Theophobia - New Fear for the New Millennium

THE INDEPENDENT NEWS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2000
By GREG RUMMO

     KING SOLOMON WROTE in the book of Proverbs: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…”

Back then it was apparently no big deal for conservative politicians to rely on God for wisdom.  But there seems to be a different type of “fear” permeating the political landscape in our enlightened era whenever God is mentioned in the public discourse, or at least when His Name is invoked by conservatives.

In mid-December we were treated to the spectacle of liberal pundits foaming at the mouth regarding the mention of Jesus Christ, creating—God forbid—the potential for a breach in that sacrosanct wall separating church and state.

The hubbub was due to comments made by three Republican presidential candidates during the December Iowa debate in response to the question, “Who is your favorite philosopher?” 

George W. Bush, who seemed to get most of the heat from the Irreligious Left, replied “Jesus Christ.”  When pressed for details, he replied, “I don’t know if I can explain it.  When you turn your heart over to Jesus Christ, it changes your life.”

Several days later, ABC News’ Peter Jennings interviewed Bill Clinton about the important events of the last century. 

After railing against cynicism, Clinton worked “God” into the interview.

Liberals had little to say about Clinton’s invocation of Deity on national television in the days which followed, but plenty was said about the comments made by George W. Bush.

It seems that whenever conservatives talk about God, the nation gets a lecture for several days from the media about why His Name is not allowed to be mentioned in public.

In contrast, when liberals us the G-word, no one bats an eyelash.

This strikes me as being an admission to the obvious.  Liberals are not serious when they talk about God. Conservatives are, and that is what sends fear into the hearts of the Irreligious Left.

Rush Limbaugh was keen to pick up on this during one of his monologues later that same week.  He characterized the contrast between the furor over the remarks made by George W. Bush and the relative silence over Clinton’s comments as typical hypocrisy.

The idea of the “separation of church and state”—a phrase not found in The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, or in any of the Founding Father’s official writings, is purely a mythical construct by 20th century liberals. 

It originated from the phrase, "a wall of separation," first used by Jefferson in a letter written to the Danbury Baptist Association in response to their fears concerning a rumor that the Congregationalist Church was seeking to become the established church in America.

Jefferson borrowed the phrase "a wall of separation" from a homily preached by Baptist minister Roger Williams.

            The wall to which the Reverend Williams was referring was a one-way wall, which, "if He [God] will eer please to restore His garden and paradise again it must of necessity be walled in peculiarly unto Himself from the world."

            Jefferson's remarks to the Baptists in his letter of January 1, 1802 clarified that the government was prohibited by the First Amendment from interfering with the affairs of the church, thus assuring the Baptists that their fears of the establishment of any one denomination were unfounded.

Jefferson conveyed that this wall was indeed a one-way wall protecting the church from government interference in subsequent statements. In the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, He wrote, "No power over the freedom of religion ... [is] delegated to the United States by the Constitution."

We’ve come a long way since then.

Beginning in the late 1950s, judges, bullied by ACLU lawyers bent on removing all mention of God and the Bible from the public sector, have labored tirelessly towards a religious cleansing of America.  In large measure, they have succeeded.

Now, when any serious mention of God or Jesus is proffered by conservatives in the national spotlight, “Theophobia,” stemming from a combination of arrogance and ignorance—and I am not sure which is the larger component of the mix—is the typical knee-jerk reaction by liberal pundits.

It’s this personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ—what George W. Bush described during the debate as a “life-changing experience”— that flummoxes them.

Admittedly, that relationship is characterized as a “mystery” in the Bible by Jesus, (“Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God,” Mark 4:11), and the apostle Paul (“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church,” Eph 5:32). 

While this may excuse some of the ignorance among mainstream, liberal journalists, there is the element of arrogance and condescension towards those who embrace biblical Christianity.  Labels such as “right-wing extremists,” or characterizing people of faith as “poor, uneducated and easy to command,” are inexcusable in a country where debate is supposed to be civil.

Janet Parshall of the Washington, D.C. based Family Research Council has recently commented that the phrase “God bless you,” has been accorded “hate-speech” status in some circles.

When Solomon wrote about the fear of the LORD being the beginning of knowledge, he added, “but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Such a characterization applied to politics today is no stretch as wisdom and truth are pretty good antidotes to arrogance and ignorance. 

Clearly, Solomon dealt with pundits in his day, too. n

Originally published in The Independent News, Thursday, February 24, 2000

Greg Rummo is a syndicated columnist. Read all of his columns on his homepage, www.GregRummo.com. E-Mail Rummo at  [email protected]