Liberal things are good. "Liberal" is not a dirty word.
So saith the Bible.
Anyone who says otherwise is going to get a little pushback.
Let me first get some caveats out of the way. I do not hold a degree in any religious subject (nor in any medical subject). This is not a serious essay about religion, not really; it is more about fighting hellfire with hellfire.
And it involves a little wordplay. But that's okay, Jesus Himself reportedly engaged in wordplay from time to time, much to the irritation of the religious "leaders" of the day.
What I have to say is, as far as I am able to determine, not enthusiastically supported by serious scholars. This is not essay that engages in serious exegesis or hermeneutics.
This is, rather, a somewhat-prepared response to those individuals who use quotations from the Bible as support for their unfounded and usually irrational hatred of President Biden, or condemnation of policies that these individuals have capriciously labeled as "liberal."
Here is a Bible passage I will throw back at them: Isaiah chapter 32, verses 1 through 8.
This text begins by praising a new, righteous leader, and describes him thus:
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
Who is this great person? The Bible (King James Version) gives some little hints, among them:
The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
Hmm. Stammerers who speak plainly and rationally, and those who actually endeavor to set aside their caprices in order to actually learn something, these are the "good guys." So Holy Scripture apparently teaches.
But who are the "bad guys" in this tale? In the very next verse, Scripture identifies the evildoers generically as the "vile person" and the "churl" ("churl" is a derogatory biblical term for a mean-spirited person, or a**hole), and the many reasons for deeming the vile person and the churl to be wicked are expressed plainly:
The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
For the vile person is an evil hypocrite, who lies to destroy the poor. (emphasis mine)
And, to show contrast between that which is wicked and that which is good, Isaiah adds:
But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. (emphasis mine)
So wicked people devise wicked things, while good people devise liberal things.
The Bible could not be clearer, could it?
Okay, you thumpers, let's review:
Liberal things are good and righteous, and are favored by the Almighty. If you think otherwise, perhaps you ought to read your Bible. Isaiah 32:1-8, in case you forgot.
Also, the following things are evil beyond all question:
- Speaking villany (using the biblical spelling).
- Deliberately planning and pursuing iniquity.
- Practicing hypocrisy.
- Being deliberately untruthful.
- Denying essentials to those in need (especially if one is wealthy and boasts of one's own generosity)
- Trying to destroy poor people.
- Lying about poor people.
- Trying to wreck the lives of the helpless and ignoring their grievances, when you know damned well that their grievances are legitimate.
These evils are unquestionably not "liberal," and ought not be referred to as such.
So don't ever attach the word "liberal" to villany in general, nor to your own personal brands of villany in particular.
So saith Scripture, and here endeth the lesson.
Previously:
Don't Remember Richard Nixon for "I'm NOT a crook"; Remember Him for What He Said Just Before That
Meme Adventures: Abraham Lincoln Edition
Meme Adventures: Haiku Edition
Meme Adventures: Introduction
A Speech That I Hope Joe Biden Never Has to Deliver
It's "Scheisskopf" From Now On
A speech for Donald Trump
