New Testament in Policymakers abroad

On Tax Reform: OpEd: Bible endorses flat tax--10% tithing

Although much of Carson's speech focused on personal responsibility, he offered two concrete policy ideas. The first is a flat tax. The Bible endorses the idea, Carson explained. Everyone should tithe--give 10 percent--in good times and bad. It doesn't have to be 10 percent, he conceded. It's the principles of proportionality and simplicity that matter.

Critics complain that the poor guy who puts in $1 will be hurt more than the rich guy who puts in $1 billion. But, Carson asks: "Where does it say you've got to hurt the [rich] guy? He just put a billion dollars in the pot. We don't need to hurt him. It's that kind of thinking that has resulted in 602 banks in the Cayman Islands."

Source: 2013 CPAC on Foreign Influences. in National Review Feb 13, 2013

On Civil Rights: OpEd: Apply Sermon on the Mount to gays, not Romans

For many practicing Christians, the inability to compromise may apply to gay marriage. I find such a position troublesome, particularly in a society in which Christian men and women have been known to engage in adultery or other violations of their faith without civil penalty. I believe that American society can choose to carve out a special place for the union of a man and a woman as the unit of child rearing most common to every culture. I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights no such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simlpy because the people they love are of the same sex--nor am I willing to accept a readingof the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the Sermon on the Mount.

The heightened focus on marriage is a distraction from other, attainable measures to prevent discrimination and gays and lesbians.

Source: The Audacity of Hope (Obama), Foreign Influences, p.222-3 Oct 1, 2006

On Foreign Policy: Bibles banned in China from 1949 until 1979

When the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, under the Communist regime, the official government policy was atheism, and worship services and the distribution of Bibles and other holy books were prohibited.

I asked [Deng Xiaoping] if it might be possible to change these policies, and he asked for specific suggestions. After a few moments' thought, I made 3 requests: guarantee freedom of worship, permit the distribution of Bibles, and reopen the door to missionaries. Before returning to China, Deng Xiaoping told me that the basic law of China would be changed to provide for religious freedom and that Bibles would be authorized. However, he would not approve the return of Western missionaries because, he said, they had "lived like royalty" & had tried to subvert the lifestyles of the Chinese people. Within 3 years, he had kept both his promises, with a proviso that any new church congregations would register with the government. They could then conduct services freely, as desired.

Source: Our Endangered Values (Carter Foreign Influences), p. 25-26 Sep 26, 2006

The above quotations are from Foreign Influences on United States Policy. Click here for other excerpts from Foreign Influences on United States Policy. Click here for other excerpts by New Testament. Click here for a profile of New Testament.
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Sep 29, 2024