that phrase uttered it in a particular context. Try exegeting the context sir.
Second, the same Jesus that uttered the judging passage you quote OUT OF CONTEXT also declared , “Judge with righteous judgment.” Guess that slipped your mind to “know and try to live by.”
Third, the issue about casting a stone was because men attempted to unlawfully judge a woman for adultery when the law not only called for two or three witnesses, but since they claimed she was caught IN THE VERY ACT, they failed to bring the man with her, indicating they weren’t concerned about justice and righteousness nor fairness and so, Jesus called them out on it. Again, try using a context before doing the same thing every other ignorant person does when they quote those are thou they actually know what’s being said.
Goodness, Tim. That interpretation of John 8 is rather creative.
As a Christian, I would be very surprised to find out that God is happy with the long string of historical lies, feints, and distortions of truth in his so-called American history. God makes it clear in the Bible that perpetual liars will never see the Kingdom of Heaven. This is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
“How can you be a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ when you don’t follow my personal interpretation of his teachings on these things?”
There, Barton, fixed it for you.
And, hey, whoa, Barton, you need to stop saying, hey and whoa. Makes you sound like a hick.
“Whoa. There is nothing in the Bible — nothing — that aligns with this. How can you be a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ when you don’t follow his teachings on these things?”
Here’s another passage in red in some Bibles. “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Does this have some application to how we treat children at our borders? I’ll ask “How can you be a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ when you don’t follow his teachings on these things?”
Mr. Barton, and a hell of a lot of other sanctimonious, self-righteous dim-witted self-described “christians” say the same thing. I don’t judge and am not prejudiced to anyone no matter their personal sexual identity; it’s just no one’s business.
“I don’t judge and am not prejudiced to anyone no matter their personal sexual identity; it’s just no one’s business.”
Says the person that in the sentence prior wrote: “Mr. Barton, and a hell of a lot of other sanctimonious, self-righteous dim-witted self-described “christians” say the same thing.”
Sounds like you made a judgment there Kenny.
The term, “Christian”, is defined as meaning “like Jesus Christ” or “as Jesus would do” or “as Jesus would suggest that his followers do or behave”. There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that indicates approval or condoning of homosexuality. To the contrary, there are many scriptures condemning homosexuality. Jesus is quoted as saying, “at the beginning the creator made them male and female.”
Jesus came to this earth so that we can have “life and life more abundant”. It is totally unbelievable that Jesus would reach up into a mother’s womb and kill her unborn baby, then remove him or her from the womb, each body part separately before flushing them down the toilet.
Jesus probably had TFN in mind when he said, “their hearts have become calloused, they hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes — otherwise, they might hear and see and understand with their hearts”.
David Barton is right — homosexuality and abortion are UNCHRISTIAN.
Jim, it’s fine that you believe abortion and homosexuality are “unchristian”; however, what isn’t fine is depriving women of decisions about their own body and any embryo or fetus within it (which is a legal right according to the Supreme Court)or denying gay people civil marriage (you have the right to not offer to marry same-sex couples in your church, if you want, but you can’t deny them access to a marriage license at City Hall). The Constitution guarantees separation of church and state. Go about your life believing whatever you want, but don’t obstruct other Americans from their legal rights and fair access to marriage. It’s that simple. No one is telling you not to believe whatever you want to believe. Just don’t try to prevent women from controlling their own reproductive health and don’t try to limit marriage to heterosexual couples. (And, remember, marriage ain’t so sacred, is it, since divorce is so institutionalized in American culture.) If you are a Christian and think abortion and homosexuality are unchristian, all you need to do to be happy is not have an abortion and not have sex with another guy. Case closed.