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Many Christians I know rightly condemn the immoral character of Donald Trump — a self-confessed unbeliever, although after surviving a couple of assassination attempts recently, I think that could have changed — whereas, in comparison, the Roman Catholic Joe Biden is consistently given a religious free pass. Their subdued support is all the more strange when one realises Jesus himself taught that there was a special place in hell for religious hypocrites (see Luke 12:47).

While campaigning as the Presidential candidate in 1960, John F. Kennedy made a significant speech to a group of Protestant ministers in Houston. The reason why this was so important was because JFK would go on to become the first Catholic President of the United States. The second would be Joe Biden. JFK’s argument was as follows:

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.

Considering his now well-documented philandering ways, it’s something of a shame religion didn’t have more of an influence on JFK than it did. But at least he was consistent regarding the separation of church and state. Not so with Joe Biden.

Rank Injustice

Just in time for Christmas — or more likely, to help mitigate any media scrutiny and so he could go on holiday — Biden pardoned thirty-seven people on death row. This is out of a total of forty people, only three of whom have not had their sentences now commuted. For one heart-wrenching example of what I’m referring to, see below:

Significantly, the reason Biden says he is opposed to the death penalty is because of the influence of Pope Francis. Whatever happened to JFK’s promise regarding the separation of church and state? Biden’s position is completely inconsistent, though, because he ran on a political campaign of abortion up until birth. I guess murdering babies is OK, but executing murderers is not?

For the record, I completely disagree with the Vatican’s opposition to the death penalty. Both the Old and New Testaments affirm the right of the state to take the life of someone who is guilty of certain crimes, for example, treason and murder. In fact, it’s their divinely delegated responsibility. I would even go so far as to say then that it is unethical not to put people to death who are truly guilty of such crimes.

Biden continues to claim that he is upholding the rule of law, and yet when someone is convicted of a capital offence, that doesn’t seem to apply. Not only that, but he has also pardoned his son Hunter for crimes he has, or even ‘may’ have, committed over a ten-year period (after repeatedly and unequivocally promising he never would). Donald Trump might be many things, but at least he’s not a religious hypocrite.

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.