Sen. Marco Rubio has a clear message for atheists who are complaining about his penchant for tweeting Bible verses: He has no plans of stopping anytime soon.
And while Rubio didn’t say this outright, he has done anything but halt his daily practice of sharing scripture on his Twitter account.
In fact, the Republican senator tweeted the text of Matthew 25:35 on Tuesday, just days after the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an atheist activist group, sent a letter demanding that he stop sharing scripture on that platform.
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me"; Matthew 25:35
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 5, 2017
The group appealed to Matthew 6:5-6 in an Aug. 22 letter sent to Rubio’s office in an attempt to shame the politician into compliance.
“If the law and your oath to uphold the Constitution are not sufficient to convince you to stop, perhaps you might consider reading Matthew 6:5-6, in which Jesus condemns public prayer as hypocrisy in his Sermon on the Mount,” the letter read. “None of Jesus’s supposed words mentions Twitter — perhaps he wasn’t that prescient — but the condemnation of public piety is reasonably clear.”
Despite those swipes, the letter more generally attempted to accuse Rubio of violating the U.S. Constitution by sharing messages about his official government role as well as details and verses pertaining to his private, Christian faith.
“We understand that you have been tweeting bible verses from @MarcoRubio to nearly three million followers. It appears that you began tweeting the bible in mid-May and have been doing so regularly ever since,” the letter reads. “This is not an errant bible verse or two, but more than 60 bible verses in three months. That’s enough verses to tweet the entire Book of Jude. Twice.”
While the FFRF said it has no problem with people reading or talking about the Bible, the group does take issue with the government promoting “one religious book over others” or promoting “religion over non-religion.”
When this unfolds, atheist activists argue that it poses a violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. And, in the case of Rubio’s tweets, it appears the FFRF believes he crossed the line.
“Government officials cannot appear to endorse Christianity,” the letter reads, arguing that tweets from Rubio’s account are “government speech.” “By tying your government title to a social media page, you have intimately entwined your official position with the messages you send on that platform, creating the appearance of official endorsement.”
Read the FFRF letter in its entirety here.
So, how did Rubio respond, you ask? Well, here’s a series of tweets that show he apparently has no plans of backing down:
For the LORD gives wisdom,from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; Proverbs 2:6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 2, 2017
That people may know wisdom and discipline, may understand intelligent sayings. Proverbs 1:2
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 1, 2017
Open your mouth in behalf of the mute, and for the rights of the destitute; Proverbs 31:8
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 31, 2017
Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are safe. Proverbs 28:26— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 28, 2017
By patience is a ruler persuaded, and a soft tongue can break a bone.Proverbs 25:15
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 25, 2017
As Faithwire previously reported, Rubio has been actively sharing scripture on his Twitter page this year. Back in July, the senator pushed back against a Politico Magazine piece proclaiming that he had been “tweeting the most Republican part of the Bible,” with Rubio quipping that Solomon, the book’s author, hadn’t yet “joined the GOP” when he wrote the scriptures.