Diabolical liberty

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose and Kemi Badenoch has just proved the point.

The Leader of the Opposition's condemnation of Rachel Reeves' budget provision for welfare as "unchristian", referenced St Paul's injunction in 1 Timothy 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." In so doing she was following the example of her predecessor, Margaret Thatcher, who famously quoted St Francis of Assisi in her 1979 victory speech outside 10 Downing Street, "Where there is discord, may we bring harmony; where there is error, may we bring truth; where there is doubt, may we bring faith; and where there is despair, may we bring hope". In a 1980 TV interview she opined, "No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions. He had money as well." Two can play that game, so bear with me as I assume the role of devil's advocate. 

The only thing worse than politicians wrapping themselves in the flag is when they claim to have God on their side; though, given the pariah status of the Conservative Party party these days after their election drubbing, who else is Badenoch to turn to? The electorate having deserted her, like those outcasts in the gospels she turns to Jesus. In her case, though, it is an act of political opportunism and will hopefully be seen as such.

Both Matthew and Mark's gospels quote Jesus responding to being questioned about the rightness of paying taxes to the Roman administration, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's". If taxes are levied to support the poor and disadvantaged in society then it is hard to see how that can be construed as unchristian. Such selective bible-reading is unlikely to enhance Badenoch's diminished standing.

I would refer her to Proverbs 11:2, "With humility comes wisdom".



Popular posts from this blog

The eagle has landed

The Syrian Arab Republic has just unveiled its new national logo, a golden eagle surmounted by three stars. Just before Christmas ( 2024 - A year to forget, 13/12/24) I pondered the chances for a post-Assad Syria. "Is it possible" I wrote "that, between them, [President] Sharaa and [Prime Minister] Bashir will preside over a national 'truth and reconciliation' process rather than the murderous vengeance that usually follows such upheavals? After the appalling brutality of the Assad regime, and with so many simmering ethnoreligious tensions, it is hard to see how a functioning state, founded on the rule of law, could realistically emerge out of the chaos." Well, seven months on, the emergence of a new symbol for the fledgling state, embodying the aspirations of its pre-Assad past while signposting an inclusive post-Assad future, must give rise to cautious optimism. According to the Arab News report of the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) press release: "th...
Read more

The rain in Spain

Storm Berenice dumped a load of water on Madrid earlier today and the timing could hardly have been more apposite. Celebrations were being held to mark Fiesta Nacional España (Spanish National Day), with a full military parade attended by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Leonora, Princess of Asturias, the Prime Minister and a host of politicians. Unfortunately, it rained on their parade. In British terms the ceremony is a cross between Trooping the Colour and Remembrance Sunday, with full royal and military panoply, but is much more problematic than either of those occasions. The British equivalents are not without their controversies, of course, but the Spanish event, a relatively modern successor (2019) to the original Día de la Hispanidad (Hispanic Day) held to mark the arrival of Columbus in the Americas on 12 October 1492, carries with it a lot of colonial baggage. Columbus Day is still marked in the USA but, with civic statues of Christopher Columbus increasingly becoming the focus...
Read more

Straw men

Donald Trump has a downer on paper straws: "they don't work, bring back plastic". Well, it's good to see that the President of the United States has his eye on the little details that make such a difference to us all. I had vowed, wherever possible, to ignore the ramblings of this deranged megalomaniac, on the basis that if we all stopped reacting to him he might just go away.  We know he's a shameless attention-seeker but the wider the gap gets between pledges and delivery, the more likely it is that the American people will lose faith. Zeus may have thundered from Mount Olympus but once people stopped believing in him he simply faded into irrelevance. If only real life were like that. It pains me to say this, and perhaps I'll regret doing so, but, for all the performative bluster, he does sometimes hit on an important issue, though usually for the wrong reasons and drawing the wrong conclusions from it. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day and simply be...
Read more