Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) pushed back against a Politico Magazine piece proclaiming that he’s 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.
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It’s no secret that Rubio has been sharing Bible verses on Twitter, with this fact serving as the basis of the Politico piece authored by Joel Baden, professor of Hebrew Bible at Yale Divinity School.
The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD,
& knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 9, 2017
They will die from lack of discipline, lost because of their great folly. Proverbs 5:23
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 5, 2017
Baden noted that Rubio’s Bible tweets over the past two months have mostly come from Proverbs and explained why he believes this matters. The professor wrote:
Proverbs is notable in that is presents a fairly consistent view of the world: The righteous are rewarded, and the wicked are punished. In the understanding of Proverbs, everyone gets what is coming to them; behavior is directly linked to reward or punishment. This worldview has social consequences: Those who succeed in life must be more righteous than those who struggle.
Some of the statements in Proverbs look strikingly similar to those made by modern-day conservative policymakers. Take, for example, Representative Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who, arguing that poorer people should pay more for health care, recently said, “Those people who lead good lives, they’re healthy.” It’s not quite a direct quote from Proverbs, but it’s not too far from these: “The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry” (Proverbs10:3) and “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Proverbs 10:4). In short: Proverbs is probably the most Republican book of the entire Bible.
Baden said some Democrats have used Proverbs in the past, too, but that it appears Republicans have a much deeper penchant for quoting and appealing to its contents.
While the professor said there’s nothing wrong with “a politician turning to the Bible for spiritual, ethical and moral guidance,” he wrote that the decision to strictly appeal to just one part of the Bible that back’s one’s perspective is a “form of confirmation bias.”
Proverbs is the Republican part of the bible?I don't think Solomon had yet joined the GOP when he wrote the first 29 chapters of Proverbs. https://t.co/2bGhkGwoqH
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 9, 2017
In Rubio’s case, Baden suggested the senator perhaps read Ecclesiastes or Amos, among other books, to see the rebukes waged at those who have trampled or taken from the poor.
As for Rubio, he responded to the piece on Sunday with a comical tweet that invoked Solomon and modern-day political division.
“Proverbs is the Republican part of the bible?” Rubio wrote. “I don’t think Solomon had yet joined the GOP when he wrote the first 29 chapters of Proverbs.”
The Bible is not Republican nor Democrat. It's so much greater than any political party… it's inspired by God. (2 Timothy 3:16) https://t.co/qWFvhpdhf0
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) July 9, 2017
Sen. James Lankford also jumped into the mix to respond to Baden’s piece with a tweet noting that the Bible is neither “Republican nor Democrat.”
“The Bible is not Republican nor Democrat,” the Oklahoma Republican wrote. “It’s so much greater than any political party… it’s inspired by God. (2 Timothy 3:16).”