Kerby Anderson

Mayor Pete Buttigieg spends a significant amount of his time on the campaign trail referring to his religious faith. In just the last few months, Mayor Pete has used his version of the Bible to support his political views on abortion, poverty, economic policy, environmental policy, and same-sex marriage. It is fair to say that he believes that political liberalism correlates better with the Bible than conservative values. Before we go on, let me say that he is free to express his views on any contemporary issue and also free to argue how he believes those views fit with the Bible. But let’s at least admit that his perspective on the Bible is hardly orthodox and appears to be an attempt to justify the various policy positions of the Democrat party. For example, he tries to dismiss all the concerns of millions of pro-life Christians by merely arguing that “lots of parts of the Bible that talk about how life begins with breath.” This becomes a justification for abortion right up to birth, when the first breath is taken. This ignores the many verses (such as Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:4-5, Isaiah 49:1) that show God’s care extends to the child in the womb. Instead, he reminds us that Jesus said nothing about abortion but quite a bit about the poor. Perhaps that is because it would be almost unthinkable for a Jew or a Christian in the first century to abort a child. And Jesus did say quite a bit about the poor. But it is a huge leap from Jesus calling for us to feed and clothe the poor and then support a massive welfare state that is less effective on meeting those needs than numerous faith-based organizations. Perhaps the greatest concern is the fact that Mayor Pete has received support for his biblically altered sermonettes. Most pastors have not addressed these cultural issues from the pulpit. They need to teach discernment and help Christians know how to apply sound biblical perspectives.