The relationship between politics and the church has always been a gray area for Christians. Specifically how far one attempts to enforce policy based on his or her religious beliefs in government has been and will continue to be a debated topic. Christians live out their faith in all aspects of their lives including politics. For Reverend William Barber, evangelicals must be involved in governmental policies. In fact, the reverend suggests that government is the tool to fulfill Jesus’ teachings.
Reverend William Barber is a pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro in North Carolina. He started “Moral Mondays” which received a lot of attention after he and other activists protested outside the North Carolina General Assembly in 2013 in opposition to Republican Governor Pat McCrory’s policies. He served as president of the North Carolina NAACP until recently stepping down to serve on leadership of the New Poor People’s Campaign. Barber also spoke at the 2016 Democratic Convention to arouse the Evangelical Left in the election. Barber has been a vocal advocate for the Left on LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, and other social justice issues.
In a recent interview with The New Yorker Radio Hour, Barber explained the main mission of evangelicals is to help the poor. He defined evangelicalism as, “preaching good news to the poor.” He referenced Jesus’ first sermon, conveniently only citing half of it. Reverend Barber cited Jesus’ statement recorded in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor…”
Then added a bold claim of his own stating, “If your attention is not on dealing with the issues harming the poor, the broken hearted, the sick, and all of those who are made to feel unacceptable you don’t have right-winged evangelicalism you have heresy.”
Therefore, according to the Reverend Barber, issues such as free healthcare, minimum wage, and racial and gender equality must be given the utmost attention to show the proper biblical love to our neighbors. Barber shames the “heretics” on the right for allegedly staying silent on progressive social justice issues while being loud on others such as abortion and prayer in schools. In fact, he suggested that conservative evangelicals are completely ignoring the texts in the bible referencing love, justice, and mercy.
Clearly, the right to life policy is not one that Barber believes qualifies as an injustice to the innocent. He stated in his interview that conservative evangelicals’ policies “abort individuals’ hopes and dreams.” How can evangelicals who, according to Barber, should oppose unjust societal harms against the weak not have a loud voice against abortion? How can anyone be “too loud” when defending a life?
Reverend Barber’s bold statements claiming conservative evangelicals are preaching heresy solely because they do not fully believe in his progressive version of the Bible is absurd. Actually it is the Reverend who is ignoring the biblical principles by choosing and even twisting moral truths in the Bible to fit his message and political agenda.
Jesus is the perfect moral figure who does call us to help the poor and be selfless, loving, and compassionate towards others. However, Jesus also calls people to be righteous and just which requires obedience to God’s Word. One cannot just put traditional doctrines in the Bible aside, as the Evangelical Left often does, as exemplified in this interview by Reverend Barber.
Comment by John on June 6, 2017 at 11:35 am
Perhaps it is Reverend Barber who is the real heretic. While he is entitled to his own opinion, he should understand that he does not have all the answers. One man’s hero may be the other man’s heretic. Let’s just leave it at we disagree. there are different churches and even denominations because we happen to disagree on certain aspects of Jesus’ teachings.
Comment by Ross on July 18, 2017 at 1:55 pm
True John, he doesn’t have all the answers. But neither does anyone on the opposite side of the spectrum either like so many seem to proclaims.
Comment by Old Salt on June 6, 2017 at 6:48 pm
The Left tends to only use the Bible when it seems to fit their agenda as they normally quote it out of context.
Paul said, “he that will not work neither shall he eat” so that means our current welfare system is not biblical as it allows people to do nothing. Paul does not say he who cannot work. Maybe we need something like the CCC or WPA again.
The Bible teaches good stewardship so welfare reform is needed to ensure the money is not spent on people who are scamming the system and that the programs are doing a good job at handling the needs.
The Bible is against abortion and euthanasia, The Left support both. The Bible does support capital punishment, which the Left does not. Odd that they support killing the young, old and infirm, but not someone who kills other innocents.
The Bible is not union friendly as you are to work as unto the Lord whether you have a good or bad boss. Stirkes and violence against an employer will not be found. Indeed, when the employer paid his day help all the same no matter what time they entered into the field the protest was shut down by the employer saying that the money was his and he can do what he wants after he honors what he promised to pay the first crew.
It is also not socialist or communist. While there was an instance when the Church shared all things and sold things it appears only once and no indication that it was done anywhere else. I wonder if when the Rapture did not happen when they expected if there was some remorse by some as they sold their retirement plans.
It is not against rich people. While there are strong exhortations for the rich to do what is right in paying their employees and to care for the poor there are no commands to force them to do right by any human. God will deal with the rich who sin just as He does with the poor sinners.
God does not know any race as we call it. Anyone not a Jew was called a Gentile no matter what color they were. After all, only eight got off the Ark so we are all kin. Also, science has proved that we are all a shade of brown so all of color assignments are in error. There is no Red and Yellow, Black and White they are precious in His sight. It is more like No matter what shade of brown He loves everyine in town. So we need to drop race, if we are to be biblical because we are one race, human.
The Bible speaks much about country boundaries, gate and walls. Even Heaven has a gate and walls so protecting your border and controlling who can come in is not unbiblical or racist. It is a matter of common sense.
Thus, I do resist what the Left calls Christian because it is calling for things that are unbiblical to solve problems that can be solved by biblical means.
Don’t argue much with them as it will do little good and Paul says to reject a heretic after the first or second admonition, not argue ad infinitum.
Comment by diaphone64 on June 7, 2017 at 2:42 pm
Nailed it!
Comment by Ross on July 18, 2017 at 1:14 pm
Funny how the right are so biased and sickening. You people twist the Bible for your own far right needs all the time. Not union friendly? Such a sick lie.
Comment by Ross on July 18, 2017 at 1:20 pm
People need to exist right wing bigots like yourself just as much as any extremist on the left Old Salt. I will never stand by you and your very biased interpretation. You’ve done enough damage to the world.
Comment by Ross on July 18, 2017 at 2:17 pm
You’re very wrong on a lot of things Old Salt. Not all but a lot and it’s your opinion only which I fully stand against.
Comment by Dr Brad Scott on June 7, 2017 at 7:34 am
I went to school with Rev Barber. He is a voice of the Marxist left. His admonishment of evangelicals might have some truth to it (we do need to be involved in the political process to stand up to leftist humanists who want to abridge religious freedom and the free exchange of ideas and free speech), but his sotieriology is not christocentric enough for my taste. I find him straining hard to become a latter day MLK, but his theology reflects little of King’s, and much of Karl Marx’s. Our society still has a clear division around the interpretation of and proper place of scripture as the primary source of theology and theological inquiry. I don’t blame Barber and his cohorts for addressing social inequities but I do blame them for poor methodology and being entirely too willing to set scripture aside or lift verses out of context for their leftist purposes (which, rightists also do, and should be criticized for).
Comment by Ross on July 18, 2017 at 1:21 pm
I can respect your view, but not Old Salt’s.
Comment by David Gingrich on June 10, 2017 at 8:11 am
This Christian is an economic conservative because I believe that economic freedom reduces poverty, while government handouts reinforce poverty. I firmly believe that the past 50 years in the U.S. clearly prove this belief.
Comment by Wattree on November 14, 2017 at 2:01 pm
PORTRAIT OF A RIGHT-WING CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN
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http://wattree.blogspot.com/2017/11/portrait-of-right-wing-conservative.html
Comment by Michael Wade on April 22, 2018 at 11:32 pm
Just read this! I don’t know much about “Reverend” Barber, but I really appreciate your call to be obedient to God’s Word!
Titus 1:8 – 11 says: “But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.”
The 1st Century didn’t have a corner on unruly, vain talkers and deceivers!
Keep up the good work, Hannah!