Bible bill is empty gesture
There are a combined 132 legislators in the Tennessee State Senate and the General Assembly of the State House.
They’re all sent to Nashville to make the best choices for the state as a whole as well as those who specifically selected them to represent their districts at the state level.
While the hope is they will be perfect in their decision-making, we know that can’t be the case because they’re human and will make mistakes, hopefully as the result of good intentions. I think we’re seeing a situation like that happen now.
Senator Mark Pody, R-lebanon, and Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-bean Station, are sponsoring a bill to make the Bible the official state book for Tennessee.
As a Christian myself, the thought of making God’s holy word the official book for the state sounds like a fantastic idea. Just think of all the positive changes we could make in our state if we truly made it a lamp to our feet and a light to our path for all 6.77 million people who live here.
But then there are problems with the notion. The first one is the First Amendment that the government shall make no law respecting the establishment of any religion. “Why would that be a bad thing?” asks many Christians across the state. Because the day our government establishes Christianity as the official religion of Tennessee and the Bible the official book is also the day the state is then open to people representing other religions who can begin working to get people elected and put in place to establish other religions as the official religion of the state.
And then suddenly, this would make all the Christians unhappy as they begin to suddenly defend their First Amendment rights. I know I would.
But here’s the real problem with the bill.
It’s sponsored and will be voted on by a group of legislators that want to prop a certain book up and make it look like our state has some kind of moral ethics in spite of the headlines we’ve seen in recent months that make us question if they realize what’s in the Bible.
Gov. Bill Lee says he has moral and religious reasons to want to allow refugees from other countries to settle in Tennessee. Many in the legislature oppose this notion despite the fact the main one mentioned in the Bible – Jesus Christ – said in Matthew 25 that refusing to help someone who needs it is the same as refusing to help Jesus Himself.
Like I said earlier, no one expects any other human to be perfect, including our elected officials. But sponsoring a bill to make Tennessee look like we corporately follow the Bible more than we actually do is the direct opposite of what Jesus said in Matthew 6 when Jesus said to do what we’re supposed to do in following Him in secret, and we’ll be rewarded openly.
So to the legislators who support this bill and will vote for it, if you want this state and its government to truly honor God and the Bible, I ask you to read and study it every day and then do your best to apply what you learn from it to your daily life at home and in Nashville.
Otherwise this bill is an empty public gesture and a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Brandon Shields is the editor of The Jackson Sun. Reach him at bjshields@ jacksonsun.com or at 731-425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @Jseditorbrandon or on Instagram at editorbrandon.