Nick Arama, writing for Red State yesterday, said, "Joe Biden is fond of saying that he's Catholic and he frequently attends mass. But that doesn't seem to have taught him much in terms of the Church's theology."
"Usually, I wouldn't talk much about anyone's religious belief except for the fact that he's constantly pushing his 'devoutness' -- while lying and promoting abortion, which is against basic Church teaching."
He was referring to an incident where the president made the sign of the Cross while promoting abortion.
A lot of Catholics are deeply offended by his actions. We should all be offended.
But how should we respond in our hearts?
Be informed, not misled.
The Democrats apparently feel they might have a chance to take Florida in the presidential election on the issue of abortion.
Gov. DeSantis has been very firm on his pro-life beliefs and has greatly reduced the number of abortions in Florida.
So President Biden flew down there to get support from the Sunshine State.
Arama says, "But what Biden did in Florida during the rally is now making a lot of waves with Catholics, and they vote too in Florida. Many are calling what he did offensive and/or sacrilegious. Catholic Vote reported that Biden made a Sign of the Cross while promoting abortion and while criticizing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for pushing for more restrictions on abortion."
Catholic Vote posted on X "This. Is. VILE! President Biden makes the Sign of the Cross at an abortion rally in Florida!
You cannot be Catholic and support abortion!
You cannot invoke GOD and promote Death!
This. Is. VILE!
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) April 23, 2024
President Biden makes the Sign of the Cross at an abortion rally in Florida!
You cannot be Catholic and support abortion!
You cannot invoke GOD and promote Death! pic.twitter.com/aG4P542EM0
Catholic Vote President Brian Burch said that Biden's actions showed that he was either "senile," "naive," or "indifferent" to foundational beliefs.
"Biden’s decision to make the Sign of the Cross in support of abortion extremism is a despicable charade that attempts to co-opt a sacred practice in support of his new abortion religion. His gesture openly mocks the Christian belief in the sanctity of life. There is no divine support for destroying the lives of innocent children, and he should know better. Biden’s gesture suggests he is either terribly naive, or senile, or callously indifferent to the foundational beliefs of millions of Christians in America."
He said, "Biden keeps finding a way to go lower. He wasn't even finished yet. He was again trying to attack former President Donald Trump, making up things and making a gross comment about the Bible as well."
Biden is a "cafeteria Catholic."
And Fox is reporting this: "A Catholic bishop in Michigan weighed in on the discrepancy between President Biden's policies and his professed Catholic faith earlier this month, suggesting 'forgiveness' for the president's 'stupidity.'"
Bishop Robert Gruss of the Diocese of Saginaw mentioned Biden during "Forgiveness as the Heart of Christianity," a lecture given on Apr. 5 at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption.
In the discussion, Gruss urged congregants to let go of unproductive anger and resentment towards others — citing his own experience growing up with an alcoholic father and a letter he wrote in adulthood forgiving him for the trauma of his youth.
Asking the faithful to interrogate their own hatreds and resentments, the bishop pointed out that destructive lack of forgiveness does not apply only to individuals they know, but also to public figures and institutions.
"If you're harboring bad, negative, resentful feelings towards our president, you're not free," Gruss said. "Otherwise, you're letting him control you and your thoughts and your words and your actions. And I guarantee that if he is a problem for you, then those thoughts, words, and actions are negative — they're gonna come out and then we commit sin."
Reflecting on his own feelings towards Biden — who has embraced a public affiliation with Catholicism while also supporting abortion, gender ideology, and other policies contrary to Church teaching — the bishop said he pities him.
"I don't have any anger towards the president. I feel sorry for him. I'm not angry at him, he's just stupid," Gruss said.
I agree, but let's look at the bigger picture.
There are people in our country who hate the politicians who are aligned with a political party they are not aligned with.
We have not seen the level of hatred directed toward Trump since the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.
There is a lot of hatred toward Biden for what he is doing to our country.
A time to hate, a time not to hate---a closer look.
On a purely human level, hatred is destructive. The emotion of anger, fear, or disgust has settled into a destructive pattern of life. It is an attempt to reject a person completely and to rob that person of his or her very existence. That is why hatred is said to be the equivalent of murdering a person in our hearts.
Remember, hatred prevents a person from loving God and from having eternal life (1 John 3:15; 4:8, 20; cf. Matt. 5:21-22). These are terribly strong words, but there is a time to hate.
Dr. Michael Wilkens is Dean of the Faculty at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. The following is a summary of his thoughts—and some of my own—on love and hate.
He says the same words for hate in both the Old and New Testaments, which can speak of destructive patterns of life, are also used to describe ways in which hate is both appropriate and necessary. There is “a time to hate” (Eccl. 3:8).
But in the life of a person who has been touched by the love of God Himself, hate will prove invaluable to living safely and wisely in this world that still lies under the power of the evil one (Eph. 2:1-3).
Specifically, we must learn to hate what Jesus hates. This especially means to learn to develop a pattern of life in which we decisively reject whatever would harm us spiritually, or reject whatever is antithetical to God. Love is the opposite of hatred, as goodness and righteousness are the opposite of evil and wickedness.
We must come to grips with what this tells us about Jesus, and what that means for our own lives.
Jesus Hates Evil.
The primary truth for us to understand is that God hates evil, but loves righteousness. If we rightly understand that the cross defines the central purpose of Jesus’ earthly ministry, then we will also rightly understand that Jesus came to defeat the very wickedness that had held humanity in its grip since Adam’s tragic fall. Jesus came as God’s promised Messianic deliverer, and what motivated Him was His love of righteousness, and His hatred of wickedness (Heb. 1:8-9; citing Ps. 45:6-7).
Jesus hates evil. This is an absolutely essential and convicting truth. But it is also absolutely essential for us to understand that Jesus loves goodness and righteousness. That is why the apostle Paul writes, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Rom. 12:9).
Hatred is therefore not arbitrary. We do not choose what to hate. All appropriate hatred is in some way directed toward evil and wickedness. So we must understand clearly and truthfully what is evil from God’s perspective, and then we are utterly and completely to reject it—hate it.
Jesus Hates the World System, Not the World.
Although God so loved the world that He gave His Son, He is at war with this world. Jesus says of his disciples, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world” (John 17:14).
Jesus loves the world of sinners for whom He died, but He hates the world system that wars against Him and His kingdom. This is the basis of the adage, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” We are to do likewise.
We live in a culture that is at odds with Jesus. Many of the former values that once were foundational to our society have either been rejected or are being challenged. We must learn from the risen Jesus who commended the Ephesians because, “You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Rev. 2:6). The Nicolaitans practiced idolatry and immorality under the banner of spiritual liberty, claiming that they gained greater spiritual insight by eating meat sacrificed to pagan idols and by engaging in sexual promiscuity.
Jesus hates this perversion of values. We are to do likewise because, in our culture, it is easy to be fooled by those who parade alternative lifestyles under the banners of “pluralism,” “freedom,” and “rights.” To identify ourselves clearly with Jesus is going to put us at odds with the world system because we will hate what God hates. (cf. Mal. 2:16). To hate the world system means to reject the values of the world that would lead us into wickedness. But we are clearly to love the world of people for whom Jesus died.
(bold) Takeaway
Personally, I hate what President Biden is doing to unborn, unwanted babies, his undying promotion of transgenderism, his infatuation with the LGBTQIA+ movement, his open borders policies that are destroying our own country, his misuse of his own Catholic Church, his destructive economic policies---you know the list.
But I must be careful to hate the sin, but not the sinner. So must you.
Be angry and sin not.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful